Insights: How to Evaluate Skills for Certification?

Published on: 21/09/2021Updated on: 21/09/2021

The professional branches of individual employment and domestic work have designated IPERIA as the certifying body for sector occupations. Currently, we certify three level III professional qualifications registered in the National Register of Vocational Qualifications (RNCP)—"Dependency Personal Carer," "Childcare Provider/Childminder," and "Family Assistant," each comprising eight skills blocks—and five certifications registered in the Specific Directory (RS).

At the "Evaluating Skills for Certification" event organized on September 21, 2021, by Centre Inffo in partnership with France Compétences, Nadège Turco, Deputy Director of IPERIA, presented our skills assessment strategy, essential in professional certification processes. How are assessment methods and criteria chosen? How are evaluations conducted? How is assessment consistency guaranteed? Here's everything you need to know.

Adapted Assessment Methods and Criteria

As a certifying body, IPERIA builds its frameworks in four parts:

Title of components or skills blocks
Associated skills
Assessment method(s) for recognizing skills
Assessment criteria

Currently, five assessment methods are implemented (with two additional methods possible for RNCP-registered qualifications):

Digital Professional Simulation: The candidate is presented with a situation and must answer closed-ended questions (multiple-choice).
Written Professional Simulation: The candidate addresses a topic and must develop written responses by analyzing the situation and proposing actions or projects.
Oral Professional Simulation: The candidate must propose an action based on a given topic and present it to the evaluator.
Practical Professional Simulation: On-site at the training organization, the candidate addresses a topic using technical equipment.
Professional Component Jury: The candidate prepares their presentation in advance based on a portfolio template linked to their project development. They are expected to project their future professional practice. "We use this to evaluate project creation capability in specific contexts such as the 'Working in Shared Childminding Facilities' Professional Qualification Certificate. The jury evaluates the candidate's level of reflection, analysis, and the quality of presented content," indicates Nadège Turco, Deputy Director of IPERIA.

How Are Assessment Methods Chosen?

To select the appropriate method(s), several parameters are considered in the expected skill assessment by the certification design service:

Analysis and reasoning
Practical skills in a situation
Reactional competence in a situation

Soft skills are assessed transversally in evaluation methods for Specific Directory (RS) certifications and during the qualification certification jury for National Register of Vocational Qualifications (RNCP) titles.

Each assessment family is tested to ensure it meets requirements and correctly recognizes skills. "We conduct preliminary simulations to see if all criteria can fit within an assessment method if multiple methods are needed, and to see the management impact across all certifications (staff time, planning, dedicated time in a training organization's program, and organizational choices)," explains Nadège Turco.

Digital professional simulation is preferred for evaluating skills involving knowledge, know-how, and previously unknown pathologies. This allows for assessing candidates' knowledge and reactional competencies in a contextualized employment situation. Other professional simulations (oral, written, and practical) are preferred for evaluating relational and communication skills, as well as the ability to implement professional practice in a given situation. IPERIA thus evaluates analytical and reasoning capabilities when facing a given problem, as well as adaptation, reactivity, and know-how. The professional component jury is used when evaluation of project development is necessary.

How Are Assessment Criteria Defined?

IPERIA's certification design service defines assessment criteria with support from the network of training organizations authorized for certification. These criteria vary depending on the skill and implementation needs within the occupations but primarily focus on communication quality and consistency of actions.

"When we write the skill description, we ask ourselves what the employee/future employee needs to perform it. What is essential for carrying out the task in employment? We create a list and analyze whether we're too ambitious regarding the expected higher skill level. We adjust accordingly and conduct simulations to refine the writing. This entire expertise phase is essential to ensure our certifications comply with France Compétences requirements and align with the reality of the occupations," explains Nadège Turco.

Assessment isn't based on a grading system but on an acquisition concept: acquired/not acquired. For the evaluation to be validated, at least 60% of question responses must be successful (more than average).

Before implementation, assessment methods and criteria are validated:

By the professional branches of childcare providers and domestic employees within a development council for RNCP-registered certifications
By a certification commission composed of experts for RS-listed certifications

Local Evaluators

For organizational reasons, IPERIA relies on a network of authorized training organizations that implement skill block assessments or RS certification components throughout France. In 2020, due to the health crisis, 15,245 assessments were organized, sometimes even remotely.

Furthermore, since 2009, employees and individual employers have voluntarily participated in juries with IPERIA, which trains them beforehand in skills assessment. Currently numbering 130, they are mobile across the entire territory (including overseas). To formalize their commitment, they must sign a jury member charter. They receive support from an IPERIA representative who conducts reviews and remains available, with at least one day per year of practice analysis. Recruitment campaigns for new members are regularly launched.

In 2020, 175 professional certification juries were held for the qualification titles "Childcare Provider/Childminder," "Dependency Personal Carer," and "Family Assistant." At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, means were implemented to organize remote certification juries, as professionals in the individual employment and domestic work sector expressed a strong need to continue developing their skills and progressing in their certification journeys.

Jury Proceedings

For RS certifications

The certification jury commission comprises a certification delegate (IPERIA) and an employee and/or individual employer (professional jury members).

They examine a set of documents: a portfolio prepared by the candidate, evaluation results, assessment grids, and evaluator annotations (training organizations). If everything is validated, certification is granted. If evaluations are successful, the same applies. If the complete set of documents is unsatisfactory, certification is not granted. In case of a tie, there is a discussion based on results and portfolio, and a sovereign decision is made based on an assessment grid and skills framework.

For RNCP qualifications

The professional jury includes a certification delegate (IPERIA) and an employee and/or individual employer.

The jury intervenes after the training center's technical skills assessment and validation through block evaluations. Only candidates who have passed all block assessments proceed to the final jury. They prepare a professional portfolio presenting how they would implement the required social skills (autonomy, relational capacity, and adaptation). The jury reviews the portfolio in advance. The portfolio itself isn't evaluated but serves as a basis for preparing questions and the oral interview. Mireille Dabadie, certification delegate, provides some concrete examples: "Verifying, for example, that they can handle specific situations, ensure home safety, that a personal carer can support an employer with Alzheimer's in daily activities, that a childcare provider/childminder implements age-appropriate nutrition and activities, that a family assistant knows how to prepare meals. It's also an opportunity to ensure the employee's knowledge and practices are current." The interview ensures the candidate has understood their role, their mission, and the necessary professional approaches in their occupation, specifically within the context of employment between individuals. Mireille Dabadie adds: "This verification role is an important responsibility because, through this certification, IPERIA and the professional branches of childcare providers and domestic employees guarantee the employee's qualification level to employers."

(Re)discover Mireille Dabadie's interview, "The RPL Process Should Be Demystified," in its entirety

Ensuring Assessment Consistency

Assessment consistency is a central issue for a certifying body, especially when working with juries and partners. At IPERIA, it relies on three key points:

Evaluation subjects (about a thousand) written exclusively by IPERIA
Certifier presence through certification delegates (IPERIA employees)
Ensuring jury members understand expectations (training, network)

Evaluators are provided with tools: a specific guide for each type of "jury" (RPL, Professional Qualification Certificate component, and "training" jury), an evaluation manual determining the skills to assess, evaluation conditions, evaluation objectives, evaluation method, and correction aids.

IPERIA alone can validate and issue certifications. For each session, they are also responsible for making decisions to open evaluations, send subjects, retrieve assessments, and validate them. Since 2009, they have provided authorized training organizations with an evaluation kit, guiding them through the assessment process.

Developing, delivering, and registering professional qualification certificates, professional qualifications, and other certifications eligible for RNCP or RS with France Compétences is one of IPERIA's key missions. In 2020, IPERIA issued 9,970 certifications, including 1,100 qualifications and 8,870 skill blocks. Today, society is changing, occupations are transforming, and the importance of skills is growing. The individual employment and domestic work sector is no exception. Facing the workforce shortage expected in coming years due to staff retirements, population aging, and emerging needs, the sector is focusing on implementing work-study programs from 2022 to attract young people to childcare provider, childminder, personal carer, and family assistant occupations. This new learning approach will be implemented within an apprenticeship training center hosted by the University of Home Care Services and may require rethinking the skills assessment method. Learn more.