Setting up these NVQ's has been a rather harrowing experience. The idea was to bring together experienced practitioners from within industry who knew the craft together with senior representatives of the major Furniture Making Colleges. The first step was to teach us all a new language that was "NVQ speak". Our "NVQ speak" translator was a wonderful woman from Pointing Associates called Glenys Jackson. The polishing trade was represented most ably by Eric Lyons from Manchester College. Eric was one of those guys you don't meet very often. A man in his 50's who knew his trade inside out. He was partnered by John Anderson a very able young polisher who is a polishing shop technician at Bucks College. These two guys made a formidable partnership, who, together quietly drove Glenys right up the wall demanding that every aspect of their craft be covered within the qualification. This was exactly what we were there for and it was very encouraging to see that the system allowed and encouraged such varied and various techniques to be covered. "The Cabbies" were led by David Simpson from Gostins a training workshop in Liverpool. David is, I think, 3rd generation cabinetmaker of the Old School and besides running a training workshop that helps many unemployable young lads in Liverpool to learn a trade, has been responsible for making more high—quality reproduction furniture than you can shake a stick at. Ian Coleman from the training workshops at Stagg and Merrydew and Alan Smith who runs the training workshops at Jaycee Ltd. represented the larger industrial Companies. Roger Pearce and Doug Pagington represented Bucks College and Ryecote Wood respectively.

Roger was a wonderful help to the group for he has an analytical mind, which is very useful in this kind of situation, he also has a good grasp of the NVQ system, having worked with it for some time now. There were many times when we needed a particular turn of phrase to describe precisely a workshop activity and Roger would pause for a moment then calmly provide us with exactly the words that we required. One memorable moment came when the polishers were set to tear Glenys limb for limb, it was Roger that stepped in with a calm and soothing explanation that totally defused the situation. Smaller workshops were represented by Peter Tree, a chair maker from Grantham, and myself. A rather bemused and at times vary sceptical furniture maker from Devon.

It's a numbing experience to have the life's work of seven experienced individuals reduced to about 15 sides of A4 paper. To place the collective bones of our knowledge down in a form which would be applicable across our industry that would work in the workshops of a kitchen manufacturer and in the workshops of a bespoke furniture maker. Time and again we were told we were not writing a training course we were describing activities and processes we would expect a skilled person to undertake. All our knowledge all our collective wisdom had to be fitted into a national matrix of vocational qualifications. This was both frustrating and very demanding but once done, we were able to see the sense and logic. Throughout the process Glenys was nothing short of magnificent she drew from us the key aspects of our craft and fitted them into what was to us a wholly incomprehensible national system. Anyway, we were in her hands because, like any guide in a foreign country, she had the power to mislead and deceive. I think, by and large, we got everything that was necessary down into the draft standards.

There remains many problems to solve, but I know that one problem in particular remains to be resolved and that is the issue of quality. With a system like this that has to be infinitely flexible to accommodate the needs and requirements of different workshops throughout the country then the issued of quality becomes a real problem. For one mans beautifully fitted door is another mans load of rubbish. This, Glenys has assured me, and I can only take here word for it, will be addressed by the work still to be done by City in Guilds in writing the assessment material for the draft standards that we have to date produced. The assessment material is in its simplest form, a list of standard questions that every assessor throughout the country will be asking of every candidate taking NVQ's. This will give a national standard that will overcome the variations within our industry. How high this standard is and whether quality is maintained within our craft is still an open issued. That this essential assessment material will even be produced is open to question for apparently City in Guild have a huge backlog of work and precious little Government funding to do the job in hand and yet it is planned in the autumn of this year to be launching on the unsuspecting public, NVQ's in Handcrafted Furniture at 3 levels of competence. The possibility is that this qualification could be a complete dogs breakfast. But if the work that remains to be done is indeed done, before the launch date then the chance is that we will have a useful qualification that can be improved upon and used into the 21st century. For those old lags out there who don't have much in the way of qualifications but do have considerable experience within the craft, it will be possible for you to gain an NVQ by a process called "accreditation of prior learning". Quite simply this will mean putting together a portfolio of pieces of work that you have done, drawings that you have worked from or ideally, pieces of furniture that you have made recently to convince the assessor that sometime in the past you have acquired the knowledge relevant to pass the qualification. So start building up that portfolio now! Old letters from clients, old drawings you have worked on with tea cup rings all over them, dog—eared photographs of that nasty cabinet you made for old whatsisname, all these can go into a portfolio to give credence to your prior learning and gain you a modern qualification.

For further details on NVQ's in Handcrafted Furniture contact the British Furniture Manufacturers Association, 30 Harcourt Street, London, W 1

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