“It’s just like somebody’s turned on a light”: an NVQ success story from the voluntary sector

This paper reports the findings of an original piece of case study research conducted in a voluntary sector organisation engaged in the provision of care in the community. The organisation caters for three client groups: the elderly; people with learning disabilities; and people suffering from mental ill health. The aim is to promote a good quality of life through personal dignity, individuality and self‐determination; and to provide a high standard of nursing care and social support within a homely environment. The organisation employs both professionally qualified nurses, i.e. Registered General and Registered Mental Nurses (RGNs and RMNs), and non‐professionally qualified staff, i.e. care/support workers, in order to achieve those aims. The circumstances leading to the decision to introduce the NVQ in Care is examined, as is the level of success with regard to how candidates, their assessors and their managers perceived enhancements in candidates’ work performance.