Information, Advice or Guidance (IAG) - Level 2 Certificate - Online Courses - Adult Learning

Are you interested in showcasing how you help others and develop new career possibilities?

This is a practical opportunity to gain a Level 2 Certificate qualification in Information, Advice or Guidance. The course is appropriate for anyone working in and offering general information, advice, or guidance. This could be paid or voluntary work. You might be involved in providing advice and guidance directly to clients, reporting to line management as well as associated services.

You may have already completed Level 1 in Information, Advice or Guidance, or have completed another qualification at Level 2 in a relevant occupational sector and want to develop your knowledge and skills further. You may deliver information, advice, or guidance at Level 2 standard and want professional recognition for the work that you do or are Personal Advisors in the Welfare to Work sector who may need to develop their skills in providing personalised support.

Entry requirements for this qualification require all learners to demonstrate that they have evidence of working in a guidance setting and can demonstrate clear Information, advice or guidance processes and procedures in their daily role. This will be essential, when you refer to working examples, within the written case study required, as well as the professional discussion to cover relevant criteria within the qualification.

The active workload will also be useful to draw examples from when completing the range of knowledge questions also required for this qualification.

To complete the Level 2 NVQ Certificate in Advice and Guidance, all learners must achieve 15 credits in total:

1. 6 credits from the 2 mandatory units which are: (1) Developing interactions Skills for for Information, Advice or Guidance and (2) Information and Advice or Guidance in Practice.

2. 9 credits from 5 optional units available. These are: (3) Managing Information, (4) Operating within Networks to support Information, Advice or Guidance. (5) Signposting and Referral in Information, Advice or Guidance practice.

   There will be pre-work allocated prior to the course starting to enable self-assessment of current skills and knowledge as well as a Reflective Journal (RJ). Expectations of regular submissions are highlighted at the start of the course, to ensure that the completion timescales are met, and motivation is maintained. Tutorial attendance is also expected to maximise opportunities for support and guidance.

   Once you have gained this qualification, it allows you to consider progression onto Level 3 certificate in Information, Advice or Guidance, or related courses such as Coaching and Mentoring, Counselling skills, community development and working within voluntary organisations.

   The demands and nature of the qualification and the assessment requirements are such that learners need to have literacy skills which are at least at Level 2 of the National Standards in Adult Literacy. To meet this requirement, learners may achieve Functional Skills at Level 2 in English which aligns with the Level 2 Adult Literacy Standards. English is essential for you to have confidence when writing the case studies and additional documentational knowledge evidence. It also supports effective and clear communication with your clients, when offering information, advice, or guidance.

   IT skills would also be beneficial and for you to be familiar with word processing. This is essential to help you complete the case study, knowledge requirements and additional evidence, as well as using Microsoft Teams for online sessions. You will complete the course via Microsoft Teams. The links and passwords will be shared with you once the entry requirements have been checked and enrolment has been completed.

   You need to bring paper, pens, highlighters, and any support materials to help you complete the written/ typed work each week. A laptop is also essential to gain maximum benefit from the online sessions and completing work on Word documents.

   Suggested Reading for the course: they are identified for reference only.

3. PARRSLOE, E/ LEEDHAM, M. (2009) 2nd Edition Coaching and Mentoring, MPG Books Ltd.

4. ROWSON, P. (2005) Communicating with confidence, RPM Reprographics Ltd.

5. SHERRIGNTON, T. (2022) TEACHING WALKTHRUs, John Catt Educational Ltd.

6. TURNBULL, J. (2009) Coaching for Learning, Continuum.

7. WHITMORE, J. (2017) 5th Edition. Coaching for Performance, CPI Group (UK) ltd.

Resources required:

Paper, pens, highlighters, and any support materials to help you complete the written/ typed work each week.

A laptop is also essential to gain maximum benefit from the online sessions and completing work on Word documents.

Funding and Fees

If you receive certain benefits, you may be able to take the course for free.
If money is stopping you from enrolling, please visit our funding page to see what help is available.

Living in England

To book and join one of our courses, you must live in England permanently and either:

• Live inside the East Midlands Combined County Authority (EMCCA) area (Nottinghamshire or Derbyshire)

or

• Live outside the devolved areas listed below

You cannot enrol if you live in these devolved areas:

• Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA)

• Liverpool City Region Combined Authority

• North East Combined Authority

• South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority

• Tees Valley Combined Authority

• West Midlands Combined Authority

• West of England Combined Authority

• West Yorkshire Combined Authority

• Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Combined Authority

• York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority

• Hull and East Yorkshire

• Greater Lincolnshire

• Devon and Torbay Combined County Authority

• Cornwall Council

• Lancashire Combined County Authority

• Buckinghamshire Council

Residency Requirements (Additional Information)

If you live in the UK on a visa, we’ll need evidence of your visa to confirm funding. You can upload this when applying, and you’ll need to complete a short questionnaire.

Some exceptions include:

• Your visa must last until after your course ends.

• Asylum seekers must have lived in the UK for at least 6 months while their claim is being processed.

• You are supported by your local authority under Section 23C or 23CA of the Children Act 1989, or under the Care Act 2014.

Anyone who does not meet the funding criteria would need to pay full course fees.