Skip to content
beginner ⏱️ 8 min read

Getting Started as an Assessor

Set up your assessor account and learn to work your assessment queue, review Portfolios of Evidence, and record competency decisions in skillSYMS.

For: Assessors

Summary

As an assessor you evaluate learner evidence against the assessment criteria and record competency decisions. This guide orients you in the assessor portal and the day-to-day assessment workflow.

Who This Guide Is For

  • Registered assessors evaluating QCTO programme evidence
  • Trade-test and EISA assessors recording outcomes in skillSYMS

Prerequisites

  • An assessor account (your SDP administrator invites you and assigns the assessor role)
  • Your assessor registration / scope on file with the provider

Step 1: Sign In and Open Your Queue

Sign in at /login and open the Assessor dashboard (/assessor). Your Queue lists the assessments waiting for you.

Step 2: Review a Portfolio of Evidence

  1. Open an item from your Queue.
  2. Review the submitted evidence against each assessment criterion.
  3. Check that every required outcome has sufficient, authentic, current evidence.

Step 3: Record the Competency Decision

For each criterion/outcome, record the decision (for example Competent / Not Yet Competent) and add feedback the learner can act on.

Tip: Specific feedback (“resubmit logbook page 3 with the supervisor signature”) leads to faster, cleaner resubmissions than generic comments.

Step 4: Submit Results

Once you’ve completed an assessment, submit your results. The decision flows through to the learner’s record and becomes available for moderation.

Step 5: Manage Your Schedule and History

  • Schedule — upcoming assessment events and sessions.
  • Results / History — assessments you’ve completed, for your own record and audits.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

  1. Skipping criteria — every required criterion needs an explicit decision.
  2. Vague feedback — learners can’t fix what they can’t understand.
  3. Mixing assessor and moderator roles on one account — keep them separate for audit integrity.

Verification Checklist

  • You can see your assessment queue
  • You have reviewed a PoE and recorded a decision with feedback
  • You have submitted at least one completed assessment

Next Steps