Steven Mace
01-18-2002, 10:12 PM
Deer Stalking Certification changes
By Wesley Stanton
18/01/2002
The Deer Stalking Certificate (DSC) standards have been reworked to meet the Government’s new National Occupational Standards for National Vocational Qualifications (NVQs). The new standards will be in place from mid-June 2002 – although the new DSC requirements will be in force as of 1 April 2002.
Largely, the DSC came about for Health and Safety reasons – landowners did not want to risk having an “incompetent” person controlling deer on their property. Without an industry-recognised standard, there was always the fear that the stalker on the land might not be up to the job. So, with support from a wide-ranging group including shooting, countryside, landowner, woodland and deer organisations, the Deer Stalking Certificate was brought in.
Since its introduction four years ago, some 4,000 people have completed the DSC Level 1, and 2,000 have registered for Level 2. Level 1 examines the underpinning knowledge about deer stalking, and includes a practical safety and marksmanship test. Level 2 is a practical assessment of a stalker’s competence to cull and prepare deer ready to go to the game dealer; a stalker needs to deal with three deer properly before the DSC Level 2 is achieved.
As the Government’s National Occupational Standards are changing, there need to be changes in qualifications that draw on them to keep up-to-date and relevant - hence the changes in the DSC.
The so-called “Grandfathers’ rights” go – just because you’ve been stalking deer since the Boer War doesn’t mean that this counts as accredited prior learning. As of 1 April, everyone must demonstrate they meet the required standards, whether they’ve been stalking 50 years or a few months. However, anyone who has already acquired a DSC need not “resit”. Although this system isn’t perfect – there might still be people with a DSC whose prior learning might not be up to much – it’s certainly an improvement on what’s gone before.
The qualifications are awarded by an independent organisation – Deer Management Qualifications – which adheres to standards recognised by the Government. The standards are drawn from the Gamekeeping NVQ, but the DSC is for people who don’t need or want to do the wider range of activities necessary for the ‘keepers qualification.
http://www.leadshot.com/story.asp?id=430
Steve Mace
By Wesley Stanton
18/01/2002
The Deer Stalking Certificate (DSC) standards have been reworked to meet the Government’s new National Occupational Standards for National Vocational Qualifications (NVQs). The new standards will be in place from mid-June 2002 – although the new DSC requirements will be in force as of 1 April 2002.
Largely, the DSC came about for Health and Safety reasons – landowners did not want to risk having an “incompetent” person controlling deer on their property. Without an industry-recognised standard, there was always the fear that the stalker on the land might not be up to the job. So, with support from a wide-ranging group including shooting, countryside, landowner, woodland and deer organisations, the Deer Stalking Certificate was brought in.
Since its introduction four years ago, some 4,000 people have completed the DSC Level 1, and 2,000 have registered for Level 2. Level 1 examines the underpinning knowledge about deer stalking, and includes a practical safety and marksmanship test. Level 2 is a practical assessment of a stalker’s competence to cull and prepare deer ready to go to the game dealer; a stalker needs to deal with three deer properly before the DSC Level 2 is achieved.
As the Government’s National Occupational Standards are changing, there need to be changes in qualifications that draw on them to keep up-to-date and relevant - hence the changes in the DSC.
The so-called “Grandfathers’ rights” go – just because you’ve been stalking deer since the Boer War doesn’t mean that this counts as accredited prior learning. As of 1 April, everyone must demonstrate they meet the required standards, whether they’ve been stalking 50 years or a few months. However, anyone who has already acquired a DSC need not “resit”. Although this system isn’t perfect – there might still be people with a DSC whose prior learning might not be up to much – it’s certainly an improvement on what’s gone before.
The qualifications are awarded by an independent organisation – Deer Management Qualifications – which adheres to standards recognised by the Government. The standards are drawn from the Gamekeeping NVQ, but the DSC is for people who don’t need or want to do the wider range of activities necessary for the ‘keepers qualification.
http://www.leadshot.com/story.asp?id=430
Steve Mace