The Chartered Institute of Educational Assessors (CIEA) is separating from the University of Hertfordshire. For most of the sector, this will pass as administrative news. It shouldn’t. It reopens a question that further education has ducked for too long: who speaks for the people who carry out vocational assessment? Tens of thousands of assessors and internal quality assurers work across the Regulated Qualifications Framework. They judge competence, uphold standards, and decide whether a gas engineer, a care worker or a team-leader apprentice has genuinely met the bar. They are the last line before a certificate goes out. Yet unlike almost every profession they serve, they have no professional body of their own. Teachers have the Chartered College of Teaching. HR professionals have the CIPD (The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development). Accountants, surveyors and engineers each answer to an institution that defines their standard, protects their status and gives their expertise a name that means something. Assessors have nothing equivalent. They earn their CAVA (Certificate in Assessing Vocational Achievement) or IQA (Internal Quality Assurance) qualification, then work in professional isolation, their development shaped by whichever awarding organisation or employer happens to require it that year. Become a member for unlimited access to FE Week Our members enjoy early access to exclusive content and in-depth articles before anyone else. Get expert journalism on FE and skills, experience fewer ads, and unlock a growing range of member benefits. subscribe If you have an account, please login. Sign in