Gathering Evidence for Your Grade Assessment
When completing your Grade Assessment (GA) with MTCS, gathering the right evidence is a vital part of proving your competence. Each piece of evidence you provide helps demonstrate that you have the knowledge, skill, and experience required for the role you are working towards.
It’s important that your evidence is recent, relevant, and varied, showing a clear record of your professional capability. This article outlines what types of evidence you can include and the key rules you need to follow.
Why Evidence Matters
Throughout your offshore trips and workplace activities, there are many opportunities to collect evidence. Keeping it organised and up to date will make your assessment smoother and ensure your Assessor has all they need to confirm your competence.
If your evidence contains company-specific information, always confirm that it can be shared externally before including it in your portfolio.
Types of Evidence You Can Use
1. Observation
This is one of the strongest types of evidence. It involves someone—ideally your Assessor—watching you carry out a task in real time. A competent witness may also complete this if your Assessor is not available. Make sure these observations are properly recorded in your competence documentation, such as your Assessment Plan.
2. Questioning
Your Assessor or Witness may ask oral or written questions to check your understanding of the concepts behind the tasks you perform. This ensures that you not only know how to do something but also why it is done that way.
3. Work Product Evidence
This refers to something tangible you’ve produced, such as a report, or a task outcome like a completed repair. The repaired item itself can serve as your evidence of performance.
4. Written Evidence
Reports, log sheets, incident or investigation forms, and daily progress reports are all valuable written evidence. They help demonstrate both your work and your collaboration with your Assessor on trips. Written evidence may be scanned and uploaded as part of your digital portfolio. Your Assessor might also ask you to write a short report about a task you’ve completed.
5. Photographs and Videos
Visual records make excellent supporting evidence and are easy to upload. For ROV Pilots, voice-over recordings from co-piloting sessions are also accepted.
6. Simulation
Simulation is recognised by IMCA within offshore operations. A Class A simulation is the most realistic and allows you to log up to 40 hours of ROV piloting. Class B simulations allow 20 hours. Examples include ROV systems, DP/bridge operations, dive control panels, and crane exercises. Drills and onboard exercises also qualify as simulations.
7. Training
While training certificates alone do not confirm competence, if your training includes an assessed element, it can contribute to your evidence portfolio. Certificates showing successful assessment can therefore support your submission.
The Rules of Evidence
To ensure your evidence meets assessment standards, it must satisfy these three rules:
Rule 1: Recent Completion
Evidence older than 12 months may still be valid for your first assessments, but your later activities—especially your third—should be more recent.
Rule 2: Authenticity
Evidence must be your own work and signed by both you and your Assessor or Witness to confirm validity.
Rule 3: Range
Your evidence should show a range of activities and situations. As a general guide, one trip may represent one activity. Range can also mean exposure to different ROV tools or various types of dive operations such as inspection, construction, or cable burial.
Additional Guidance
More detail about evidence requirements is available in the ‘Introduction to Competence Course’ on MTCS Online. This course helps candidates and assessors understand the standards expected at each stage of the competence journey.
If you have any questions or need further support, contact the MTCS team at enquiries@mtcs.info or visit our Support Centre.
Ready to progress your competence journey? Explore the Grade Assessment route at mtcsuk.com/mtcs-online.
