Administration, Business & Finance
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Sustainable Use of Pesticides

Informations to Learners

In order for HCT Ltd. to process your certificate they will require information from you this will include your FULL NAME as per birth Certificate or Passport, your correct PPS Number and your Date of Birth as it is a QQI Requirement we will also require you highest level of education and or your relevant work experience in order to gain acceptance onto the programme.

HCT will also ask for your address details and telephone number so we can submit certification to you.

Please note furnishing HCT Ltd. with false, misleading or incomplete information relating to my booking may cause denial of your learner’s course.

Most of our programmes will run between 3 to 6 weeks, depending on the programme. The deadlines for assessments will be:
  • Level 3: Learners will have up to 1 week to complete their assessments and submit to our office.
  • Level 4:(Excluding Handling Food Hygienically QQI L4) will have up to 1 week to complete and submit their assessments to our office. Handling Food Hygienically QQI L4 will have up to 4 weeks to complete and submit their assessment to our office.
  • Level 5: Agriculture Mechanics, Boom Sprayer, Chainsaw Operations, Handheld Pesticide Application, Landscape Construction and Maintenance - Learners will have up to 1 week to complete their assessments and submit to our office.
  • Level 5: All other Assignment related work learners will have up to 4 weeks to submit their assessments to our office.
  • Level 6: Learners will have up to 6 weeks to complete their assessments and submit to our office.

The Information Provided when booking a programmes will be used to sent certificate out, Please make sure we have the correct address as there could be a cost associated with Certification Re-issue.
Please Note: if you are completing the booking form on behalf of other supervisors please communicate this information to use to avoid confusion.

As this programme has been delivered to Adults, HCT Ltd. do not make contact with learners or supervisors if assessments have not been received. It is the sole responsibility of learners to ensure assessments are received on time.

Submitting your assignment

A receipt must be placed in front of your assignment and retuned directly to your tutor or HCT Ltd. Assignments submitted after the agreed deadline will NOT be accepted by HCT Ltd. for correction, except where the learner has followed the HCT Ltd. policy on the Submission of Late Assignments. Assignments that are incomplete, falling apart or illegible will not be accepted for submission. Any additional paperwork handed up by participants must be signed, dated and numbered in the correct order. Participants must save and retain a copy of all submitted assignment work. Participants must post in assignments by registered post. Once HCT Ltd. have received the assessment in their head office they will process it and send an email to the person that has booked or paid for the programme confirming they have received it.
After certification, HCT Ltd. will keep all assignments for a period of 1 year. Participants may wish to request their assessments to be returned to them and HCT Ltd. are happy to oblige this request. Please note there is an administration and courier cost of €15 applied to this service. All assessments are securely destroyed 12 months after the certification date. In the case of plagiarism, assessments will not be returned to the participants.

Participant Declaration

Participants will also need to sign the following declaration:

"I declare that all of the work submitted for this assessment is my own and that no part of it has been copied from any source material unless referenced, including any group work undertaken. I also confirm that I have not given anyone my work to submit part or all of the assignment I understand that by doing this could also jeopardise my assessment as will be seen as taking part in plagiarism.
I understand that if any part of the assignment submitted for this assessment is found to be plagiarized, certification will be withheld until an investigation has been carried out."


Assessment Receipt

On arrive each assessment will independently be checked in by a HCT Ltd. staff member that works closely with the Internal Verifier, there job is to ensure that we have received the assessment in full, log the date or receipt (ensuring it is within the time given time frame) check that learners have complete the assignment receipt declaration and send an email to the person that has booked or paid for the programme confirming they have received it. At this point marking sheet will be printed and when the date line has past the Internal Verifier will be notified.

In case you have lost your Assignment Receipt, you can download it here.

Assessment Marking by Assessor

Once all assessment has been received the internal verifier will contact a subject matter expert who has experience in the field to assess all the assessment in that sector for the whole submitting. Each assessor will be provided with a marking scheme that has been well developed and elaborated on the exciting assessment criteria, this is to ensure fair and constant assessment of learner work. Each learner will have their own independent making sheet and assessors will be required to complete a report on each completed group they have marked.

Internal Verification

Each Centre must internally verify all the results and assignments. The internal verifier is nominated by the centre and is usually an employee of the centre. Their role is to ensure that all assignments are present and correct, marks are correctly added and that everything is in order for the visit of the External Authenticator.

External Authenticator

Each Centre must appoint an External Authenticator to visit the centre and validate their results. QQI have established a panel of External Authenticators from which the centre must choose a suitable EA. The EA will visit the centre and assess a sample of the awards the centre is offering. They can adjust marks of the learner. Their role is to ensure the national standard is being maintained by the centre.

Results Panel

The Centre must establish a results panel. This can consist of the centre manager and some subject experts and those familiar with QQI and its assessment processes. Their role is to review the internal verifier and external authenticator reports. Their final judgement stands.
Once the centre has gone through the 3 stages above, they can then submit their results to QQI for certification. All of the above is done in line with QQI key dates.

Results Letter Policy

HCT will send out a letter of results to individual learners and to CE Scheme Supervisors/ Learner Representatives of results that have been externally authenticated by an External Authenticator. For each module/component in which the required standard has been achieved, a candidate gains credits or a Minor Award. Modules/components at Levels 1, 2 and 3 are classified as Successful where a learner has achieved all the outcomes required. Modules/components at Levels 4, 5 and 6 are graded as follows:
  • Pass = 50% - 64%
  • Merit = 65% - 79%
  • Distinction = 80% - 100%


Reasonable Request of Accommodation

HCT Ltd. will facilitate learners who may need extra support/resources. Reasonable accommodation could include various aids during the programme for a variety of reasons, including literacy issues, disability, or extensions on your assessment etc.

Please Note: Extensions are only granted in exceptional circumstances and must be requested in advance and in writing. Valid excuses include bereavement, serious illness, an accident or other serious personal issues. Where possible these should be supported by documentary evidence. If you are experiencing problems you should inform HCT Ltd. as soon as possible.

Need to request Reasonable Accommodations for your programme?
You can download The Accommodation Request Form here.

Not Happy with your Result?

The HCT Ltd. Appeals Process enables learners appeal:
  • HCT Ltd. assessment process, if there have been irregularities or inequality in its implementation
  • The assessment result

Only approved results can be formally appealed by the learner. Consequently, the HCT Ltd. Appeals Process is enabled when:
  • All results have been approved through the results approval process
  • Learners have been issued with the approved results flagging the opportunity to appeal
  • A request for an appeal has been received within 14 days of the issue of approved/final results

A learner requests an appeal of results by completing the HCT Ltd. Appeals Request Form and paying the appropriate administration fee, which is refunded if the appeal is successful. When an appeal request is received, HCT Ltd. will review the assessment process for the specific learner concerned. This will include a review of the assessment result and a second marking of learner evidence where appropriate. The assessor who evaluates a learner appeal will not be the assessor who made the original assessment decision. It is noted that grades cannot drop as a consequence of an appeal.
The only evidence which may be presented by the learner at appeal is that which has already been presented for assessment. New evidence may not be added by the learner for the appeal.
HCT Ltd. is committed to notifying a learner of the outcome of an appeal within 5 working days.

You can download The Appeals Request Form here.

Outcome of an Appeal

  • If there is no change in grade then the learner is so informed and the opportunity to appeal through the QQI national appeals process is flagged. There is no need to contact QQI as there is no change of grade.
  • If there is a change in grade to other that a Distinction then the learner is so informed and the opportunity to appeal, if still not satisfied, through the QQI national appeals process is flagged. QQI will be informed of the change in grade and a request is made for an amended certificate.
  • If there is a change in grade a Distinction then the learner is informed of this outcome. QQI will be informed of the change in grade and a request is made for an amended certificate.

Results cannot be given out until external authentication has taken place. Learners then have two weeks to appeal these results.

© HCT Ltd. Progressive, Innovative & Interactive Training 2021