Purpose Statement:
AIM Awards Level 3 Diploma in Skills for Curtain Making and Soft Furnishing (QCF)
Qualification Number: 600/3506/7
Overview
This qualification has been designed to support you, the learner, to prepare to enter employment, or self employment, as a producer of curtains and soft furnishings. It will provide you with a broad base of design, business and practical skills required to succeed in the sector.
This qualification may be of particular interest to you if you are a learner who:
· Has developed entry level skills in curtain making and soft furnishings at Level 2 and would now like to demonstrate you have the skills required to enter employment in the sector
· Is seeking to set up self-employment in the creative sector
· Makes curtains and soft furnishings regularly at home as a hobby and would like to get formal recognition of these skills
The content has been put together in consultation with a range of stakeholders including sector bodies, professionals from the sector and education specialists.
This qualification is not included as part of any apprenticeship framework.
What does the content of the qualification cover?
This is a practical skills focused QCF qualification that equips you with all the necessary skills and confidence to go on to produce high quality hand sewn window treatments and soft furnishings. The qualification enables you to develop new skills and enhance existing ones by learning professional and business techniques which reflect current practice. It also covers setting up a business in this area as self-employment is common in this area of work.
No units are optional. You will need to complete all of the following mandatory units which focus on relevant skills and knowledge:
· Constructing a Roman Blind
· Constructing Hand Sewn Buckram Headers
· Constructing Padded Pelmets
· Constructing Piped Crescent Tiebacks and Cushions
· Constructing Swags and Tails
· Estimation for Soft Furnishings
· Fabric Selection and Colour Theory
· Lined and Interlined Curtain Construction
· Setting up a Soft Furnishings Business
· Window Treatments: Mitres, Hand Stitching Techniques and Pattern Matching
100% of the content in this qualification is vocational learning directly relevant to curtain making and soft furnishings.
You will be required to produce a portfolio of evidence to show that you have met all of the assessment criteria of each of the units. Once you have completed the qualification you will also be able to use this portfolio as evidence of your skills and knowledge to meet the admissions requirements of higher level courses.
How will this help you progress into work?
Once you have completed this qualification you will have the technical and design skills to produce high quality curtains and soft furnishings and a portfolio of work to evidence this from your work in units such as ‘Constructing a Roman Blind’, ‘Fabric Selection and Colour Theory’ and ‘Lined and Interlined Curtain Construction’ You will be able to show this to prospective employers to help you secure work.
You will have also developed business skills in units like ‘Estimation for Soft Furnishings’ and ‘Setting Up a Soft Furnishings Business’. As self-employment is common in this sector you may choose to use this to establish your own company instead.
Is any prior learning or experience needed to take this qualification?
As this is a Level 3 qualification you will need to have achieved a Level 2 qualification Skills in Curtain Making and Soft Furnishings, (or equivalent), or be able to demonstrate an equivalent level of skill. The qualification is available to learners aged 16 or above.
How does this qualification relate to other similar AIM Awards qualifications?
This qualification is part of a suite that ranges from Level 2 through to Level 3. The level shows how difficult a qualification is, the higher the level the more challenging the content will be. You should work with an education professional to determine the qualification level which is appropriate for you, though we have provided the table below to show the difference across the levels. The level of this qualification is Level 3.
Level 2 / You have an interest of curtain making and soft furnishings, but not real experience of skills in this area. You are able to take responsibility for the completion of learning tasks and use tools and problem solving skills to solve most tasks you are presented with. If you are also studying towards GCSEs, you may mostly be working towards A*-C grades.Level 3 / You have some experience in curtain making and soft furnishing, either through previously completing the Level 2 qualifications, or as a hobby outside of a formal learning environment. You can self-manage your learning and generate solutions to specific problems in your field of study. You may sometimes supervise the routine work of others. You may also being studying towards A-Levels.
At each level there are a number of different sizes of qualification available. The size of qualification indicates the breadth of learning covered at a particular level. Starting with the smallest first, the sizes available are: Award, Certificate, and Diploma. The qualifications are all nested which means that you would not need to repeat learning if you progressed from a smaller qualification size to a larger one. Again, you should work with an education professional to determine the size of qualification level which is appropriate for you, though we have provided the table below to show the difference across the sizes. The qualification covered by this purpose statement is a Diploma.
Award / Suitable if you like to undertake a short course before committing to a more extended programme of formalised learningCertificate / Suitable if you would like to undertake a qualification of reasonable length to develop a cross-section of skills required for employment and/or setting up a business in curtain making and soft furnishings
Diploma / Suitable if you need an extended or full time course in order to develop a broad range of skills required for employment and/or setting up a business in curtain making and soft furnishings
What could this qualification lead to?
· The qualification supports progression into employment
This is the primary purpose of this qualification. The content of the qualification has been designed to prepare you for work within the sector. For example:
o Set up as self-employed making curtains and soft furnishings, as supported by the ‘Setting up a Soft Furnishing Business’ and the skills units
o Work for a manufacturer of curtains and blinds, supported by the skills you have developed in the ‘Lined and Interlined Curtain Construction’ and ‘Constructing Swags and Tails’ units as an example
· This qualification supports progression to further learning
This is not the primary purpose of this qualification. It can help you to progress to the next stage in your learning journey through enabling you to develop skills that will help you meet the entry requirements of courses at the next level, for example:
o Further learning to higher level qualifications at Foundation Degree in Interior Design or Curtain Making and Soft Furnishing, BA(Hons) and MA in Interior Design
Who supports this qualification?
This qualification is supported by the British Institute of Interior Design
Further information
The qualification specification contains detailed information about the qualification content and assessment approach.