Next year will see the cessation of The Worshipful Company of Spectacle Makers’ (WCSM) long-standing accredited qualifications for optical technicians and assistants.
Level 4 Diploma courses for optical technicians and optical assistants, leading to the SMC technician and SMC optical assistant awards, will continue to be available from Association of British Dispensing Opticians (ABDO) College, but it was expected that ABDO would, in time, take on the role of awarding body for the qualifications.
The London Livery company, founded by Royal Charter in 1629, said its WCSM exams at Level 2 and 3 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and at SCQF Levels 5 and 7 in Scotland will have their last main sittings in June and December 2019.
Current candidates expecting to sit exams this year will not be affected and three resit opportunities will be offered, ending on March 31, 2021.
Commenting on the changes, WCSM’s master, John McGregor OBE, said: ‘The world has changed and it is right that we should move with it. Our qualifications were an important step in gaining recognition for the vital part played by optical assistants and technicians in high street practices. Those who have passed a WCSM qualification are rightly proud of what they have achieved.
‘We will now be able to do more to encourage training at all levels and increase our focus on supporting new entrants to the optical professions, for example via our highly successful bursary schemes, the dissemination of scientific advance in vision care through our travel awards and the recognition of excellence in research via our medal programmes.’
ABDO president Clive Marchant said: ‘For several years we have worked closely with the WCSM in the delivery of optical assistant courses. The arrangement we have mutually arrived at with the WCSM will enable ABDO College to further develop optical assistant courses to ensure they are fit for modern practice and develop a career ladder for optical assistants leading to FBDO dispensing optician qualification and beyond.’
Meanwhile, ABDO College will also offer a new introductory course for optical assistants from September this year. It is designed for all support staff working in optics and will provide enrolees with ‘the foundation of knowledge needed in order to support both professional staff and customers in their practice’, said ABDO.
The course is over a 25-week period, will involve no examinations, instead favouring a continuous assessment method, will cost £795 and has been developed in response to student and employer feedback.
‘The course combines practical tasks to develop practice-based skills with online modules and workshops, the perfect way to combine study with a full-time job,’ said ABDO. ‘The course is open to all and will run every September and January.’
ABDO College head of operations Stephen Hertz, said: ‘We are delighted to see this new course with its emphasis on in practice tasks and practical workshops. It will provide a firm foundation for people to progress to the level 4 OA and OT courses and the ophthalmic dispensing courses.’
‘We know that examinations can deter students from returning to study which is why this new course is evaluated by continuous assessment,’ said ABDO optical support coordinator Rian Love. ‘There are no examinations and no examination fees, but the robust continuous assessment and workshops ensure that every student who completes the course is a high calibre asset to any optical practice.’
The changes will see the WCSM step back from providing qualifications, allowing it to focus more on its original purpose of supporting the prevention and treatment of vision impairment. ‘WCSM was not originally established as an educational institution but as a body to support the cause of better vision much more widely […] the time has now come for others to take on the important task of equipping assistants and technicians for what lies ahead,’ added WCSM’s McGregor.