After a break, we are back with a new VGN Spotlight, the latest in our series where we interview some of the amazing people we work with in our VICTVS Global Network.

With thousands of members across the world, our network is filled with inspiring individuals making a difference every day, and we hope highlighting their incredible stories and achievements will inspire you.

In this interview, we hear more from VGN member Marcelo about his work both at VICTVS and as a firefighter in Brazil.

What made you want to work with us at VICTVS? 

 I was working as an invigilator before I started working for VICTVS. I was working for an awarding organisation in my city because there is an assessment centre there, but after some time they informed me that they were outsourcing the invigilator service and were not going to continue with their invigilators, so I started looking and found a similar job position in my city with VICTVS. I was impressed that the company was founded on specific values and it was expanding globally, so I was very excited to apply. Then I got the job and started working with VICTVS in 2017. 

Having worked with us now for almost ten years, what are some of the biggest changes that you have seen in exams over this time? 

Changing from paper-based exams to online exams, I think it changed almost everything! When I started working with VICTVS, we were using paper to conduct the exams. We then evolved to online sessions using computer-based exams in-centre. In 2021, it turned into remote exams, so we could use the computer in any place in the world to deliver the exams.  

For me as an invigilator, it was a big change that happened in delivering assessments. It changed the technology used a lot, but I think it improved the process so much. Because originally, we would receive a package of papers to the address 48 hours before the date of the exam, and when the candidates finished the exam, the papers would then need to be marked and the results given to the candidates. I think with the online and remote sessions, it improved the process and now we don’t lose as much time as before. 

With that switch over to doing mostly digital exams, have you seen cheating methods change?  

Yes, the cheating methods depend on the technology that you are using to deliver the exams. When I was conducting paper exams, I think the most common type of cheating was the candidate trying to look over at the next candidate’s exam paper or ask them something, and I also saw a candidate trying to get a note from his pocket. I saw this type of cheating. Remote exams are very different. For example, recently I could see a candidate in a remote exam talking to another person inside of their room, a hidden person that I couldn’t see but I could hear, so I reported it to VICTVS.  

With remote exams, some candidates try to use the other software in a computer to give information to another person outside of the room, but VICTVS use multimode monitoring and locked down exam browsers so it’s very, very difficult for the candidates to cheat. I think nowadays, security is very high with remote exams. 

Could you please tell me more about your work as a firefighter? What made you want to go into that role?

In 2019, I started my work as a firefighter. I wanted to do work that could positively impact society, and I think being a firefighter is very good for that as I can help other people. I was inspired by my father. He is no longer alive, but he was a doctor and he loved to help other people. I was inspired by him. I think it is very good to have it in my routine as it’s wonderful to help other people.  

What does your day-to-day work look like as a firefighter, because it can’t just be putting out of fires all the time, right?! 

We attend emergency situations in the city, like fire in buildings and in houses, but we also help with other situations like vehicle collisions and people trapped in difficult to access places. We carry out high altitude rescues and animal rescues too — a dog in a difficult situation, or a cat in a tree! Disasters too, like a building collapsing. I also attend first AID situations, such as a person choking on a piece of food. People will come to our headquarters and we have to help them. There are simple situations that we deal with as well as more complex situations.  

It sounds like a nice variety of work that you do. Do you think there’s any similarities between your work as a firefighter and working for us here at VICTVS?   

Yes, I think the similarity between the VICTVS role and the firefighter role… I think both roles share a strong ethical sense of noble values, and we as firefighters have these noble values, like courage. A firefighter has to have a lot of courage to help people, and working with VICTVS, sometimes we have hard situations too! For example, when we’re invigilating, if we verify that someone is cheating, we must alert this person and report them, so we need to have courage to go ahead with that.

What do you think has been your biggest challenge as an invigilator working with VICTVS? 

A big challenge I think was, there was a situation that I informed VICTVS about where I was suspicious of cheating. When there’s a more complex situation, you should take action and sometimes you have to be quick and inform the candidate that he shouldn’t be cheating or looking for other software on his laptop, for example. In this situation, I had to go to VICTVS support and inform them of what was happening.  

We have to be quick acting in these moments. I think it can be a difficult situation in our services as invigilators when something seems to be out of our control, and we should act to stop cheating. If we don’t do that in time, we are going to make a mistake, so you have to be quick and act correctly in that moment.  

What do you think is your biggest challenge in your work as a firefighter?  

As a firefighter, I want to go to the situation and save the life of the person. When I arrive there and the person is no longer alive, it impacts our psychological and mental health. It’s not so good for us. So, I think the most challenging situation is when the person is not alive, and after that we have to continue on with our life.  

Do you have a good team of people around you that can support with that? 

Yes, I have a very good team. I’m happy with our team and we help each other, even in more complex situations. I think it’s a wonderful position and I’m very happy with the other firefighters too. And, because my schedule there is 48 hours a week, I can simultaneously work with VICTVS too. 

You obviously do a lot of very moral work and that must be quite emotionally draining at times. Is there anything that you like to do to relax or have fun? 

Yes, I like to travel when I have the time! I travel to other cities and to the beach. I like to know different places, and it’s good for me to sit in a car and go on the highway. I can forget life for a moment!   

What do you think is your favourite part of working for us at VICTVS?

There are so many parts of working at VICTVS that I love, but I think the way the company treats their collaborators is very good. I see VICTVS as a family because I know a lot of people there. Even when I am in a situation where I should improve, VICTVS make me feel comfortable and I am able to learn from it. 

What is your favourite part of being a firefighter?  

The best part is the opportunity to be in a situation where I can help other people, because we have been trained for it and we have the correct equipment to save the life of a person. For example, if a person is stuck in a vehicle after a collision, only the equipment that the firefighters have can cut the iron and the metal off the car and take the person out from the situation. So, in general, I think we have the opportunity to save a person’s life — when other people could only run from a fire or an emergency, we can arrive and help them.