Vocational Qualifications Reform Programme
Background
The governments in England, Wales Scotland and Northern Ireland share the belief that raising the level and utilisation of skills and achievement of formal qualifications will both make the UK economy more productive and competitive, and help every individual to fulfil their potential by being better able to participate in economic, social and civil life.
The Vocational Qualifications Reform Programme has been set up in response to the Leitch report, to create a system that responds to the needs of learners and employers
With
• Greater clarity
• More flexibility and choice
Which
• Encourages a more skilled and productive workforce
• Allows individuals to fulfil their potential
• Supports greater social justice and opportunity
Employers and learners across the UK want vocational qualifications (VQ’s) which meet employers’ needs and that are transferable between job and countries. They want VQs which can be undertaken in manageable chunks of learning with a readily understandable system in which it is easy to identify the right qualification.
How will these aims be met?
Unit-based qualifications:
A common and consistent system for current VQ’s where all VQs will be built up from units, each of which has a level and a credit value.
All learners will be able to complete qualifications at their own pace, achieving credit for successful completion of each unit.
New Framework
To enable the unit- and credit-based system to operate, a Qualifications and Credit Framework (QCF) is being developed to replace the current National Qualifications Framework for VQs.
This framework is designed to provide a progressive qualifications system that will recognise the widest possible range of quality assured achievements. It will be fully implemented by January 2011, and will be regulated by the Office of the Qualifications and Examinations Regulator (Ofqual). It will be populated with qualifications with defined levels and credit values. The qualifications will be achieved through completion of defined combinations of Units of Assessment, also with defined levels and credit values. Central funding will only be available for qualifications that are accepted into the framework and that clearly stem from employer needs. The QCF will provide a similar framework to the existing Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF) which will be retained in its current form.
To ensure the link to employer needs, the United Kingdom Commission for Employment and Skills (UKCES), has coordinated a programme through which a Qualifications Strategy with a related implementation Action Plan has been prepared for each sector of industry, including engineering construction. The key requirements of a Qualifications Strategy are that it must:
• Provide a strategic vision of the future qualifications landscape required by employers within a sector of the UK economy
• Define priorities for the development of new qualifications and National Occupational Standards
• Focus on each of the four home nations
• Be developed through substantial employer consultations
• Be supported by researched labour market information
• Meet UKCES defined quality standards
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You are invited to review the attached Units of Assessment for the new Qualification and Credit Framework. If you have any issues with the content of the Units of Assessment please use the electronic feedback form on the left of this page, fill out the form and submit via the e-mail button.