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Vocational qualifications RAISING THE BAR


As the demand for high skilled technical employees increases in the UK, we take a look at the growing popularity of vocational qualifications and how government initiatives are raising their profile.


O


ver the past few years, the number of vocational qualifications available in the UK has increased dramatically. The UK’s Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS), has witnessed annual increases of over 4,000 students entering higher education and holding a BTEC qualification in recent years.


The increases have largely been driven by businesses’ concerns about a lack of skills in the workplace and this increased demand has put vocational qualifications firmly in the spotlight.


FILLING THE SKILLS GAP For a number of years, employers and the government have believed in the potential of vocational qualifications to fill the skills gap but the programme has been repeatedly dogged by criticisms surrounding quality.


A review of technical education, which was commissioned by the British Government in 2016, said that vocational qualifications needed “a decisive move away from the current technical education system which is failing to develop the skills our industry needs.” The report, by a panel chaired by Lord Sainsbury, went on to highlight the importance of government investment in high-quality technical education, counselling that it “will pay handsome dividends in the form of increased national prosperity and improved social mobility.” In the 2017 Budget, UK chancellor of the exchequer, Phillip Hammond, renewed the government’s commitment


to developing vocational qualifications as he promised £500m per year funding for technical qualifications in a drive to make vocational qualifications equal to A levels. This drive is part of the government’s focus on closing the


productivity gap between the UK and other OECD countries as the UK currently languishes in 16th place (out of 20 OECD countries) for technical education. Said Lord Sainsbury, “Our international competitors recognised long ago that investing in technical education is essential to enhancing national productivity. But it is also essential if we are to equip people with the knowledge and skills they need to obtain rewarding and skilled employment in the future.”


WHAT DO THE REFORMS INVOLVE? Aside from the numbers – the government is striving to create three million new apprentices by 2020 – the major overhaul involves distilling the current 20,000 courses provided by 160 organisations down to just 15 technical pathways for post-16 education. Within the new technical route, there will be two options: either a two-year, college-based programme with compulsory work experience or an employment-based programme such as an apprenticeship.


The amount of training will be increased by more than half to over 900 hours a year and will include high quality work placements.


Following this, students will go on to either level four or five higher technical education programmes, degree apprenticeships or higher apprenticeships. In some cases there may also be possibilities for students to bridge the gap into an undergraduate degree.


All of the college-based programmes will include a core of English, maths and digital skills. Students will first be able to access the new programmes from September 2019.


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