Review of Adult Vocational Qualifications in England
This report analyses the current system for vocational qualifications in England, to identify areas that require improvement and to make recommendations for reform, building on and celebrating what works. Reporting from a review led by Nigel Whitehead, it argues that for individuals and employers to have the skills for success, vocational qualifications should be: relevant vocational qualifications valued by employers and individuals; rigorously designed based on high level outcome based standards, appropriately assessed and graded; and recognised as worthy of investment.
Review of Adult Vocational Qualifications in England (PDF, 1.7 Mb)
Published Nov 2013
In spring 2013, Skills and Enterprise Minister, Matthew Hancock asked Nigel Whitehead, BAE Systems Group Managing Director and Commissioner for the UK Commission, to review adult vocational qualifications in England. The review involved analysing the current system for vocational qualifications in England, to identify areas that require improvement and to make recommendations for reform, building on and celebrating what works.
The culmination of this work is a report, which asks: what needs to be done to ensure that adult vocational qualifications are valued as worthwhile investments, enabling individuals to progress in their careers and employers to grow their businesses and improve their competitiveness? It responds to this aspiration by presenting a vision in which adult vocational qualifications are:
- relevant to individuals and employers, and affordable for all sizes of business (including micro-businesses) and for individuals;
- rigorous and based on a robust future-looking occupational standard, designed and assessed by the sector;
- recognised as worthy of investment, giving a clear signal of the valuable skills, knowledge and understanding required in an occupation now and into the future
The report then reviews the current system and analyses the barriers to achieving the vision. It finally recommends seven practical steps that will need to be taken to achieve the vision:
- Better employer involvement with awarding organisations and providers
- Focus on outcomes for more flexibility
- New design principles for qualifications
- Mandatory reporting on progression
- Joined-up qualifications databases
- Incentivised use of technology
- Better employer input through industrial partnerships
