A revamp of vocational training will launch in 2011, with the January arrival of the UK Vocational Qualifications Reform programme.
Sarah Sillars, executive chair of the Institute of the Motor Industry, told the ICFM conference that only 20% of training is nationally recognised, with the rest coming from the likes of employer-based training, which isn’t accredited. She branded the current UK structure and funding for training as a “complete mess”, before explaining the changes are designed to “simplify the landscape for employers and learners”.
The new Qualifications and Credit Framework (QCF), which is part of the reform programme, will allow the grouping together of units from different qualifications to create a course that meets individual needs. “An employer can take different units from all different awarding bodies to create the qualification they want,” said Sillars. “The QCF will give employers and employees more freedom to choose, rather than doing a big qualification they only want a small part of.”
According to Sillars, the QCF helps tailor courses to industry needs and enables work-based training to be nationally recognised.
