You will be pleased to know that you can still register candidates for the 2008/09 academic year. After the last certification dates Design and Craft will fall off the National Qualifications Framework (NQF) and no longer be eligible for funding. 

The table below lists final registration and certification dates. This information is also available on the National Database of Accredited Qualifications.

The future of Design and Craft
Once Design and Craft qualifications are no longer eligible for funding, they will continue to be offered as City & Guilds qualifications in their own right.  Centres who do not require funding may continue to offer these qualifications.  

Creative Techniques is a QCF fundable qualification. Creative Techniques will be accredited in readiness for the 2008/09 academic year. A handful of centres will offer the new qualification from September 2008, followed by a few more from January 2009. However we envisage most centres will offer Creative Techniques from the 09/10 academic year onward.  A series of informative workshops for centres will run from September 2008 - January 2009.
 
Key information
Available at levels 1, 2 and 3, Creative Techniques is a QCF qualification and therefore credit rated.

City & Guilds qualification numbers are as follows:
Level 1 Creative Techniques: 7111
Level 2 Creative Techniques: 7112
Level 3 Creative Techniques: 7113
Details of an enhanced level 3 qualification will follow in an upcoming update.

Types of qualifications
An Award, Certificate and Diploma may be achieved at all levels.

Guided learning hours (GLH)

• One unit is 30 GLH 
• An Award is a single unit of 30 GLH
• A Certificate is 4 units and 120 GLH
• A Diploma is 15 units and 450 GLH

Units

• The Certificate and the Diploma are achieved by accumulating a series of units from 4 groups; Design, Employability, Professional Practice and Pathways (the craft).
• The Design, Employability and Professional Practice groups are made up of mandatory units.
• The Design group consists of 2 units; 001 is the common design unit and 002 is a sampling unit which is contextualised to the Pathway.
• The Employability group consists of 4 units and covers areas such as ITC, creating promotional material, investigating the creative sector and producing a business plan and handbook. There are good opportunities to cover key skills in this group.
• The Professional Practice group is made up of one unit 007 which equips the learner with skills on negotiating with a client and developing a brief.

• The Pathway group consists of optional units, with content being extracted and updated from the current Design and Craft qualifications.
• Pathway units are grouped together in the following 7 Pathways - Fashion, Textiles, Interiors, 2D, 3D, Floral and Sugarcraft.
• Units available within the Fashion Pathway include fashion wear, lingerie, pattern cutting, tailoring, fashion corsetry, fashion illustration.
• Units available within the Textiles pathway include embroidery, machine embroidery, quilting, machine and hand knit textiles, feltmaking.
• Units available within the Interiors Pathway include soft furnishings, upholstery, interior décor, decorative effects.
• Units available within 2D include life drawing, drawing and painting, printmaking, mixed media, mark making and creative computing.
• Units available within 3D include jewellery, ceramics and Glasswork.
• Units available within Floral include floristry, flower arranging, balloon display and garden design.
• Units available in Sugarcraft include sugar decoration and sugar flowers.

Creative Techniques is not yet accredited and so does not yet have any QCA reference numbers or appear on external databases.

Qualification Number: 7111
Level: 1

Qualification Number: 7112
Level: 2

Qualification Number: 7113
Level: 3

Index

This table illustrates an index to the mandatory units listed within the qualification structure:

Further information on the City & Guilds suite of Creative Techniques qualifications will continue to be listed on these pages.