City & Guilds comments on Ofqual consultation

'Good qualification and assessment design must put employer and learner needs centre stage,' says City & Guilds' Judith Norrington

24 July 2014

We strongly welcome today’s announcement by Ofqual to improve the regulation of vocational qualifications. We have long believed that the current Qualifications and Curriculum Framework rules do not fully support the development of high quality vocational qualifications, sometimes hampering awarding organisations’ ability to work directly with industry to design the right qualifications.

Good qualification and assessment design must put employer and learner needs centre stage and focus on creating progression routes for people that enable them to find a job and move on to the next one.  

Ending the requirement for awarding organisations to share units is also a positive step forward for the sector as it will demand a real sense of ownership from awarding organisations and ensure that the only qualifications to be offered will be those that are truly designed with employer and learner needs at the forefront. 

While we recognise that whole qualifications make sense for lots of people, there is still a place for units in some cases. Particularly among vulnerable groups such as the unemployed or prisoners, taking a small part of a qualification can help to build confidence and give someone a real sense of his or her own progression.

We advocate flexibility to allow different sizes of units based entirely on the needs of individuals rather than a set framework that does little more than act as a straightjacket. Overall, this is a great step forward for the vocational sector and City & Guilds will be supporting Ofqual as it moves through the consultation process.

Read Ofqual's consultation about the quality of vocational qualifications