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Opportunity Scotland: A Paper on Lifelong Learning

14. Qualifications
14.1 Qualifications recognise personal achievement and provide a passport to employment, career progression and new learning opportunities. They demonstrate evidence of knowledge and understanding and, in some cases, also recognise occupational competence.
14.2 Scotland has a widely respected education system with highly regarded and flexible qualifications. The establishment of the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) has brought responsibility for certification of most of the qualifications available in Scotland below degree level within a single body. We are committed to ensuring that the framework of qualifications continues to develop to meet the changing needs of learners as well as those of Scotland's economy and society.
14.3 Qualifications today must reflect needs for certificated learning which are far more varied than ever before. The key to this will be a structure of qualifications which is flexible enough to meet individual and employer needs, provides easily understood opportunities and pathways and offers standards recognised and valued by everyone. Learning needs vary and people require access to education at different stages in their lives. Flexibility must be a feature of the system if individuals are to be encouraged back into learning and continue to build up qualifications over longer periods of time, perhaps through part-time or work-based learning.
14.4 Our vision is for a qualifications system which:
  • offers varied but coherent options to meet the needs of individuals and employers;
  • supports a culture of lifelong learning;
  • is widely valued and regarded as of high quality;
  • is flexible, easy to understand and accessible to everyone;
  • encourages participation, progression and high attainment;
  • encourages improvements in core skills;
  • maintains rigorous standards;
  • is quality assured;
  • recognises prior experience and learning; and
  • values all types of learning wherever it occurs.
Higher Still
14.5 From August 1999 Higher Still qualifications will be available to students in schools and colleges, including outreach students. These are designed to:
  • provide nationally recognised qualifications for all

    courses will be available at 5 levels from Access to Advanced Higher, offering achievable qualifications for learners of all abilities with rigorous quality assurance involving a combination of internal and external assessment;

  • raise attainment

    Higher Still is designed to lead to more passes and better grades. The new levels will provide courses matched to students' abilities. Improved support materials for teachers will assist them in raising standards across the board;

  • encourage progression

    learners will be encouraged to progress to the highest possible standard and courses are designed so that one level links easily to the next - from Standard Grade through the new qualifications and on to higher education, work-related qualifications or SVQs. Progress between levels will be smoother, improving access and participation and enabling learners to reach their full potential;

  • support parity of esteem

    there will be one national system covering post-16 school and college courses and qualifications, building parity of esteem between academic and vocational learning. Highers in History and Hospitality, for example, will be equally challenging;

  • increase flexibility

    courses in schools and colleges will be constructed from common building blocks. Learners will be able to build up qualifications flexibly over time. They will be able to carry forward credit for attainment in school to college to avoid repeating work already covered and complete in college qualifications which were started in school. It will be possible for credit from school to contribute towards completely different qualifications; and

  • improve performance in core skills

    attainment in core skills will appear on learners' certificates and the emphasis on these skills in schools and colleges will raise attainment.

More emphasis on core skills
14.6 By core skills we mean personal and thinking skills and the type of abilities which people need to be active, responsible and successful members of society. They involve:
  • communication skills;
  • ability to handle numbers;
  • ability to solve problems;
  • ability to use information technology; and
  • ability to work with others.
14.7 Core skills are not the same as the specialist skills needed for areas such as chemistry or engineering as they can be used in a generic way in lots of different jobs throughout life. Problem solving skills for example are important whether someone is a delivery driver or an engineer, or working out holiday or childcare plans. Core skills make a person more effective in any job, and as an individual in society.
14.8 The Government recognises that further development of core skills must be a priority. All learners taking Higher Still qualifications - and Standard Grades - will, from 1999, have core skills on their certificate and we hope to reach a position quickly where core skills are a standard part of everyone's education and training in all qualifications. This should enable learners to add to their core skills profile whatever type and level of course they are taking. We will be consulting widely about the development of core skills in all qualifications.
Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework
14.9 We have welcomed plans by the higher education sector and the SQA to introduce a comprehensive Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework which will help all learners, employers and providers to understand the qualifications system. It will show where each qualification is placed in the Framework and how different qualifications relate to each other. It will assist learners to plan progression toward their learning goals. We will join a group to develop the Framework and expect it to be in place by August 1999.
14.10 The Framework should accommodate school, college, higher education, work-based and professional qualifications. By providing credit links between the variety of qualifications in Scotland, the Framework will also facilitate regional compacts between employers, providers of training and further and higher education institutions to meet local training and learning needs.
14.11 We are confident that the Framework will have many benefits for the learner. It will:
  • offer improvements in the flexibility of the system by encouraging closer links between qualifications;
  • encourage participation by allowing for the build-up of credit from different routes;
  • widen access to students from all backgrounds;
  • help to build links between further education, higher education and employment-based learning;
  • make the system more coherent and easy to understand by making the relationships between various types of qualification clearer;
  • encourage progression by mapping out the various routes through the system; and
  • by adopting a partnership approach, assure the mutual recognition of the value of qualifications.
14.12 Some part-time students already have previous qualifications or part-qualifications perhaps through an incomplete course of full-time study. The existing SCOTCAT system in further and higher education, allows credit to be given for such prior learning, whether acquired in the context of formal studies or from work experience, or in work-based training and development programmes. The SCOTCAT system, developed by the higher education sector, is an excellent example of how the system can work to support and encourage learners. It enables them to make the most of their study time by eliminating duplication in areas where they are already competent. It can also be a powerful motivating factor for a learner to realise that they are already well on their way to completing the course of study. The Framework will build on the SCOTCAT system.
A comprehensive qualifications system
14.13 In addition to the Higher Still Development Programme much has been done in recent years to ensure that work-related and work-based qualifications are rigorous and relevant to the needs of employers.
14.14 The review of Higher National Certificates (HNCs) and Higher National Diplomas (HNDs) in Scotland found that, in the main, existing provision was well-regarded and considered to be relevant and soundly based, but that some modifications would be necessary to take account of the Garrick report and align with Higher Still developments.
14.15 The Beaumont Review and the Review of All NVQs and SVQs examined aspects of NVQs and SVQs, including their form and structure, the assessment process, complexity, the language used, and the accrediting and awarding processes. These reviews have resulted in a range of qualifications designed specifically to guarantee the competence of employees and to enhance their skills. Nevertheless, more needs to be done to examine the reasons for successes and failures in the SVQ system so that good practice can be an integral part of the lifelong learning culture. In conjunction with the SQA we will be examining why the take-up of SVQs has been low in some sectors whereas in others the qualifications have been highly successful. We will act on the findings to ensure that the system continues to improve.
Recording different qualifications
14.16 A lifelong learner may have qualifications from school, college, university and the workplace. At present there is no means of displaying such a range of qualifications together. A nationally recognised format bringing these achievements together would enable learners to access all their certificated learning in one place. Scotland already has the basis for such a system in the Scottish Qualifications Record (currently known as the Record of Education and Training (RET)) and the Scottish Candidate Number (SCN). We intend to consult on the benefits of developing these further with a view to creating a single system. 

 

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