observer Posted January 31, 2012 Report Share Posted January 31, 2012 Seems common sense may be about to prevail, given the Gov's decision to scrap the relationship between accademic qualifications (GCSE's) and so-called vocational qualifications, which appear to range from fish husbandry to nail technology! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eagle Posted January 31, 2012 Report Share Posted January 31, 2012 'Accademic' in an Education thread how ironic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dizzy Posted January 31, 2012 Report Share Posted January 31, 2012 When they say 'Vocational Qualifications' does that also include NVQ's ie the 'National Vocational Qualifications' which have been around for many many years.....or are the two the same ? Just thought I'd ask before I go off on one of my usual moans or tangents which turns out to be totally irrelevant. There should be a qualification in that as I'd get top marks every day and people would know NOT to employ me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter T Posted January 31, 2012 Report Share Posted January 31, 2012 'Accademic' in an Education thread how ironic. Eagle, You don't say much these days, but when you do, it's a direct hit. :grin: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
observer Posted January 31, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 31, 2012 Cos he's our spell checker, and doesn't have anything else to say! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eagle Posted February 1, 2012 Report Share Posted February 1, 2012 It is much tidier to have nothing to say than to keep repeating the same monotonous boring tripe. However I always find it difficult to resist bursting the occasional pompous bubble. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
observer Posted February 1, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 1, 2012 Perhaps Vulture would be more appropriate than Eagle?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fugtifino Posted February 1, 2012 Report Share Posted February 1, 2012 Diz - NVQs are vocational, but not all vocational courses are being stripped from the qualifcation framework. NVQs are usually taken after GCSEs, often as part of an apprenticeship, I don't think these are affected. Those 96% of vocational qualifications that are being stripped from the framework may not carry any academic value, but they are/were useful in engaging kids who are considered "at risk". But never mind them, eh? http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2012/jan/31/vocational-qualifications-stripped-league-tables Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter T Posted February 1, 2012 Report Share Posted February 1, 2012 Diz - NVQs are vocational, but not all vocational courses are being stripped from the qualifcation framework. NVQs are usually taken after GCSEs, often as part of an apprenticeship, I don't think these are affected. Those 96% of vocational qualifications that are being stripped from the framework may not carry any academic value, but they are/were useful in engaging kids who are considered "at risk". But never mind them, eh? http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2012/jan/31/vocational-qualifications-stripped-league-tables As I have said umpteen times before, NVQ's only mean that you can do the paperwork, NOT that you can do the job. :roll: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dizzy Posted February 1, 2012 Report Share Posted February 1, 2012 Dare I.... no I'd best not Thanks by the way Fugs <little winky followed by a friendly smile>......... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
observer Posted February 1, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 1, 2012 Fugs, I'm not knocking vocational training, far from it; sure employers would welcome such relevent pathways to their particlar industries. Think the point is that there's simply no need to equate these courses with GCSEs; they are different, like the students. Rather than Nu Labour's attempt to homogenize students AND their qualifications; it may be preferable to aim for excellence in realising one's full potential; a good car mechanic is probably more use than a bad banker! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asperity Posted February 1, 2012 Report Share Posted February 1, 2012 I know very well from my own profession that the ability to pass exams does not equate to the ability to do the job that the exams are supposedly related to. Knowing the theory of, and passing the written or oral exam in ship handling, doesn't mean that a person is a proficient ship-handler. The same is true, I'm sure, of many other professions. Theoretical and practical are not the same thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
observer Posted February 1, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 1, 2012 Agreed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fugtifino Posted February 1, 2012 Report Share Posted February 1, 2012 Agreed x3. Peter, As I have said umpteen times before, NVQ's only mean that you can do the paperwork, NOT that you can do the job. I'm sure it's been flipped more than a few times, but NVQs should be about WHAT YOU CAN DO, not WHAT YOU KNOW (it's A Levels that are about being good on paper). Some NVQ training providers are good at what they do, others not so good. It's the trainees who suffer in the latter case, it's not them who are trying to hoodwink anyone. I don't have much of a problem with the qualifications in question being devalued in academic calibre, but for the schools who offer them, and the kids that take them up, it's a way of getting some kids who don't have much else going for them to engage in learning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bazj Posted February 1, 2012 Report Share Posted February 1, 2012 I know very well from my own profession that the ability to pass exams does not equate to the ability to do the job that the exams are supposedly related to. Knowing the theory of, and passing the written or oral exam in ship handling, doesn't mean that a person is a proficient ship-handler. The same is true, I'm sure, of many other professions. Theoretical and practical are not the same thing. the bloke that was steering the Costa Concordia was supposed to be experienced though Asp! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asperity Posted February 2, 2012 Report Share Posted February 2, 2012 I think the Master of the Costa Concordia was suffering from over confidence in his abilities. He certainly wasn't doing his job properly, putting his ship in a dangerous position. <_< Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wolfie Posted February 2, 2012 Report Share Posted February 2, 2012 As I have said umpteen times before, NVQ's only mean that you can do the paperwork, NOT that you can do the job. :roll: Not exactly true. Most apprenticeships require key skills, and all the NVQ assessments are carried out at work, mostly as you do your daily job. Hairdressing is a typical example where the trainee has to prove that he/she is capable of all aspects of hairdressing and pass a theory exam before they can be awarded a NVQ. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
observer Posted February 2, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 2, 2012 I don't think it's splitting hairs to suggest that an NVQ in "nail technology or hairdressing" bears any comparison with a GCSE in Maths; unless square roots come into it somehow! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverlady54 Posted February 2, 2012 Report Share Posted February 2, 2012 Perhaps the administration of NVQs and any other vocational courses should be put in the hands of employers and taken out of the school/college environment apart from day-release for the necessary theory side. That way, there would be a clear distinction between the academic courses offered by the schools and colleges and the vocational training offered in the workplace, with them seen as alternative routes to employment with equal validity and importance, just different approaches suitable for different student needs. If workplaces had the same access to funds to operate the courses, they would perhaps be more willing to take on young people in the first place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wolfie Posted February 2, 2012 Report Share Posted February 2, 2012 I don't think it's splitting hairs to suggest that an NVQ in "nail technology or hairdressing" bears any comparison with a GCSE in Maths; unless square roots come into it somehow! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
observer Posted February 2, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 2, 2012 Fair point SL; Industry could buy into vocational training - we could actually have a Technical College dedicated to producing skilled tradesmen or has that been tried?! ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fugtifino Posted February 3, 2012 Report Share Posted February 3, 2012 Technical colleges worked well when we needed technically skilled people in big numbers, sadly not the case anymore. NVQs were designed to be based in the workplace with external assessment (usually a Training Provider - this isn't always the same thing as a college), and a day a week (or block equivalent) in college. If we're saying we'd like to see employers rather than educators deliver and assess training and education, then we may as well forget the idea of learning for its own sake. Learning's where civilisation begins and ends. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverlady54 Posted February 3, 2012 Report Share Posted February 3, 2012 I thought that was part of the problem, that employers are having to become educators because many young people do not have the literacy and numeracy skills to be able to start training for anything! Surely, fugtifino, learning takes place anywhere someone passes on knowledge, not just in school. Schools should provide the building blocks to enable students to carry on learning throughout their lives. It seems many are not doing that because of politics and ideology. I too remember technical schools and the distinction between academic grammar schools and the more practical secondary moderns. It seems nothing is ever new, it just takes a while for some to realise that the old systems may have something worthwhile to offer, even in today's world. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fugtifino Posted February 3, 2012 Report Share Posted February 3, 2012 Just that I'd worry about trusting employers to deliver and assess qualifications. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverlady54 Posted February 3, 2012 Report Share Posted February 3, 2012 Just that I'd worry about trusting employers to deliver and assess qualifications. Judging by the mess that has emerged from schools and the examining bodies in recent years I don't think they could do much worse, plus it would be in their own interest to make sure that trainees reached high standards to safeguard their investment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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