Memorandum 15
Submission from the Open College Network,
Yorkshire and Humber Region
VOCATIONAL SKILLS
IN THE
LEITCH REPORT
The main focus and emphasis of the Leitch report
is on Skills. He identified a Skills gap between the UK and other
countries, and his recommendations address how we should attempt
to close this gap and make our Skills system work more effectively.
He made the ambitious commitment to "become a world leader
in Skills by 2020"
The report focuses on Employment, Employers
and Employability in a system where vocational skills should be
"demand led" and not centrally planned. There are new
targets to aim, for too—1.9m level 3 attainments by 2020
and apprenticeships up to 500,000 a year.
The report turns the face of the skills system
in England firmly towards the needs of learners and employers.
The benefits to the economy of £80bn over 30 years will need
investment and Train to Gain, Learner Accounts and funded Apprenticeships
all represent the government's financial commitment.
N/OCN and Vocational Skills—N/OCN Accreditation
confirms the belief that there is a range of routes towards vocational
competence. Employers should have the opportunity to choose the
flexible approach that N/OCN offers and Learners should be able
to start from where they feel confident to begin their learning
and skills journey. If the whole skills focus is on the achievement
of NVQs there will be a mismatch between targets set and the ability
of learners to achieve those targets. N/OCN accreditation can
make swift and focused responses to Employer demands and lead
the learners towards the NVQ place of occupational competence.
QUALIFICATION &
CURRICULUM FRAMEWORK
(QCF)
At the same time as the Leitch report highlights
the "need to be much more ambitious" in planning to
close the skills gap, the QCA has been tasked to develop a new
framework for Qualifications and Curriculum.
These two developments must link together so
that the structure of the one can deliver the promises of the
other. QCA has recognised that there is a need to offer:
— Flexible Qualifications that are
responsive to need
— Credit based Qualifications that
show, incrementally, what a learner has achieved
N/OCN and QCF: As an Award Body N/OCN has
been a national leader in developing flexible, credit-based Qualifications.
Learners achieve credits in an OCN system which deeply understands
the structures and processes that support, uphold and quality
assure incremental achievement of credit-based qualifications.
Learners are encouraged and, through IAG structures, advised
throughout their learning experience.
FOUNDATION LEARNING
TIER (FLT)
The impact on learners of setting national targets
at Level 2 has been disastrous. The lobbying of those campaigning
on behalf of Lifelong Learning has had a significant influence
on QCA's acknowledgement that targets cannot simply be set at
Level 2. Those working with learners potentially caught in the
skills gap have always understood that learning is a journey that
usually begins at a distance before the finishing point. It is
to the QCA's credit that the FLT, offering Qualifications at Entry
and Level 1, has been seen as a significant component in achievement
and progress and is integral to the QCF.
N/OCN and FLT: In order to put the UK on
a course for achieving Leitch's ambitions N/OCN can provide the
routes and the road map towards flexible, accessible and targeted
FLT Qualifications. These N/OCN Qualifications can be structured
to suit the needs of Learners and Employers.
If our learning journey is to be regarded as
a lifelong experience which enhances skills, employability and
the individual's place in society, we must offer as many pathways
to that end as possible. If we can accept that learners and employers
have different needs, starting points and goals then we can make
sure we provide a rich variety of responses and work towards the
UK's becoming a world leader in Skills.
April 2008
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