Learning outcomes: The long goodbye: Vocational qualifications in the 21st century

This article describes the origins of learning outcomes-based qualifications in England in the 1980s. It describes the design philosophy and evolution of National Vocational Qualifications (NVQs) which are contrasted with content-led frameworks and qualifications such as the English National Curriculum. The design flaws of the NVQ are noted and some policy implications of the NVQ experience are remarked on. It goes on to consider the adoption of learning outcomes approaches to qualifications in the European Union, first through the introduction of the European Qualification Framework (EQF) and then of European Skills, Competences, Qualifications and Occupations (ESCO). First, it is argued that the EQF serves as an umbrella for qualifications fundamentally incompatible with each other. Second, it is maintained that although ESCO has certain design features that liken it to the NVQ, it is also compatible with non-learning outcomes-based qualifications. Its assumptions about qualification design, based on task analysis, render it unsuitable as a template for the development of advanced vocational qualifications. The decline and fall of the NVQ and its replacement by standards-based qualification in England is described and some lessons that can be learned by policymakers are outlined. Learning outcomes-based qualifications are not fit for purpose.

Transition from master craftsman to engineering degree

There is a great need for Master-Craftsmen who are highly valued in industry locally but are not afforded the same recognition as in Germany, so in order to encourage more applicants a bridging progression to a Bachelor’s degree should be devised. There are several paths to the education of engineers. Traditionally students of engineering attend secondary school from which they matriculate to a tertiary institution. In many countries candidates may opt to do an Associate degree articulating to a Bachelor’s degree. However, in some countries, it is possible to become an engineer without a traditional degree, usually in a more practically-oriented apprenticeship programme. In Britain for example, such candidates complete National Vocational Qualifications (NVQs) in engineering while working at a company. NVQs typically range from Level 1 to Level 8, Levels 6 and 7 being equivalent to Bachelor’s and taught Master’s degrees respectively. In Germany, there is also an alternative qualification to the Bachelor’s degree, the more practically-oriented Meister (Master-Craftsman in English), both of which are equally recognized and respected professionally and are both pegged at Level 6 in the 8-Level German National Qualifications Framework (NQF). The MIC Institute of Technology has adopted a Master-Craftsman programme which is accredited by the German Chamber of Crafts and Trades. Candidates have to first complete the (trimester) Journeyman programme comprising three years, about 50% of which comprise industrial attachments/internships. Successful Journeyman graduates can progress to the Master-Craftsman qualification by completing an extra (trimester) year of study. This paper deals with the progression of Master-Craftsman graduates, through advanced placement, in a Bachelor of Technology programme. The Master-Craftsman curricula have to be mapped against a typical Bachelor of Technology programme to determine the gaps in mathematical, theoretical and other areas and mechanisms to fill any gaps.

Supra-company apprenticeship training in Austria: a synopsis of empirical findings on a possibly early phase of a new pillar within VET

Since 2008, the Austrian Vocational Training Act has given young people the opportunity to obtain vocational qualifications in supra-company training workshops. In addition to the traditional full-time vocational school system and company-based apprenticeship training, a third vocational qualification path has thus been established. This article presents empirical findings on this innovation in skill formation and examines the question of whether conditions for the sustainable establishment of a third pillar for acquiring vocational qualifications are given with regard to regulatory, normative, and cultural cognitive dimensions.

ELABORATING PROFESSIONAL QUALIFICATIONS IN UKRAINE: A NEW APPROACH

Relevance: aligning competencies for lifelong learning with the requirements of the European Union (EU) makes it necessary to implement new approaches to the development and application of vocational qualifications. They should meet the needs of the labor market and become the basis for the formation and development of the National Qualifications System. All this requires clarification of the conceptual apparatus and methods of improving the existing legal mechanisms for regulating the said process. Purpose: to substantiate new approach to the development of vocational qualifications in the context of harmonization with modern European approaches. Methods: theoretical analysis – to study the existing approaches to the development of the National Qualifications System, to identify the main tendencies of this process; comparison and synthesis – to summarize the main scientific approaches to the development of the National Qualifications System and legal mechanisms of its regulation in modern conditions, to analyze its institutional and organizational support; observations and analogies – to substantiate the need for development of a new approach... The empirical and informative basis of the article is the legal acts of Ukraine on the formation and development of the National Qualifications System, materials of monographs and scientific publications, analytical data, results of own research. Results: the essential characteristics of the National Qualifications System are revealed, its features and main aspects governing the development of such a system are characterized and the necessary conditions are created to develop a new approach to the application of qualifications in the context of European integration. Conclusions: the new approach to the application of qualifications is the purposeful formation and development of the National Qualifications System, which should become a tool for lifelong learning, ensuring the quality of learning outcomes, their recognition, and aligning professional qualifications framework in Ukraine with the requirements in EU countries.

The Modifying Influence of Family Social Background on the Association Between IQ and Unsuccessful Educational and Occupational Achievement

The present register-based study investigated whether family social background modified the association between intelligence and unsuccessful educational and occupational achievement among young men in Denmark. The study population comprised all men born during the period from 1981 to 1991 who had appeared before a draft board until 2015 ( N = 277,938). Family social background was measured by parental educational attainment at the birth of the study population. Intelligence was assessed by IQ scores on Børge Priens Prøve at age 18. Unsuccessful educational and occupational achievement were measured by no completed youth education at age 25, by no completed education leading to vocational qualifications at age 30, by not being in employment, education, or training (NEET) at age 30, and by gross income at age 30. Binary logistic regression and median regression were used to estimate the combined influence of family social background and IQ on unsuccessful educational and occupational achievement. The results showed that family social background modified the associations of IQ with risk of no youth education at age 25 and gross income at age 30, but the modifying influence seemed to depend on both the IQ level and the outcome indicator. Family social background was not found to modify the associations of IQ with risk of no vocational qualification at age 30 and risk of being NEET at age 30. In conclusion, the study findings suggest that several mechanisms might be at work in the complex and intertwined influences of family social background and intelligence on the risk of unsuccessful educational and occupational achievement.