Our manifesto




Step6
Key Stat: By the time students are 16 only 7.1% of qualification points are vocational.*

The problem:

At present vocational students find it difficult to make the transition to higher education because many universities don’t recognise their skills. Employers are also often suspicious of vocational qualifications because they do not feel that they suit their business needs.

The solution:

Encourage universities to provide specialist courses for students who have followed vocational pathways to study at degree level. Partnerships between universities, business and Sector Skills Councils will create high quality, respected vocational degree courses that are supported by employers and that students can be proud to be part of.

*QCA 2007


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anonymous
This certainly and area long overdue for revue. Many employers do not understand the grading of GCSEs some 20 years or more after introduction, Most have forgotten that 35 years ago a mere 15 to 20% of 16 years olds had GCEs equivalent to grades A to C of GCSEs.
In the light of this, progress may be slow. One should also not forget that a degree is a particular type of qualification and resolving the issue of academic content and time and that of practical an academic courses will be challenge. One has to wonder why a practical course has to be called a degree? In aviation there are licences, in maritime there are qualifiction such as the various mates tickets, we used to have HNC, HND and City and Guilds qualifications. In Europe ther are graduations of skill, at the higher levels it would be a diploma, which could be converted by adding aditional academic study. is that the intent here, to have a clear practical qualification that can be used as credit towards a higher one? A degree level of some practical trades is going to be difficult beast to create and for those who are not able to proceed to the ultimate level, what will they receive,



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