National Qualifications Group Awards What’s in it for Colleges, Learners and Employers Elda Fleck Gen McCabe Joe Spencer

Background – Phase 1  Over the last 3 years, rationalisation of NQ qualifications in high uptake areas (‘Consortium led’)  47 new National Certificates and 128 new National Progression Awards  Led by SQA

Phase 2  ‘Specialist Collaborative’ Awards –Colleges working together to develop curriculum –Led by main college (2 – 5 partners) –With support from SQA –Review and revise existing college programmes –Identify gaps in provision and develop new awards –Rationalise volume of centre devised awards –Resulting in nationally recognised awards

Towards Ambition 2020 UK Commission for Employment and Skills Report - January 2010  Too many young people in Scotland fail to gain the essential and lower level skills needed to progress in work  Current skills systems in Scotland are not always sufficiently aligned to labour market needs.  Need to eliminate processes, structures and costs that don’t add real value

Towards Ambition 2020 Recommendations  Learning and qualifications shaped by the relevant sector  Provision aligned to local labour market needs  Public funding prioritised towards essential and lower level skills  Fund the bite-sized chunks for certificated learning that many employers say they want, as well as larger qualifications  Maximise the potential of our flexible, unit based qualifications system to ensure formal recognition for individuals’ skills

National Progression Awards  Small, flexible group awards, like SPAs/PDAs  Aim to assess and certificate a defined set of skills & knowledge in a specialist vocational area  Key aims: post-compulsory education – those in work, entering or returning to work adults in part-time training attending Scotland’s colleges  Opportunity for school-college partnership programmes  Commercial opportunities  Stepping stone to employment or further study.

What’s in it for Colleges?  Opportunities: Chance to refresh old and tired awards National recognition for college-devised awards Be proactive – look ahead to future markets Develop specialist nationally recognised qualifications relevant to local/national economic needs Further strengthen partnerships with schools Credibility with employers Linking qualifications to existing or revised NOS Commercial provision Staff development Funding for development work identified in curriculum review

What’s in it for Learners? National recognition more accurately reflecting totality of achievement Flexible learning opportunities – recognition for ‘chunks’ of learning Learning relevant to and supported by industry Preparation for employment and progression Skills development for the future

What’s in it for Employers? Ensure employer expectations are met by Colleges Nationally recognised qualifications relevant to local/national economic needs Commercial provision suited to skill requirements Strengthen engagement with colleges

Win Win WIn Colleges EmployersLearners SQA

Funding  Qualification development:  NC - up to £10,000  NPA - up to£5,000 (6 or more credits) - up to £3,500 (2-5 credits)  Paid to lead college in 3 phases  Staff release to attend meetings - £190 per day plus T&S Additional Funding available for SQA to produce:  Assessment Support packs  E learning resources

NQGA Project Team Project Managers Genevieve McCabe Elda Fleck Joe Spencer Project Officers Ashley Harries Pat Hendry Administrator Trish Corr Contact us at: