Qualifications and Credit Framework (QCF) May Newsletter from QCA

May 2009

Welcome to the Qualifications and Credit Framework (QCF) update. This e-Newsletter is sent out on the first Friday of each month.

This edition includes information on key developments of the QCF, preparing for QCF implementation, country-specific developments and information on events.

Implementing the QCF

A QCF Readiness Advisory Panel has been established to provide a formal structure within which stakeholders and practitioners who have an interest in implementation of the QCF can provide advice and guidance to QCA and its delivery partners on aspects of capacity building, communications and business change. The first meeting of the Panel was held in February with the next meeting scheduled for May. Members of the Panel are drawn from a wide range of representative organisations across the lifelong learning and skills sector.

The Panel provides a forum for discussing QCF implementation issues, risks and benefits from their practitioner/stakeholder perspective so that feedback can be used to inform the development of communication and capacity building activity and sharing of good practice.

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Country-specific, England only

Employer Recognition Programme
We are continuing to run the Employer Recognition Programme following another year?s remit from DIUS. As well as continuing to maintain the momentum of work with employers since March 2008, the scope of the programme has now been widened in order to support the Government?s emphasis on re-skilling the workforce. An example of this is the formation of a formal relationship with the National Employer Service (NES) to strengthen the links with Train to Gain and Apprenticeships. There will also be more encouragement given to employers to utilise existing qualifications through contextualisation where possible.

For more information on the Employer Recognition Programme please contact the CCEA team or visit our web pages, which include a number of case studies of employers who are already involved in the programme.

QCF Readiness
We have developed a dedicated webpage to support the delivery of the QCF. This page provides a comprehensive list of materials and resources which are downloadable and available to support our key stakeholders in the delivery of the QCF. Please visit our web pages for the most up-to-date version of presentations, guidance materials, specialist articles and leaflets for use by delivery partners and stakeholders. This webpage will be updated regularly as more literature and support materials are produced.

LSC QCF Policy Update: Issue 2
The second issue of the quarterly LSC QCF Policy Update has been published. It outlines the developments and timescales for the LSC to align planning, funding and performance with the QCF as well as its work on developing the QCF Service Layer. These updates bring together all of the LSC?s work on the implementation of the QCF and wider vocational qualification reform. All Policy Updates are available on the LSC website.

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Country-specific, Northern Ireland only

The Northern Ireland Vocational Qualification Reform Programme Board
QCF implementation in Northern Ireland is overseen by the NI VQ reform programme board, which provides a programme management and advisory function to the Department for Employment and Learning. The focus of the implementation activity is now on awareness-raising and capacity-building among key partners who will be delivering the programme in NI.

As part of this engagement process, an NI VQRP conference is to take place on 3 June in Belfast. This high-profile event will give key stakeholders from sector skills councils, awarding bodies, learning providers, employers? bodies, government and others an opportunity to hear about and discuss developments in the reform programme in Northern Ireland. The aim of the event is to identify the means by which Northern Ireland?s needs and aspirations can best be reflected in the implementation of the reform programme.

Recognition of Training in Employment Programme
A pilot programme has recently been launched in NI to provide support for employers to increase the amount of training they give their employees that leads to an accredited qualification. Employers participating in the pilot will be advised which existing QCF qualifications or units could meet their training needs. When appropriate, employers will also receive support and advice concerning ways in which their training could be recognised through the qualification accreditation process, either in conjunction with an awarding organisation or a third party, or by becoming a recognised QCF awarding organisation.

An initial seminar on the recognition of training in employment will be held on 19 May. This event will present details of the QCA Employer Recognition Programme to a broad range of stakeholders in Northern Ireland who have a role to play in the implementation of the pilot programme.

Any employers interested in participating in the programme should contact the CCEA team.

ULN Pilot
The Unique Learner Number is now being piloted in two further education colleges in Northern Ireland, prior to being rolled out across the sector and to other providers of QCF qualifications.

NI QCF Readiness Programme
The Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment (CCEA), in its regulatory capacity, has initiated a series of workshops to develop the capacity of SSCs, awarding bodies, employers and provider practitioners in Northern Ireland to use the QCF to the full.

The first three workshops were held in April and early May to give an overview for developing and accrediting qualifications in the QCF. CCEA will host further workshops during May and June focusing on:

• Developing units of assessment to meet QCF requirements
• Developing Qualifications to meet QCF requirements
• Recognition of Awarding Organisations within the QCF
• Accreditation of Qualifications within the QCF

You can download a poster with details of these events by visiting the CCEA web pages, book online or email please contact the CCEA team

If you require further information on these events email the CCEA team. Invitations to these events will be posted to a target audience along with a booking form.

Vocational Qualification Reform Programme Awareness Raising
The Learning and Skills Development Agency have recently concluded the first phase of VQRP awareness-raising with learning providers in the further and higher education and training sectors. The events, which have covered a broad spectrum of stakeholders within these sectors across Northern Ireland, have focussed on the implications of the VQRP for these organisations, and the QCF in particular, to prepare them for meeting the challenges set down by the implementation of the reform programme in NI.

Feedback from participants has indicated a high level of satisfaction and has also provided further ideas for how the programme will develop in the future. The success of the programme is being evaluated and details of the next phase will feature in the next edition of this e-Newsletter.

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Country-specific, Wales only

Fforwm report
DCELLS has commissioned fforwm who is the national organisation representing the FE sector in Wales, and the National Training Federation for Wales (NTfW). These organisations will undertake an extensive programme of work, from October 2008 through to December 2010, to support the implementation of a credit based curriculum within the further education and work based training sector in Wales. The first report from fforwm has now been received, and its recommendations will inform the DCELLS? implementation programme. The report will also provide a baseline against which DCELLS will be able to track progress in implementing the QCF.

Developing a Communications Strategy
DCELLS has begun work with key stakeholders in order to raise awareness and capacity building amongst key partners. Welsh Assembly Government staff met with external stakeholders in April in order to develop a joined up Welsh Marketing and Communication Strategy, and to set key milestones.

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QCF in the news

This month has seen coverage of the QCF in the UK Guide to Skills and Learning 2009, an annual report by the British Chambers of Commerce and the MoD Defence Contracts Bulletin. Unfortunately neither of these pieces is available online as yet.

Director magazine recently hosted a roundtable discussion to discuss the Employer Recognition Programme and the importance of training in the current economic climate. The full write-up of this discussion has now been published in the April edition of Director.

The Guardian also profiled an article on Parenting qualifications for young people recognised which mentions how the QCF recognises the need for more inclusive and flexible ways of accrediting learning.

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Events

Adult Learners' Week
As well as sponsoring the Learning at Work Award, we are also delighted to sponsor this year?s NIACE Annual Policy Conference which is attended by key policy drivers. The theme of this year?s conference is Beyond the Recession: Adult Learning in a Changing World.

This year?s conference focuses on the educational challenges arising from the global economic downturn ? and NIACE?s concern for a re-balancing of funding for adult learning to restore opportunities lost in further, higher and community education in recent years, to contribute effectively to the support for and re-engagement of individuals and communities affected by the recession.

The conference will include contributions from:

• Sue Georgious, Director, Adult Skills Programmes at Qualifications and Curriculum Authority
• Rt Hon John Denham MP, Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills
• Chris Humphries, CEO of the UK Commission for Employment and Skills
• Pam Johnson, Head of Learning and Organising Services at UNISON
• Andrew Sich, Head of Corporate Affairs at City and Guilds
• Alan Tuckett, Chief Executive of NIACE

Find out more about this policy conference

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