UK Vocational Qualifications

England, Wales and Northern Ireland

The 1998 Dearing Report has led to widespread changes in all post-16 qualifications and training. The main purposes of the changes are:

· To broaden the post-16 curriculum;
· To encourage a combination of academic and vocational qualifications with training;
· To encourage development of key skills for effective learning and performance in the workplace.

Further to these recommendations, a new programme of educational reforms was launched in September 2000, known as Qualifying for Success: Changes to Post-16 Qualifications. This has fundamentally changed the nature of post-GCSE education in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

There have been widespread changes to the structure of GCE A level examinations, although as these are academic qualifications they are not covered in detail here. Another element of the reforms has been the introduction of Vocational A levels (VCEs) in schools as an alternative with equal standing to academic subjects. A 'parity of esteem' has therefore been created between academic and vocational education. Consequently, post-GCSE study is now referred to as "post-16 education".