The number of unskilled jobs this country needs is falling. People looking for jobs in the future will need skills, and they need to start getting them now.
That's where the Qualifications and Credit Framework, or QCF, comes in. It's a new qualifications system that's good news for both employers and learners.
It helps employers get workers with the right skills. Not only that, but it can include the training that so many employers already give their staff.
We've all got busy lives. Sometimes it's hard to find the time to get the qualifications you need, particularly if you've got a job and a home to run.
It can be expensive as well. That's why the qualifications in the QCF are made up of smaller units, so you can learn at a pace that suits your lifestyle.
You can build up your qualifications bit by bit, and take the units you've completed with you when you move from education into a job or from one job to
another.
The names of the qualifications in the QCF tell you three things – how difficult it is, how long it takes and what it's about.
The level shows how difficult the qualification is. There are nine levels in the QCF, from Entry level to level 8.
Next is the size – that's how long the qualification takes to complete. Every qualification in the QCF comes in one of three sizes – Award, Certificate and Diploma.
And the content – that's what it's about – could be retail, or leadership, or maybe sport.
Here are two examples of qualification titles, showing how the three parts fit together:
- Level 1 Certificate in sport and active leisure
- Level 8 Award in strategic direction and leadership
Every qualification in the QCF is made up of units. So if you're doing the certificate in sport and leisure, you could include units on how the
body works and planning your own fitness programme. Every unit has a credit value that tells you how long the unit takes to complete. A credit is about
10 hours' work, so a unit with a credit value of four, like the unit on how the body works, will take about 40 hours to do.
The total credit value of a qualification tells you its size – that's whether it's an Award, a Certificate or a Diploma. Awards are made up of 1 to
12 credits, Certificates 13 to 36 credits and Diplomas 37 credits or more.
You might have already seen some of the literature that’s been produced to help you understand how the QCF works. In the QCF you can build the same
qualification from different combinations of units, to suit your own circumstances, interests and skills. Most qualifications are made up of some
units you have to do and some that you can choose. We've worked out how units can be put together to make qualifications. As long as the units
you're taking fit our rules about combining them, they'll add up to a qualification
The QCF also lets you put together your achievements from different places. So your qualification could be made up of units from your training at
work and units that you completed at college. Nobody wants to learn the same thing twice, and in the QCF you don't have to. If part of your qualification
is made up of units that you've already completed for another qualification, you can simply transfer the credit you've gained to your new qualification.
Once you've learnt something, it stays with you as you move in and out of education and training and from job to job.
Lots of employers give their staff great training at work. This in-house training is now being formally recognised as units and qualifications in the
QCF. Not only that, but employers are getting involved in designing qualifications to help shape training and education for their industry's future.
Employers can even become awarding organisations in their own right. These days McDonalds, Network Rail and FlyBe are not only household names –
they're accredited awarding organisations as well.
Explore how the QCF is good for learners, employers and learning providers. Read the case studies to see how people are already involved with the
QCF and sign up for the newsletter. Visit the QCF website and get answers to any questions you might have about the framework.
http://www.qcda.gov.uk/qualifications