Mission

The Scottish VET system is an integral part of the national education system and includes college and work based courses and qualifications. All young people leaving their compulsory schooling have a right to attend four years of College and/or University education, without incurring any course fees. VET is widely available, as both the main stream VET colleges and private training providers have been encouraged to widen access. Scottish VET is instrumental within economic development and the government expects VET providers to involve employers in VET design to ensure that their provision is fit for purpose. Consequently, UK Sector Skills Councils have been established to lead industry sector groups in defining their occupations and occupational standards, in terms of the knowledge and skills required at each occupational level.

Strategy

The Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF) has been created to allow meaningful comparison between the academic levels of Secondary School (Pre-16), College, University and Work Based Qualifications. This has enabled a wide range of ‘Qualification Pathways’ to be created with various entry and exit points within the system. Learners have greater flexibility and improved access in support of government life-long learning policies. Consequently, VET is more successfully promoted as an alternative pathway to Higher Education for many learners. Policy makers have been striving for ‘parity of esteem’ between VET and the more traditional academic Higher Education pathways, using the SCQF to demonstrate equivalencies between qualifications. Universities are increasingly recognising VET qualifications for entry to the first, second or third year of their Degree programmes, via well-defined articulation arrangements.

The Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) manage the development and validation of new and revised VET qualifications. They provide a national Quality Assurance system to ensure that the standards applied to assessment of their National Qualification do not vary, irrespective of which SQA approved centre delivers the Award. Each SQA Qualification is developed by a well-qualified and experienced Qualifications Development Team led by VET practitioners, but subject to consultation with industry. The current National Occupational Standards (NOS) developed by the appropriate Sector Skills Council must inform the development and revision of all National Qualifications.

Legislation

The Education Scotland Act 1996 created the Scottish Qualifications Authority as a corporate, non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government, responsible for governing Education in Scotland. Although the SQA is best known for the delivery of the annual diet of public examinations within Scotland’s Secondary Schools, the Act also made them responsible for accrediting a wide range of other Educational Awards, including VET within the tertiary education system

THE FORMAL EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM

Levels

Higher Education, including Higher National Certificates (HNC) and Higher National Diplomas (HND) are offered by colleges to learners of 17 years old and above who have the Scottish Highers required for direct entry.

College VET, up to SCQF 6, is provided to learners who have reached or passed the mandatory minimum school leaving age (16 years), and have been accepted on a VET programme appropriate to their academic level.

Secondary education, provides is compulsory for learners from age 12-16.

Primary education is compulsory for learners from age 5-12.

Types of VET provision

The Further Education (FE) Colleges in Scotland provide a very wide range of full time VET courses covering all trades and vocations. This includes full time course at the craft skill or operative level (SCQF 1-6) and ‘higher technical and/or supervisory level (SCQF levels 7-8). Higher VET’ as it is commonly known can also prepare learners for progression to University Degree programmes where articulation arrangements are in place. FE/HE articulation pathways were very successful in preparing aquaculture students for employment in the 1990s and early 21st century, but have more recently lapsed.
In addition, the Scottish VET system offers two types of work based qualifications:

• Modern Apprenticeships popular with school leavers seeking immediate employment who want to ‘earn while they learn’.
• The National Progression and Professional Development Awards are commonly used by companies for their formal Continued Professional Development (CPD).

MAINSTREAM VET QUALIFICATIONS

The hierarchy of the main Awards undertaken in Scotland’s VET system are described and summarised below. All qualifications are made up of defined Units prescribing the learning outcomes, performance criteria and assessment evidence requirements. This is to ensure national standardisation of VET assessment and quality, in the interests of learners, irrespective of their SQA approved centre location.

1 Year Access courses – 12 credits (SCQF 2-4)
1 Year National Certificates (NC) – 18 credits (SCQF 5-6)
1 year Higher National Certificates (HNC) – 12 credits (SCQF 7)
2 year Higher National Diplomas (HND) – 30 credits (SCQF 8)

Every trade and vocation is catered for within the Scottish VET system and for the vocations in highest demand there are many providers to choose from nationally. Although conventional academic studies stop at age 16 years for those leaving school, most SQA VET Qualifications integrate the development of transferable core skills. Every employer demands these skills, irrespective of the vocation:

• Numeracy
• Communication
• Working with others
• Problem solving
• Information Technology

Most of Scottish College VET students are in the age group 16-24 and embark on a specialist courses in the vocation of their choosing. Through the application of well-designed qualifications structures, learners can often specialise by choosing a defined number of Optional Units within their Award Framework. All of the Units undertaken have meaningful titles, which are reflected in the learners’ final SQA certification.

Conversely, the work based Modern Apprenticeship has no pre-determined duration, but does also allow flexibility through a core and optional Unit structure. They have been devised to suit a diverse group of mature work based learners who are at various stages of their career, from new entrants to the more experienced. Therefore, programmes of study are often individualised by a tutor and/or assessor and this process can be assisted by the Accreditation of Prior Learning (APL)

MA Level 2 Operative (SCQF 5)
MA Level 3 Supervisory (SCQF 6-7)
MA level 4 Managerial (SCQF 8)

Common VET pathways

Commonly, entrants to the VET system leaving school at age 16 have not undertaken Highers and are therefore ineligible for entry to Higher VET or University Degree programmes. By undertaking a VET qualification, they can be prepared for entry to a trade or vocation at the operative level.

Learners who have taken their Highers but lack sufficient grades to gain direct University entry often undertake Higher VET in a College. This can lead to a higher technical level of employment and/or supervisory responsibilities.

Conversely, many earners will often enter employment at age 16 on leaving compulsory education, and start their apprenticeship at SVQ level 2. They can in time progress to level 3 (supervisory) and ultimately level 4 (managerial) MA programmes.

The Modern Apprenticeship at level 3 can often be accessed following a full time College based National certificate at SCQF level 5. Progression pathways composed of work and college based qualifications are very effective as they allow the learner to develop and progress at a pace that suits them and their circumstances. Typically, a level 3 Modern Apprenticeship will take a minimum of 2 years for a 16-year-old school leave to complete.

Currently learners have access to the MA in Aquaculture only, as college based aquaculture VET became unavailable in Scotland from 2012.

Governance

Scotland has one VET Awarding Body, the SQA, which is responsible for the approval of all VET centres delivering SQA Awards, validation of new VET qualifications and the quality assurance of all approved VET providers internal assessment practices.

It is possible for an SQA approved centre to apply for devolved authority to validate and/or approve the delivery of SQA Awards, once they have demonstrated that they operate robust and compliant internal Quality Assurance systems.

Curriculum development

Some qualifications are developed at national level by selected committees of experts. This includes the secondary school examination diet and SQA led VET provision in high demand. IN addition, any SQA approved centre can propose new SQA qualifications to satisfy local learner and industry demand.

All new qualifications (Awards) proposed by providers and revisions to existing awards must undergo rigorous validation process led by an SQA Development Officer. Robust market research is required to establish the needs of the target audience and to demonstrate that there is a sufficient and sustainable demand from potential learners and the industry in question.

The Award will normally target a defined occupational level, and therefore, the current NOS provide a description of the knowledge and skills requirements. From this, Awards can be constituted in broad terms to determine the subject areas/ SQA Units.

Once this Award framework of Units is agreed, Leaning Outcomes and Performance Criteria can be written for each Unit, to define the knowledge and skills to be assessed. Finally, the evidence requirements prescribed in each Unit define the nature of the assessment process that must be applied consistently by all centres delivering the Award, once it has been validated. The NOS must be interpreted carefully to ensure they are all incorporated somewhere within the appropriate Units and this should be made evident to industry representatives during the approval process.

Each Unit of a college based National Qualification has a credit value. One credit is equivalent to 40 hours of teaching, learning and assessment activity, whatever its nature and whether it is teacher or earner led.

The work based Modern Apprenticeships, although also informed by the same NOS make no assumptions about credit values and their duration is entirely dependent on the individual learner’s background, previous knowledge and experience. Individual learning and assessment plans drive the delivery process.

Financing

Each public-sector College is led by an independent Board of Management responsible for governance at college level. Each college receives a government Scottish Funding Council (SFC) grant for the delivery of qualifications. In addition, they can bid for Skills Development Scotland (SDS) grants to support the delivery of Modern Apprenticeships in the work place. Private training providers cannot access SFC grant, but can and do successfully bid for SDS funding to support Modern Apprenticeship delivery.