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Vocational qualifications in practice and principle: lessons from agriculture Research in Post-Compulsory Education 4 (1), 1999 Stan Lester Stan Lester Developments, Taunton, United Kingdom

Abstract The UK agricultural industry is predominantly composed of small businesses, with owner-managers and family workers outnumbering employed workers.

Many agricultural employers recognise established

further education qualifications such as National Certificates and Diplomas, although they are rarely asked for when recruiting. Support for and involvement in the newer competence-based National and Scottish Vocational Qualifications is growing, although there is still considerable scepticism fuelled particularly by concerns that they are being awarded to young people before they are fully proficient. While there is clear demand for vocationally-specific further education awards, there is currently too much overlap between the different further education qualifications as well as a concern that some courses are not giving students a sufficiently practical grounding. The recently introduced Modern Apprenticeships are beginning to be recognised as providing high-quality development through a work-based route, but overall a more flexible system is needed which enables better integration of work-based and full-time routes and is open to older workers as well as young trainees.

Introduction This paper is based on a study of vocational qualifications in the UK agricultural sector which was undertaken by the author over the winter period of 1997-98 (Lester 1998).

While the study was

commissioned to examine issues and recommend strategies from the perspective of the sector’s National Training Organisation, some of the matters arising are relevant to wider debate about National and Scottish Vocational Qualifications and about the UK’s vocational education and training system. Although the study took place in a somewhat atypical industry, many of the matters which it highlighted are relevant to UK vocational education and training more generally.

The context The agricultural sector (agriculture and production horticulture) makes up a significant part of the UK economy, accounting for 2% of the workforce, nearly a quarter of a million businesses and an output of over £15,000 million. The sector is characterised by small, geographically dispersed and often family-run units; the mean size of business is 2.5 people, with only 0.5% of farms and nurseries employing ten or more (MAFF 1995). Employment in the sector has been declining throughout the present century, and is now at a point where owner-managers and family workers outnumber the employed workforce.

This

decline has traditionally been a result of mechanisation, but more recently there has been a tendency to substitute proprietor, family and contract labour for employees in order to contain costs as farm incomes fluctuate (ATB-Landbase 1996). Although as a result recruitment is at a low level there is growing evidence

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of recruitment difficulties, particularly in parts of the industry which require unsocial patterns of work or are perceived to have a poor image (e.g. ATB-Landbase 1996a, Errington & Nolan 1997). The industry is currently facing one of its most uncertain periods post-1945. While the effects of the BSE (bovine spongiform encephalopathy) crisis and associated beef export ban are well-known, farming has suffered heavily from the strong pound and 1997-98 saw incomes depressed in virtually all sectors of the industry. For many farming businesses this has raised issues of survival. Other factors which are affecting the sector include uncertainty about the stability of subsidies, grants and market prices, greater awareness of and interest in conservation and public access to the countryside, increases in legislation connected with health and safety, animal welfare and protection of food and of the environment, and a trend away from subsidies towards incentives related to farm management practices. Many businesses are diversifying either into non-traditional forms of farming or into alternative activities including non-farming enterprises, grant-based activities such as conservation and forestry, and off-farm employment; even by 1992 approximately 10% of jobs associated with the industry were thought to be based on diversified enterprises (ATB-Landbase 1993). Agricultural education and training Agriculture has had a relatively specialised infrastructure for vocational education and training compared with many other UK industry sectors. Post-16 education has traditionally been provided by a network of county-based agricultural colleges, with a smaller number of higher education institutions offering degrees and Higher National Diplomas (HNDs). There is no history of formal apprenticeships, and training for new entrants has been provided by the colleges principally in the form of full-time National Certificate (NC) and Diploma (ND) courses; these have usually followed at least a year working in the industry, and ND courses have in addition included a sandwich year.

However, full-time college training has at no point

encompassed the majority of new entrants, and a more typical pattern has been gaining a job followed by a mixture of on-job instruction and (for some) occasional short courses, with a minority attending part-time City & Guilds or similar provision. There is also a tradition of work-based assessment in the form of National Proficiency Tests. These tests run to a prescribed format and are usually conducted on the farm or nursery; a minority are required by law (e.g. for using pesticides under certain conditions). Success in a given range of tests leads to achievement of craft status, which for employed workers is linked to an increased pay entitlement under the Agricultural Wages Order. While the tests have provided a work-based route to gaining a recognised qualification, their uptake has varied with region and in different parts of the industry. The third distinctive feature of the sector’s education and training infrastructure is the presence of the Agricultural Training Board (ATB) and its successors.

The Board was set up in 1967 as a statutory

organisation to encourage practitioner training; it operated primarily through an infrastructure of locally organised, employer-led training groups which provided free training for farm workers based on a portfolio of approved courses delivered by registered instructors, often themselves farmers. In 1994 the ATB was reconstituted as ATB-Landbase, an independent not-for-profit organisation. At approximately the same time reductions in government funding resulted in the removal of subsidy from training groups and courses, so that while many employer-led groups still exist they now operate on a commercial or semi-commercial basis.

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Developments in UK education and training infrastructures The last decade has seen rapid changes in vocational education and training infrastructures in the UK, including: •

Further education colleges’ transition from management by their local education authorities to becoming independent corporations with the bulk of their public funding provided through central funding councils.

•

The establishment of Training and Enterprise Councils (TECs) and Local Enterprise Companies (LECs), with among other things responsibility for allocating government funds to training programmes for young and unemployed people.

•

Following a review of vocational qualifications (Manpower Services Commission 1986), the development of competence-based National and Scottish Vocational Qualifications (NVQs and SVQs) together with the establishment of the National Council for Vocational Qualifications (NCVQ) and industry-based Lead Bodies to manage their development and oversee implementation. Subsequently NCVQ and its Scottish counterpart SCOTVEC have merged with the respective school curriculum authorities to form respectively the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) and Scottish Curriculum Authority (SQA).

•

The development of General National and Scottish Vocational Qualifications (GNVQs and GSVQs) as modular, vocationally-related certificates for use in schools and colleges.

•

The establishment of Industry Training Organisations (ITOs) and launch of Modern Apprenticeships (leading to N/SVQ Level 3 or above) and more recently National Traineeships (to Level 2).

•

The establishment in 1997-98 of National Training Organisations based on industry sectors, as strategic bodies to succeed ITOs and Lead Bodies.

These developments are part of a spectrum of ongoing changes in post-compulsory education and training, with further initiatives in progress for instance to widen access, increase active participation outside the traditional further and higher education age-groups, and establish the networked ‘University for Industry’ (Kennedy 1997, Fryer 1997, DfEE 1998, Hillman 1996). In agriculture the effect of these changes has been broadly to bring the sector closer to the mainstream of education and training across the UK. While most agricultural colleges have sought to retain a distinctive land-based or rural identity, incorporation has enabled them to diversify both in terms of their provision and catchment; some are entering markets far beyond the traditional land-based industries, either independently or through collaborating or merging with generalist institutions. There has also been an increase in the number of colleges offering higher education provision or merging with universities. A potentially more profound change has come about through the introduction of N/SVQs and associated training and apprenticeship programmes, and the leading role of ATB-Landbase and from 1998 Lantra, its successor National Training Organisation, in these developments. Although the main effect of N/SVQs to date has been to substitute for other part-time qualifications in colleges, the growth of work-based qualification provision and Modern Apprenticeships points to two potential effects: (a) work-based entry routes substituting for full-time courses, and (b) N/SVQs providing an alternative to proficiency tests as a means for experienced workers to gain qualifications (and pay increases, which are set marginally higher for attaining craft status through the Level 3 N/SVQ than for the proficiency test route).

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Methodology The study was designed to balance the need for breadth and a modicum of qualitative information with a relatively short timescale and budgetary limitations.

It involved a number of separate surveys,

consultations and meetings to obtain a broad coverage of people involved in the industry and in related education and training.

Consultees and respondents were selected using the principles of theoretical

sampling (Glaser & Strauss 1967) in order to obtain a degree of representativeness, with some scope to investigate areas of interest through follow-up case-studies and meetings. The main elements of the study comprised: •

Semi-structured telephone interviews with 26 private-sector training providers (plus a written response from one further provider). A total of 30 providers were identified from across the UK in discussion with ATB-Landbase regional staff, specifically to give a roughly equal mix of those involved and not involved with NVQs or SVQs.

•

A postal survey (with limited telephone contact) of land-based colleges, comprising questionnaires for the college as a whole, for data on individual courses, and for students. Survey packs were sent to 51 land-based colleges and university departments, and course and student questionnaires to an additional eight GNVQ Land and Environment pilot centres.

Replies were received from 19 institutions,

comprising 15 college questionnaires, 40 course questionnaires (34 full-time and 6 NVQ) providing data on 605 current students and 552 destinations, and 218 replies from predominantly full-time students. •

Information gathered from recent entrants to the industry by questionnaire, telephone and face-to-face discussion.

Most contacts with recent entrants were made via colleges, training providers and

employers, resulting in a sample which was heavily biased towards trainees and N/SVQ candidates; of 56 respondents, 52 were working towards or had achieved an NVQ or SVQ. •

Contact with employers, principally by telephone. Employers were identified through discussion with training providers, trade associations and ATB-Landbase, and through job advertisements in trade journals; initially 40 were selected to provide a range of sectors of the industry, sizes of firm and locations in the UK. Twenty-nine employers participated: 20 were interviewed (out of 31 contacted), three responded by post, and six attended a group discussion meeting.

In addition the study included a review of labour market and associated information, a desk review of current qualifications relevant to the industry, an analysis of recruitment advertisements in trade magazines, and discussions with careers advisers and careers teachers.

Following the main data-

gathering phase of the project, visits were made to five training providers and two colleges involved in NVQ or SVQ provision for in-depth discussion of practical issues associated with these qualifications.

National and Scottish Vocational Qualifications One of the principal purposes of the study was to examine how NVQs and SVQs were working in the industry in order to identify issues, obstacles and positive ways forward. NVQs and SVQs had been introduced in agriculture (as in many other areas) in 1991, with revisions to detail and qualification structure in 1997; by September 1997 21188 NVQs and an estimated 2400 SVQs had been awarded in the sector

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(QCA 1998). Although the intention of N/SVQs - particularly in practical areas such as agriculture - was to encourage implementation in the workplace, the majority of provision is still in colleges. ‘Customer’ perceptions Employer involvement in N/SVQs was limited, the majority of employers who were involved having a trainee with a college or training provider. A small number of larger employers had some form of corporate commitment to NVQs, with one notable case where nearly half the 550 employees had achieved or were working towards qualifications. A few instances were found where experienced workers in smaller firms were taking N/SVQs, and one training provider was working with a contractors’ association to promote the NVQ standards as a means of quality assurance. Other than this owner-managers’ personal interest in qualifications was minimal; the single example encountered was a farmer who had achieved a Level 3 NVQ to meet residency requirements for New Zealand. Employer perceptions of N/SVQs varied from the positive and enthusiastic, through seeing benefits but having reservations, to a few who were highly negative. Although no employers were encountered who were unaware of the qualifications, there was widespread confusion and lack of knowledge resulting in indifference and scepticism. The more positive employers saw the main benefits of N/SVQs as stemming from their practical, work-based nature and (particularly for the larger firms) their accessibility in the workplace. Reservations tended to centre on difficulties of implementation (“good in theory but difficult and expensive in practice”), the associated bureaucracy and jargon, lack of confidence in the qualifications, and experience of people who had gained the qualifications but were not practically proficient. Many trainees enrolled on N/SVQs appeared not to be particularly concerned about what qualifications they were taking, and some were surprisingly ambivalent about them; a fairly typical response was “OK I suppose, it’s what the course leads to.” A minority were more positive particularly about the practical nature of the qualifications, although some of these tempered their responses with comments about the amount of paperwork involved. In general, older respondents appeared more positive than younger ones, and some training providers reported experienced workers who had taken NVQs as being “enthusiastic or at least positive” about their experiences. Full-time students in England and Wales tended to be more negative than positive towards NVQs. Students in Scottish colleges generally had a more constructive view of SVQs, possibly assisted by the more explicit links between some course modules and SVQ units. A minority of students were interested in taking N/SVQs either alongside their present courses where the facilities were available, or once they had moved into employment; these students emphasised gaining an additional, practical qualification and in one case the wage premium available for Level 3. More often, students thought NVQs lacked recognition and credibility, compared poorly with ‘college’ qualifications, and involved a tedious and bureaucratic process with “too much paperwork for what is supposed to be a practical course.” Provider perceptions and approaches Colleges’ perceptions of the qualifications varied, as did approaches to implementation. Some college staff (from principals to part-time lecturers) had embraced the work-based philosophy of N/SVQs and were striving to implement them successfully in the workplace. Although several tensions were recognised including funding pressures, the expense involved in workplace assessment, issues of balancing learning and assessment, and the timescales needed for school leavers to attain a working level of competence,

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some of the approaches being used appeared highly effective in assisting students to develop (and demonstrate) their practical skills without sacrificing depth of understanding.

Methods used included

combining employer involvement with short courses and peripatetic assessor visits, workplace-oriented distance learning, and training needs analyses which allowed individuals to select programme components relevant to their needs and interests. Despite these examples some colleges appeared reluctant to modify their approaches to any significant extent, and many still appeared to be treating N/SVQs as a syllabus to be taught through a largely unchanged programme of day- or block-release classes, with assessment typically carried out through incollege ‘practicals.’ On balance, colleges were recognising benefits of competence-based qualifications such as their suitability for employed workers and usefulness as a vehicle to develop better industry links, while having reservations connected with areas such as the apparent bureaucracy, challenges of workplace assessment, and questionable suitability for school-leavers. Most of the non-college training providers interviewed in the study had strong links with the industry (for instance many of their trainers were drawn from practising farmers and growers), but prior to the advent of N/SVQs few had been involved in qualification-bearing programmes other than statutory certificates of competence and proficiency tests. At the time of the study just over half were involved in implementing N/SVQs, and most were broadly positive about the qualifications. Most examples of implementation were workplace-based, frequently engaging employer involvement but using contracted trainers for formal training and assessment.

Private providers were more often using needs analysis approaches and

providing tailored programmes, sometimes based on their existing portfolio of short courses. Providers’ reservations tended to centre around ‘difficult’ language and bureaucracy, as well as financial issues such as industry unwillingness to pay and inconsistencies in TEC funding. Many providers also recognised that the N/SVQ ‘market’ required commitment and perseverance to develop, and would not yield a high level of commercial income. Issues Participants raised several specific issues concerning the implementation and to some extent the purpose of N/SVQs. The qualifications, and occupational standards on which they are based, were widely criticised as being poorly expressed and bureaucratic in style: according to one employer “written for people in colleges, not for the industry.” While the revised (1997) standards were thought to be much improved, some of the comments pointed to a more thorough overhaul being needed to improve workability. Employers and industry-based training providers were most critical in this regard, although a quarter of colleges also commented on language or presentation. Standards of assessment were raised particularly by employers and by providers (including two of the colleges) operating close to the industry.

Centres which assessed off-job to a threshold level of

competence were heavily criticised as undermining the quality and credibility of the qualifications, and the majority of employers wanted to see standards of assessment enforced which represented the ability to work confidently and proficiently. There appeared to be limited confidence in awarding bodies’ quality assurance systems, and some N/SVQ centres were highly critical of what they saw as a lack of knowledge and consistency on the part of external verifiers. Generally, while the industry view was that assessment

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quality needed to improve, there was a fairly strong suspicion that the so-called ‘external’ assessment recommended by the accrediting bodies (NCVQ/SQA 1997) would actually undermine standards by detaching assessment from the practicalities of the workplace.

Conversely, two college respondents

welcomed any opportunities to standardise assessment as a method of reducing costs and releasing staff time which could be better spent on teaching and individual support. A related issue concerned the information and guidance being made available to centres. A significant minority exhibited surprisingly limited knowledge of both the principles of N/SVQ implementation and the range of methods available to use, particularly for assessment. On deeper investigation it was apparent that this problem was being exacerbated by external verifiers who lacked knowledge themselves, and tended to impose unnecessary restrictions on centres. The results for these centres included confusion, increased bureaucracy, an atomistic approach to assessment, and reluctance to innovate for fear of awarding body sanctions. Issues relating to funding were raised widely, both in terms of consistency between regions and the lack of funds to support experienced workers.

Some funding bodies were viewed as having unrealistic

expectations of the time taken by candidates to complete their qualifications, although it was unclear whether this was exerting pressure to lower standards. However, several colleges and providers had doubts whether N/SVQs were the most appropriate qualifications for school leavers without prior experience of working in the industry.

Vocational qualifications and progression routes The majority of non-N/SVQ vocational qualifications in the agricultural sector are accredited by Edexcel (formerly BTEC), City & Guilds, and the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA).

University awards

(primarily first and Master’s degrees, postgraduate diplomas and doctorates by research) are also represented. Full-time agricultural education below degree level in England and Wales is based principally on Edexcelvalidated programmes leading to First, National and Higher National Diplomas, and the City & Guilds National and Advanced National Certificates. The two routes operate in parallel, the Edexcel qualifications having a more theoretical orientation and (above First level) academic entry requirements. Part-time nonNVQ provision is limited, and includes programmes based on the aforementioned qualifications as well as a variety of specialised awards most of which have relatively low enrolments. In Scotland, most sub-degree non-SVQ provision is validated by SQA, and consists of full- and part-time modular National Certificates as well as Higher National Certificates and Diplomas. General National and Scottish Vocational Qualifications (GN/SVQs) have recently been introduced in ‘Land and Environment’ at Foundation, Intermediate and Advanced level (the latter two equating approximately to First and National Diplomas respectively). Compared with NCs and NDs they represent a generalised introduction to land-based industries, although there are options to take more industry-specific modules. In Scotland, the proposed Scottish General Award is likely to enable students to integrate modules from National Certificates, GSVQs and Scottish Highers.

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Modern Apprenticeships The Modern Apprenticeship is a work-based programme which incorporates a Level 3 N/SVQ, a selection of generic skills (Core Skills in Scotland and Key Skills in the remainder of the UK), and additional industryspecific requirements.

Although only two ‘recent entrant’ respondents in the study were Modern

Apprentices, several employers and training providers who were involved in the Apprenticeships commented on them in some depth. Responses to the Modern Apprenticeships were positive in principle, and employers who were aware of what they involve perceived them as a high-quality entry route which integrated theory and practice. However, some training providers reported employers as reluctant to become involved more than marginally in apprentices’ development, and the requirement to employ the apprentice (on the full agerelated wage) appeared to be working against Modern Apprenticeships being used as entry routes for inexperienced young people. There was also a widespread view that the Apprenticeships are generally better-suited to slightly older entrants, and fears that anticipated moves to restrict funding for training to 1619 year old starters would reduce employers’ willingness to employ young people as Apprentices. Some employers and providers argued that Modern Apprenticeships should be available to new or recent entrants regardless of age, and an instance was found where European funding was being used to provide places to over-25s. Perceptions of ‘college’ qualifications Some of the employers who took part in the study were sceptical about qualifications in general, reflecting what was claimed by some to be a widespread perception in the sector. Only 17% of job advertisements in agriculture (as distinct from horticulture) mentioned qualifications or formal training of any kind, and a fairly typical response was that the employer wanted someone who could do the job; if asked for at all courses and certificates were secondary. However, several employers valued the depth of understanding which they associated with college training, and the two well-established further education qualifications - the NC and particularly the ND - appeared to have at least a measure of respect from the industry. In commercial horticulture, with its typically larger firms and use of more complex production and environmental technology, there was greater emphasis on qualifications: 52% of recruitment advertisements mentioned certificates or formal training, a quarter of these asking for degrees or HNDs. A common criticism of college courses was that they were not sufficiently integrated with practice. Some employers complained that requirements for pre-entry experience and sandwich years had been eroded, so that for instance students were coming forward with NDs and NCs but no substantial work experience; colleges’ use of full-time alternatives to pre-entry experience (typically based on the First Diploma) were particularly criticised. Some also commented that students were gaining ‘textbook theory’ at college, rather than building practical theory through an approach more integrated with work: viz. “they need practical theory, a depth of understanding of what they’re doing... not theory isolated from practice.” Employers were sceptical about the value of the First Diploma because it did not appear either to facilitate depth of understanding or develop a useful degree of practical proficiency. GN/SVQs were also criticised quite widely as being too vague and general to be useful in preparing students for work, and more likely to form an alternative to GCSEs or GCE A-levels for those who were not vocationally committed or wanted a general preparation before focussing on a specific field. Similar criticisms of GN/SVQs were also made by

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the specialist colleges. On the other hand, some colleges defended the First Diploma as providing an alternative to work-based routes for school-leavers who

lacked the entry requirements for a more

advanced course, as well as encouraging these younger students into full-time further education; nevertheless, some also recognised that it tended to overlap with NCs and NDs and could result in duplication later on. Students’ perceptions of their qualifications were on the whole positive. The National Diploma had a particularly strong image in the eyes of its students, and most also thought it was well-regarded by potential employers. National Certificate students were also positive, although there was more concern than with Diploma students that they would need further qualifications either once working or in a few cases before leaving full-time education. The majority of both GNVQ and First Diploma students were also positive about their courses, although they were more likely to regard them as stepping-stones to other (mainly fulltime) courses. Progression and entry routes The sector is somewhat atypical in that traditionally at least many 16- or 18-year-old ‘new entrants’ already have considerable work experience, either by coming from a farming family or having worked on a farm or nursery part-time. Although there are indications that the proportion of family members who enter the industry is declining, over 80% of respondent students and trainees (including First Diploma students) had some work experience before starting their courses, including 24% who were from farming families. Leaving aside GNVQs, both full-time students and trainees were strongly motivated by wanting careers in the industry: regardless of course nine-tenths intended to work in some aspect of agriculture or horticulture at least in the medium term. Course managers’ data supported this picture, in that with the exception of one course (the NC in horticulture, which had a high proportion of unemployed and career-change entrants) the proportion of destinations which involved jobs or courses in the industry was of a similar order. Forty-four percent of students and 68% of trainees had joined their programmes directly from school. The most typical routes were on to a training scheme (usually leading to an N/SVQ at Level 2), First Diploma, or in a smaller proportion of cases directly to a National Certificate or Diploma. According to destination data supplied by course managers, just over 50% of FD students progressed to other full-time courses while around 30% went into jobs. Destinations for trainees on NVQ-based programmes were unavailable, but 37% of trainees on college-based NVQ programmes were reported as going on to further courses, and around a quarter of NC and ND students joined with Level 2 NVQs. This suggests that NVQ-based programmes are a significant entry route to full-time courses, with trainees going to college full-time after one or two years on work-based or part-time programmes. The main entry routes to National Diploma programmes were direct from school (33%), via NVQs (20%, mainly at Level 2), and via the First Diploma (16%). A few students joined with GNVQs or NCs. The ND is a recognised route into higher education, and 18% of students took this option with the majority of the remainder going directly into the industry. National Certificate entry routes were 39% from school, 27% with NVQs (all Level 2), and 34% via the First Diploma; while a slightly higher proportion (25%) were progressing to further courses, these were primarily Advanced National Certificates and NDs.

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Progression from full-time courses to N/SVQs currently appears to be minimal, reflecting students’ largely negative perceptions as reported above. Around 20% of students were interested in doing NVQs either alongside their courses or at some point afterwards, but the study identified only two students who had taken NVQs after gaining qualifications full-time. However, there was more evidence of SVQs being taken in parallel with or following on from Scottish National Certificate modules. Issues The main issues raised directly included the theory-practice interface on college courses, the loss of preentry and sandwich years, and the validity of the First Diploma. Some colleges also identified problems with overlap between National Certificate and National Diploma courses, but no easy solutions were proposed for integrating them; while parallels were recognised between the NC and the first year of the ND, the different emphases on academic and practical skills was seen as precluding simple integration. Outside Scotland, the lack of non-NVQ part-time provision was recognised as an issue, and half the colleges in the study had made courses available on a part-time or flexible basis. Several colleges had also started to make N/SVQs available alongside full-time courses, although this was rarely reported as more than partly successful due to additional costs to students and practical issues of developing and assessing competence. The most successful examples appeared to be where students entering with previous work experience could be credited for existing levels of competence, and where courses included a substantial programme of practical work within them. Some provider and college respondents as well as several employers expressed doubts that the current system of vocational qualifications was coherent or flexible enough to meet the needs of either individual students or the industry as a whole. These comments partly concerned qualification structures per se, but they were also linked to the way in which funding was organised, for instance making it difficult either for young people to move between full-time and work-based pathways (such as breaking a Modern Apprenticeship to take a National Diploma course), or to join the work-based route after college (due to age restrictions on funding).

Implications for NVQs and SVQs The study highlights several points about N/SVQs which are unlikely to be confined to agriculture. One of the most readily-voiced complaints concerned language and presentation, a point also voiced in Gordon Beaumont’s national review of NVQs and SVQs (Beaumont 1995). While on the surface this appears a relatively trivial issue it has fairly major implications for the practical implementation of the qualifications. Factors such as the multi-part structure, unfamiliar jargon and passive, specification-style language are creating barriers to the involvement of employers, as well as lengthening the time needed to induct trainers, assessors and candidates into N/SVQs. Difficulties of understanding also reduce the extent to which the latter take ownership of working towards their qualifications, a factor which has been observed with academically well-qualified professionals and managers as well as with young trainees. The passive style of N/SVQ standards also tends to result in ambiguities in meaning (such as lack of clarity about what the candidate actually needs to do) and consequent inconsistencies in interpretation. While many of the more recently-developed standards are clearer, there is still room for improvement.

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The study also has a bearing on current debates about N/SVQ assessment. A tension could be discerned between (primarily) industry-based concerns with the validity of assessment and accreditation, ensuring that qualifications were only awarded to people who could work consistently to a proficient standard, and with some (principally) institutional concerns with maximising the reliability of assessment at ‘threshold’ level, for instance by using a more limited and controlled range of assessment methods. Employers were also concerned about reliability, but saw it as ensuring that assessment was carried out to a consistent standard rather than standardising assessment methods.

The accrediting agencies have recently

recommended ‘independent’ assessment of various types (NCVQ/SQA 1997), but there appears to be little recognition that some types of independent assessment substantially reduce validity by substituting performance in tests or simulated situations for effectiveness in a working environment. This point applies as much to assessing knowledge as practical skills; in what is intended to be a qualification concerned with practice, it is unsafe to regard evidence of declarative knowledge as equating to the (frequently tacit) knowledge which actually informs action. A linked issue involves quality assurance and (external) verification. As has been mentioned the study found instances where external verifiers were providing misleading or incorrect interpretations, as well as in some cases imposing requirements on centres beyond those required by the awarding body. The latter appeared to be leading to a mentality of post-hoc justification and optimisation to the external verifier’s requirements, driving towards assessing ‘competences’ in a pedantic and fragmented way rather than taking a more holistic approach to assessing competence in context.

Added to observations about

consistency of assessment such as those made by Beaumont (op cit) and Eraut et al (1996), this points to the need for substantial improvements to quality assurance, possibly through measures such as smaller and more dedicated teams of professional verifiers or inspectors. It also suggests giving more attention to the development of assessors and internal verifiers in order to build in a thorough practical understanding from the outset. A more fundamental issue about N/SVQs touched upon by the study concerns their essential purpose. The ‘working competence v threshold competence’ debate can be framed to an extent as a debate between provider interests who are viewing the awards in a similar way to other vocational qualifications, i.e. concerned with reaching an acceptable standard at the end of a programme of study, and industry interests who want some guarantee that the person can do an effective job of work. This is partly related to whether the qualifications are concerned principally with developing (mainly young) people for employment, or whether they are intended as benchmarks for current workers (cf Lester 1996). Their use as required outcomes for youth and employment training programmes along with their incorporation into part-time college courses has put the emphasis firmly on the former, and contrary to the intention that the achievement of N/SVQs is not dependent on mode or duration of learning (e.g. NCVQ 1995, p31) it has for practical purposes linked them both to specific programmes and in some cases to funding-driven timescales. It is perhaps relevant that the National Proficiency Tests used in agriculture, while having a more restrictive assessment strategy, are explicitly independent of courses or training programmes; many young people entering the industry would typically achieve craft status via the proficiency test route some time after finishing their formal training.

Issues for qualifications frameworks and progression routes Compared with the qualifications pathways promoted by government sources (e.g. DENI/WO/DfEE 1997) and endorsed by Dearing (1996, 1997) and others, the picture in practice is more messy; arguably it needs

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to be if it is to meet the needs of a diverse spectrum of learners. The ‘official’ framework for England and Wales below higher education level consists of a matrix of three streams (GCSE/A-level, GNVQ and NVQ) and three levels (1, 2 and 3, or foundation, intermediate and advanced), to which an entry level is sometimes added. Agriculture, as with several other sectors, adds a fourth stream of vocational further education (FE) qualifications which might best be positioned between GNVQs and NVQs. As has been described even this oversimplifies the picture in practice given the presence of different types of FE qualification. As an aside, the framework’s depiction of level-equivalents between different kinds of award appears to be contributing to the lack of interest in NVQs shown by some full-time students: the argument is basically that there is little point in taking a qualification at the same or a lower level. This ‘equivalence of level’ problem is widespread and masks the differences in philosophy and aims between a vocationally-oriented course and a certificate of occupational competence (cf Lester 1994). While the study strongly suggested that there is room to rationalise existing FE qualifications and develop a more integrated progression route, the findings supported the need for vocationally-oriented qualifications of the National Diploma type to be available both as now on a full-time basis, and through part-time and flexible routes. There also appears to be a gap in initial provision for school leavers which is not being met particularly well either by the First Diploma or by N/SVQs. With this in mind at least one funding body (PROSPER. the Training and Enterprise Council for Devon and Cornwall) has worked with local colleges to develop a short (12-week) introductory course as an induction to both full-time courses, Modern Apprenticeships and other work-based routes (Lester 1998, pp71-72). Taken with the discussion above about N/SVQs being used as outcomes for training programmes, these points suggest that there is a need for a more widely available system of non-N/SVQ vocational qualifications geared to the needs of new entrants, possibly within a baccalaureate-type framework. This would have the benefit of allowing a greater range of options to be accredited (and funded), and remove much of the pressure for inexperienced trainees to achieve N/SVQs before they have attained a reasonable level of proficiency. competence

-

As well as developing understanding and skills contributing to occupational

often described as ‘underpinning’ N/SVQs

-

they would also provide a vehicle for

developing broader capacities such as those for self-management and continuous learning.

These

qualifications will need to be developed and managed creatively rather than bureaucratically, particularly to ensure they are concerned with developing knowledge-in-use and are available through a variety of modes including at work.

Some of the more innovative approaches being used to provide higher education

through the workplace, such as the work-based degrees at Leeds University in the UK (Foster 1996) and Deakin University in Australia (Beeson 1998), are worth studying in this respect.

Conclusion Recent UK government rhetoric has talked of the need to develop a world-class workforce. If this vision is to be realised there is a need to ensure that vocational development routes both prepare people to be effective in the jobs and careers which are available now, and help them develop capabilities to handle the unpredictable in the future. This requires a range of high-quality, interlinked education and training routes to be available which take seriously both the individual’s development and the current and future needs of industry.

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It also requires a clearer distinction to be made between qualifications as programme outcomes and as certificates of occupational competence. This is not to suggest that appropriate programmes should not assist students or trainees to develop competence at or for work, but to remove on the one hand the pressure to devalue occupationally-based qualifications by awarding them to people who are not yet fully proficient, and on the other the pressures to assess job-specific competence within programmes which should be concerned with wider development. In addition, it requires the practical and funding flexibility to enable people to integrate and move back and forth between full-time college and work-based development routes, without prejudice as to age or time to completion.

Acknowledgements The study on which this paper is based was completed under contract to ATB-Landbase (now Lantra) and funded by the Department for Education and Employment. The views expressed by the author are not necessarily those of the commissioning or funding bodies.

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