England's National Vocational Qualifications (NVQs) are statements of competence that are based on national standards for performance in employment. NVQs are organized into five levels of achievement and areas of competence as follows: introductory, trade, technical/craft and supervision, "incorporated" equivalent, and "chartered" equivalent. General NVQs (GNVQs) are designed to be pursued by candidates not yet certain of their career goals or wishing to use the qualifications as a step toward higher education. The primary developers of NVQs are industry lead bodies consisting of employers and key organizations and industrialists. Educators have not yet been significantly involved in development of NVQs. The relationship between NVQs and other standards is unclear. One potential problem regarding NVQs is that they are being developed on an industry-wide basis whereas current academic courses and professional institutions are organized along discipline-based lines. Other emerging problems in the development of NVQs include problems related to underpinning knowledge and understanding, defining competence, and determining the role of assessment and assessors in the NVQ system. Single-discipline educational institutions will soon be faced with applications from candidates holding GNVQs and NVQs and must decide how to use them in the admissions process. (MN)