The European Qualifications Framework (EQF) was introduced in 2008 as a "meta-framework" or common reference point for national qualifications frameworks in Europe, a function for which, with some caveats, it has been pragmatically successful. It has also been used with variable success to support the development or referencing of…

In addition to the familiar occupational standards that underpin National Vocational Qualifications, the UK has a parallel if less complete system of competence or practice standards that are developed and controlled by professional bodies. While there is a certain amount of overlap between the two types of standard, recent research points to a…

The TRAVORS projects, supported by the European Union's Lifelong Learning Programme, ran between 2008 and 2012. Their object was to develop training programmes for disability employment practitioners across nine countries based on proven approaches both to vocational rehabilitation and to skills training. The second of the two projects aimed to…

The Conservation Technician Qualification (CTQ) is a recent development to meet the needs of a group of workers in the cultural heritage field. While following some of the principles underpinning UK National Vocational Qualifications, it is employer-initiated and owned, awarded by a professional institute, and wholly workplace-based. A short trial…

Data from a survey of 26 British training providers, 19 land-based colleges, 56 new workers in agriculture, and 29 employers revealed difficulties understanding the language of National Vocational Qualifications and Scottish Vocational Qualifications, concerns about their validity and reliability, and ambiguity surrounding their essential purpose.…