Lack of employer input sparks fears over vocational diplomas

24 April 2008
 
Employers, teachers and exam boards are concerned that new diplomas designed to tackle the skills shortages in construction and other sectors are set to fail.

The news comes despite government claims that its new vocational qualifications for 14 to 19-year-olds – including a diploma in construction and the built environment – are ‘going from strength to strength’ (Surveyor, 27 March).

The idea is that more young people will learn trades skills, and be encouraged into professions they might not have considered, such as transportation. But the Civil Engineering Contractors Association highlighted that the quality of the diplomas would be damaged by the ‘limited involvement of employers’ in the 144 consortia approved to deliver the qualification from September.

The plan was that each of the consortia would have a construction firm on board to assist with the delivery of the course, but ‘many still do not have an employer involved’.

Given this, Joe Johnson, CECA’s director of training, predicted that there would be ‘a varying degree of work experience’. He said: ‘Students looking for an alternative to an academic pathway will be bemused by the downgrading of the diploma’s vocational element. ‘

A holder of the diploma might not have set foot on a construction site during the entire course.’ Meanwhile, more than half of school staff responding to a National Union of Teachers survey were ‘not familiar’ with the purpose or content of the diplomas, and the head of the Edexcel exam board was concerned that the new system ‘risks failure’. Jerry Jarvis, director of Edexcel, said it was crucial that the Government acted to ensure the qualification succeeded.

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