News story: Shaping the qualifications landscape

Ofqual is today (Tuesday 21 November) hosting an event for stakeholders to learn more about England’s vocational and technical qualifications landscape. Around 90 representatives from employers, trailblazer groups, training providers and educational associations and organisations are attending the symposium at the Royal Society in London. The event aims to raise awareness and understanding of the qualifications landscape, gather feedback from attendees on their use of qualifications and discuss the challenges and opportunities associated with reform. Ofqual is particularly keen to describe and discuss how regulation can potentially best support them.

Sally Collier said:

We want employers to be confident that vocational and technical qualifications meet their needs, and those of their employees. We are already supporting those aims through the experience and expertise we bring to regulation. Today’s event provides another opportunity for us to listen to what users of qualifications have to say, and ensure that they are right at the forefront of shaping the new landscape.

Alongside today’s event, we are releasing a range of reports and guidance. These include findings from a review of nearly 100 apprenticeship assessment plans, which we have written to help current and future trailblazers develop these important documents. Another identifies the factors that contribute to the effective functioning of assessments through a review of 27 vocational and technical qualifications found in performance tables. A further document reports on how Applied General qualifications are viewed and used by stakeholders. Together, they provide a set of resources to help inform the effective development of new vocational and technical qualifications.

We are also launching the prototype of a new interactive tool today to help everyone navigate the current qualifications landscape. This innovative way of visualising data makes our register of regulated qualifications more accessible and easier to explore.