The Purposes and Validity of Vocational Qualifications

a SKOPE Research Paper (No. 105 November 2011) by Cathy Stasz (RAND Corporation)

Abstract

UK policy makers continue to focus on increasing skills as a means to economic and social prosperity and social mobility.

Qualifications – the certificates and diplomas awarded following education, training or learning – stand as a proxy for skill and many policies aim to raise levels of qualifications held. Policy makers have focused much attention on vocational qualifications and history is replete with efforts to reform the vocational education and training (VET) system. Many studies have identified both strengths and weaknesses in the current system, most recently the Wolf Review (2011).

This paper does not attempt to cover old ground, but to look at more basic questions:

• What are the purposes of vocational qualifications?
• Are they fit for those purposes?

While the first question has been addressed in policy and scholarly circles, less attention has been paid to the second question. This paper draws on literature related to the validity of assessment, because an award of a vocational qualification rests on a candidate’s successful performance on particular types of assessment tasks. It examines conceptions of validity and their implications for the interpretation of assessment results. The review shows that judging the validity of vocational qualifications is much more complicated than the architects of National Vocational Qualifications envisioned. The purposes of vocational qualifications have expanded and also vary for different stakeholders. The paper argues that the extent to which vocational qualifications support valid inferences for different purposes remains largely unexplored.

Full text (PDF 30pp)

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Does the availability of vocational qualifications through work assist social inclusion?

 an article by Erica Smith and Andy Smith (University of Ballarat, Australia) published in Education + Training Volume 53 Issue 7 (2011)

Abstract

Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to discuss whether the availability of qualifications through work-based traineeships in Australia assists social inclusion.
Design/methodology/approach
Industry case studies, of the finance and cleaning industries, were undertaken as part of a national research project on quality in traineeships. The two industry case studies were analysed to provide data on social inclusion aspects. A general discussion on the “pros” and “cons” of gaining qualifications through work, from a social inclusion point of view, is included.
Findings
The industry case studies show many advantages of work-based qualifications for people who have had disadvantaged economic and social backgrounds. The study presents a model showing how work-based qualifications help to meet the twin social inclusion goals of employment and education. However in economic hard times, the need to have a job may rule out some people. Also, some doubts about quality in work-based delivery may mean that qualifications gained through work may be of lower value than those gained at least partly through formal study.
Research limitations/implications
The models put forward are tentative, based on the findings in the research study that has been described and the authors’ earlier research. Further research is necessary to establish the social inclusion benefits of this means of gaining qualifications. In particular longitudinal research with disadvantaged people who have gained qualifications through this route is needed to evaluate whether their completion of qualifications through employment has assisted their broader economic and social engagement, and in what ways. In addition, research is needed to compare the quality and utility of qualifications gained through work and those through education providers as a poor-quality qualification may be of limited long-term use to an individual.
Practical implications
Work-based qualifications are shown to be a useful investment of public resources. The research also analyses some shortcomings of this method of gaining qualifications so that they can be addressed by employers and training providers.
Social implications
The research establishes the social inclusion utility of work-based qualifications, providing insights useful for education systems and social welfare organisations.
Originality/value
This is one of very few scholarly studies of the large-scale use of work-based qualifications.

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