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The Role and Use of Vocational Qualifications

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 March 2020

Michael Eraut
Michael Eraut*
Affiliation:
Professor of Education, University of Sussex
*
e-mail M.Eraut@sussex.ac.uk
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Abstract

Most vocational qualifications have been gazumped by general educational qualifications that have higher selection value, and their relative esteem is self-perpetuating. The use value of vocational qualifications depends on (1) the appropriateness of, and interconnection between, their work-related and work-based components, and (2) further work-based learning after qualification to ensure that the acquired knowledge and skills can be used in the particular circumstances and conditions of the current workplace. The NVQ experience has confirmed that detailed national specifications cannot match the diversity of workplace learning needs, so a more flexible approach is needed. Qualification policy should be based on evidence of fitness for purpose, rather than political troubleshooting or wishful thinking; and backed by a programme of incisive research.

Type
Research Article
Information
National Institute Economic Review , Volume 178 , October 2001 , pp. 88 - 98
Copyright
Copyright © 2001 National Institute of Economic and Social Research

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