Wales' Qualifications Fit for Purpose? Discuss

In September 2011  Jeff Cuthbert AM, Deputy Minister for Skills, announced a review of Qualifications in Wales. The Review is chaired by Huw Evans OBE.

Key question: Is the qualifications system in Wales and the qualifications themselves fit for purpose? Join the online discussion on http://qualificationsconference.pbworks.com

Together with the national conference on qualifications on 2 February 2012, the online forum will feed into the official Review of Qualifications commissioned by the Welsh Government.

The online discussion and the conference are organised by ColegauCymru / CollegesWales in partnership with the Welsh Government. Leaders, managers, teachers and learners who are involved in education and training are all invited.  The focus is on the qualifications available to 14-19 year olds. Participants are likely to include further education colleges, schools, higher education institutions and independent work based learning providers, as well as awarding organisations, sector skills councils, 14-19 learning partnerships, Estyn and employer representatives.

A National Conference on Qualifications was organised by ColegauCymru in partnership with the Welsh Government on 2 February 2012 at Cardiff City Stadium, Cardiff.
Key speakers: Jeff Cuthbert AC Deputy Minister for Skills, Professor Alison Wolf, Huw Evans OBE
Conference chair: Jason Mohammad

Purpose
The conference provided an opportunity for a sector-wide debate to feed into the Review of Qualifications chaired by Huw Evans OBE. 

Key themes of the Review of Qualifications:

• the most relevant qualifications are identified and are available to learners – to include which qualifications have greatest value and which are most relevant
• qualifications are trusted and understood
• the assessments which form part of our qualifications are appropriate
• there are clear progression routes in both general and vocational qualifications
• qualifications remain fit for purpose and flexible to respond to our changing needs as a society and an economy.

In England, a major review of 14-19 Vocational Education chaired by Professor Alison Wolf set out four key principles for reform:

• the system must stop ‘tracking’ 14 to16 year olds into ‘dead-end’ courses
• the system must be made honest so young people not pushed into damaging decisions
• the system must be dramatically simplified to remove perverse incentives
• England should learn best practice from countries doing things better than us, such as Denmark, France and Germany.

Target audience
FE colleges, schools, higher education institutions, independent work based learning providers, awarding organisations, sector skills councils, 14-19 learning partnerships, DfES, Estyn.

Post-conference
You are invited to contribute to an online discussion forum.  It is open to all.  The discussion forum poses a number of questions that are relevant to the Review of Qualifications and the Conference. Please respond to as many or as few of the questions as you wish.  http://qualificationsconference.pbworks.com