Competencies in the United Kingdom

• disappointment about British industrial performance, easily attributable to poor management (Constable and McCormick 1987).
• political momentum behind the competency movement over and above considerations of education and training.
• promoted by the Training and Enterprise Directorate of the Department for Education and Employment.

The principles of competencies leading to NVQs are:

1. Open access.

   There should be no artificial barriers to training, like it being available only to people who are members of a professional body, such as the Institute of Personnel and Development or the Law Society, or those in a particular age group.
   
   
2. a focus on what people can do, rather than on the process of learning. Masters' students in a university typically cannot graduate in less than twelve months. With competency-based qualifications, you graduate when you can demonstrate competency, however long or short a period it takes you to achieve the standard.
   
   
3. National vocational qualifications
   • the same wherever the training takes place
   • the control is in the hands of the awarding body rather than the training body
   • only one strand of qualification for each vocational area: no multiplication of rival qualifications.
   • Overall control is with NCVQ - today the Qualifications and Curriculum Agency

1. Performance standards as the basis of assessment

   not essays or written-up case studies, but practical demonstrations in working situations, or replicas, of an ability to do the job at a specified standard. Although training schemes are littered with euphoria about excellence, the competency basis has only one standard. The only degree of differentiation between trainees is the length of time taken to complete the qualification.
   
   
2. Flexibility and modularisation.
   
   People must be able to transfer their learning more or less at will between 'providers', so that they are not tied to a single institution and without needless regulations about attendance. Woolwich Building Society runs a scheme with one of the London universities whereby employees can obtain a BA in Business Studies without ever visiting the university itself.
   
   
3. Accreditation of prior experience and learning.
   
   If you have expert, prior learning in your occupation, no matter how you acquired it, this can be accredited - given recognition via an award.
   
   Acquisition of competence by straightforward experience or practice at home, provided the defined performance standard can be demonstrated, will be recognised for credit.
   
   If prior accredited learning also enables competence to be demonstrated for a new occupation or award - then through accredition of prior certificated learning, credit can be obtained for this also l so long as the prior accredited learning is sufficient, current and can be substantiated (evidenced).
   
   
4. Establishment of a learning contract between the provider and the trainee
   
   - the initiative lies with the learner to specify the assistance and facilities needed. The provider agrees to provide them. The idea of this is to put the active, committed learner at the centre of the the learning process.
   
   
5. Flexibility in assessment
   
   is partly achieved by a portfolio principle and practice, as you accumulate evidence of your competence from your regular, day-today working and submit it for assessment as appropriate.
   
   
6. Continuous development.
   
   Initial qualification is not enough. Updating and competence extension will be needed and failure to do this will lead to loss of qualification.
   
   
7. The standards to be achieved are determined by designated lead bodies
   
   - committees of practitioners, or professional bodies, so that vocational standards are decided by those in charge of the workplace instead of by those in charge of the classroom One of these was MCI, the Management Charter Initiative, which set and published standards for management at the administrative, middle level and strategic manager levels. These are intended to equate to Certificate, Diploma and MBA.
   
   
8. Assessment.
   
   Written examinations were not regarded as being always the most appropriate means of assessing competence. Assessment of whether or not the learner has attained the appropriate standard must be by a qualified assessor, who becomes qualitied by demonstrating competence according to two units of the scheme produced by the Training and Development Lead Body. Assessment may be partly by portfolio (see 8 above), but has to be work-based. Originally it was to be in the work place, but that proved impracticable to implement.
   
   
9. GNVQs
   
   - are school- or college based and take the place of former BTEC National Certificates and Diplomas and similar qualifications.
   • NVQs have had a rough ride since first introduced,
   • heavy criticism
   • not extensively taken up.