Edexcel held the first of its three regional conferences looking at the future of the vocational landscape on Thursday 12 October. The conference featured keynote presentations from Dr Ken Boston, Chief Executive, QCA, and Edexcel's new Director of Qualifications and Standards, Isabel Sutcliffe.
 Pictured left to right: Ken Boston, Isabel Sutcliffe, Helen France and Paul Sokoloff. | The conferences aim to contextualise and clarify the wealth of information and policies surrounding vocational education and training. |
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| Ken Boston said: "The distinction between general and vocational education is, in my view, not useful and cannot be sustained. It is easier to argue that all education is general or that all is vocational, than it is to define what is general and what is vocational or which is education and which is training. |
| "Every one of us in this room has a critical role to play in building human capital, the intellectual capacity and technical skill of the individual and indeed the nation. And in achieving that, partnerships at local level are the key. This conference is therefore very timely and I congratulate Edexcel on its initiative in bringing it together." | |
The present
Every year, almost half a million learners study for BTEC qualifications. They are the fastest growing qualification in schools, and crucially, they have a high acceptance by employers – many major industries in the UK cite BTECs as an embedded requirement. In 2005 alone 260,000 students studied BTECs at college; 63,000 studied BTECs in schools; 23,000 studied BTECs at University; and 14,000 employees studied a BTEC whilst at work.
BTECs range from entry level qualifications to graduate level qualifications. They are developed in consultation with industry and professionals, ensuring that they are relevant, progressive and recognised by professional bodies, employers and universities.
The future?
How will BTECs fit in to the framework of the new specialised Diplomas? Edexcel has today published a policy document on this. There is more information on specialised Diplomas and Edexcel’s involvement in taking these forward, on our new microsite: www.edexcel.org.uk/specialised-diploma
Case study:
Hodge Hill School in Birmingham has, in just four years, quadrupled the achievement of its students – from 15% pass rates at A* - C to 64% in 2006. Head Teacher, Marie McMahon, credits the introduction of a revolutionary new curriculum, where students study BTECs alongside their GCSEs. She says: “It was important for me not to go for a one size fits all approach in terms of key stage 4 - variety, breadth and balance were essential. We began to build up an increasing level of BTEC qualifications and last year, all year eleven students chose from one of eight vocational subjects and two of seventeen traditional GCSEs.
Ms McMahon adds: “One of the things I really like about the vocational programme we do here, is that it enables students to begin preparing for the world of work. Our curriculum gives our students the opportunity to give it their best shot in a variety of learning styles.”
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