Innovative New Qualifications Structure Praised By Permanent Secretary

8 February 2005
INNOVATIVE NEW QUALIFICATIONS STRUCTURE PRAISED BY PERMANENT SECRETARY
The proposal to develop a new framework for achievement, designed to recognise a wider range of attainment and be fit for employment purposes, was launched today, by Will Haire, Permanent Secretary at the Department for Employment and Learning.

In a speech to delegates attending the official launch of the Framework for Recognising Achievement consultative document (FfRA), Will Haire said: "Last November, my Department launched a public consultation on the new Skills Strategy for Northern Ireland. It is the first time a coherent, comprehensive strategy for skills has been attempted here and it marks the importance now attributed to skills as a major issue in economic development.

"The reform of vocational qualifications and their supporting infrastructure, is a major plank in the Skills Strategy and I applaud the speedy response by the Council for the Curriculum Examinations and Assessment (CCEA), in beginning the consultative process on our behalf.

"The work will culminate in addressing and agreeing the key issues and design principles, necessary to underpin the wide ranging reforms which are envisaged. Our vision is, that by 2010, modern qualification structures, tailored and quality assured to meet sector needs, will be in place within a new, unit-based credit framework."

Will Haire went on to outline the requirements for the new framework, by saying that it should be:

responsive to the needs of individuals and employers;

inclusive of a wide range of achievements;

easily understood and accessible to learners and providers;

cost effective to use and manage; and

valued by all users

In conclusion, Will Haire said he believed that the introduction of a new framework had the potential to provide Northern Ireland with the necessary levers, so urgently needed, to drive the Skills Strategy forward and added:

"The new framework, which I have described, is being built on the solid foundations of the Northern Ireland Credit Accumulation and Transfer System and the National Qualifications Framework, which is shared with England and Wales. It also reflects broader developments in Scotland, the Republic of Ireland and Europe.

"If our approach to skills development is, genuinely, to be across the United Kingdom, and internationally competitive, the most fundamental test of our success, must be that a person beginning a qualification in Armagh, should be able to complete it in Acton and have it recognised in Aberdeen, Athlone and even Amsterdam."

NOTES TO EDITORS:

Media enquiries to the Department for Employment and Learning Press Office on telephone: 028 9025 7790.

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