Our Knowledge and Expertise
Qualifications and Skills Change
Keeping qualifications frameworks and curricula fit for purpose remains a substantial challenge for government policy, regulatory and standard setting bodies and individual providers. HOST’s research and evaluation services continue to make an important contribution at all levels – European, national, regional, sub-regional and sectoral – in providing the robust intelligence and analysis needed to rise to this challenge. In the last 10 years in particular this has been an important focus for HOST’s work with government departments, non-departmental agencies, regional development agencies and others.
HOST expertise has helped in areas as diverse as reviewing specific implications for qualification development, such as change in key areas of technology or in new working practices, or reviewing employer or learner needs of developing qualifications frameworks. It has also looked at the implications of new qualifications and new qualification arrangements for both provider capacity building, and the initial and continuing development of teachers, tutors, trainers and those supporting them in delivery and assessment of learning. HOST has also been involved in some of the most influential policy studies looking at how new qualification systems need to be responsive to changing employer and learner needs and expectations, and how providers are building that responsiveness.
Studies of qualifications and skills change are highly customised to client needs and circumstances but all require highly applied outputs. Studies in this area in post- compulsory education have included the national evaluation of off-site assessment and training (LSC), provider support for the introduction of the Qualifications Credit Framework (QCF), the national review of the assessment and verification standards (QCA and SQA), and apprenticeship certification (LSC). In schools, HOST has contributed to the national review of provider standards for initial teacher training (TDA), evaluated the school support staff qualification initiative (SWiS) and education-business links (NAW), as well as assessing school-college 14-16 partnerships in re-engaging disaffected students. At higher education level, HOST has worked in areas as broad as university responsiveness to employer skills needs, graduate employment and skill changes, graduates and self-employment and enterprise in higher education.