Vocational qualifications are either work-related qualifications designed to enable students to gain the skills required to perform a particular job, or qualifications that may be taken as part of a wider study programme or an apprenticeship.
Schools and colleges may offer qualifications that are not included in the DfE performance tables, if approved for teaching to 16-19 year olds by the Secretary of State for Education in England under Section 96, where this is in the best interests of individual students.
The Level 3 Certificate in Housing Services is aimed at preparing individuals for work in front-line housing management roles. The qualification aims to:
- serve core housing worker roles
- allow a variety of combinations of units to match the core specialist housing functions undertaken at different housing organisations
- cover functions such as anti-social behaviour, community development repairs and maintenance, tenure, rents, planning and development, and professional practice
- prepare students for further study in housing related qualifications at Levels 3 and 4
Housing management requires specific knowledge and skills and the Level 3 Certificate in Housing Services has been developed to enable individuals to perform specific roles.
Housing management is a broad occupation, so the qualification contains a number of units that can be combined in a variety of ways to meet the requirements of specific roles e.g. community development, income management, anti-social behaviour etc.
Pass, Refer, Fail
The mandatory unit is assessed is by an externally set assignment.
Optional units are assessed by internally set assignments that are externally moderated.
Centres design assignments that are related to real world tasks.
There are a number of key considerations for HEPs when reviewing vocational qualifications that are not listed on the DfE 16-19 performance tables for England:
- Some of these qualifications are occupational, and may not be designed specifically for progression to HE.
- Applicants holding these qualifications may be school or college leavers, however, some may be more mature students who are likely to have other relevant experience alongside these qualifications.
- These qualifications may have been taken as part of a wider study programme or an apprenticeship.
- If they are presented for admission to HE it is likely to be in conjunction with other qualifications.
The Level 3 Certificate in Housing Services has been delivered in schools since 2014 and there will be applicants for higher education for September 2016 entry onwards with the qualification.
Students usually combine this qualification with other qualifications, such as AS levels, A levels and BTECs.
Link to specification: https://www.cih.org/media/wdypncgc/qspec-l3-c-in-hsg-servicesv0518.pdf