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 Pearson Edexcel Level 3 Diploma in Building Services Engineering for Technicians (QCF) prepares students for:
- Licentiate membership of the Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers (LCIBSE)
- professional registration as an Engineering Technician with the Engineering Council
The qualification offers a programme of work-based study for building services engineering apprentices. Building services involve the implementation and maintenance of, for example, heating, plumbing, security, lighting, air conditioning etc.
The qualification provides the competencies required for the design pathway within the Advanced Apprenticeship in Building Services Engineering Technology and Project Management Framework for Technicians.
Pass, Fail
The assessment requirements were developed by the Chartered Institution of Building Service Engineers (CIBSE) in partnership with employers, training providers, the sector skills council, the awarding organisation and the regulatory authorities.
The overall grade for the qualification is a Pass. The student must achieve all the required units within the specified qualification structure.
To pass a unit the student must:
- achieve all the specified learning outcomes
- satisfy all the assessment criteria by providing sufficient and valid evidence for each criterion
- show that the evidence is their own
The qualifications are designed to be assessed:
- in the workplace or
- in conditions resembling the workplace, as specified in the assessment requirements and strategy for the sector, or
- as part of a training programme
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.