The Industry Training Federation held their conference on Wed and Thur this week. The big proposal coming out of the conference was that “broad sectoral-based qualifications ” should be offered in schools, providing “clearer pathways to vocational study and work”. The following is from a media release by Jeremy Baker, the ITF’s Executive Director.

“We have initially identified five broad qualifications that senior secondary school students could work towards.  These broad qualifications would help students to identify career choices, but would not limit their options. These qualifications would complement the NCEA, and help remove confusion about vocational education and training options.  They would also help students see the relevance of core subjects like English, maths, and science to the working world, which would motivate achievement in these subjects.”
 
The Federation is suggesting that qualifications be developed covering the services; building and construction; manufacturing and technology; primary; and social and community sectors.
 
“This proposal is a smart use of the opportunities created by the NCEA. It does not change anything for those students heading to university but provides real and valuable options for the 70% of secondary students who choose not to go to university. These students will be the vast majority of our future skilled workers. This proposal would help them find pathways to vocations that suit their interests and strengths.”
 
Mr Baker said the Federation was continuing to work with ITOs, government, and sector groups to develop the proposal.

This sounds like a bloody good idea to me. It provides clear non-university pathways, while it helps to tidy up the clutter of many well-intentioned programmes developed by ITOs and others. It will be tough to achieve but how many worthwhile things aren’t? I might explore this more over the next wee while, but I’d be keen to get some feedback on what people think about the general idea.