Vocational training in universities

Citation

(1999), "Vocational training in universities", Education + Training, Vol. 41 No. 9. https://doi.org/10.1108/et.1999.00441iab.002

Vocational training in universities

Keywords Vocational training, Higher education

The University Vocational Awards Council (UVAC) has been set up to lobby for vocational training in UK universities. The body has been developed because universities recognized the significance of vocational awards in higher education, especially with the demand for continuing professional development within professional bodies. It is supported by the Committee for Vice-Chancellors and Principals, the Department for Education and Employment (DfEE), the Higher Education Training Organization and the Higher Education Funding Council.

Baroness Blackstone, Minister for Further and Higher Education, commented: "The integration of education and employment is at the heart of the DfEE. UVAC is a firm sign that, in the university sector, national vocational qualifications (NVQs) can be, and are, useful in adding a vocationally-relevant dimension to degree programmes through work experience, acquisition of particular knowledge and skills and as a means of encouraging reflective practice. More than that, the occupational standard on which NVQs are based can significantly inform the design of vocationally-oriented degrees and ease the path of students into the industries which they aim to enter. They offer a common language for dialogue between the worlds of employment and higher education. NVQs can have an important role to play in part-time degrees and continuous professional development undertaken by universities to enhance the skills and knowledge of the workforce, to encourage lifelong learning and to increase participation."