Foundation degrees: the CBI and NATFHE views

Citation

(2001), "Foundation degrees: the CBI and NATFHE views", Education + Training, Vol. 43 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/et.2001.00443aab.002

Foundation degrees: the CBI and NATFHE views

Foundation degrees: the CBI and NATFHE views

Keywords: Higher education, Vocational training

The Government's objectives in setting up a vocational foundation degree are right, but the details have been called into question by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI). Drawing on the results of a survey of member companies, John Roberts, chairman of the CBI education and training committee, commented: "We strongly support the Government's aim to expand higher education and make courses more relevant to work. The broad objectives of the vocational foundation degree are right and 77 per cent of firms can see value in the idea". But the CBI warned that the proposals need changing because: employers' demands for skilled staff are not exclusively focused at the level of intermediate qualifications such as higher national diplomas and the proposed foundation degree; the proposals run the risk of duplicating existing qualifications; and the proposals do not solve the lack of work-related skills among students at all levels.

To ensure that the details of the foundation degrees are right, the CBI recommends that higher education be expanded at all levels, the definition of a foundation degree be broadened so that all students who have successfully completed two years of study or the part-time equivalent are awarded a foundation degree, and more degree courses be designed to prepare students for employment.

Meanwhile, the National Association of Teachers in Further and Higher Education (Natfhe) says that the foundation degrees should recruit students from the widest possible pool, not simply school leavers and those already employed. The qualification should enable all those who want to, to progress to an honours degree, rather than focusing on immediate employment. Natfhe welcomes the improvement in the foundation-degree prospectus, especially the shift towards recognizing the importance of building on existing sub-degree provision. The association's HE News continues: "We also welcome the greater flexibility of foundation-degree bids, and particularly the fact that they will be funded at the same level as other higher-education provision. "Natfhe will continue to pursue these issues nationally, and will also seek to ensure that the new higher-education provision gets the balance right between skills and the critical, academic components of courses".