A General National Vocational Qualification, or GNVQ, was a certificate of

vocational education Vocational education is education that prepares people for a skilled craft. Vocational education can also be seen as that type of education given to an individual to prepare that individual to be gainfully employed or self employed with req ...

in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. The last GNVQs were awarded in 2007. The qualifications related to occupational areas in general, rather than any specific job. They could be taken in a wide range of subjects. There were different levels of GNVQ, namely the Intermediate level (equivalent to four General Certificates of Secondary Education) and Advanced level (equivalent to two Advanced-level General Certificates of Education). GNVQs were available to people of all ages. Many

school A school is the educational institution (and, in the case of in-person learning, the Educational architecture, building) designed to provide learning environments for the teaching of students, usually under the direction of teachers. Most co ...

s and

college A college (Latin: ''collegium'') may be a tertiary educational institution (sometimes awarding degrees), part of a collegiate university, an institution offering vocational education, a further education institution, or a secondary sc ...

s offered these courses and they could be studied alongside

GCSE The General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) is an academic qualification in a range of subjects taken in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, having been introduced in September 1986 and its first exams taken in 1988. State schools ...

s or

A levels The A-level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational a ...

. The GNVQ generally involved much coursework (6-8 large assignments), which allowed holders to show their skills when applying for jobs. GNVQs were used in many schools in

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

in three main subjects: Engineering, Health and Social Care, and Leisure and Tourism. They were commonly used between early 2000 and 2005 as one-year courses for post-

students who wished to further their education within the sixth-form but not at an A-Level standard. The course was generally undertaken in Wales at Intermediate level with day-release at an appropriate work placement during school hours for the duration of the year. Subsequent to 2005 many schools stopped using GNVQ courses in the

sixth form In the education systems of Barbados, England, Jamaica, Northern Ireland, Trinidad and Tobago, Wales, and some other Commonwealth countries, sixth form represents the final two years of secondary education, ages 16 to 18. Pupils typically prepa ...

and after 2004 incorporated Intermediate or Foundation level GNVQs into the syllabus in years 10 and 11 along with GCSEs. This was to encourage more students to undertake vocational areas of study as part of their compulsory education. The majority of one-year courses for sixth formers were then replaced with BTEC First Diplomas and Certificates. GNVQs ceased to be offered in late 2007. Pupils in England and Wales are able to undertake BTEC and OCR national certificates and diplomas instead. Alternatives to GNVQ qualifications include vocational

s, BTEC diplomas and certificates,

OCR Nationals OCR Nationals are vocationally related qualifications which were officially launched by the OCR Board in September 2004. The qualifications are designed to meet the needs of those seeking vocational education in place of the traditional, theory- ...

and

City and Guild A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

progression awards. The Diploma in Digital Applications, launched in 2005, was seen as a successor to GNVQ ICT, however many centres quickly switched to the equivalent OCR National qualification due to issues with DiDA's assessment format.

References

External links

Directgov: NVQs and GNVQs
Educational qualifications in England Educational qualifications in Wales Secondary school qualifications Vocational education in the United Kingdom {{UK-edu-stub