VQ Day: vocational qualifications a route to future success
4 Jun 2014 01:04 PM
To mark VQ Day 2014, a
new report from the Institute of Public Policy Research has investigated the
changing landscape of the workforce.
“VQ Day is about
celebrating the ways in which high-quality vocational education and training,
in all its forms, benefits learners, employers and the economy as a
whole,” said Skills and Enterprise Minister, Matthew Hancock, about the
7th annual VQ Day on 4 June 2014.
He added:
We are reforming vocational
qualifications to make sure they are rigorous and responsive to
employers’ needs, to ensure all students get a valued qualification. The
VQ Awards form an important part of the celebrations and set an exceptional
example, demonstrating the success that can be achieved through taking
vocational qualifications.
To mark VQ Day 2014 a new report from
the Institute of Public Policy Research (IPPR) has investigated the changing
landscape of the workforce, it says that by 2022 - 9 out of 10 most in-demand
occupations of the future will be attained by completing vocational
qualifications.
It has been estimated that 3.6
million vacancies will become available over the next decade and many of the
jobs expected to drive economic growth and mobility will be accessible with a
vocational qualification.
The most in-demand occupations
will all be in health and care as a result of our ageing population with the
report revealing that an additional three million more health and care workers
are going to be needed to look after people in hospitals, care homes and the
community. In skilled construction trades there will be nearly half a million
jobs ranging from bricklayers to geothermal pump installers. And nearly a
quarter of a million jobs for ‘associate professionals’ people with
level 4 qualifications such as Foundation Degrees and Higher
Apprenticeships.
Barbara Spicer, Chief Executive
of the Agency said:
This report clearly demonstrates
that vocational qualifications, Apprenticeships and Traineeships sit at the
heart of economic recovery. The research supports the Agency’s drive to
equip people of all ages with the skills employers need to compete in a
challenging global marketplace, and shows that ‘learning by doing’
will increasingly become a well-established route for career
success.
In recent years there are more
people accessing higher education with vocational qualifications than ever
before giving them the edge with a combination of academic and practical
knowledge. In a BIS research paper – Apprenticeships: Progression to
Higher Education May 2014, it reveals that nearly 20% of advanced apprentices
go on to higher education within a few years of completing their
apprenticeships.
For more information about VQ
Day, please visit: www.vqday.org.uk.