Initial employer scepticism about National Vocational Qualifications has disappeared says the Confederation of British Industry.
The CBI surveyed 40 companies because of concern about the uptake of the qualification. But instead they found overwhelming support among employers who said NVQs were particularly effective when used as part of a broader human resources strategy.
Tony Webb, the CBI’s director of education and training said: “The thing that surprised me most was that many saw NVQs as providing a breadth of knowledge for the individuals who studied them. This is encouraging as they had previously been seen as too narrow.
“NVQs are delivering what employers want from their employees - the ability to do the job.”
Changes made to NVQs to make them more flexible are now starting to filter through. Several companies said they had noticed quite marked improvements during the time they had been using NVQs, and two organisations which had previously given up NVQs said they were now using them again.
