Vocational Pathways: update

In September 2014, the Ministry sought to refine the Vocational Pathways to ensure coherent, consistent, balanced assessment opportunities (with manageable progression) were available for learners across all six Vocational Pathways.

The refinement also sought to provide better support for the development of high-quality foundation learning programmes for all learners at National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) Level 2, including accurate assessment information that supported NCEA Level 2 achievement with a Vocational Pathways Award.

2016 is a transition year, during which students will be able to gain a Vocational Pathways Award from BOTH the existing and the refined pathways. So, in 2016 if a standard is Sector Related, in either the existing or the refined pathways, it will be awarded as ‘Sector Related’.

From 2017, only the refined pathways will be available.

In 2017, the transition phase will be over.

Assessment information has been provided to help with this transition period. Standards information is available for the existing and refined pathways, as well as information on standards eligibility during the transition year. A link to further information is provided at the end of this article.

Along with the release of the refined pathways, the Ministry has also:

• Updated and put online all guidance and pathways material
• Updated the profile builder to include standards from both the existing and refined pathways, which also includes a new literacy and numeracy calculator
• Included four examples of Level 2 learning programmes in the online guidance material
• Included new information for learners and educators with regard to employability and work readiness
• Updated the ‘frequently asked questions’ section of the Vocational Pathways site.

This information has been released by the Ministry on the Vocational Pathways website(external link) where further general information can be found.

For any other queries email: vocational.pathways@education.govt.nz

Draft level 3 achievement standards and levels 3-6 qualifications maps to vocational pathways now available

Since the introduction of all six Vocational Pathways, the Ministry of Education has worked with the education and industry sectors to show how students learning relates to specific career opportunities across Vocational Pathways at Levels 3-6 of the New Zealand Qualifications Framework.

Level 3 is a critical bridge between school and tertiary study or training. Vocational Pathways at Level 3 serve a number of purposes, including the following:

• Helping students intending to study towards NCEA Level 3 make informed choices about their study options in relation to the type of degree level study they may wish to do. For example, ensuring that students who are thinking about doing an engineering degree understand what they need to study at Level 3 to be able to do so.
• Helping students who return to school but are not on track to achieve NCEA Level 3 to make informed choices about their next steps.
• Providing better links between more generic school-based education at Level 3 and more specific vocational qualifications at Level 3 and above in further education.
• Helping students who do not intend to return to school to make informed choices about their next steps – including work and further study.
• Providing information and guidance in ways which relate well to Māori and Pacific students so that they can make well-informed decisions about their next steps.
• Ensuring that students who have achieved Level 2 are well-informed about the advantages and disadvantages of returning to school. For example, students who intend to enter industry training (such as undertaking an apprenticeship) may not necessarily be advantaged by returning to school. For these students, the foregone income from a further year at school may not generate a return compared with entering the workforce (earning as they learn) or entering a pre-trades course at a tertiary provider.
• Supporting those students studying towards NCEA Level 3, but not intending to go to university with options.
• To provide students with an ongoing pathway, Level 3 achievement standards and current local National and New Zealand qualifications have been mapped to Vocational Pathways.

Details of the mapping process and outcome(external link)

Profile builder redevelopment

As part of the refinement of Levels 1 and 2 Vocational Pathways and development of Level 3 Vocational Pathways, the Profile Builder has had a makeover. It now includes:

A brand new literacy and numeracy calculator: students can now calculate whether or not they have met the requirements for Level 1 literacy, Level 1 numeracy as these are needed for NCEA Level 2 and 3, and the reading/writing literacy requirements for University Entrance.

Profile Builder for Level 1 and 2: the standards for the 2016 transition year have been added in to the Vocational Pathways, and calculators for NCEA Level 1, NCEA Level 2 and a Vocational Pathways Award have been built in.

Profile Builder Level 3: this is based on the draft Level 3 map of the Achievement Standards that has been published on the Youth Guarantee website, and has a calculator for NCEA Level 3 built in.

Frequently asked questions: these have been added to the Profile Builder home page, and included in the newly added “Help” section on each tool.

Profile Builder graph has changed direction (from vertical to horizontal): to allow space to add clear labels for each section of the graph.

Profile Builder tool(external link)