Latest news with #qualifications
BBC News
a day ago
- Business
- BBC News
BTecs: What are they and how are they graded?
Hundreds of thousands of students will soon know what grades they achieved in their BTecs. Results day is approaching for lots of students, but some BTec results have already been published, depending on the course. The final BTec national results, which combine all unit grades, are often released at the same time as A-level results day - which this year is Thursday 14 three BTec qualifications are A-level equivalents, aimed at people interested in working in a particular industry, such as engineering, hospitality or childcare. What are BTec Firsts and BTec Nationals? A BTec, which stands for the Business and Technology Education Council, is a practical qualification. Courses are assessed through exams, regular coursework and projects, and sometimes Firsts are Level 2 qualifications, meaning they are equivalent to GCSEs. Students often take a mixture of the two. They can be helpful for people trying to get into further education Nationals are Level 3 qualifications, so can be taken alongside or instead of are studied over one or two suggests one in four students use them as a route into university, while others gain occupation-specific skills and go straight into employment. How are BTecs graded? BTecs are graded on a scale:Starred Distinction/Distinction Star (D*)Distinction (D)Merit (M)Pass (P)Some BTecs are worth two or three normally receive their results on the same days as A-level and GCSE students, but some receive them before this. Who takes BTecs? There are approximately 280,000 students studying at least one Level 3 applied general qualification, according to the Sixth Form College Association.A further 200,000 are estimated to be doing BTec Firsts and other BTec and social care and applied science are among the most popular BTecs. Other subjects include construction, electrical engineering and art and Nationals can be sat by any age group. In fact, most are taken by those over the age of 22 as they develop practical career are particularly popular among white working class students, according to research by the Social Market Foundation think vocational courses are available in the UK, including National Vocational Qualifications (NVQs), TechBacs, Cambridge Technicals and Scottish Vocational Qualifications (SVQs). How are BTecs changing? In 2020, there were more than 12,000 vocational qualifications at all levels, offered by more than 150 awarding bodies, according to Ofqual, which oversees qualifications in by former Conservative governments to streamline post-16 education had meant many BTecs and other Level 3 courses were due to lose their funding, to make way for the Labour government paused and reviewed the plans, and has since announced that 157 qualifications will no longer be scrapped as include "key courses" in "important sectors", the DfE said, such as agriculture, engineering, manufacturing and health and social have had funding confirmed until July 2026 and others until July government also confirmed that more than 200 qualifications with "with low or no enrolments" would still have funding withdrawn from 1 August Hannafin, head of policy at school leaders' union NAHT, said that "for A-levels and T-levels to be the only two qualification pathways post-16 would have failed to meet the needs and ambitions of many students".The government has confirmed the rollout of T-levels will the first three years, T-levels have faced delays, high dropout rates and an exam board being fined £300,000 over "major failings" with the are T-levels and what are the grades worth?What is an apprenticeship and how much are apprentices paid?
RNZ News
3 days ago
- Politics
- RNZ News
Watch: Christopher Luxon and Erica Stanford reiterate NCEA overhaul will be 'world class'
Changes to the country's secondary school qualifications framework was about giving kids a "world class" education, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said. Luxon and Education Minister Erica Stanford spoke to media during a visit at Botany Downs Secondary College on Thursday afternoon. It comes after Stanford said the Qualifications Authority used AI for marking NCEA literacy and numeracy corequisite exams and would use it more widely by the time the Certificate of Education replaced NCEA level 2 in 2029. Luxon said they were meeting with students who would "drive New Zealand forward from here". In relation to the NCEA overhaul, Luxon said it was "about giving our kids a qualification that is world class". Under the proposal, NCEA level 1 would be replaced with foundation literacy and numeracy tests. Levels 2 and 3 would be replaced with a New Zealand Certificate of Education and an Advanced Certificate. Students would be required to take five subjects and pass at least four to get each certificate. Marking would be out of 100 and grades would and range from A to E. Stanford said they wanted every one to give feedback on what they thought of the changes and after that it would move through the implementation phase. "We have thought about this very carefully. Don't want to rush it." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
3 days ago
- Business
- RNZ News
Does getting NCEA mean you earn more?
The National Certificate of Educational Achievement will be gone by 2030. File photo. Photo: 123rf NCEA may be on the way out - but has it been delivering better jobs and income for the students who've completed it? The system has been in place for more than 20 years, giving students level one to three qualifications as part of their high school education. But with about 70 percent of school leavers going on to some form of tertiary education, does the fact of having NCEA level one, two or three improve a person's earning potential? And how much? Data indicates that it probably does - and the further you progress through the levels, the better. Education Counts research, produced in 2020, showed that someone who left school in 2009 with no qualifications and who did not get any in the next nine years was earning nearly 40 percent less than those who got NCEA level one or equivalent. They were earning nearly half what people with a level two qualification earned, 80 percent of what people earned who had University Entrance, and about a third of what someone earned who went on to finish a degree. One in 10 people who left school in 2019 had no qualifications in 2018. "For the small percentage of 2009 school leavers who got NCEA Level Three without UE, there was no significant earnings benefit, on average, over those who left with NCEA Level Two." But the research noted it was a general trend, rather than a hard rule. "One in three degree-holders, and around one in four doctorate-holders earned less than the median income of those with school qualifications. "Similarly, not having qualifications doesn't guarantee low earnings. Around 30 percent of 30- to 34-year-olds with no qualifications earned more than the median income of people with a school qualification, and 20 percent earned more than the median income of those with a degree." The research noted that the chances of working at all were higher with a Level Two qualification. "Less than half of those with no school qualifications were employed nine years after leaving school. Non-employment accounts for much of the earnings disadvantage of this group, but even when comparing employed only, this group earns 15 percent to 30 percent less than any other group." Figures provided to RNZ earlier by Education Minister Erica Stanford showed 13,496 Year 11s who attempted a full NCEA Level One programme last year fell short while 31,524 were successful. Massey University Professor of management Jarrod Haar said educated people were more likely to have higher paying jobs in general. But he said secondary qualifications did not need to be "fatal" to a person's career. He said some people who dropped out of school were able to go back to study in their 20s very successfully and earn tertiary qualifications. "Like most things once you get working you get work experience and pick up work-related skills anyway. "It always used to be a funnel to identify who could go to uni but as we've become more universal in accepting people for study, which is probably a good thing, it's broadened the scope of whose who go to tertiary education anyway." He said employers would adjust to whatever qualification system the government brought in. Census data shows that for people with qualifications up to Level Three, the highest average income was earned by those in communications and media, who were getting an average $78,000. That was followed by science and technology at $77,000. Hayley Pickard, founder of recruiter Fortitude Group said there was a global trend that the higher an individual's level of education the more access they had to job opportunities and further learning. She said the changes proposed seemed positive. "The renewed emphasis on core skills, particularly literacy and numeracy, also reflects this global shift toward ensuring that students meet key learning benchmarks before progressing. "This focus may support improved long-term outcomes, both in employment and further education. "At the same time, it's important to recognise that formal education isn't the only path to success. Many people excel through vocational pathways, entrepreneurship, or self-directed learning. "Some of the most capable and successful individuals I know have achieved a great deal despite having left school early." Brad Olsen, chief executive at Infometrics, said it was concerning that 43 percent of employers had told researchers they did not consider NCEA Level One when they were making a recruitment decision and more than 70 percent did not think it was a reliable measure of knowledge and skills. If employers did not have confidence or understand it, it could mean people were hired who were not suitable or not at the level the employer was expecting. "If as a business owner you are expecting a certain level of skills and you don't get that it can be frustrating and relationships between workers and bosses might be more fragile." He said it was encouraging that it seemed the government planned to introduce a system with more focus on employability. Secondary school qualifications played a big role in determining what students' next steps would be, Olsen said. It would be a benefit if the system was able to encourage people down the right "pathway" more quickly, he said. "You don't want to dictate too early but you want to make sure they generally have some idea where they are going." Olsen said it had seemed the NCEA system had a "uni or nothing" focus but it would be beneficial if students were encouraged into trades when it was appropriate, too. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
The Sun
3 days ago
- General
- The Sun
I dreamed of working in the City but couldn't read or write – I got a job most people never think of & now drive a Tesla
A WOMAN has revealed how she got a job in the city without any qualifications. Nicole Collings, from the UK, took to social media to share her story and how she bagged her dream job despite not knowing how to read or write. 3 3 3 The mum said: "When I started my first job in London in the city I couldn't read or write." Nicole said she struggled with learning growing up but her mum always reassured her that she had 'good looks and common sense' which would get her far. She added: "She'd say, 'As long as you keep your wits about you Nic, and you always look the part, you'll be fine, you'll be fine, don't worry about it.'" Nicole said she never really improved her reading or writing skills and 'winged it' her whole life. But Nicole was determined to work and earn money so decided to work as a waitress despite dreams of working in the City of London. Determined to change her life, she went into her mum's back room and used the computer to create a CV that was 'really badly spelled.' With her CV in tow, Nicole got the train to Canary Wharf, bought herself a new outfit and leather handbag and started handing out her CV. "And there was me, walking around like I really knew what I was doing, but I didn't have a clue," she explained. She ended up in a recruitment agency and sat down with the branch manager as he went through her CV. "He was a bit bewildered. He couldn't actually believe the confidence that I had matching with the CV that looked like a five-year-old had made it," she explained. She was then asked to do a test, but she was honest with the manager and said she wouldn't pass while letting him know she was good on the phone and was happy to learn on the go. By the time she got to the station, he had called and offered her a job. "And that is how I started working in the city with literally not being able to read or write," she explained. "Basically the moral of the story is don't worry about what you haven't got. You are unique and you have got something. So fake it until you make it." Now Nicole is able to afford a 2023 Tesla worth £35,000 and goes on lavish holidays each year. The clip went viral on her TikTok account @ nicoleisthisme with over 97k views and 7,000 likes. People were quick to praise Nicole in the comments. One person wrote: "Do you know what, you should be so incredibly proud of yourself! Truly." Another commented: "I love your confidence, you haven't just got where you are because you are pretty, you have a great personality and come across as a very lovable person." "Honey, intelligence isn't all about academia, it comes in all forms. Well done for all of your achievements," penned a third. Meanwhile a fourth said: "Well done. You should be super proud of yourself! Great video!" Someone else added: "This is so inspiring."
RNZ News
4 days ago
- General
- RNZ News
Students leaving school with no qualifications highest in a decade
Sixteen percent of last year's school-leavers had no qualifications, Ministry of Education figures show. Photo: 123RF Sixteen percent of last year's school-leavers had no qualifications, the highest figure in a decade. It equates to about 10,600 teenagers, and is 0.4 of a percentage point worse than the previous year and about six percentage points higher than the 10-11 percent recorded in the years prior to the start of the pandemic. The percentage of school leavers with no NCEA certificate has been rising since 2020, a trend teachers blamed on the after-effects of Covid-19 lockdowns combined with high employment prompting more young people to leave school earlier than they otherwise would. Some worried any weakening of those effects would be cancelled out by the introduction last year of a tougher literacy and numeracy requirement which applied to students who wanted to leave with NCEA level 1. The Education Ministry's figures showed 13 percent of last year's leavers had not reached the literacy and numeracy benchmark compared to about 10 percent under the previous requirement in pre-pandemic years. The figures showed 81 percent of last year's leavers had stayed at school until the age of 17 or beyond, up from 79 percent the previous year with bigger increases in retention at schools in poorer communities. Māori had the worst results - 28 percent left with no qualification last year, compared with 19 percent of Pacific leavers and 86 percent of European/Pākehā leavers. In Tai Tokerau nearly one in five leavers had no NCEA certificate. Socioeconomic barriers had a big impact - 28 percent of leavers from schools facing the most barriers had no NCEA certificate compared with 4 percent of leavers from schools facing the fewest barriers. The figures showed 76 percent of last year's leavers had level 2 NCEA or better, 0.6 of a percentage point more than in 2023. The percentage of leavers with at least NCEA level 3 rose 2.7 percentage points to 56 percent.
