The Contribution of National Vocational Qualifications to the Growth of Skills in the UK
| Published date | 01 September 2003 |
| Author | Irena Grugulis |
| Date | 01 September 2003 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8543.00282 |
The Contribution of National Vocational
QualiïŹcations to the Growth of Skills
in the UK
Irena Grugulis
Abstract
This article evaluates the British system of NVQs, focusing on their capacity
to increase skill levels. It reviews the way NVQs were designed and argues that
they are ill-equipped to encourage knowledge and skills, partly because they
simply replicate the weaknesses which currently exist in the labour market and
partly because of the focus on observed workplace behaviours. NVQs were
intended to be âemployer-ledâ and the assumptions underpinning their design are
unitarist. In contrast, the German apprenticeship system is developed and imple-
mented by pluralist consortia and results in qualiïŹcations that are far better
equipped to support skill levels.
1. Introduction
Despite the apparent consensus that increasing skill levels beneïŹt individu-
als, organizations and the economy as a whole, there has long been over-
whelming evidence of reported skills shortages in Britain (Penn 1999). Until
very recently, the majority of young people left the education system at the
ïŹrst moment they could legally do so, most without any formal qualiïŹcations
(Keep 1994); and no national system of vocational education and training
existed to remedy this deïŹcit by developing skills in the workplace.As a result,
as Finegold and Soskice (1988) argue, the British labour market can be
described as a âlow-skills equilibriumâ. This is a matter for some concern. Not
only does the existence of low-skilled and poorly paid work create a demand
for cheap, low-margin products (and, through this, for more low-skilled,
poorly paid âjobsâ), but also, large numbers of unskilled workers make
it difïŹcult to deploy what skills there are effectively. Even in workplaces
British Journal of Industrial Relations
41:3 September 2003 0007â1080 pp. 457â475
Irena Grugulis is at the University of Salford, Manchester.
© Blackwell Publishing Ltd/London School of Economics 2003. Published by Blackwell Publishing Ltd,
9600 Garsington Road, Oxford OX4 2DQ, UK and 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148, USA.
where training is provided, skilled employees might ïŹnd their time taken
up with remedial problem-solving for their unskilled colleagues, a process
as frustrating for them as it is costly for their employers (Steedman et al.
1991).
One of the ofïŹcial vehicles for increasing skills in the workplace is the
system of National Vocational QualiïŹcations (NVQs). In an area character-
ized by numerous short-lived interventions (Keep 1987), these awards have
been notable for their longevity (although their relative importance has
declined substantially â see e.g. PIU 2001). OfïŹcial funding, originally pro-
vided as seed-corn monies to develop and market the qualiïŹcations, has
been maintained (DfEE 1995, 1996a, 1996b), and other initiatives, such as
Investors in People, Modern Apprenticeships and National Traineeships, are
intended to be achieved through, or to lead towards, NVQs. Bodies such as
the Training and Enterprise Councils (TECs) and, latterly, Local Learning
and Skills Councils (LLSCs) are required to market the qualiïŹcations and
can subsidize provision; while ofïŹcial measures of workforce achievements
describe qualiïŹcations in terms of NVQs âor equivalentâ. NVQs are effectively
seen both as a means of up-skilling the working population and as a way in
which those skills can be measured.
Yet as Steiger (1993) argues, qualiïŹcations are not themselves skills, but a
proxy for skill. They are a convenient and readily understood form of short-
hand included in almost every deïŹnition of skill (see e.g. Gaillie 1991; Noon
and Blyton 1997; Rolfe 1990;Francis and Penn 1994). They can help employ-
ers identify suitable employees, provide individuals with portable credentials,
and give occupational groups bargaining power; but each of these advantages
stems from the skills that qualiïŹcations are assumed to certify, not from the
simple fact that qualiïŹcations exist. Accordingly, as Steedman (1993) argues,
the principal measure of NVQsâ success should be their capacity to increase
the skill levels of those in work, rather than the number of certiïŹcates issued.
It is that capacity that this article seeks to assess. Given the centrality of
NVQs to ofïŹcial interventions, this is an important evaluation. Here it will
be argued that, not only have NVQs not succeeded in raising skill levels, but
the reasons for this failure are structural and lie within the design of the qual-
iïŹcations themselves. In the ïŹrst place, NVQs were designed to be âemployer-
ledâ (Jessup 1991), to describe accurately the level of competence needed
in the workplace (Debling 1989; Mitchell 1989). Yet this assumes that the
current system of work design and skill utilization is optimal. In a labour
market characterized by low skills, qualiïŹcations based on the current situa-
tion may simply reïŹect and reproduce existing weaknesses. The second reason
for failure is because NVQs focus only on behaviour (Jessup 1991; Fletcher
1991), and as a result do not encompass all of the skills and knowledge that
may be needed in employment.
This paper draws together much of the research that has been conducted
into NVQs in order to provide an evidence-based critique of ofïŹcial policy.
A great deal of this work is qualitative and explores the way in which NVQs
are experienced, or tests the notion of behavioural competences. This is
458 British Journal of Industrial Relations
© Blackwell Publishing Ltd/London School of Economics 2003.
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