NVQs and Approaches to Competence in the UK: Contexts, Issues and Prospects
Competence frameworks are a long-standing part of the (United Kingdom) UK training and development environment (Chang et al 2013; CIPD, 2007) and continue to evoke strong reactions from both supporters and detractors regarding their worth, viability and r
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NVQs and Approaches to Competence in the UK: Contexts, Issues and Prospects Peter Stokes
14.1
Introduction
Competence frameworks are a long-standing part of the (United Kingdom) UK training and development environment (Chang et al. 2013; CIPD 2007, 2013, 2014; Hirsh and Strebler 1994; Kayes and Kayes 2005; Sparrow and Bognanno 1994). In the British context, these initiatives often encompass, although not exclusively, National Vocational Qualifications (NVQs). NVQs produce strong and contrasting reactions; proponents of NVQs evoke considerable support and commitment to the scheme, its awards and merits, while critics of NVQs question their worth, viability and relevance. Against this backdrop, competence frameworks have nevertheless been frequently viewed by governments and employers’ bodies as a means of responding to skills gaps in the economy and poor economic productivity. The above-noted prevalence, operation and contested nature of competence frameworks in the UK setting are the product of a particular conjunction of paradigmatic and historical sociopolitical influences in relation to vocational and professional training. However, these factors are largely underexplored and this constitutes an important oversight. This Chapter seeks to address this by responding to the question ‘what are the paradigmatic underpinnings of competence frameworks in the UK context and how does this influence their structure, operation and development?’. This Chapter elaborates the question in a number of steps: 1. It provides an outline of the UK context in relation to competence frameworks, vocational and professional training in general, and surfaces the characteristics which point at underlying paradigmatic assumptions in relation to these domains.
P. Stokes (*) Leicester Castle Business School, De Montfort University, Chester, UK e-mail: [email protected] © Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2017 M. Mulder (ed.), Competence-based Vocational and Professional Education, Technical and Vocational Education and Training: Issues, Concerns and Prospects 23, DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-41713-4_14
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2. It describes and explains the underlying paradigm that has driven competence frameworks in the UK. 3. It illustrates the impacts of this approach to competence by the use of a case study and identifies some potential future directions for the development of competence in the UK context.
14.2
The Global Ascendency of Competencies: A Contextualisation in the UK
The contemporary global picture of competence has developed into a rich and extensive set of domains and become established as an integral part of many managerial and organisational lexicons and settings across a range of UK corporate and public sectors (Barth et al. 2007; Beinecke and Spencer 2007; Bouzdine-Chameeva 2006; Boyatzis 1982; Cappellen and Janssens 2008; CIPD 2014; Clark and Armit 2010; Department of Education 1986; Department of Health, 2009; Le Deist and Winterton 2005; Nimmagadda and Murphy 2014; Nursing and Midwifery Council UK 20
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