Welsh vocational qualifications are meeting needs, report says

Post-16 vocational qualifications in art, creative and media subjects are meeting the needs of learners, according to findings from Qualifications Wales.

The review, part of a national programme across a range of employment sectors, includes qualifications in performing arts, media and communication, crafts, creative arts and design, and publishing and information.

Together these sectors employ 34,900 people in Wales with an annual turnover of £1.7bn.

While the report findings suggest that art, creative and media subject qualifications – which are available in English and Welsh – are meeting the needs of learners, it also identified areas that should be improved.

These include: that some qualifications need additional content; that creative apprenticeship frameworks should be reviewed as some no longer included funded qualifications; and that there is demand for one framework qualification to be made available in Welsh.

Gareth Downey, Senior Qualifications Manager at Qualifications Wales, said: "Our review findings show there are a number of strengths to the current range of qualifications, but that some areas require attention.

"We have been working with awarding bodies and other stakeholders to address the issues identified.

"This includes recommending that the Welsh Government review the apprenticeship frameworks in the sector and that awarding bodies update the content of some qualifications, alongside increasing the number of Welsh-medium qualifications available to learners.”