A Guide to ProfessionalQualifications:Enhancing Opportunities forProfessional/Vocational Learningin the areas of Leadership andManagement or Financial ServicesSeptember 2009

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BACKGROUND

There is no single definition of the professions, althoughthere are a number of common features: recognisableentry points, a system of self-regulation and a strongsense of vocation and professional development. Profes-sional qualifications range from traditional and voca-tionally trained professions such as medicine and law, tomanagement and business services professions such asaccountancy, to creative industry professions such as thearts and to public service professions such as senior andmanagement levels in the civil service, local government,the armed forces, the police and academia1.

An increasing number of professional bodies aremapping their courses to meet the Qualifications andCredit Framework (QCF) design specifications and asignificant number of professional qualifications arenow accredited on the credit based QCF. Needless to say,professional qualifications which are submitted to theQCF must have in place a procedure for accrediting priorlearning. At a European level, courses are beingdeveloped to fit into the European QualificationsFramework (EQF)2. For instance, the Council for Adminis-tration (CFA) is developing models against which a quali-fication can be designed to deliver the content of aEuropean qualification aimed specifically at managers’assistants in Europe. If you would like furtherinformation about this qualification, please contactAnthony Lapsley at Anthony.Lapsley@cfa.uk.com.

People studying on professional qualification coursestend to be in full time employment and many of thequalifications take the form of ‘on the job’ training, thusproviding universities and colleges with employer links.Generally, graduates pursue a professional qualificationpart time alongside their job (with employer sponsorshipcontributing towards the cost of fees). In some sectors,

1 Secretariat supporting the Panel on Fair Access to the Professions:‘Phase 1 Report: an analysis of the trends and issues relating to fairaccess to the professions’, p.7, April 20092 The European Qualifications Framework (EQF) acts as a translationdevice to make national qualifications more readable across Europe

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obtaining a professional qualification is notmandatory but a means to continuing professionaldevelopment.

In some areas such as law, individuals are requiredto obtain specific professional qualifications in orderto practise their profession. This entails specific studysuch as a certain type of degree before the postgradu-ate qualification can be taken. Other instances aresocial work, architecture, information work orteaching. The most common professional postgraduate qualifications are: masters’ degreeprogrammes, post graduate certificates anddiplomas. It is only possible to join these qualifica-tions if one has passed the specific courses whichhave been approved by the professional body. Forinstance, the Chartered Institute of EnvironmentalHealth (CIEH) stresses that they are bound by theconstraints of their Royal Charter and that Environ-mental Health is a degree profession. It is thereforenot possible to progress from associate membershipto accredited membership without the acquisition ofdegree level qualifications.

Some professional bodies award chartered statusto individuals who can demonstrate that they haveachieved a clearly defined level of competence. Thismight take several years. Having chartered status isbelieved to improve job prospects and salary levels.For instance, the Chartered Institute of EducationalAssessors (CIEA) has applied for a Royal Charter. Thiswill allow the Institute to develop the concept ofChartered Assessors who will be recognised for theirwork.

Funding 14-19: the Joint Advisory Committee forQualifications Approval (JACQA)3 asserts that:generally, where young people are taking specific pro-fessional qualifications they are doing so in thecontext of employment and so in the main JACQAwould expect these to be funded by the employer.

Nonetheless, where there are specific professionalqualifications that an awarding body believes shouldbe available pre-19, they will be able to put theseforward for consideration by JACQA. In doing so theywill need to demonstrate why these qualifications areappropriate for the age group and demonstrate theirfitness for purpose. In future, JACQA will only fundstand alone qualifications4 where they meet a clearneed that is not met by qualifications within thenational suite.

Funding post 19: It is worth noting that changes infunding have inevitably hampered post 19 provision.Funding for professional qualifications programmesabove level 3 has been withdrawn and some partnershave had to convert to Full Cost Recovery (FCR). It isno surprise therefore that in one particular college, anAssociation of Accounting Technicians (AAT) NVQ 4evening course, which had been delivered as a parttime evening course, is now offered as a FCR and fulltime day course, which might not be suitable forsome learners.

There is certainly a strong case for upgrading somepositions. In essence, a large number of jobs arebeing professionalised. One example of this is thearea of youth work. At present, the minimum profes-sional qualification is a Dip HE in Youth Work or afoundation degree. The programmes of study willonly offer a professional qualification if they havefirst been professionally validated by the NationalYouth Agency (NYA). Failing to gain NYA endorsementfor a Foundation Degree can seriously hinder demandfor the course and result in failure to recruit studentsonto the programme. This has recently beenexperienced by a partner in the network althoughmuch work is now being carried out by two universi-ties to gain NYA endorsement for their HE Youth Workcourses. Partners have been advised that ‘from 2010

Honours Degree level will be the minimumrequirement for conferring professional status forYouth Work in England. In this regard, completion ofa DipHE or FD programme for students matriculatingafter April 2010 for courses that begin in September2010 will not confer professional status5.’

Professional qualifications in some of ourcurriculum areasIt is apparent that the professional qualificationslandscape comprises an array of sectors andcurriculum areas. Consequently, our professionalqualifications strategy is being developed toconcentrate on two specific areas: 1) ‘Leadership andManagement’ and 2) ‘Financial Services’. Moreover, asa skills shortage in generic management skills hasbeen acknowledged in a great many research studiesand across all sectors, professional qualifications inmanagement are relevant in many of our curriculumareas.

1. Leadership and Management: the ManagementStandards Centre (MSC) is the government recognisedstandards setting body for the management andleadership area. Following its management andleadership learning and qualification strategy, itsfoundation degree framework based on national oc-cupational standards (NOS) was approved by fdf inJanuary ’08. Leadership and management includes alarge number of professional bodies and manydifferent types of management and leadership quali-fications ranging from academic (e.g. foundationdegrees) to professional/vocational (NVQs/VRQs).Some examples of professional bodies that engagewith the network are:

i) The Chartered Management Institute (CMI): offersa wide choice of general and customised programmesthat range from certificate to MBA. They have 550

centres and provide courses to the National School ofGovernment. Most CMI courses are listed on the QCF(Awards, Certificates and Diplomas from level 2 tolevel 8). The institute leads on the NOS. Interestingly,students gain two qualifications when the instituteendorses FE/HE courses which have been mappedagainst the NOS. For instance: an HE qualificationand a CMI qualification. Additionally, students aregiven the opportunity to join CMI on completion oftheir courses. The following partners have either hadtheir undergraduate or graduate programmes alignedwith CMI professional recognition (HEIs) or aredelivering accredited CMI courses (FECs): King’sCollege, University of London; London South BankUniversity; University of Westminster; MiddlesexUniversity; Barking College; Kensington & ChelseaCollege; Southwark College.

ii) The Institute of Leadership andManagement (ILM):The ILM course structure differs from that at theChartered Institute of Management. CMI units tendto be larger with around 30 credits whereas ILM unitsare much smaller with for example 4 credits. Theyoffer five strands: 1. Management; 2. Leadership. 3.Leadership & Management; 4. Coaching & Mentoring;5. Business & Enterprise. All of their VocationalRelated Qualifications (VRQs) have been mapped intothe QCF. The institute covers courses from level 2 tolevel 7. It offers generic and specialist managementcourses, associated with two types of partnerships:• As an approved centre delivering nationally

A Guide to Professional Qualifications

3 JACQA will only advise on eligibility for public funding and doesnot determine funding rates4 Stand alone qualifications: qualifications that sit outside, butcomplementary to, the prescribed routes which are the fournational qualification suites (A Levels and GCSEs; Diplomas; Appren-ticeships; the Foundation Learning Tier)5Qualifications Recognised by the Joint Negotiating Committee(JNC) as Conferring Professionally Qualified Status (issued by theNYA in 2008)

recognised VRQs and NVQs. ILM small units facilitateflexibility as people choose units in line with theirwork environment, in other words contextualisation.• As providers designing their own courses endorsed byILM. It is of interest to note that most of ILM provisionis delivered by private training providers; many ofwhich produce and deliver customised leadership andmanagement courses but they need endorsement bythe awarding body to evidence that it is fit for purpose.

As with other professional bodies, ILM liaise withsector skills councils (SSCs) which will look at their ownsector, identify what their leaders and managers need,develop a professional qualification with ILM and getapproval from the QCA before the qualification isadded to the QCF framework. In addition, fdf and ILMhave recently developed a Foundation Degree inLeadership and Management in partnership with theUniversity of Hertfordshire Business School. Thiscourse was launched on 13 July ’09.

There are 11 ILM centres in our network (2 HEIs and 9FECs): Middlesex University, Queen Mary University,Barnet College, City Lit, City of Westminster College,Hackney Community College, Lewisham College,Newham College, Newham 6th Form College, TowerHamlets College and Westminster Kingsway College.

iii) The Institute Of Administrative Management(IAM): a professional and awarding membership bodyfor administrative managers, the IAM offers courses tostudents who are either practising, or aspiring to beadministrative managers. The IAM has been inexistence since 1915. Their portfolio includes a level 3Certificate, a level 4 Diploma, a level 5 AdvancedDiploma and a BA (Hons) in AdministrativeManagement. The IAM is seeking advisers to help withtheir qualifications development and examinationprocesses. If you would like to participate in thisexercise, please contact Anna Lemmon atanna.lemmon@instam.org.

2. Financial Services:Accountancy and Financial Services: in certainprofessions, there may be several routes to obtaininga professional qualification. For instance,accountancy: the AAT route has proved to be asuccessful professional qualification route with aniche NVQ Level 4 linked to sought-after professionalrecognition; unconventional NVQs which can beachieved away from the workplace through close-knitprofessional bodies which are also major awardingbodies; and the independence of the senior profes-sional qualifications from the HE system, whichenables work-based candidates to therefore achievechartered status without doing a degree6. Fdf furthersuggests that the unusual features of this successfulroute may be impossible or inappropriate to replicateelsewhere. The Association of Chartered CertifiedAccountants (ACCA) offers flexible routes toaccredition. For instance, qualified certifiedaccounting technicians can enter the ACCA courseand receive exemptions from their first three papers.Partial exemptions are also offered for people whohold professional qualifications in other professionalareas7. Here, providers, employers and students areadvised to check whether exemption is also given toquantitative modules.

The Financial Services Sector Skills Council (FSSC):in a recent report8 the Financial Services Sector SkillsCouncil (FSSC) ‘highlighted that by 2014 the financialservices industry in the UK will rely more heavily onhigh level skills than any other industry, excepteducation.' It further acknowledged the crucial role

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A Guide to Professional Qualifications

6 Features of apprenticeship programmes that support progressionto higher education, fdf (2008)7 Professional Qualifications in Foundation Degrees, Continuum –the Centre for Widening Participation Policy Studies (2009)8 The View from Europe, Productivity and Change in UK FinancialServices, FSSC (2007)

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providers play by ensuring that their provision meetschanging needs for knowledge and skills. Accordingly,the FSSC has developed a foundation degree (FD)framework which has been approved by fdf. There arevarious professional bodies in financial services and theFD framework provides models to choose from whenlooking to incorporate professional qualifications into afoundation degree programme. However, the FSSCstresses that this should only be carried out when it isappropriate to the needs of employers and learners.Three partners deliver foundation degrees in this area:

The FSSC Foundation Degree framework can be viewedon:www.fssc.org.uk/final_framework_for_web.pdf

Professional qualifications and apprenticeship:professional qualifications can be linked to apprentice-ship where jobs require professional qualifications. Thiscan entail foundation degrees and membership of aprofessional body. Apprentices progress from anAdvanced Apprenticeship, A levels or equivalent qualifi-cations.

According to fdf, linking an HE course to a profes-sional qualification is a potentially effective way ofstimulating progression and demand for level 4courses. ‘Such accreditation provides an incentive foremployers and employees alike, builds on higher levelqualifications and encourages continuous professionaldevelopment (CPD). Where such accreditation is highlyvalued as a ‘licence to practise’ – be it voluntary or

statutory – there is very strong demand for progression,as evidenced in the accountancy route9.’ Interestingly,the FSSC is developing a Higher Apprenticeshipprogramme at Level 4 (AAT). AAT courses tend to bemore popular as they are well established. Five partnersoffer level 2 and level 3 Accountancy Apprenticeships:Hackney Community College, Lambeth College,Lewisham College, Barnet College and City andIslington College. Additionally, in the area of financialservices the following apprenticeship programmes arecurrently available at Level 3: Advanced Apprenticeship

in Providing Financial Services; Advanced Apprentice-ship in Payroll; Advanced Apprenticeship in Advising onFinancial Products (it is worth noting that this qualifica-tion does not constitute a licence to practice andstudents would have to take an additional exam). Wehave been informed that a higher apprenticeship in thisspecific area will be available from 2010.

Progression agreementsProgression agreements include progression from alevel 3 Professional Qualification to level 4 HE orprogression from level 3 FE (vocational/new Diploma orA Level) to a HE & Professional qualification at level 4.We have brokered progression agreements linked toprofessional qualifications. Some examples of theseare:• With additional student numbers (ASNs) funding,Linking London has been supporting progression

from a professional qualification at level 2/3 to a HE& professional qualification at level 4: from theCounselling & Psychotherapy Awarding Body (CPCAB)Certificate in Counselling Skills at level 2 onto aBritish Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy(BACP) at Level 4/5. This is a dual validation asstudents can also gain a Foundation Degree inCounselling (validated by Middlesex) on completingthe course. Upon completing this dual qualification -and in addition to the 450 hours of therapysupervision - students become qualified counsellors.• Linking London is brokering a progressionagreement between City of Westminster College,Birkbeck, University of London and London Metropol-itan University. This progression agreement relates toprogression from AAT NVQ Level 3 or 4 to a BA inAccountancy and Management and a FoundationDegree in Management with Accountancy and a BScin Professional Studies at Birkbeck as well as relevantHE courses at London Metropolitan University. Oncompletion of these HE courses, students gain partialexemption from ACCA and the Chartered Institute ofManagement Accountants (CIMA). Initial meetingshave been held and a progression agreement isplanned to be signed in the autumn.• A progression agreement relating to progressionfrom an NVQ3 in Sport or Advanced Apprenticeship atLewisham College to BSc courses at the University ofEast London.

Issues and challenges aheadProfessional Qualifications are sometimes embeddedin foundation degrees, where there may be opportuni-ties for co-funding between HEFCE and employers.

Recent research10 suggests that, while the moretraditional academic qualifications are the preserve ofuniversities, the market for professional qualificationsis more competitive with private training providersdelivering 39% of the total and universities only 29%

(FE colleges 21%). In addition, professional qualifica-tions seem more popular amongst private sectoremployers than those in the public sector. Why this isso and whether it is due to the fact that they are twiceas likely to use private training providers is perhaps amatter for future research.

Colleges’ corporate strategies and the range of pro-fessional courses on offer have been seriously affectedby latest Government policies such as the loss of LSCfunding for level 4 courses, the latest Governmentequivalent or lower qualifation (ELQ) policy and thenew demand-led funding system. Moreover, as therecession bites, people will be forced to seek to moveto other sectors in which their current qualificationswill be irrelevant. The Innovation, Universities, Scienceand Skills Committee has recently recommended11 thatthe government broaden the Leitch target to include re-skilling and include the absolute number of qualifica-tions gained rather than ‘firstness’ alone in the skillstargets. Unless the government develops ways toaddress this, progression for these vocational learnerswill be much more difficult.

Tension between SSCs and awarding bodies persists12.In addition, despite seeking to offer a system forhandling cross sector qualifications there are neverthe-less tensions around the use of shared, common unitsin the QCF.

Bridging the divide of educational and vocationallearning and of theory and competencies remainsa challenge.

A Guide to Professional Qualifications

9 Features of apprenticeship programmes that support progressionto higher education, fdf (2008),10 ‘The demand for higher level skills in Inner London’ (commis-sioned by Linking London), Cfe (2009)11 ‘Re-skilling for recovery: After Leitch, implementing skills andtraining policies, Innovation, Universities, Science and Skillscommittee (‘08/’09)12 The evaluation of the principles, scope and process for pilotingSector Skills Council ‘approval’ of reformed vocationalqualifications, QCA (2008)

INSTITUTION COURSE VALIDATED BY

Tower Hamlets College Foundation Degree in FinancialServices

tbc

London Metropolitan University Foundation Degree in FinancialServices

London Metropolitan University

Barnet College Foundation Degree in FinancialServices and Accounting

Middlesex University

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Finally, the one clear message is that the professionalqualifications landscape is complex though partnersand professional bodies are engaging more than everbefore. Nonetheless, there is certainly scope forfurther dialogue and opportunities for stronger andmore meaningful partnerships. Linking London willbe looking to facilitate this in order to increase theopportunities for progression inprofessional/vocational learning, thus taking forwardthe government’s agenda on fair access to theprofessions.

If you would like to discuss opportunities in this area,please contact:Therese ReggioCurriculum Development ManagerLinking London Lifelong Learning Networkt.reggio@linkinglondon.ac.uk or Tel: 020 7380 3229

A Guide to Professional Qualifications

The Linking London Lifelong Learning Network is amembership organisation of thirty five universitiesand colleges in Central, East and North London whichaims to improve the progression of vocational learnersinto and through Higher Education. We are funded bythe Higher Education Funding Council for England(HEFCE) and are hosted at Birkbeck, University ofLondon, Egmont House, 25-31 Tavistock Place,London, WC1H 9UT. If you found this guidancedocument useful or would like to discuss our work inthe area of vocational learning, please contact:info@linkinglondon.ac.uk or 0207 380 3223

www.linkinglondon.ac.uk