The NQF is however being phased out and replaced by the Qualification Credit Framework (QCF). Current GQA NVQ qualifications and Technical Certificates are within the NQF.
There are government commitments to have QCF in place in 2010 (and part of the strategy is not to allow new qualifications to be added to NQF). The criteria for the derivation and submission of QCF style qualifications is quite different from that of the NQF, and the 140 or so current Awarding Organisations (previously called Awarding Bodies) need to seek formal approval from the Regulator (Ofqual) to become a 'Recognised QCF Organisation'.
The Glass Qualifications Authority (GQA) was placed in the top 10% of Awarding Organisations by virtue of the fact that on the 6 October GQA was accredited as a "Recognised QCF Organisation" by Ofqual, the qualifications regulator. At that time less than a dozen Awarding Organisations had been approved. Weeks later there are still less than 20 Awarding Organisations approved and many of the larger bodies have still to achieve recognised QCF status.
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GQA working with its Sector Skills Council, Proskills and representatives from the sector; have converted industry and nationally approved standards (NOS) into new QCF style qualifications. The work to date has concentrated on QCF style replacements for the popular NVQ's. A series of new QCF style NVQ qualifications have been approved for implementation in January 2010
Despite the recession the sector seems to be preparing for survival and growth via the implementation and achievement of GQA NVQ's.
GQA are able to show a considerable increase in the registration and achievement of its qualifications in the first seven months of the financial year (2009/2010) when compared with the corresponding period last year. The number of NVQ registrations has risen by almost 25% and the number of achievers by over 70%.
This could indicate that employers are taking advantage of the downturn to upskill and qualify their labour force in preparation for the future. Such organisations are the ones most likely to retain their workforce and be in a position to promote their organisation, when tendering for contracts, as one employing competent/qualified individuals.
Another initiative is that GQA have consistently reviewed employer specific training provisions and when appropriate provided quality assured nationally approval and certification. This has been extended to offer employer specific approval cards eg "XYZ Approved Installer". It is planned that such activities are translated into the QCF format to allow their entry onto the Qualifications Credit Framework in the first quarter of 2010 as a nationally recognised qualification.
The GQA "Q card" has been introduced as a competence card scheme that initially requires the achievement of a GQA NVQ/SVQ style qualification. There also needs to be a recognition and acceptance for ongoing Continued Professional Development (CPD) and a re-assessment process when the expiry of the 3 year card is on the horizon. The main users of the “Q card” are those individuals who have first hand contact with the customer; typically “the man in the street, eg Installers of Windows & Doors, Conservatories, Windscreens, Vehicle glass, etc.
