They helped launch the careers of restaurateur Marcus Waering, McFly vocalist Danny Jones and diamond millionaire Laurence Graff. According to the latest rich list produced by awarding body City and Guilds, they lie behind the success of 25 leading entrepreneurs with a collective wealth of more than £13bn. Certainly, vocational qualifications can be as likely to lead to fame and fortune as a more traditional academic route through A-levels and university — at least for those with drive and ambition. But the vocational path can be a complicated one to plot.
This is because there are so many different possible directions to take — from an apprenticeship, as taken by Graff, to a BTec as taken by Jones, to the more specialised City and Guilds qualification taken by Waering in cooking and alcoholic beverages. Then, in five subject areas, there is now the new diploma qualification for 16- to 19-year-olds, which combines classroom learning with practical experience.
Finton Donohue, principal of North Hertfordshire college in Hertfordshire, which is offering all five of the new diplomas, alongside its existing range of vocational qualifications, says: "It may look complicated but it is tailored to meet particular needs. They are all there for a purpose."
All that potential students have to decide are what their particular needs are. This means first identifying what area interests them. The range is vast, from plumbing to art and design, to highly specialised programmes related to specific industry needs.
Then they need to consider whether they would prefer to stay on at school to study, take a course while working, or study at a college or with an independent training provider. They also need to think about whether they want training for a specific job, through an apprenticeship or NVQ, or prefer a more broad-based qualification, such as a diploma or BTec.
Then there is the level of study. This usually depends on a student's existing qualifications, and ranges from entry level, which involves building basic knowledge, to level 8, equivalent to higher than a Masters degree.
Finally, there is the type of qualification and awarding body. BTec (Business and Technology Education Council) and OCR (Oxford and Cambridge RSA Examinations) offer broad practical qualifications. National Vocational Qualifications (NVQs) match job skills against nationally recognised standards. More than half of all NVQs are awarded by City and Guilds, which offers more than 500 qualifications in 28 industry areas.
Another possibility is the new diplomas, which Donohue believes, through combining theory and practice, will make vocational qualifications available to a broader range of young people, thereby boosting British industry.
But Bob Coates, managing director at City and Guilds, says that the success of the entrepreneurs who featured on the vocational rich list showed how much there was to be learned from any kind of on-the-job training. He says: "The journeys these vocational entrepreneurs have taken highlight that different routes and learning styles can offer just as good an opportunity in life and can be equally rewarding."
