What is the purpose of this qualification?
The qualification is designed for learners who need a tailored course to enable them to progress from their specific starting point to their planned destination, most commonly further learning of some kind but also employment or improved status in terms of their personal and social development. Typical users of the qualification will include learners who require a personalised approach to training and development in order to enable them to overcome barriers and progress successfully.
The wide range of optional units in this qualification and the flexibility with which it allows learners to combine units mean that it is appropriate to many different types of learners with different needs, interests and aspirations.
Examples of users who would benefit from this qualification include learners who :
• need a varied set of skills and/or knowledge in order to progress to more mainstream education courses, or into employment or to new work areas
• need alternative curriculum approaches to those offered on mainstream courses, including hard-to-reach or NEET learners and those with poor or interrupted experiences of school
• need to combine aspects of vocational learning with personal and social development either to inform their career/employment choices or to support their progression towards employment
• are returning, or planning to return, to work and who are seeking to update and/or add to their employment skills through a course that also allows for softer skill development, such as confidence-building.
What skills, knowledge, or understanding does this qualification develop?
This qualification includes a wide range of vocational, employability and personal and social development knowledge and skills. Units are divided into two groups: those focused on employability and personal and social development; and those focused on vocational or subject-specific knowledge and skills. Learners must include at least two units from the first group. They then have the freedom to work with the provider to select further units appropriate to their needs, interests and ambitions for the future.
Units cover the following vocational / subject areas:
Animal Care
Administration
Agriculture
Building and Construction
Business Management
Crafts, Creative Arts and Design
Child Development and Well-being
Engineering
Environmental Conservation
Hair and Beauty
Health and Social Care
Hospitality and Catering
Horticulture and Forestry
History
ICT for Users
Media and Communcation
Performing Arts
Preparation for Learning, Life and Work
Retail and Wholesaling
Service Enterprise
What are the progression options?
The main purpose of this qualification is to enable learners to progress to further learning or training. However, for some learners it can support progression to an entry-level job across different sectors.
Progression & entry requirements
Learners are not required to have any prior qualifications or demonstrate specific levels of attainment to access this qualification.
The qualifications are available to learners of any age.
The qualification supports progression to a wide range of further learning opportunities including Level 2 qualifications, such as the vocational qualifications in the Gateway Qualifications Suite of Skills Qualifications, e.g. Gateway Qualifications Level 2 Extended Certificate in Skills for Retail.
There is a Gateway Qualifications Level 1 Award, Certificate and Diploma in Progression. The Certificate is most suitable for learners who require a course of reasonable length in order to develop their employability, personal and social development and/or vocational or subject-based learning before they are ready to progress to further learning or training and/or operate independently and effectively in life, learning and work. The size of the Certificate allows learners on full-time programmes to combine the qualification with other types of learning including unaccredited provision such as work experience or that focused on developing independence.
