Targeted review of the qualifications system

Consultation findings on proposed changes

22 December 2009

Throughout September, October and November 2009, NZQA sought feedback from tertiary education organisations, representative bodies, and other interested groups and agencies on proposed changes to New Zealand's qualifications system.

The summary report on consultation submissions is available here.

For some time now, employers, employees and unions have raised concerns about the clarity and relevance of qualifications, particularly vocational qualifications. To support a robust economy in these changeable times, our qualifications system must work well for all those who use it.

Many of the concerns about the usefulness of the current qualifications system focus on the large number of qualifications in some areas, the difficulty of identifying the similarities and differences between qualifications, and the relevance of qualifications for employers.

The Government wants a simplified qualification system for learners, industry and providers. It is seeking to resolve the problem of too many similar qualifications (duplication) that increase the number of qualifications in the system (proliferation), but do not increase choice for learners.

Review outputs

NZQA proposed strategic improvements to the qualifications system through a package of changes. This package of seven major changes was designed to make the qualifications system more user-friendly and relevant, were developed from the targeted review. These proposed changes were consulted with the tertiary education sector throughout September and November 2009. The consultation submissions results and summary report provides information on the feedback NZQA received on the change package outlined in the consultation paper.

Consultation submission results and summary
Consultation paper: Targeted review of the qualifications system focusing on certificate and diploma levels

The changes are:

Develop a unified New Zealand qualifications framework.
Require the use of existing quality-assured qualifications and change the design rules for National and New Zealand qualifications to allow for more inclusion of local components.
Require mandatory periodic reviews of qualifications to determine whether they are still fit for purpose.
Strengthen and standardise qualification outcome statement requirements.
Introduce a mandatory pre-development assessment stage for qualifications developers.
Strengthen recognised industry involvement in qualification development.
Provide the public with clear information about whether a qualification is active, inactive or closed.

Working papers

The working papers below are outputs of the targeted review, and contribute to discussions on the qualifications system

The number of certificates and diplomas on the New Zealand Register of Quality Assured Qualifications
The clarity of certificates and diplomas on the New Zealand Register of Quality Assured Qualifications
The currency of certificates and diplomas on the New Zealand Register of Quality Assured Qualifications
Employers' opinions of certificates and diplomas on the New Zealand Register of Quality Assured Qualifications
Certificates and diplomas in New Zealand: A description of approval, accreditation and registration processes
Qualification Developers' Experiences of Certificates and Diplomas on the New Zealand Register of Quality Assured Qualifications
Learners' experiences of certificates and diplomas on the New Zealand Register of Quality Assured Qualifications

Involved parties

To address these concerns, the Ministry of Education, NZQA, the Tertiary Education Commission and Department of Labour are working with the Industry Training Federation, Business New Zealand and the Institutes of Technology and Polytechnics New Zealand, the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions, the Private Training Establishment sector and Te Tauihu o Ngā Wānanga on a targeted review of the qualifications system.

Focus of the Review

The review looked at the nature and overall design of the qualifications systems, not at specific qualifications.

The review focussed on certificate and diploma levels (levels 1 to 6, excluding NCEA). The large number of these qualifications means that this area is where there is most likely to be a lack of clarity about connections between qualifications and skills.

Page updated: 22 December 2009