Time on Trowel: The demise of skills in VET under Coalition Government

Following the Wolf Report (2011) the Coalition Government (2010-2015) introduced a range of policy reforms to Further Education vocational courses with the aim of streamlining provision and simplifying the qualifications framework. This qualitative study explores the impact of these reforms on curriculum and skills delivery, and on student experiences and progression. It takes as a case study five Level Three vocational pathways (IT; Construction; Engineering; Childcare; Hair and Beauty) within one Further Education College in the North-East of England. It traces the development of the reforms in a context of both existing practices and prior policy. It explores how curriculum planning, skills delivery, and assessment have been transformed, and considers the views, garnered through individual interviews with students, tutors and local employers, in terms of their experiences and expectations of the new vocational courses. Examination of policy revealed that while there was some continuity of existing practices in content and delivery on the ground, key differences emerged in terms of course specifications: these were removal of vocational specificity and more generalisation of skills. This study has revealed a tension between academic and vocational content of the courses, with a perception that theory has been put before skills: Tutors reported frustrations over altered pedagogical methods necessitated by the changes, with difficulties in reconciling what they saw as a skills- free curriculum with the employability agendas core to their teaching. Students viewed what they saw as academic content as less engaging and wanted more hands-on experience, but nonetheless felt their courses made them more employable. Employers saw students as emerging with fewer skills.
These findings are significant in terms of current thinking in FE policy which has returned to a focus on skills in the design of vocational courses and suggests these might align better with pedagogical expertise and student needs.