National qualifications

In spring 2023, we consulted on the range of publicly funded qualifications that should be available for 14 to 16-year-old learners in Wales, alongside the already agreed GCSEs. In January 2024, we published the findings and our decisions.

We then considered whether three subjects should proceed as GCSEs, as originally planned, or as VCSEs (Vocational Certificates of Secondary Education). VCSEs are a new and exciting brand that we are introducing from 2027. We consulted on this and decided that engineering and construction should become VCSEs, and that health and social care, and childcare should remain as a GCSE. We also engaged before making our decision regarding Foundation qualifications that develop Cymraeg skills of learners who may not yet be ready to take a GCSE in this subject.

We have now agreed the range of subjects that will sit alongside GCSEs after extensive engagement and consulting. Collectively, they will make up the
full suite of approved National 14-16 Qualifications.

Alongside new made-for-Wales GCSEs, the new National 14-16 Qualifications will include:

National Qualifications will support the aims and purposes of the Curriculum for Wales. They will provide assessment opportunities at entry, level 1 and level 2, and all qualifications will be available in Cymraeg and English.

Centres will be able to offer a bespoke combination of these new qualifications to support their learners in achieving their individual goals for life, learning and work. This supports our ambition of creating a coherent and inclusive offer. 

As well as providing opportunities to develop knowledge, skills and understanding across a diverse range of subject and sector areas, the National Qualifications will also:

  • encourage best use of digital technology
  • provide skills that Welsh employers are calling for
  • increase opportunities for hands-on learning
  • offer a mix of assessment methods
  • have value within and outside of Wales

Since agreeing the range of qualifications, we have been working closely with our stakeholders to develop the approval criteria that awarding bodies must meet when developing these qualifications.

From 2027, National 14-16 Qualifications will comprise GCSEs, VCSEs and Foundation and Skills qualifications spanning Entry Level to Level 2 of Welsh Government’s Credit and Qualifications Framework (CQFW). Centres will be able to provide a bespoke combination of these qualifications.

From 2027, National 14-16 Qualifications will comprise GCSEs, VCSEs and Foundation and Skills qualifications spanning Entry Level to Level 2 of
Welsh Government’s Credit and Qualifications Framework (CQFW).
Centres will be able to provide a bespoke combination of these qualifications.

Drafts of these criteria were published on our Have Your Say platform in October 2024 for stakeholders to provide feedback. They have since been finalised and will be published before the end of the year.

In shaping National Qualifications, we have worked collaboratively with a wide and diverse range of stakeholders. Directly engaging with employers, sector bodies, schools, colleges and universities as well as learners, parents and awarding bodies.

When considering the range, we were mindful to design qualifications that, where possible, would support the economic, social, environmental and cultural wellbeing of Wales, seeking always to ensure that the needs of the present are met without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

We appreciate the importance of supporting the vision for a resilient Wales, which is why we focus on the development of skills, including digital skills, as this will be key to learners’ future and their long-term success in a rapidly changing world.

Post-16 qualifications

Developing vocational qualifications
We have continued to oversee developments for new qualifications in travel, tourism, hospitality and catering, following our publication last year of the Going Places sector review.

Travel and tourism
Working with awarding bodies, learning providers and sector specialists, we published approval criteria for updated qualifications in travel and tourism in
December 2023.

Awarding bodies will use these criteria to make amendments to their current qualifications. These new qualifications will be available to centres from September 2026, to prepare for first teaching from September 2027.

Hospitality and catering
Our Going Places review identified some issues with the structure and range of the existing hospitality and catering qualifications offered in Wales.

We need a fresh and relevant suite of qualifications that address the current complex and confusing qualification structure and outdated content and focus.
We consulted on two proposals in 2023 and following feedback we explored all options for securing new hospitality and catering qualifications with stakeholders.

We published our decisions report in April 2024, deciding to:

  • establish a new streamlined suite of made-for-Wales hospitality and catering qualifications at levels 1, 2 and 3 for both further education colleges and work-based learning
  • develop the qualifications being offered using an open market approach, whereby more than one awarding body can design and deliver the qualifications

Sector qualification groups
Over the past year, we have held two meetings of each of our 13 sector qualification groups. These groups focus on post-16 vocational qualifications.
The groups are attended by representatives from learning providers, awarding bodies, Welsh Government, Estyn and wider stakeholders, including employers and sector representative bodies. The groups are well attended and discuss issues such as the range of qualifications, new developments and aspects of good practice.

Art, creative and media sector review
In July 2024, we published the findings of our latest sector review of qualifications in art, creative and media. The review focused on the range of qualifications, including Welsh-medium qualifications, available in full-time post-16 further education, sixth form schools and apprenticeships in the sector. 

This sector review covered a wide range of subjects including performing arts, media and communication, crafts, creative arts and design, and publishing and information.

Our review findings were informed by desk-based research, analysing the current range of qualifications, as well as 50 interviews with key stakeholders and an online learner survey, which received 194 responses.

Our detailed findings identified that:

  • most learning providers consider the range of qualifications, including Welsh-medium qualifications, to be sufficient to meet the needs of learners
  • apprenticeship frameworks would benefit from a review, some no longer included funded qualifications and there was demand for one framework to be made available in Cymraeg

In response to the review publication, we have taken action to address these issues, sharing feedback with Welsh Government about creative apprenticeship frameworks, and meeting with relevant awarding bodies regarding the content of certain qualifications.

Essential Skills Wales review
In September 2024, we announced that Essential Skills Wales (ESW) qualifications will be reformed as we published the findings of an in-depth, two-year review of the post-16 vocational qualifications. This was our first such review of ESW qualifications and focused on identifying what, if any, changes may be needed to ensure the qualifications continue to meet the needs of learners, learning providers and employers.

During the review, we carried out extensive research and spoke to learners, providers, including an online survey which received 781 responses and in-depth focused discussions with 266 learners.

Our findings identified that the:

  • content of Essential Application of Number Skills and Essential Communication Skills remains up-to-date and is broadly comparable to similar qualifications in other UK nations, such as Functional Skills qualifications in England
  • current assessment model causes manageability challenges for learning providers, learners and employers
  • overall duration of the assessments included in ESW qualifications is significantly longer than in similar qualifications offered in other UK nations
  • topics used in some of the assessments can lack relevance to learners’ vocational qualifications and are therefore considered unengaging
    by some
  • amount of time allocated to confirmatory tests for Essential Application of Number Skills (Level 2 and Level 3) was considered to be too short by learning providers

In response to the review findings, we have worked with awarding bodies and key partners to address specific issues, but more fundamental attention is needed in the longer term to address more fully the concerns raised by stakeholders.

Working with stakeholders, we intend to reform ESW qualifications in Application of Number, Communications and Digital Literacy, with a target first teaching date of September 2028. Read the full report here.

Partnering with employers

“The North Wales Regional Skills Partnership has found tremendous value in working collaboratively with Qualifications Wales.

Through working together, we’ve been able to align qualifications more closely with the skills demands of our region, and ensure that they respond to the needs of employers and the workforce in North Wales.

We look forward to continue our relationships over the next year as we see changes such as VCSEs coming in.

We are keen to ensure that the employer voice is central to the development of qualifications, which will in turn build a more skilled, adaptable and future-ready workforce.”

Sian Lloyd Roberts, North Wales Regional Skills Partnership

Cymraeg

This year we have begun work to develop an integrated Cymraeg strategy – covering all of our external and internal activities in relation to the Welsh language.

A cross-organisation working group has been established to look at bringing all of our efforts together into a single strategy, which is scheduled for publication in  2025.

Promoting and facilitating Welsh-medium qualifications
We continue to build on the success of our targeted Welsh-medium approach in post-16 education, which we put in place from January 2023. In the 2023-24 financial year, we awarded £226,159 of Welsh language grant funding to support nine awarding bodies to make more than 80 qualifications available in Cymraeg across a range of sectors.

Since refining our approach, we have seen a marked increase in awarding bodies engaging with our Welsh-medium discussions and Welsh language support grant. We have also noted some awarding bodies applying for our grant for the first time.

In September 2024, we published our progress report on our approach for targeting post-16 vocational qualifications to be made available in Cymraeg. We were also able to support the Federation of Awarding Bodies in developing and launching a Welsh-speaking assessor database. This initiative aims to support awarding bodies by identifying practitioners with confident Cymraeg skills who are interested in undertaking paid assessor roles.

Partnering with Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol
We continue to work with Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol to ensure that learners and apprentices who choose Welsh-medium and bilingual provision have accessible bilingual qualifications. We published our first joint progress report in July 2024.

We also held an event with Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol, Coleg y Cymoedd and ColegauCymru at the Eisteddfod Genedlaethol to raise awareness of how collaboration across the sector was helping to enhance Welsh-medium provision of post-16 vocational qualifications, with a specific focus on creative subjects.

The event provided an opportunity to acknowledge the ongoing efforts to increase Cymraeg qualifications, delivery and availability of resources and staffing within further education and work-based learning in key priority areas.

Organisational culture
Our organisational culture is one where we feel employees can, and feel supported to, speak in Cymraeg. We support our staff to learn Cymraeg through formal training, the use of online resources and encouragement and support from confident Cymraeg speakers.

We carry out an annual survey to ensure we maintain an ongoing focus on improving the delivery of a bilingual workplace and Welsh-language provision throughout our work.

Our Defnyddia dy Gymraeg (Use your Welsh) group brings employees together for conversation in Cymraeg, either just to connect, or to help improve language skills in an informal and comfortable environment.

We are changing the way we talk about Cymraeg skills when we advertise jobs, being realistic about the skills needed for specific roles, and those that can be developed in post, the aim being, to encourage applications from those with experience of Cymraeg, but who may need support to develop confidence to use it in a work environment.

We actively engage with Welsh-language organisations, educational groups, and learners to ensure their voices and experiences are reflected in our work.

Our latest Welsh language scheme compliance report was published in August 2024. We are due to be listed as a public body which must comply with the Welsh Language Standards during 2025, and we will work with the Welsh Language Commissioner to support us with any changes that may be needed.

Supporting awarding bodies

“The Federation of Awarding Bodies has continued to work closely with Qualifications Wales this year. This has been through our FAB Wales group updates and regular meetings between Qualifications Wales and our policy team. Our FAB Wales group is one of our largest member communities and part of the reason for its popularity is because Qualifications Wales staff make themselves available, accessible and transparent to the group.

As well as our usual points of contact, this year we’re proud to have worked in partnership with the team at Qualifications Wales to launch the Welsh Language Speaking Assessors Database, with our beta version now live! We’ll also be welcoming senior leaders from the regulator to speak at our annual FAB conference. We look forward to continuing to strengthen this relationship and being able to keep our members up to date and involved with the latest developments."

Luise Ruddick, Federation of Awarding Bodies

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