Development of standard at National and Scottish vocational qualification (NVQ/SVQ) levels IV and V (moving towards a complementary framework of qualifications)

The UK´s record of education, training and qualification has been inadequate and the actual needs of employment have not been satisfied. Professional Engineering Institutions are already responding by sharpening their focus on competence, continuing professional development and objective assessment. Although substantial issues remain to be resolved, the NVQ/SVQ concept can provide the tools to deliver this focus. It overlaps and complements historical membership criteria rather than replacing them. The NVQ/SVQ system is well advanced and is being extended. Failure to apply it to higher levels of engineering will encourage division within engineering occupations as a whole. Failure of the profession to take leadership is an opportunity for others bidding for entry into the Institutions´ traditional territory