Foreword
Introduction to the Guide
Part One
The Qualifications System
The National Qualifications Framework
GCSE
Advanced Level Qualifications
Entry to Higher Education
Scottish Qualifications
Awarding Bodies
National Vocational Qualifications/Scottish Vocational Qualifications
Apprenticeships
Higher Education
Financing Your Studies
Non-advanced Courses
Advanced Courses
Career Development Loans
Sources of Information
Late Start and Return to Work
A Variety of Routes for Returners, Career Changers and Mature Entrants
Preparatory Courses
Open Learning
Open College Networks
The Open College of the Arts
learndirect
Employment Legislation
Equality and Discrimination
Working Time and Pay
Other Entitlements
Working in Europe
Sectoral Directives
General Directives
The Certificate of Experience
National Reference Points for Vocational Qualifications
Europass
The Lifelong Learning Programme
Sources of Help
Careers Advisory Services
General Helplines and Websites
Publications
Part Two
Main Careers in Alphabetical Order
Accountancy
Actuary
Advertising
Agriculture and Horticulture
Animals
Archaeology
Architecture
Archivist
Armed Forces (Officer Entry Only)
Art and Design
Banking (and Building Society Work)
Beauty Specialist
Bookselling
Career Guidance
Cartography
Chartered Secretary and Administrator
Chiropractic
Civil Aviation
Civil Service
Complementary and Alternative Medicine
Construction
Consumer Scientist
Dance
Dentistry
Dietetics
Drama
Driving Instructor and Examiner
Economics
Engineering
Environmental Health Practitioner
Environmental Work
Fashion and Clothing
Health and Safety Advisers and Inspectors
Health Services Management
Hospitality and Catering
Housing Management
Information Science/Librarianship
Information Technology/Information Systems
Insurance
Journalism
Landscape Architecture
Languages
Law
Leisure/Recreation Management
Local Government
Logistics, Distribution and Transport Management
Management
Management Consultancy
Management Services
Marketing and Selling
Mathematics and Statistics
Medicine
Merchant Navy
Museums and Art Galleries
Music
Nursery Nurse
Nursing and Midwifery
Occupational Therapy
Optical Work
Osteopathy
Patent Work
Personnel/Human Resources Management
Pharmacy
Photography
Physiotherapy
Podiatry (Chiropody)
Police
Printing
Prison Service
Probation Work
Psychology
Psychotherapy and Counselling
Public Relations
Publishing
Purchasing and Supply
Radiography
Retail Management
Science
Secretarial, Administrative and Clerical Work
Social Work
Sociology
Speech and Language Therapy
Sport
Stock Exchange and Securities
Surveying
Tax Inspector/Adviser
Teaching
Television, Film and Radio
Town Planning
Trading Standards Officer
Travel Agent/Tour Operator
Working for Oneself
Youth and Community Work
Acknowledgements
Follow Penguin
I would like to thank the many organizations who have provided the information which has made this fourteenth edition of the Guide possible. I would also like to acknowledge the help of others who gave advice or direction in my research. I am greatly indebted for the support and encouragement I have been given by the previous editor, Jan Widmer. I am also extremely grateful to Carol Coe for her work as Assistant Editor on this edition.
It is more than forty years since the first edition of the forerunner to this Guide. During that period there have been significant changes in education and employment patterns. When it comes to making future plans, most people today are influenced only by their own preferences and abilities. Educational and career opportunities are broader than ever. Given the ability and application, young people should be able to aspire to anything – and if expectations aren’t met for any reason, a career change is entirely possible at a later stage.
But an increased level of opportunity brings the need for an awareness of the full range of career options available, supported by a realistic understanding of what the work involves, and what qualifications, education or training will be required.
Fortunately careers information is now instantly accessible. There are numerous websites offering information at the click of a mouse. But for those wanting ideas to follow up, a book is still easier to browse than the Web. This book aims to be a starting point for career decisions. This edition has been completely updated, offering structured and in-depth detail on many different occupations and signposting the reader to websites where the most recent information should be available.
The Penguin Careers Guide was first published in 1966 as Careers for Girls. At that time, when nursing, teaching and secretarial work were considered the main ‘good’ jobs for girls, it was a trailblazer, its purpose unambiguously to encourage girls to widen their career choices. When in 1978, following the passing of the Sex Discrimination Act, the book was renamed Equal Opportunities: A Careers Guide for Women and Men, there remained many hurdles to equality in employment. In 1992, by which time jobs and careers, with one or two statutory exceptions such as certain roles in the Armed Forces, were open to applicants regardless of their gender, the book was given its present title.
Gender inequality has been an issue throughout the history of the Guide: a very recent University of Cambridge report shows that the gender gap in terms of pay and opportunities continues in Britain to this day. And there are other issues that may influence future work patterns, from population change to the growth of global-scale organizations.
Estimates of future population change, with current birth rates in Britain lower than the ‘population replacement rate’, suggest future skills shortages in key areas such as technological fields. Young people entering the workforce today can look forward to increasing life expectancy: many of them can now anticipate a working career spanning fifty years, with continuing education and professional development.
Economists and planners are now describing the development of a ‘knowledge economy’, with future success based on knowledge and skills rather than on more tangible natural resources. Knowledge-based companies, specializing in research and development projects, are increasingly developing the new products that are manufactured in China and then imported as finished goods.
As many large organizations continue to grow on a world scale, these global corporations offer increasingly international career opportunities. Opportunities for more flexible working patterns and career breaks, whether for family responsibilities or for personal development, are also developing in many professions and areas of employment. Employers that understand the need for an improved work–life balance, a notable example being the NHS, promote both flexible working and help with return to practice as a major recruitment inducement.
Looking ahead in the longer term, perhaps future editions of the Guide may be describing the decline of global corporations and the rise of a completely new type of small-scale ethical company in which carbon trading and low environmental impact are key concerns.
I hope that this book will help readers to take the longer view when considering their career or career change. I wish you all future success.
Philip Gray
Access to careers information, like access to all other information, has been revolutionized by the Internet. Universities, professional bodies and providers of qualifications all now have websites where up-to-date details can be found instantly.
So why publish a printed careers directory? The answer is, in the main, for the same reasons that it has ever been useful. This publication aims to provide unbiased information, and to bring it together so that different careers can be compared and contrasted. In addition it provides the sort of information not readily available on the Web, such as insights into the work and the sort of person likely to be good at/happy in it, based on experience and observation. This is what differentiates the information in this book from that provided by the sources mentioned above, in whatever media the information may be provided.
That said, the Internet is a most valuable tool for those researching careers information. Qualifications and education and training structures are constantly being changed and once a particular career has been identified, the Web can be used to seek out the latest information. Website addresses are provided within the text where appropriate or at the end of each chapter, although neither the editor nor the publisher has any responsibility for the content of external websites listed in the Guide.
The Guide is likely to be used mainly by young people as they research their education, training and career plans. However, it is also valuable for the increasing number of people in their twenties, thirties or forties who want to, or have to, change their occupation. Some people still make a traditional ‘career for life’ decision at 16, or occasionally even earlier, but for so many others a career has become something that evolves and adapts throughout life as personal preferences, circumstances, work patterns and opportunities all change. For many occupations maturity is seen as an asset; education and training facilities may well be available; and standard entry requirements may be relaxed for older people (see individual entries, Higher Education, p. 13, and Late Start and Return to Work, p. 23).
More than ever before, individuals are expected to take charge of their own careers. This applies to everyone, from those working for large organizations to unemployed people on government training schemes. From time to time we all need to assess where we are in job terms, decide what we are aiming at and what we need to achieve our aims. ‘Buzz’ phrases today are ‘personal portfolio’ – the individual’s package of knowledge, skills and experience – and ‘transferable skills’ – those which can be put to good use in any work situation. The individual who is prepared to be flexible, to take advantage of (increasingly compulsory) continuing professional development (CPD), and who doesn’t assume that any job is immune to change, is the one most likely to weather times of high unemployment.
Careers in this Guide are listed alphabetically. However, many if not most careers are really ‘areas of work’. Look at the index and you see how many more jobs than careers sections there are. Usually one kind of training leads to jobs in a variety of settings and you can normally mould training plus experience to the kind of job you will want to do when you know more about the whole spectrum and about your own likes, dislikes, strengths and weaknesses.
We could not hope to include all occupational areas in one book, so we have had to make arbitrary choices. Since the future demand is expected to be for more highly skilled, highly trained people, we have left out jobs requiring few, if any, educational qualifications, concentrating instead on those which need formal training or which lead to the widest range of options. School-leavers needing information on other jobs and training opportunities should contact their Connexions service. Adults should consult the Jobcentre or local guidance centre. Use this Guide in conjunction with sources of help in Part One, combined with discussions with personal/careers advisers, family, friends who know you well and, if possible, with people doing the jobs you’d like to do.
Look at job advertisements. If you are a mature job-seeker you may be baffled by some of the newer or rarer job titles. Often it is only by reading the job specification that you discover it is something you know under a different name. Some are genuinely new occupations and you may need to dig more deeply to find out if your background and possible future training would make you a good candidate. Be adventurous, look at as wide a range as possible, using the ‘Related careers’ sections as signposts.
PENGUIN BOOKS
Philip Gray began his career in teaching, later specializing in careers education and guidance. He held a variety of teaching, advisory and management posts, and was involved in many of the early vocational education initiatives. After writing a series of books on aspects of career choice and contributing to various publications, he worked as a magazine editor. He was founder editor of Ucan magazine for UCAS, then became the editor of Insight, Lifeforce, Finance Futures and Careerscope. He has also developed and produced a number of ISCO careers and higher education directory titles. He is now an independent publisher.
The Penguin Careers Guide is one of the longest established careers directories published in the UK. This edition takes forward the work of the four previous editors: Ruth Miller, one of the pioneers of careers writing, on whose original concept the Guide is based, Anna Alston, Anne Daniel and Jan Widmer.
Successive governments have tried to bring the academic and vocational qualifications which have grown up piecemeal over the years into some kind of logical structure, to aid equivalence and progression. The aim is to bring all qualifications – general, vocational and occupational – within the national qualifications framework. The framework has nine levels, ranging from entry level for students not ready for level 1 qualifications to level 8 which encompasses doctorates.
The Qualifications and Curriculum Authority is currently carrying out tests and trials on a new proposed unit-based qualifications framework (the Qualifications and Credit Framework). The QCF awards credit for units (parts of qualifications) and qualifications at different levels and provides a flexible system of credit accumulation and transfer.
Further information Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) website: www.qca.org.uk
The General Certificate of Secondary Education is the main qualification awarded at 16+ to pupils in England and Wales. Grades are on a scale from A* to G; GCSEs at grades C and above are level 2 qualifications and at grades D to G level 1. Short course GCSEs, which cover half the content and take roughly half the time of a full award, are available in a number of subjects. Four or five GCSEs at grades A–C is a common starting point for most of the careers and courses in this book.
General National Vocational Qualifications have now been phased out; replacements for the Foundation and Intermediate level GNVQ include applied GCSEs, BTEC Introductory and First qualifications and OCR Level 1 and 2 National qualifications (see below). The applied GCSEs (previously known as GCSEs in Vocational Subjects) are currently available in eight subjects: Applied Art and Design; Applied Business; Engineering; Health and Social Care; Applied Information and Communication Technology; Leisure and Tourism; Manufacturing; and Applied Science. An applied GCSE is the equivalent of two traditional GCSEs and is graded A*–G in the same way.
The structure of advanced level qualifications changed in 2000 with the introduction of a modular unit-based curriculum designed to increase breadth of study and make it easier to mix academic and vocational programmes. All advanced level qualifications are now made up of a number of units assessed in stages or at the end of the course and awarded at grades A–E. Some changes will be made to A levels from 2008 as follows: the number of units will be reduced from six to four in most subjects; an A* grade is to be introduced for A level (not AS level); more challenging papers will be introduced at A2 and an extended project will be introduced as a separate qualification.
The GCE AS (Advanced Subsidiary) is currently a three-unit qualification designed both to provide a bridge between GCSE and A level and to give students the opportunity to broaden their range of subjects. In practice the AS usually acts as the first half of an A level but it is a qualification in its own right.
GCE A levels are currently six-unit qualifications, and are made up of an AS plus a further three units called the A2, taken in a second year. Assessment is through varying combinations of course work and exams.
A levels in applied subjects are designed to offer an introduction to a broad vocational area and encourage learning in work-based contexts. They follow the same AS/A2 structure as A levels with the difference that some subjects offer six units at AS and six units at A2 level, and equal two AS/A levels. These qualifications were introduced in 2005 and replace Vocational A levels, also known as VCE, which in turn replaced Advanced GNVQs.
New specialized Diplomas for 14–19-year-olds will be available from September 2008 in five ‘Lines of Learning’: Construction and the Built Environment, Creative and Media, Engineering, Information Technology and Society, Health and Development. Further Diplomas will be launched in 2009 and a total of seventeen subjects will be available by 2011. There are three levels of Diploma: Foundation, Higher and Advanced. As well as core subjects and skills relating to the specific occupational sector, other components of the Diplomas will include additional complementary learning, functional skills in English, ICT and maths (see p. 5) and work experience. The Diplomas can lead to further study or to employment with training.
Further information
http://yp.direct.gov.uk/diplomas
The International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma is widely recognized by universities as an alternative to A levels and Highers. The qualification is achieved through a two-year programme, and is assessed through course work and examinations. It has three core elements: an extended essay, a cross-discipline theory of knowledge course, and a programme of art, sport and community work. Students then choose six subjects to study, one from each of six areas.
There are six key skills qualifications: communication, application of number, ICT, working with others, improving own learning and performance, and problem-solving. Introduced as part of the curriculum changes in 2000, they are available at different levels and are assessed on the basis of course work and a test. New functional skills qualifications in English, maths and ICT are to be introduced in 2010: Government policy states that achievement of a level 2 functional skills qualification will then be needed for the award of grade C+ in the related GCSE subject.
The standard entry to higher education is two or three qualifications at advanced level and many higher education institutions now accept a range of qualifications at that level. However, degree level courses differ greatly in their requirements and universities and higher education colleges are not uniform in their response to the new curriculum. Prospective students should seek advice before choosing their advanced level programme and check carefully with individual institutions.
The Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) has developed a tariff which calculates advanced level qualifications on a points score system to evaluate achievement for entry to higher education. Additional qualifications are being added into the tariff year by year. Many institutions now use the tariff system to express their entry requirements but some still ask for specific A level grades.
Further information
www.ucas.com
The system in Scotland differs from the rest of the UK. The following is a basic guide to its structure.
Standard Grade (formerly SCE Ordinary grade) is the equivalent of GCSE and is normally taken in Scottish fourth year. It is awarded on a scale of seven grades at three levels of study: foundation, general and credit. A credit pass in a certain subject may be a prerequisite for certain degree courses.
This is a programme of units and courses offered in fourth, fifth and sixth year of secondary education and some schools offer these in fourth year instead of Standard Grade. In some areas, the lower levels of National Qualifications may be offered in the third year of secondary school.
The programme has five levels: Access, Intermediate 1, Intermediate 2, Higher and Advanced Higher. Students usually complete a course in one year but can take longer if desired. Students can progress from one level to the next or move sideways to other subjects at the same level.
The courses taken by students in fifth year are determined by the levels achieved at Standard Grade and/or previous National Qualifications. Students normally take five subjects in fifth year but may take a variety of subjects at different levels depending on how they have performed at earlier levels. Each course at each level is divided into three separate units and each unit has its own internal assessment. In order to get the course award a student must pass all three units.
At the end of the whole course – i.e. at the end of all three units – there is an external assessment. Its form is appropriate to the subject so it may be a traditional examination or it could be, for example, a performance. The final course grade is given on the basis of how well the student does in this external assessment/exam.
Vocational subjects such as care, hospitality and mechanics are offered in the same five-level course pattern as more traditional subjects like English and maths. Courses taught at further education colleges – as well as those taught at school – are within the same NQ programme.
Pupils can do five separate subjects of their choice or, if they choose a group of subjects that go together, they can get a Scottish Group Award (SGA). For example, they might get an SGA in technology or in languages. The SGA includes full courses, extra units and evidence of appropriate competence in five key core skills – communication, numeracy, using IT, problem-solving and working with others. There are no extra exams for the SGA – the award is made simply on the basis of having completed the necessary courses and units.
Universities use passes at Higher level as the basis of their offer, with some giving credit for Advanced Highers. For example, they may accept a grade at Advanced Higher as equivalent to one grade above that in the same subject at Higher level. Scottish universities may allow students with Advanced Highers direct entry on to the second year of a closely related four-year degree course (in the same way that they may allow A level students from elsewhere in the UK to do so). (See also UCAS Tariff, p. 6.)
Students are awarded the Scottish Qualifications Certificate, which lists all educational and training achievements to date. This includes a Core Skills profile showing the level achieved in communication, working with others, numeracy, problem-solving and IT. Those gaining Group Awards are given an additional certificate.
All Group Awards have compulsory Core Skills units. Core skills are also being developed through Highers.
Further information
Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA), The Optima Building, 58 Robertson Street, Glasgow G2 8DQ.
www.sqa.org.uk
There are well over a hundred recognized awarding bodies in the UK offering over 4,000 qualifications. These range from the Assessment and Qualifications Alliance (AQA) and the Oxford, Cambridge and RSA Examination Board (OCR), which offer many of the school-age qualifications, to professional institutes to amateur sports associations. The three awarding bodies offering vocational qualifications most listed in this Guide are Edexcel (BTEC), the City & Guilds of London Institute and the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA). OCR also offers work-related qualifications (see below).
Edexcel offers nationally recognized BTEC qualifications in a wide range of subjects. These include: business; health and care; art and design; media, music and performing arts; engineering; hospitality; IT and computing; travel and tourism; sport; public services; and science.
BTEC courses may be taken in schools, colleges of further and higher education, approved training centres and companies. Courses are modular, with a range of compulsory ‘core’ and optional subjects so students can tailor-make programmes to suit their needs and interests.
There are several levels of course and qualification.
Further information
Edexcel, 190 High Holborn, London WC1V 7BH.
www.edexcel.org.uk
OCR National qualifications (Awards, Certificates and Diplomas) are work-related qualifications offered at levels 1, 2 and 3 in different vocational areas, with level 3 included in the UCAS Tariff.
City & Guilds awards its own qualifications in over 500 different subjects in a wide range of vocational areas, including catering and hospitality, construction, engineering, printing, travel and tourism, agriculture and horticulture, media, retail and distribution, and health and social care. City & Guilds does not run courses itself; these are held in centres such as colleges of further education, adult education institutes and training centres. Courses may be part-time, full-time or a mixture. Some are available by distance learning or through flexible-learning programmes.
In the main, no specific time limits or entry requirements are laid down for qualifications. Many certificates are awarded jointly with partners in industry. All City & Guilds awards are normally available at several levels and individuals often progress from one to the next. In addition, there are senior awards that people can work for and which depend solely on experience and demonstrated ability, not on conventional academic study: Licentiateship (higher technician or master craftsman level); Graduateship (equivalent to first degree); Membership (equivalent to a Masters degree or full corporate membership of a professional body); Fellowship (outstanding professional achievement at the highest level).
Further information
City & Guilds, 1 Giltspur Street, London EC1A 9DD.
www.cityandguilds.com
SQA is the national body responsible for the development, accreditation, assessment and certification of qualifications in Scotland other than degrees. SQA qualifications are offered at approximately 1,750 approved centres. They include: National Qualifications including Standard Grade and National Units and Courses at Access, Intermediate, Higher and Advanced Higher levels (see ‘Scottish Qualifications’, p. 6); Higher National Certificates and Diplomas (HNC/HND) and Scottish Vocational Qualifications (SVQ).
Further information
Scottish Qualifications Authority, The Optima Building, 58 Robertson Street, Glasgow G2 8DQ.
www.sqa.org.uk
National Vocational Qualifications (NVQ) and Scottish Vocational Qualifications (SVQ) are work-based qualifications which record the ‘skills, knowledge and understanding’ of an individual in relation to their work. They are based on national occupational standards developed by Sector Skills Councils. These identify the level of competence expected of people in their work.
Competence means the ability to perform tasks and this is assessed ‘on the job’. This may be as an employee, through an Apprenticeship, or as a school or college student through a work placement. NVQs are unit-based and a unit is achieved when the candidate is assessed as competent in the skills and knowledge specified.
NVQs are awarded at the five levels of the qualifications framework. Level 1 is the most basic, level 3 broadly equates to two A levels, while level 5 represents higher professional qualifications. Levels 1–4 are in place in most sectors. Because each NVQ fits into a framework it should now be possible to relate one vocational qualification to another, regardless of what organization has awarded it, making it easier to move up the qualifications ladder.
NVQs are awarded by established organizations, such as City & Guilds and Edexcel (BTEC) (see pp. 9–10) and a host of organizations representing different industry sectors. In England the qualifications are approved by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority; in Wales by the Qualifications, Assessment and Curriculum Authority for Wales; and in Scotland by the Scottish Qualifications Authority (the SQA differs in that it awards as well as accredits qualifications). These qualifications are not graded, since candidates are either competent or not yet competent.
Apprenticeships are designed to equip young people with the range of flexible skills needed in today’s changing employment market and in England they are available in 80 different sectors within industry and commerce. The aim is to ensure that more young people obtain higher level vocational skills. They differ from old-style apprenticeships in three main ways:
An Apprenticeship is based on a training agreement between the apprentice and employer. Employers must follow strict guidelines. Time taken is flexible, depending on the apprentice’s educational qualifications and experience at the start, but Apprenticeships usually take three years. Apprentices are normally paid a wage.
There are two levels of Apprenticeships in England: for apprentices and for advanced apprentices. Apprenticeships for apprentices last about a year and focus on achieving a level 2 NVQ and a technical certificate; those for advanced apprentices take at least two years and lead to an NVQ at level 3 and a technical certificate. There are no set requirements except that applicants should be aged 16–24. Both levels aim to equip young people with the key skills such as working with others and problem-solving.
Adult Apprenticeships (age 25+) were introduced in August 2007.
In Scotland Apprenticeships, usually leading to a level 3 qualification, are part of Scottish Enterprise’s Skillseekers initiative.
A similar Apprenticeship scheme is also available in Wales.
Further information
England: www.apprenticeships.org.uk
Scotland: www.scottish-enterprise.com
Wales: http://new.wales.gov.uk
Courses and qualifications in higher education are constantly evolving. The traditional route to a degree is still through a three-year or four-year full-time or four-year sandwich course, but part-time and even distance-learning modes of study are becoming more widespread. Students may specialize in a single subject or in two major subjects in a joint degree or take various combinations of subjects in a ‘combined’ degree. The great majority of degrees are now structured on a modular basis, with modules carrying a number of credits depending on their length. Modules are available at levels (normally 1, 2 and 3) and whereas some courses require students to take a level 1 before they take a level 2, others allow students to pick up modules at different levels in a different order. This way there is maximum choice and flexibility.
There is a nationally recognized credit rating of courses (under what is generally called CATS – the Credit Accumulation and Transfer Scheme). For example, for an honours degree students need to accumulate 360 credits, with 120 credits being awarded after each of three years of full-time study. Credits may also be given by institutions to students for in-company training, professional studies and experiential learning, so long as these relate to the proposed course of study. The European Credit Transfer Scheme (ECTS) also provides for Europe-wide credit transfer. This is operated by Erasmus (now part of the Lifelong Learning Programme) which also offers HE students the opportunity to study at universities in other European countries.
These are full-time or sandwich courses in vocational subjects such as science, engineering and business. They may be taken as a qualification in their own right or, in some cases, as a stepping stone to a degree. Higher National Diplomas (HND) may be linked to a degree in the same subject at one or more universities and allow successful diplomates entry to the final year of the degree course. Others allow students on to the second year of a degree. In some cases students who start degree courses and find them too challenging can transfer to an HND programme. Higher National Certificates (HNC) are available in similar subjects, mainly followed by people in work who wish to study part-time. Some full-time HNCs are also available. Although of a similar standard to HNDs they do not generally cover such a full syllabus.
Foundation degrees are flexible employment-related higher education qualifications introduced in 2001, designed by universities in partnership with employers. Courses develop work-specific skills relevant to a particular employment sector, and are the equivalent of two years’ academic learning. Students who are already in employment can combine study at a higher education institution or further education college with distance or Internet-supported learning and work-based learning in programmes to suit their circumstances. A Foundation degree is a stand-alone qualification (usually carrying 240 credits) with guaranteed articulation with at least one related honours degree and with professional qualifications.
Most Diploma of Higher Education (DipHE) courses take two years full-time or three years part-time at higher education institutions. Nursing DipHEs take three years (except for graduates). Entry requirements for school-leavers vary – some, but not all, require a minimum number of UCAS points (i.e. A levels or equivalents).
Courses are comparable in standards and sometimes similar or identical in content to the first two years of an honours degree. As free-standing courses they are available only in a small number of subject areas. Most are vocationally related, for example in health care or management studies. They may form an integral part of vocational training. Many diplomates go on to degree courses towards which their DipHE may count; some universities award a DipHE after successful completion of two years of a degree course.
Traditionally to enter a degree course one normally needed two or three passes at A level (or four or five Scottish Highers). For an HND normally one pass at A level is required. In recent years, however, many universities have accepted applicants with alternative qualifications such as International or European Baccalaureate or Vocational A levels. Recent changes in post-16 examinations in England, Wales and Scotland mean that some universities are making offers based on the UCAS Tariff, which allocates points to qualifications included in the Tariff (see p. 6). Many universities have welcomed applications from ‘mature’ candidates without these kinds of school or college leaving qualifications. In 2005 nearly 90,000 accepted student applications for full-time courses were from people aged 21 or over. Over 8,000 of these were aged over 40. Mature applicants are required to show evidence of recent academic study to demonstrate that they will be able to cope with the course. Those with a suitable background (of education, work or training) may be admitted straight on to a course. For those without such a background there are various ways to prepare (see below). The proposed Qualifications and Credit Framework aims to provide a flexible system of credit accumulation and transfer which recognizes smaller units of achievement (see p. 2).
Foundation years
These are also known as year o and are taught in universities (occasionally colleges) and lead straight on to the first year of the degree, making a four-year course in total. These are mostly in disciplines such as science or engineering where students without a strong background in specific subjects can catch up.
Access to higher education courses
These courses have been around even longer and are run at adult and further education institutions. They may be directly linked to degree courses at a nearby university or may be free standing. They are in subjects ranging from teaching to social work, science to law or humanities. All include an element of numeracy, information technology and English.
Other preparatory programmes range from courses which help students to improve A level grades to those which update special areas of knowledge, to those which deal with study skills. They may have titles such as Return to Learn, Wider Opportunities, or Make Your Experience Count. Some universities run summer schools as a ‘taster’ for potential students. Residential colleges are intended for those over 21. They run a variety of courses, some intended as preparation for higher education or professional training, others designed to stretch students’ minds and open up their horizons.
For a list of access courses see the website: www.ucas.com, click ‘students’, then ‘before you apply’ and ‘access programmes’.
Associate student schemes
Students are not formally enrolled on degree programmes, but sample some units of degree courses. Assessment is optional. Some students decide to progress to degree study.
The Open University is the UK’s largest institution of higher education. No academic qualifications are required for admission for undergraduate degrees, but places are limited and students are admitted on a first-come basis. Students study at home in their own time using specially prepared materials, such as books, videos, radio and TV programmes, and, increasingly, online. There are also weekend and residential summer schools. Students build up credits towards ordinary and honours degrees. It is possible to complete a degree in three years but most people take four to six years, combining study with work or family responsibilities. There is also an associate student programme and many shorter courses for professional people, scientific and technical updating, community and personal interest. There are various postgraduate programmes and a range of management courses taught through the OU Business School.
Further information
The Open University, Walton Hall, Milton Keynes MK7 6AA.
www.open.ac.uk (includes addresses of regional centres)
The External System has a long history. It differs from the much newer Open University in offering in-depth study of single subjects rather than interdisciplinary courses. London University acts only as an examining body, with students studying either independently or, more commonly, at a college or by correspondence course. The basic entry requirement is two A levels and three GCSEs, or equivalent, but mature applicants are assessed on an individual basis. Successful students gain a London University degree (or a more recently introduced Diploma which, as in other universities, may allow progress to a degree).
Further information
The External System, Senate House, University of London, Malet Street, London WC1E 7HU.
www.londonexternal.ac.uk