Vocational Qualifications (Key Stage 4)

There are three different sizes of vocational qualifications available at each level: Award, Certificate and Diploma. The size of a qualification relates to its allocated Total Qualification Time (TQT). TQT includes all supervised or direct contact time: the guided learning hours plus an estimate of the hours a learner will spend studying independently, not under direct supervision.

See the individual qualifications pages for details on the size and level of each vocational qualification.

CCEA offer a range of qualifications at different levels and different sizes. The level of a qualification indicates the demand. The size of a qualification is indicated by TQT. For performance measure purposes, the Department of Education (DE) will consider the level of a qualification and the GL hours, which are the teacher-supervised hours. For example, this means that a Vocational Level 2 qualification is pitched at the same level of demand as a GCSE, however if it has less than 120 GL hours it may not necessarily be equivalent to a GCSE for performance measure purposes. When considering the GCSE/GCE equivalence of a qualification, two factors must be taken into account – the level of the qualification and the number of GL hours.

Refer to the following Department of Education link for the current information in relation to qualification equivalency and reporting performance:

Department of Education Qualifications (education-ni.gov.uk)

Any queries regarding the details contained within the link above or the NIEFQAN file should be raised with the Assessment and Qualifications Team within DE at [email protected] or 02891 279543.

Our OLA French, OLA German, OLA Irish and OLA Spanish qualifications can help pupils progress through the early stages of language learning. They can be valuable enrichment courses throughout post-primary and are especially suitable at Key Stage 3. These qualifications provide short-term language learning goals and reward achievement at four levels: Entry 2, Entry 3, Level 1 and Level 2.