The role of the QCTO in thenew NQF Landscape
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Where does the QCTOcome from?
Department of Education
Department of Labour
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Proposals for QCTOemerged
•System was perceived as inefficient so …
•Inter-Ministerial review of NQF began in 2001
•Task Team appointed; competed its work April 2002; Reportpublished 05 May 2002 ; Inter departmental ConsultativeDocument published in June 2003
•Resulted in Joint Ministerial Statement in 2007
•Statement envisioned third Quality Council (QCTO) alongsideUmalusi and CHE;
•QCTO to absorb the work of all the SETAs;
•All three QCs to both SET standards and qualifications as wellas Quality Assure
•SAQA given role to enhance ‘communication, co-ordination andcollaboration’ between the QCs
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2012 Aug 07 - 08
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QCTO mandate in SDA
•QCTO Council members and Acting EO appointed in Feb 2010,QCTO operational from 1 April 2010 following publication of gazette
•‘the QCTO is responsible for
–establishing and maintaining occupational standards andqualifications’
–‘the quality assurance of occupational standards andqualifications and learning in and for the workplace’
–Designing and developing occupational standards andqualifications and submitting them to the SAQA for registrationon the NQF
–Ensuring the quality of occupational standards and qualificationsand learning in and for the workplace;
(SDA, 2008, Section 26H, 3)
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2012 Aug 07 - 08
OccupationalQualification
SDA: ‘Occupational Qualification’
means a qualification associated with
a trade, occupation or profession
resulting from work-based learning and
consisting of knowledge unit standards, practical
unit standards and work experience unit standards’
(NQF Act – ‘part qualification’ =
assessed unit of learning that is registered as
part of a qualification’)
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Occupation qualification& curriculum
Knowledge /theory
Practical
Work experience
External, summative assessment
OccupationalQualification
Occupational Purpose
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Purpose of OccupationalQualifications
The purpose of an occupational qualification isto qualify a learner to practice an occupation,reflected on the Organising Framework forOccupations (OFO) or an occupational specialisationrelated to an occupation that is reflected on theOrganising Framework for Occupations (OFO).
(Expert Practitioners design occupational qualifications)
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NQF
Level
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ElementaryOccupations
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Plant andMachineOperatorsandAssemblers
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SkilledAgricultural,Forestry,Fishery, Craft &Related TradesWorkers
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Serviceand SalesWorkers
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ClericalSupportWorkers
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Technicians andAssociate Professionals
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Professionals
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Managers
Occupational qualifications within the Major Groups of the OFO broadly mapped against the NQF levels
OFO and NQF
(NB All 10 levels)
OFO has 8 majorgroups – shownhere
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2012 Aug 07 - 08
Progression: NOPFoverlay over OFO
•The OFO creates the ‘common language’ but inhibitsprogression as each major group stands alone.So the NationalOccupational Pathway Framework (NOPF) was created tocorrect this problem
•The NOPF clusters occupations and groups of related OFOoccupations (Unit Groups) across different levels of the NQFand across different Major groups to inform learners of potentialprogression pathways and to assist occupational qualificationdevelopers to lay the foundation for vertical progression whendeveloping individual qualifications.
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NQF
Level
8
ElementaryOccupations
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Plant andMachineOperatorsandAssemblers
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SkilledAgricultural,Forestry,Fishery, Craft &Related TradesWorkers
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Serviceand SalesWorkers
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ClericalSupportWorkers
3
Technicians andAssociate Professionals
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Professionals
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Managers
Occupational qualifications within the Major Groups of the OFO broadly mapped against the NQF levels
OFO and NQF
(NB All 10 levels)
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NOPF
•The NOPF contains 9 high level occupational clusters, each with aconstituent set of occupational fields (of which there are 54 in total),which in turn consist of families of occupations. So Clusters consistof Fields and Fields consist of Families of occupations
•The pathways link occupations (at various levels of complexity) thatshare related knowledge bases and which are commonly groupedtogether for career guidance purposes (because they are associatedwith similar working environments and relate to different learneraptitudes and interests).
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NOPF clusters(cf CESM or SAQAlearning fields)
The nine occupational clusters are
1.Business Administration, Information Services, Human Resources and TeachingRelated Occupations
2.Finance, Insurance, Sales, Marketing, Retail and Logistics Related Occupations
3Accommodation, Food Preparation and Cleaning Services Related Occupations
4Farming, Forestry, Nature Conservation, Environment and Related ScienceOccupations
5Medical, Social & Welfare, Sports and Personal Care Related Occupations
6Security and Law Related Occupations
7Visual Arts, Design, Installation, Maintenance, Extraction and Construction RelatedOccupations
8Production Related Occupations
9Transportation, Materials Moving and Mobile Plant Operating Related Occupations.
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Our NOPF says they canenter low and then climb:
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Sometimes progression willmean completing CHE orUmalusi qualifications FIRST.here is how the QCs link
1.a stand-alone occupational qualification
2.learners exempt from the knowledge and/or practicalcomponents of the occupational qualification if theyhave attained an education qualification.
3.educational qualifications a pre-requisite for studyingfor occupational qualification.
Occupational Qualification
Occupational Qualification
GFETQF / HEQF
K
P
WE
P
WE
K
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QCTO progressionpossibilities
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Progression
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QCTO is discussing the idea ofhaving ‘knowledge fieldconveners’ who ensure thatqualifications in a single fieldembody knowledge progressionfrom level to level. These could bebuilt on the same basis as the old‘technikon’ convener model – withone institution responsible toconvene others for a single ‘field’of occupational qualifications (cfNOPF). What do you think ofthis idea? Would the collegesparticipate? (Macro level)
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2012 Aug 07 - 08
Who does the work forsingle qualifications(meso level)?
Design and development
•Work done by Development Quality Partners (DQPs)
•They are appointed by QCTO for a particular occupation or group ofoccupations on NOPF (after checking with all interested parties)
•DQPs are funders and organisers, they must convene experts,appoint facilitators and learner facilitators and oversee process andensure reports are submitted on time
•The facilitator manages a structured process and generate threedocuments
–curriculum document and
–assessment document
–qualification document for registration by SAQA
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2012 Aug 07 - 08
The Occupational Curriculum Document
•To enhance the quality and consistency of learning and the internalassessment of each of the components of learning.
•Is based on an occupational profile derived from the occupationalpurpose and the associated occupational tasks or outcomes.
•Occupational curricula provide an outline of the following:
–learning components - knowledge subject specifications, practical skills modulespecifications and work experience module specifications.
–internal assessment guidelines for the knowledge and practical skillscomponents and requirements for the assessment of the work experience
–exemptions from or entry requirements to each component
–skills development provider accreditation requirements for the knowledge andpractical skills components and workplace approval requirements for the workexperience component.
Components ofOccupationalQualifications
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Qualificationassessmentspecifications
•external assessment strategy (method to be used)
•key occupational outcomes to be assessed (linked tooccupational tasks and the specified critical externalassessment focus areas)
•points at which assessment take place (e.g phase tests orpoints in production cycle)
•critical elements of the internal assessments to be moderated(if any)
•eligibility requirements for learners to access the externalassessment (also list of equivalent achievements as affordingexemption)
•criteria for registration of assessors
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Components ofOccupationalQualifications
The Occupational Qualifications Document
•Two types:
–National Occupational Qualification (120+ credits); and
–National Occupational Award (25 – 119 credits)
•Meet SAQA requirements for registration
•A minimum of 20% of an occupational qualification’s total creditsmust be assigned to each of the three components. The balance ofthe credits (40%) can be allocated in a proportion appropriate to theneeds of the particular occupation or occupational specialisation.
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Who does theassessment work(meso level)?
Assessment
•Work done by Assessment Quality Partners (AQPs)
•They are appointed by QCTO for a particular occupation or group ofoccupations
•AQPs are responsible for the final, external summativeassessment/s (item banks, assessors, modality etc).AQPsrecommend accreditation of assessment centres & providers for Kand P components to QCTO and verify SETA workplace approvalsystems for WE
•They can do practical assessments (e.g. trade tests) or panelreviews (e.g. professional bodies) or other kinds
•They develop standardised assessment instruments (tests)
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PartQualifications
•There are three learning components:
–the knowledge subject specifications,
–practical skills module specifications and
–work experience module specifications.
•It is possible for one, two or three of these curriculum components tobe separately, nationally assessed and certificated, in which casethey will be registered on the NQF as part-qualifications alongsidethe full qualification of which they are a part. (N courses a goodexample)
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