The new Diploma in Manufacturing and Product Design for 14 to 19-year-olds has this week been guaranteed to offer a strong progression route, enabling pupils to get into universities and colleges.
Schools Minister Jim Knight accepted the recommendation from the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) that the new Diplomas should be judged equivalent to 5 GCSEs grade A*-G at the foundation level, 7 GCSEs grade A*-C at the higher level and 3.5 A Levels grade A*- E at the advanced level. The decision is supported by UCAS, the body responsible for managing applications to university and other higher education courses. Jim Knight also confirmed an investment of a further £45 million in teacher-training to support the roll out of Diplomas in 2008/09.
Derek Jones, project leader for the development of the Diploma in Manufacturing and Product Design, which will be available for teaching from September 2009, said that the decision was great news for employers: “This announcement will help boost the credibility of the Diplomas among school pupils and their parents, and will no doubt lead to increased interest from young people in undertaking a Diploma.
“We are working hard to raise awareness about the benefits in particular of the Diploma in Manufacturing and Product Design, and we now hope to see more schools and colleges expressing an interest in delivering our Diploma from 2009.
“Obviously the more widely the Diploma in Manufacturing and Product Design is offered, the greater the uptake among students. In time, employers will start to reap the benefits, as more potential recruits come through the ranks with a far greater understanding of manufacturing than school-leavers have today.”
The Diploma in Manufacturing and Product Design will, like all diplomas, teach core skills such as English, Maths, and Information and Communications Technology (ICT). The specific manufacturing content will be broken down into three key themes: business and enterprise, product design and materials science, and production systems. Consortia of schools, colleges and employers will be responsible for the delivery of the Diploma, allowing students to combine classroom learning with time spent in colleges with high-spec manufacturing facilities, and real work experience.
Foundation level will see school pupils aged 14 to 16 learning an introduction to general manufacturing and working processes, while pupils studying at the higher level will choose from modules such as running a manufacturing business, the global business world, and designing and developing products. The advanced level Diploma, for students aged 17 to 19, will cover business principles, supply-chain management and research and development. At all levels, learners will have the choice of optional modules focusing on a specific manufacturing sector, including textiles, food and drink, chemicals, polymers, printing, and process manufacturing.
Schools Minister Jim Knight said: “Diplomas are the first qualification to be developed with such a high level of input from employers and universities. The QCA and UCAS are confirming these are rigorous and challenging qualifications. Pupils can now be confident they will study valuable, first class qualifications when they take a Diploma, and universities and colleges can be assured of their quality. We have reached another important milestone in delivering the Diplomas, with the opportunity to combine theoretical and practical options that brings.”
The first five Diplomas in construction, engineering, IT, health and creative and media will be taught to around 40,000 students in England from September next year.
Eventually, 17 Diplomas, including three new Diplomas announced earlier this year in science, languages and humanities, will be offered with the aspiration that the Diploma becomes the ‘qualification of choice’ for young people in future.
The Diploma in Manufacturing and Product Design is being developed by the Manufacturing Diploma Development Partnership, which includes representatives form the five sector skills councils that cover manufacturing – Improve, SEMTA, Cogent, Proskills and Skillfast-UK. |
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