Qualifications, standards & competency framework development

For Qualifications Wales, we were commissioned to deliver a comparison of Essential Skills Wales (ESW) qualifications and comparator qualifications in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland. The study was delivered primarily through a detailed desk-based review, drawing on curriculum standards, subject content/design criteria, guidance and amplification; assessment support packs; awarding body specifications; conditions of recognition; consultation questions and findings; reports. Supporting telephone and face to face discussions were undertaken with regulators and awarding bodies. The findings were used by Qualifications Wales to identify improvements to ESW qualifications.

For SDS we led the design of carpentry and joinery pre-apprenticeship programmes. This involved conducting and synthesising employee survey outputs, employee workshops and additional data sources of information to create draft work situations for consultation. We co-facilitated stakeholder workshops to agree on the scope of the apprenticeships. The ultimate result was the creation of qualification design specifications, qualification products and an assessment strategy. 

Harlow Consulting was commissioned to work with Edinburgh Napier University and the New Model Institute for Technology & Engineering (NMITE) to develop a competency framework documenting the knowledge, meta skills and industry experience the next generation of timber engineers needs to drive change in the construction industry. Detailed desk-based research assessed job descriptions, professional body requirements, existing competency guides and frameworks, supplemented with depth interviews with sector stakeholders. The framework was developed iteratively, and refined in consultation with stakeholders, via working group and steering group round tables before being finalised.