NVQs criticised as ‘inappropriate'for school leavers

The National Vocational Qualification (NVQ) system of work-based training and assessment has been criticised as "too narrow" and "inappropriate" for school leavers by the National Institute of Economic and Social Research.

The institute said unqualified, unskilled young people "are being trained in a setof narrow competenceswhich will not easily permit either the flexibility or career development in later years which the economy and technical progress increasingly demand".

However, a spokeswoman for the Hotel & Catering Training Company, the lead body for NVQs in this industry, said the occupational standards on which NVQs were based were the outcome of extensive research and consultation with industry.

"In an industry which has been historically under-qualified, NVQs and Scottish Vocational Qualifications should help to boost our image, improve the perception of service quality and in turn contribute to increased commercial revenues," she said.