An analysis of the benefit of NVQ2 qualifications acquired at age 26-34

The purpose of this report is to determine the extent to which [National Vocational Qualifications] NVQ2 qualifications, when acquired in a person's late 20s and early 30s, encourage progression on to other learning and/or lead to other beneficial changes in a person's economic circumstances. The project will provide evidence to help inform the Department [for Innovation, Universities and Skills] about whether NVQ2 qualifications are likely to contribute to individuals' productivity and to assist in attempts to improve qualification design and delivery. The report will also provide evidence on the likely effects of the historical policy emphasis on reaching level 2. One issue of pressing policy importance is to explain why the wage returns to NVQ2 qualifications appear to be minimal (Dearden et al. 2000; McIntosh 2002 and Dearden et al. 2004). Although this question has been addressed in a number of different academic studies, we will provide up to date information on the extent to which NVQ2 specifically, when acquired in mid-career, can provide wage (and employment) benefits. For the analysis, we use quantitative analysis methods applied to the rich data from the British Cohort Study (BCS) (1970) data.

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