The new qualifications giving young people their first real insight into Wales’ essential sectors

Wales is building on an education system that values every learner and every pathway. Central to this is designing vocational qualifications that are rigorous, relevant, and genuinely open doors for young people As the only awarding body delivering Made-for-Wales GCSEs, Vocational, and Skills-based qualifications within the National 14-16 Qualification Offer, WJEC plays a unique role in turning that vision into reality. Here, Richard Harry, Executive Director: Qualifications and Assessment, reflects on what it takes to design qualifications that truly work for learners, employers, and Wales.

In recent years, the landscape of education in Wales has undergone profound transformation.  

At the heart of this shift stands the emergence of a new suite of qualifications: vocational pathways carefully designed to reflect the ambitions of our national curriculum and to give young people meaningful insight into Wales’ key sectors.  

These form part of a Qualifications Wales’ reform, and are built to broaden learners’ experiences, deepen their understanding of real-world contexts, and help them make informed choices about their futures in an evolving Welsh economy. 

Qualifications Wales has approved a range of new Level 1/2 Vocational Certificates of Secondary Education (VCSEs) and Foundation Qualifications developed by WJEC, making it the first awarding body to secure approval under Wave 3 of the National 14-16 qualifications reform, and reinforcing its role in delivering high-quality, Made-for-Wales qualifications aligned to the Curriculum for Wales.  

These qualifications will offer greater choice and a broader range of skills and vocational knowledge, complementing traditional GCSEs. 

The approved offer includes Level 1 and 2 VCSEs across sectors such as the Built Environment, Creative and Media Production, Technology, Hospitality and Catering, and Travel and Tourism, alongside Entry Level and Level 1 Foundation Qualifications in areas including Cymraeg and Design and Technology. First teaching is scheduled for September 2027. 

Designing robust qualifications to support learner progression 

As we ready these qualifications for wider adoption, it is important to understand why they matter, and what makes them uniquely valuable, not only for today’s learners, but for Wales as a whole. 

These qualifications have been designed specifically for Wales, allowing them to align closely with the Curriculum for Wales and with the sectors that learners may ultimately choose to pursue.  

They offer young people meaningful insight into real-world working environments, supporting a clearer understanding of how industries operate and the progression opportunities available. 

A recent report from the Senedd Children, Young People and Education Committee has reinforced the scale of the task ahead. The Committee highlighted the importance of ensuring that vocational pathways are coherent, clearly understood, and well aligned with post-16 routes, noting that continued work is needed to strengthen progression and support learners as they move through the system.  

This feedback underlines the responsibility we hold in shaping qualifications that genuinely help young people navigate their next steps with confidence. 

As WJEC, our role is to take the ambitions of the reform programme and turn them into high-quality, practical qualifications that work for schools, colleges, and learners across Wales.  

Turning policy into practice through industry partnerships 

While Qualifications Wales sets the direction, we design the qualifications themselves: the content, assessment models, bilingual materials, and the support that enables effective teaching.  

Our focus is not simply to promote these qualifications, but to shape it through evidence-led development, strong partnerships with industry, and our experience of what delivers real value in the classroom. 

The Committee’s report sets out a clear challenge for the new vocational pathways: they must stand confidently alongside traditional academic routes, offer coherent progression, and give learners the knowledge and experiences that support future study and work. 

Designing a qualification is not a closed-door exercise; we have engaged with employers, industry bodies and expert organisations, including the Construction Industry Training Board, hospitality partners, and public sector leaders. 

In hospitality and catering, for example, learners can gain an embedded Food Safety Hygiene and Allergens Certificate endorsed by the Food Standards Agency, demonstrating that they understand and can apply recognised industry standards. 

Partnerships also open doors. By working with industry partners across Wales, we help young people understand the breadth of opportunities available to them within each sector.  

What these qualifications offer learners, schools, and Wales 

Vocational qualifications have long suffered from outdated perceptions, often seen as second-choice routes. 

These qualifications challenge this thinking by showing learners the range of roles, responsibilities, and career paths that exist, from mastering logistics in retail to community engagement in public services or applying creative and technical skills in engineering and catering.  

This visibility matters; it helps young people see themselves in these industries and recognise the wider purpose behind their studies. 

Fundamentally, these qualifications have been designed as part of a coherent educational ecosystem. They do not sit apart from GCSEs, they complement and enrich them.  

By offering bilingual delivery across Welsh and English, they support our national commitment to linguistic inclusivity. And, crucially, they have been mapped directly to the four purposes of the Curriculum for Wales, ensuring that each learner is equipped not just with technical skill, but with the mindset and capabilities needed for modern life.  

Ambition, creativity, ethical citizenship, and personal confidence are woven into the design of every qualification, preparing learners to flourish long after they leave compulsory education. 

And the benefits extend beyond the classroom. For learners, these qualifications provide confidence, practical abilities, and a sense of direction. For parents and teachers, they offer reassurance that the vocational route is rigorous, credible, and respected. For employers, they represent a pipeline of young people who are workplace-ready, grounded in real experience, and aligned with industry needs.  

As Wales continues to reshape its economic priorities, including hospitality, tourism, the foundational economy, digital innovation, and green growth, our qualifications will play an essential role in preparing the workforce of the future. 

Responsive, relevant and ambitious qualifications 

We also recognise that reform is not a one-off event. Continuous improvement is embedded into the design and implementation of these qualifications. As they roll out, we will draw on feedback, evaluation, and ongoing engagement with sectors and practitioners to ensure these qualifications remain responsive, relevant, and ambitious. 

This commitment to evidence-led development mirrors the recommendations of the Senedd report, which calls for sustained monitoring and meaningful collaboration with stakeholders across the education and employment landscape. 

Looking ahead, we want learners to feel empowered by choice, supported by opportunity, and confident that their qualification opens real doors.  

And we want Wales to lead, not follow, in designing education that reflects the realities of modern life and the evolving demands of the workplace. We want employers across Wales to recognise and value learners for their resilience, creativity, and readiness to contribute.  

These qualifications are more than a set of new courses. They are a statement of intent: that Wales values every learner, every pathway, and every ambition.  

By pairing rigour with relevance, partnership with purpose, and national vision with local need, we are raising the bar for vocational education.  

These qualifications will help shape a generation ready to thrive in Wales and beyond, equipped with the skills, confidence, and insight to succeed on their own terms. 

To learn more about our Wave 3 qualifications, visit www.wjec.co.uk/Wave3