Sarah Sayers said she wants to improve the reputation of SVQs in Early Years Care and Education and also ensure 'that those who are delivering the training and assessment are aware of the need to maintain quality, as many already do'.
She said, 'It's not going to be an easy task. There are employers in all the sectors who think that SVQs 2 and 3 are wonderful, but there are also areas where, if you do not have the HNC, as far as the employer is concerned you are not properly qualified. There are cases where potential employees could claim to have been discriminated against because their qualification is an SVQ, not college-based.'
Ms Sayers said she could only speculate on why some employers had doubts about SVQs. When childcare SVQs were introduced several years ago, she suggested, 'there were situations where candidates were being awarded SVQs who may not have actually produced the quality of work and hadn't been assessed to the standards that the National Occupational Standards required. They were then going on into employment and being found wanting.' Ms Sayers said she would establish contact with childcare partnerships, which will be taking a lead role in overseeing the delivery of qualifications. She pointed out that the number of childcarers taking training was set to increase substantially. 'The Government is aiming for a good proportion of early years and playwork workers to be qualified, and there is new legislation in the pipeline to govern qualifications. The intention is to have a much bigger proportion of qualified workers,' she said.
'There's a lot of change going on in childcare qualifications. This year, the Scottish Qualifications Agency is implementing the first National Course for the Scottish Group Award in early years care and education, which is part of the Higher Still framework.'
Ms Sayers added that she hoped that childcare qualifications would increasingly gain academic recognition, just as the nursing qualification did in the past. 'Ultimately, raising the profile of childcare qualifications will raise the profile of people who work with children and young people. As a country we don't value our early years workers - we tend not to value our children that much - and that's why our early years workers are held in such low esteem.'
