NVQ Equivalent

NVQs, along with other qualifications, can be quantified using ‘levels’. Such qualification levels are contained in three qualification ‘frameworks’:

• National Qualifications Framework
• Qualifications and Credit Framework (this is the new framework for vocational and/or work-related qualifications)
• Framework for Higher Education Qualifications

These frameworks group together qualifications that place similar demands on you as a learner. Of course, within any single level, qualifications can cover a wide variety of subjects, and also take varying amounts of time to complete.

The following approximations can be made to get an idea of the NVQ equivalent qualifications available. The following NVQ equivalent are used by the London School of Economics’s Research Lab:

• NVQ Level 1 = foundation GNVQ, three or four GCSEs scored at grades D-E, Business & Technology Education Council (BTEC) first certificate.
• NVQ Level 2 = five GCSEs scored at grades A*-C, BTEC first diploma.
• NVQ Level 3 = two or more A levels, BTEC Ordinary National Diploma (OND), City & Guilds Advanced Craft.
• NVQ Level 4 = BTEC Higher National Certificate (HNC) or Higher National Diploma (HND), or City & Guilds Full Technological Certificate / Diploma
• NVQ Level 5 =NQF 7-8

Please see the following DirectGov page for further information: http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/EducationAndLearning/QualificationsExplained/DG_10039017