14.5 We believe that forms of accreditation should be encouraged which remove barriers between what are commonly known as vocational and non-vocational qualifications and the National Targets for Education and Training should also be reviewed, with this in mind. Aiming Higher proposed that there should be a credit framework across qualifications and that learners should earn credit as they complete a unit of study. Units or modules based upon multiples of the same notional learning time will enable credit to be accumulated from A levels and GNVQs, for example, towards progression to higher education or elsewhere.

14.6 The Kennedy Committee on widening participation and Dearing Review of Higher Education also supported the development of a credit framework as an important contribution towards improving access and clarifying the relationship between awards at different levels and he pathways linking them. The Committee of Vice-Chancellors and Principals has subsequently announced its support in principle for such a move. Most recently Wales has seen the publication of CREDIS, a new learning route for Wales, based upon a credit framework with common unit specifications. The Kennedy Committee's report included the recommendation that the Government should create a national partnership to develop a credit framework for implementation within the next five years. The framework should provide a record of accreditation for interim achievement and enable learners to build credit throughout their lives.

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