IWA to stage vocational education conference
The Institute of Welsh Affairs (IWA) is to stage a national education conference under the banner, 'Enhancing vocational education for 14 to 16 year olds'. It is being held in association with the Welsh Government and WJEC. Details: Tuesday 21 February 2012 9.15am - 4.00pm WJEC, Llandaff, Cardiff Conference Chair: Sir Adrian Webb, Chair of the Wales Employment and Skills Board The widening education attainment gap between Wales and England for 14 to 16 year olds and Welsh pupils’ relatively low PISA scores have been the cause of much soul searching. Yet the picture is a more complex one than these simple comparisons might suggest. The most recent data show Welsh pupils’ performance in GCSEs to be equivalent to that across the border. It is in vocational qualifications that England is outperforming Wales. This conference will address questions critical to the development of Welsh vocational provision. Is there/should there be a distinctive vocational educational syste...