A central claim made for National Vocational Qualifications (NVQs) concerns their role in providing the skills which employers and industry are said to need. This claim is challenged through the examination of a range of critical studies which indicate that employers are neither centrally involved in nor satisfied with the sort of outcomes associated with NVQs. Since NVQs are failing to provide the knowledge and skills which people on all sides of education and industry claim are required to enhance vocational education and training (VET), and upgrade workforce skills, it is suggested that the public funding of skills training should no longer be determined by the agenda of the NCVQ or the objectives of the professional training lobby. Speculative proposals for alternative strategies are examined against the background of recent policy developments in the field following the Beaumont and Dearing reviews. © 1996 Journal of Vocational Education and Training All rights reserved.
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