Vocational Pathways: 2015 in Review

Vocational Pathways: 2015 in Review

The Vocational Pathways (VPs) continue to support young people to achieve NCEA Level 2, remain engaged in education and transition effectively to employment, training or further study. As schools, tertiary, industry training partners and employers we are supporting each other to inspire a future highly skilled workforce by providing young people through the Vocational Pathways with a coherent curriculum, work based experiences and opportunities to progress in different careers.

Vocational Pathways Awards 2014

40% of the 1997 birth cohort who achieved NCEA Level 2 in 2014 achieved one or more Level 2 Vocational Pathways Awards. In summary, the VPs Award for all pathways show:

A total of 16,090 students from the 1997 birth cohort (aged 17 in 2014) were awarded 17,664 VPs Awards in 2014. This represents 40% of the 43,792 students in the cohort who achieved NCEA Level 2 and 29% of the total cohort.
The most common Vocational Pathway awarded was Creative Industries (66.7%).
41% of all VP awards were awarded to males, while 59% were awarded to females.
14% of all VP Awards were awarded to Māori students, and 14% were awarded to Pasifika students.

Vocational Pathway / Number of Awards / % of VP Awards
Construction and Infrastructure / 1,014 / 5.7%
Primary Industries / 1,088 / 6.2%
Manufacturing and Technology / 786 / 4.4%
Service Industries / 2,498 / 14.2%
Social and Community Services / 488 / 2.8%
Creative Industries / 11,790 / 66.7%
Total Vocational Pathway Awards / 17,664 / 100%

Further refinement of Creative Industries

Following the refinement process earlier in 2015 we undertook additional analysis of the Creative Industries VP and identified that there were areas that could be reduced further to enable greater alignment with the other VPs and ensure the integrity of the Creative Industries VP is maintained.

We worked with the Creative Industries Sector Consortia Group Lead to refine the VP further and the outcomes of this refinement – Version 2 (Column H) - can be found here:

These changes will follow the same implementation timeframes as the other refined pathways. In 2016 both the 2014 and Version 2 refined Creative Industries VP will be available but in 2017 only the Version 2 refined Creative Industries VP will be available, along with the other five VPs.

Development of Level 3 Vocational Pathways

The development of the Level 3 Vocational Pathways is our biggest achievement in 2015. We now have Level 3 Achievement Standards clearly identified in the Vocational Pathways, Levels 3-7 Qualifications mapped to the Vocational Pathways and we are beginning to develop information on the Level 3 Pathways for a range of users. To see the outcomes of the development, visit

We are currently engaging with a wide range of stakeholders about possible ways of implementing the Level 3 Vocational Pathways, particularly through the secondary, tertiary and industry partnership approach called ‘3+2’. This will be for NCEA Level 3 learners who want to participate in school and also progress towards qualifications through industry training or tertiary education at Level 3 or above.

Level 3 and University Entrance

We have carried out analysis of the number of approved subjects for University Entrance (with at least 14 credits) which can be gained within the VPs framework.

The table below shows how many of the 48 approved subjects can be gained within each Vocational Pathway:

Construction & Infrastructure / Manufacturing & Technology / Primary Industries / Services Industries / Social & Community Services / Creative Industries
11 / 11 / 18 / 25 / 11 / 22

The only approved subject that is not in a single Vocational Pathway is Latin, while English, Te Reo Maori and Te Reo Rangatira are in all six.

To find out more detail about which approved subjects can be found in which pathways go to the “Level 3 UE analysis” spreadsheet on the Youth Guarantee website.

Level 3 Award

During 2015 the consultation considered whether there was a need for a Level 3 VPs Award and the purpose such an award would serve. Consultation feedback indicated significant support for an award. For example:

Students are becoming more and more familiar with the pathways and when preparing to enter higher level study want the recognition of the Level 3 qualification to align with their Vocational Pathway.

A Level 3 VPs Award is definitely required. It adds a natural pathway for students who have already undertaken a Vocational Pathway at Year 11 and/or Year 12. As full contextualised programmes are developed it is even more important that this pathway continues into Year 13 and NCEA L3. Not having this stair-casing opportunity could limit uptake at Level 2.

It would give secondary, tertiary and industry the opportunity to have more robust career pathways directly into industry and reduce the gap for some students from secondary to tertiary study or employment.

To progress the development of options for the Level 3 VP Award we socialised and gained feedback about the Level 3 VP Awards options with a range of stakeholders. Feedback indicated that while a degree of continuity is desirable between Level 2 and Level 3 VPs, Level 3 should also recognise a deliberate decision to experience/explore the work place. Recognition of on-job experience requires the Ministry to undertake further investigation.

For example we need to clarify whether it is:

solely recognition of a specified amount of time in the work place, or
an attestation of a standard met in the work place (and on what criteria this is based), or
recognition of skills that have been gained in the work place.

In 2016 we need to progress exploring the mechanisms needed to communicate this recognition of work exploration and how they align with other work related to employability which is currently underway.

Link to Profile Builder on Youth Guarantee Website Home Page

We now have a link to the Profile Builder from the home page of the Youth Guarantee website, under the “Resources” section.

Mapping of occupations to VPs

When the VPs were first introduced they were mapped to a number of occupations, but not all of them.

We have now mapped the remaining 300 jobs within the ANZSCO framework to the six VPs. The ANZSCO framework is used by statistics departments in both New Zealand and Australia to classify occupations. This will enable better integration of VPs between government agencies.

The updated list can be found here

Focus for 2016

Our focus in 2016 will be on supporting the sector to effectively embed the Level 2 and 3 Vocational Pathways. The VPs provide us with the opportunity to create more relevant pathways from school to tertiary study and employment for students, as well as further strengthen the partnerships and connections between employers, secondary and tertiary education providers at the secondary-tertiary interface.

Happy Christmas from the VP team!

Youth Guarantee Update December 20151