However, the students were not enco

However, the students were not encouraged to produce their own evidence, for instance, by the experience from the part-time jobs which most students undertook in, for example, “receive, screen and assist visitors”. Alongside the NVQ, single subject examinations are still being offered, probably because the NVQ performance criteria pay scant attention to skills and they were never intended to be an over-arching qualification. Nor is it likely that GNVQ provides the answer since it is doubtful whether the students on the courses which were observed have the ability to complete a GNVQ alongside a NVQ. GNVQ is equivalent to two A Levels whereas it would be more likely that the aspiring secretaries could pass resit or additional GCSEs or one A level.