Skillset vs. BTEC
I am going to be comparing and contrasting the guidelines provided by BTEC and Skillset with the intention of deciding which I find to be most reliable, preferable and relevant.
Skillset is ‘The Sector Skills Council for the Audio Visual Industries’ and are funded by the Industry and Government. The purpose of their existence is to monitor the UK audio visual industry to ensure that it remains competitive which means making sure the right people have the correct skills for the right job.
(http://www.skillset.org/skillset/)
BTEC is part of Edexcel, the UK’s largest awarding body of qualifications, and it is their job to help people achieve qualifications in the field they choose to study. Edexcel work with Schools, Colleges, Universities and Employers and deliver qualifications around the world.
(http://www.edexcel.org.uk/about/)
Already we can see a contrast here; the two sets of guidelines are being provided with different target markets although they both have a common goal. It would appear that Skillset is concentrating on ensuring people have the right training to secure a job in their chosen field whereas BTEC are concentrating on getting Students qualified. In my current position as a student this is almost a conflict of interests. To ensure I am meeting the requirements of my course I need to stick to the guidelines of my examining body, however, to ensure my success and transition into the world of employment I also need to be aware of the guidelines of the Industry.
Looking at the Guidelines of BTEC I can see that they were last revised in March 2005. Although these revisions are not so long ago they appear to be revisions relating to the actual qualification rather than the skills required to achieve the qualification, this is something I fear is not regularly checked against what is happening in industry. The guidelines, however, are only a guide and seem to be quite none specific with what we must learn e.g. in regards to a specific programming language. It becomes more apparent to me now that the learning outcomes that we are provided in class are an interpretation of these guidelines and have been moulded to best suite our needs and goals.
The last Revision of the Skillset guidelines was actually done in November this year and the one that predates that was done in May 2005. The one from May seems to be very aware of Industry requirements, which isn’t a surprise given those who are involved in its existence. Based on these revision dates it would be the Skillset guidelines again that I would lean towards rather than BTEC as they are current.
When I have looked for employment in the industry I have always noticed THE list of programs with which a suitable employee must be familiar such as Photoshop, Illustrator, Dreamweaver, Flash and an ability to use CSS, this rarely differs. This is where the Skillset guidelines have another success as they seem to mention programs from this list as the ones needed to achieve your goals.
When I looked at BTEC for the list of Authoring tools they suggested Macromedia Director, Macromedia Authorware, Asymetrics Toolbook, mTropolis, I had to do a bit of research to see what these programs were as they are not programs I am familiar with, this could just be ignorance on my part but they are not programs that I have come across in my education or heard mentioned or even been referred to by peers or colleagues. Due to my own experience again I would be more inclined to trust the Skillset Guidelines as they match with what the industry requires of its employees.
A plus point for the BTEC guidelines would have to be that they are more in depth, this is due to the fact they offer more guidance on what should be submitted, links and also support materials. This approach suits me better as a student as it offers more support in terms of learning.
Contrasting this is the Skillset guidelines which are streamlined in comparison focusing mainly on the skills that the individual should have. One thing to point out would be that the Skillset guidelines quote specific job roles relating to specific learning outcomes this is a trick I think BTEC have missed as this helps you understand as a student where you can apply the skills you are learning (if it isn’t something you were already aware of).
In this instance I would sit somewhere in the middle edging slightly toward BTEC, it does appear that BTEC have provided four times the amount of content based on the amount of pages however when you consider the way the information is laid out you could probably realise that Skillset have been more economical with space.
Overall it is clear to see that I favour the guidelines provided by Skillset, the main point that seems to arise for me is relevance and although BTEC are my examining body in my current position I don’t feel that the guidelines offer an insight into the specific industry I am wanting to gain employment in. Skillset, for me, provides this insight and specific examples of where I can apply the skills that I am learning. In addition I can see the merits of both sets of guidelines and I would say that in my current position it is important to be aware of both of these. One provides insite into what I need to be achieving to pass the course and the other sets a goal for what what comes after I have passed the course.
Skillset is ‘The Sector Skills Council for the Audio Visual Industries’ and are funded by the Industry and Government. The purpose of their existence is to monitor the UK audio visual industry to ensure that it remains competitive which means making sure the right people have the correct skills for the right job.
(http://www.skillset.org/skillset/)
BTEC is part of Edexcel, the UK’s largest awarding body of qualifications, and it is their job to help people achieve qualifications in the field they choose to study. Edexcel work with Schools, Colleges, Universities and Employers and deliver qualifications around the world.
(http://www.edexcel.org.uk/about/)
Already we can see a contrast here; the two sets of guidelines are being provided with different target markets although they both have a common goal. It would appear that Skillset is concentrating on ensuring people have the right training to secure a job in their chosen field whereas BTEC are concentrating on getting Students qualified. In my current position as a student this is almost a conflict of interests. To ensure I am meeting the requirements of my course I need to stick to the guidelines of my examining body, however, to ensure my success and transition into the world of employment I also need to be aware of the guidelines of the Industry.
Looking at the Guidelines of BTEC I can see that they were last revised in March 2005. Although these revisions are not so long ago they appear to be revisions relating to the actual qualification rather than the skills required to achieve the qualification, this is something I fear is not regularly checked against what is happening in industry. The guidelines, however, are only a guide and seem to be quite none specific with what we must learn e.g. in regards to a specific programming language. It becomes more apparent to me now that the learning outcomes that we are provided in class are an interpretation of these guidelines and have been moulded to best suite our needs and goals.
The last Revision of the Skillset guidelines was actually done in November this year and the one that predates that was done in May 2005. The one from May seems to be very aware of Industry requirements, which isn’t a surprise given those who are involved in its existence. Based on these revision dates it would be the Skillset guidelines again that I would lean towards rather than BTEC as they are current.
When I have looked for employment in the industry I have always noticed THE list of programs with which a suitable employee must be familiar such as Photoshop, Illustrator, Dreamweaver, Flash and an ability to use CSS, this rarely differs. This is where the Skillset guidelines have another success as they seem to mention programs from this list as the ones needed to achieve your goals.
When I looked at BTEC for the list of Authoring tools they suggested Macromedia Director, Macromedia Authorware, Asymetrics Toolbook, mTropolis, I had to do a bit of research to see what these programs were as they are not programs I am familiar with, this could just be ignorance on my part but they are not programs that I have come across in my education or heard mentioned or even been referred to by peers or colleagues. Due to my own experience again I would be more inclined to trust the Skillset Guidelines as they match with what the industry requires of its employees.
A plus point for the BTEC guidelines would have to be that they are more in depth, this is due to the fact they offer more guidance on what should be submitted, links and also support materials. This approach suits me better as a student as it offers more support in terms of learning.
Contrasting this is the Skillset guidelines which are streamlined in comparison focusing mainly on the skills that the individual should have. One thing to point out would be that the Skillset guidelines quote specific job roles relating to specific learning outcomes this is a trick I think BTEC have missed as this helps you understand as a student where you can apply the skills you are learning (if it isn’t something you were already aware of).
In this instance I would sit somewhere in the middle edging slightly toward BTEC, it does appear that BTEC have provided four times the amount of content based on the amount of pages however when you consider the way the information is laid out you could probably realise that Skillset have been more economical with space.
Overall it is clear to see that I favour the guidelines provided by Skillset, the main point that seems to arise for me is relevance and although BTEC are my examining body in my current position I don’t feel that the guidelines offer an insight into the specific industry I am wanting to gain employment in. Skillset, for me, provides this insight and specific examples of where I can apply the skills that I am learning. In addition I can see the merits of both sets of guidelines and I would say that in my current position it is important to be aware of both of these. One provides insite into what I need to be achieving to pass the course and the other sets a goal for what what comes after I have passed the course.
posted by DREW @ 5:15 PM
5 Comments:
I always find it dubious when authoring units specify WYSIWYG editors like Dreamweaver. Surely to be employable the candidate should have hand-coding skills, especially CSS and XHTML?
It would be nice for some units to recognise the industry-standard text editors out there, and the ability to use them. I know they're all largely the same, but it would be nice nonetheless for units to recognise them. It sends out the completely wrong message to ask students and potential employees to be proficient in Dreamweaver and other similar programs.
I understand what you are saying and I think there are jobs that do require 'coders' rather than 'designers'. Obviously it would be ideal to be good at both.
I too have never heard of Macromedia Director, Macromedia Authorware, Asymetrics Toolbook or mTropolis. I have never heard them mentioned on any job advert I have ever read either so I am not too concerned about this.
I would agree with you that BTEC does help you on the course when you are trying to achieve goals but I think as we are in the last stages of the course it will be the Skillset document that we will take more notice off because we will be looking to have all the skills that document mentions, in order to find the right job.
Generally just by looking at everyones posts this week i think we all have pretty much the same ideas and opinions. SkillSet is a lot more career focused and BTEC needs to update their syllabus, just a shame that BTEC don't realize this, because their students are losing out in many respects...
I agree with Craig B. Hand-coding should be more proficient. It proves you can code professionally, without aid. Surely this is more important.
Then again, Dreamweaver is the leading web design authoring tool out there, and most placements will use this software.
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