ABSTRACT
Great changes are taking place in vocational education in the UK. By far the most significant of these is the advent of the National Council for Vocational Qualifications (NCVQ) with its emphasis upon criterion-referenced assessment. At the same time the decline in the 16–19 age group is placing considerable pressures on colleges of further education in regard to recruitment of students. Furthermore, in the agricultural sector, three-year sandwich courses for diploma qualification are still being maintained with the requirement of at least one year’s pre-college experience, causing attainment of the qualification to occur later than for diplomates in other vocations.
