Taxi Driver Online

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Note to self: Just because it pops into my head does NOT mean it should come out of my mouth!!

With cutbacks going to drastic, methinks that this will go down the plug hole Toots...... Just like the Btec & NVQ's for taxi drivers which seem to have died a death....

The Btec and NVQ's haven't gone down the plug hole it's the funding that's gone down the plug hole at the moment. Hopefully there will be more funding available in September but if it isn't forthcoming it will just be another expense to add to your pocket as a driver They are also changing the format of the qualifications to QCF's

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Note to self: Just because it pops into my head does NOT mean it should come out of my mouth!!

Toots quoted


If the funding has gone then so has the money wasted on qualifications for the thicko's amonst us. Anyone worth their salt, with any quota of grey matter would read up on byelaws, customer awareness, disability awareness, health and safety, driving ability, knowledge and so forth before becoming a cab driver, but then again that is probably why some LA's have adopted the requiremet as a way of quality control to stop more thicko's from coming in to the trade, but alas too late

Enlighten me Toots...... QCF's?

There is likely to be funding made available later in the year and probably for Qcfs below a certain level and for a certain qualification. Nobody really knows just yet Anyway there's the speel below make of it what you will

The number of unskilled jobs this country needs is falling. People looking for jobs in the future will need skills, and they need to start getting them now.

That's where the Qualifications and Credit Framework, or QCF, comes in. It's a new qualifications system that's good news for both employers and learners.

It helps employers get workers with the right skills. Not only that, but it can include the training that so many employers already give their staff.

We've all got busy lives. Sometimes it's hard to find the time to get the qualifications you need, particularly if you've got a job and a home to run. It can be expensive as well. That's why the qualifications in the QCF are made up of smaller units, so you can learn at a pace that suits your lifestyle. You can build up your qualifications bit by bit, and take the units you've completed with you when you move from education into a job or from one job to another.

The names of the qualifications in the QCF tell you three things – how difficult it is, how long it takes and what it's about.

The level shows how difficult the qualification is. There are nine levels in the QCF, from Entry level to level 8.

Next is the size – that's how long the qualification takes to complete. Every qualification in the QCF comes in one of three sizes – Award, Certificate and Diploma.

And the content – that's what it's about – could be retail, or leadership, or maybe sport.

Here are two examples of qualification titles, showing how the three parts fit together:

Level 1 Certificate in sport and active leisure
Level 8 Award in strategic direction and leadership.

Every qualification in the QCF is made up of units. So if you're doing the certificate in sport and leisure, you could include units on how the body works and planning your own fitness programme. Every unit has a credit value that tells you how long the unit takes to complete. A credit is about 10 hours' work, so a unit with a credit value of four, like the unit on how the body works, will take about 40 hours to do.

The total credit value of a qualification tells you its size – that's whether it's an Award, a Certificate or a Diploma. Awards are made up of 1 to 12 credits, Certificates 13 to 36 credits and Diplomas 37 credits or more.

You might have already seen some of the literature we've produced to help you understand how the QCF works.

In the QCF you can build the same qualification from different combinations of units, to suit your own circumstances, interests and skills. Most qualifications are made up of some units you have to do and some that you can choose. We've worked out how units can be put together to make qualifications. As long as the units you're taking fit our rules about combining them, they'll add up to a qualification.

The QCF also lets you put together your achievements from different places. So your qualification could be made up of units from your training at work and units that you completed at college.

Nobody wants to learn the same thing twice, and in the QCF you don't have to. If part of your qualification is made up of units that you've already completed for another qualification, you can simply transfer the credit you've gained to your new qualification. Once you've learnt something, it stays with you as you move in and out of education and training, and from job to job.

Lots of employers give their staff great training at work. This in-house training is now being formally recognised as units and qualifications in the QCF. Not only that, but we're getting employers involved in designing qualifications to help shape training and education for their industry's future.

Employers can even become awarding organisations in their own right. These days McDonalds, Network Rail and FlyBe are not only household names – they're accredited awarding organisations as well.

Explore how the QCF is good for learners, employers and learning providers. Read our case studies to see how people are already involved with the QCF and sign up for the newsletter. Visit our website and get answers to any questions you might have about the framework.

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Note to self: Just because it pops into my head does NOT mean it should come out of my mouth!!

Toots, Sounds good for those who have left school without any qualifications and need some sort of quali for a certain field of employment.....
The only drawback to this trade, as it stands, is the cost factor of finding the money to do it and the time off the road in classrooms....
However, it could be a way of routing out the undesirables within the trade as there are a lot of them. Here I can count on one hand those with any quota of intelligence by the conversations that took place when the offer was put out by the companies that were doing the NVQ and Btec.
I asked if I could do the exam straight away without the classroom bit but was abruptly turned down, obviously something to do with the funding that these companies and "instructors" were getting!! Not only did I smell a rat but the Council here did to!!
The rumour was a scare tactic by certain drivers to get those of lesser intelligence to quit the trade, but backfired on them when a meeting was called by the Council to look into it all with all drivers attending. That is when I asked to do the exam!!
It was put round that if you didn't get the quali by 2013 you would not be able to renew your licence and you would have to pay up to £1000 to get the quali !!
A few of the Asian drivers who believed this didn't renew their licences as they were scared that the English involved would be too much for them.
I of course challenged this straight away and found out that this was a quali that was required if you take on school contacts from the County Council Nothing to do with the City Council!!
Personally it is something and nothing being qualified (with years of experience) in other trades. Being the type to educate myself in the field that I would be currently in, I feel it would be wasted on me, plus the fact of the cost involved. But there you go, a few were conned into it and felt it was a complete waste of time and loss of income.....
The Council here felt it was ok for drivers that wanted to do the course to do it, but it was down to choice. We have heard nothing since.....

As I said "make of it what you will"

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Note to self: Just because it pops into my head does NOT mean it should come out of my mouth!!

Thanks ...... I have!!