Skills charity NOCN Group is highlighting the increasing relevance and importance of Functional Skills Qualifications in response to this year’s GCSE English and maths pass rates being down.

The percentage of learners achieving pass grades in GCSE maths and English has fallen in comparison to last year and many will be left without these vital foundational certifications on entering the world of work.

This doesn’t just rule out professions requiring academic routes, it creates barriers when it comes to things like being able to complete the End Point Assessment aspect of an Apprenticeship.

Functional Skills Qualifications offer a more vocational alternative to the academic route, making them better suited to many learners, and they can be taken at any life stage or age.

They are designed to help learners develop essential maths, English and Digital skills in order to equip them with the practical skills and knowledge required to learn, work and live successfully.

At NOCN Group, we offer a full suite of high-quality Functional Skills qualifications from Entry Level 1 to Level 2. Our expert in-house Functional Skills team supports Colleges, training providers and learners from the start with a range of materials, online tools, quick turnaround of results and practical feedback to ensure the best possible chance of success.

And while GCSE pass rates are down, NOCN Functional Skills achievement rates were up for 2023/24, some quite considerably so including the NOCN’s Level 2 Maths paper which had a 52% achievement rate, up from 43% the previous year, and the NOCN Level 2 Reading paper which had a 76% achievement rate, up by 6% 2022/23.

So why are Functional Skills so important for work and life? English Functional Skills Qualifications provide students with the fundamental skills to use the English language through reading, writing, speaking and listening in personal and professional situations while maths helps to strengthen students’ knowledge of numerical concepts from common measures, shapes and space, to handling information and data, and decision making.

Rather than being just a hoop to jump through to access certain types of employment and further learning, for those that for whatever reason weren’t able to pass English and maths GCSE, Functional Skills lays the foundations for living a more meaningful and successful life as a high functioning member of society. Having these core skills builds resilience, self-esteem, and productivity – and lays the foundations for further lifelong learning and development.

So why am I telling you all this? Well, what I love most about working for NOCN Group is that, because we are a charity, we have the autonomy to focus on what’s right rather than just what’s commercially successful. Functional Skills Qualifications have a clear economic and social impact which is needed more than ever. This isn’t a sales pitch; it’s a call to action to work together to break down barriers to success for those that need it most – and for the greater good.

 

Find out more about Functional Skills Qualifications HERE.