The National Qualifications Framework Green Paper: What Future for the Framework?

Abstract

This paper examines some of the proposals in the Government Green Paper A Future Qualifications Policy for New Zealand. An analysis of responses to the Green Paper indicates a strong division between those closely associated with industry training and those responsible for the provision of general and professional education. The position taken in this article is that the Green Paper is a major advance on the current National Qualifications Framework (NQF), but that the proposals are unlikely to be implemented successfully without greater mutual understanding between the different sectors (industry, schools, universities and other tertiary providers). The paper identifies 17 considerations that a new qualifications structure should address if it is to be implemented successfully. Of the models suggested in publicly available responses to the Green Paper, the one proposed by Smithers (1997) comes closest to addressing the concerns raised in this article.