General National Vocational Qualifications (GNVQ)

General National Vocational Qualifications (GNVQs) are certificates of vocational education, related to occupational areas in general, rather than any specific job. There are 2 different levels of GNVQ:

• Foundation (level 1 of the NQF) - equivalent to 4 GCSEs (grades D-G)
• Intermediate (level 2 of the NQF) - equivalent to 4 GCSEs (grades A*-C)
• Advanced (level 3 of the NQF) - equivalent to 2 A-levels

However, in November 2003, the government announced the gradual withdrawal of GNVQ qualifications, with the final intake taking place in September 2006 and the last awards being made in 2008. Alternative qualifications to GNVQs include GCSEs in vocational subjects, Applied A Levels, BTECs and OCR Nationals.