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Qualification Information

Understanding qualifications

Qualification sizes

There are generally three common sizes of qualifications on the Regulated Qualifications Framework (RQF):

  • Award
  • Certificate
  • Diploma.

The size indicates the number of credits a learner must achieve to be awarded the qualification:

  • To gain an Award you need between 1 and 12 credits
  • To gain a Certificate you need between 13 and 36 credits
  • To gain a Diploma you need 37 or more credits.

Credits and levels

Every unit and qualification on the Regulated Qualifications Framework (RQF) has a credit value and a level.

Credit value

Credit indicates the amount of time an average learner will need to achieve a unit or a qualification. One credit represents ten national hours of learning.

For example, a unit with a credit value of 1 indicates a notional learning time of 10 hours, a 2 credit unit indicates a notional learning time of 20 hours and so on.

Similarly, a qualification of 15 credits, for example, indicates that it would take the average learner 150 hours of learning to achieve the qualification, 20 credits indicates that it would take the average learners 200 hours to achieve the qualifications, and so on.

Credit is therefore an indication of the size of a unit or a qualification.

Levels

Levels indicate the level of difficulty of a unit or qualification.

The levels range from Entry 1 to Level 8. (Entry has three levels: Entry 1, Entry 2 and Entry 3.)

To give an idea of what the different levels mean, you might find it helpful to know that GCSEs (grade A*–C) are Level 2, GCE A levels are Level 3 and a university degree is Level 5.

AIM Qualifications and Assessment Group offers units and qualifications at:

  • Entry 1
  • Entry 2
  • Entry 3
  • Level 1
  • Level 2
  • Level 3
  • Level 4
  • Level 5
  • Level 6

If you wish to progress within a particular area, you might begin by working at, say, Entry 3, then move to Level 1 and then Level 2. Or you might begin at Entry 2, progress to Entry 3 and then Level 1. It just depends on your level of ability in your chosen area of study when you begin and how much progress you make.

You may decide not to move from one level to another: you may wish to achieve just one qualification at a particular level. Or you may decide to try and achieve a number of qualifications at the same level. For example, you could achieve Level 1 Employability and Development Skills and Level 1 Work Ready Skills.

Qualification titles

What do qualification titles mean?

The title of a qualification indicates its difficulty, how long it will take the average learner to complete it, and its general content. It will also tell you which awarding organisation awarded the qualification and if the qualification is listed on the Regulated Qualifications Framework (RQF).

Example 1

If you have been awarded the AIM Qualifications and Assessment Group Level 1 Award in Induction to College (RQF) qualification, this means that:

  • The qualification was awarded by AIM Qualifications and Assessment Group
  • You achieved at Level 1
  • You achieved between 1 and 12 credits (in this case 3)
  • The subject of the qualification was Induction to College
  • It is a RQF qualification.

 
Example 2

If you have been awarded an AIM Qualifications and Assessment Group Level 2 Certificate in Horticulture (RQF) qualification, this means that:

  • The qualification was awarded by AIM Qualifications and Assessment Group
  • You achieved at Level 2 (the same level as GCSEs)
  • You achieved between 13 and 36 credits (in this case 17)
  • The subject you studied was Horticulture
  • It is a RQF qualification.

If you want to find out more about the RQF, units, qualifications, credit and levels, visit the Ofqual website and navigate to ‘Qualifications and Assessments’.