Essential Skills Wales (ESW) is a suite of
skills qualifications, available in
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
. Each Essential Skills Wales qualification is equivalent to an E grade at
GCE AS-Level (Three Essential Skill Wales qualifications is equivalent to a D grade at
GCE A-Level
The A-Level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational au ...
). Essential Skills Wales has replaced the earlier Key Skills in Wales and Wider Key Skills schemes. Skills covered are in the areas of communication, application of number, and ICT. ESW is also embedded within Welsh educational initiatives including the
Welsh Baccalaureate
The Welsh Baccalaureate ( cy, Bagloriaeth Cymru), or Welsh Bacc, is an educational qualification delivered in secondary schools and colleges across Wales. The Welsh Government says that it gives broader experiences than traditional learning pr ...
and the
Apprenticeship
Apprenticeship is a system for training a new generation of practitioners of a Tradesman, trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study (classroom work and reading). Apprenticeships can also enable practitioners ...
programme.
History
Essential Skills Wales replaced the previous Key Skills in Wales in September 2011. It replaced the previous
Key Skills of Communication, Application of Number and ICT, and the Basic Skills of Adult Literacy, Adult Numeracy and Skills for Life ICT. Subsequently, Essential Skills Wales merged with Wider Key Skills to form one suite of Essential Skills qualifications at levels ranging from Entry 1 to Level 3.
[Agored Cymru]
accessed 21 January 2016
Proposed changes in 2016 included a new set of ESW qualifications: Essential Communication Skills, Essential Application of Number Skills, and Essential Digital Literacy Skills.
Description
Essential Skills Wales (ESW) currently consists of three different skills qualifications and is available from entry level 1 (Foundation Level) through to level 4 (Advanced Level). These skills can be achieved through the medium of Welsh or English. Four awarding bodies currently offer the qualifications:
Pearson Pearson may refer to:
Organizations Education
*Lester B. Pearson College, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
*Pearson College (UK), London, owned by Pearson PLC
*Lester B. Pearson High School (disambiguation)
Companies
*Pearson PLC, a UK-based int ...
,
City & Guilds
The City and Guilds of London Institute is an educational organisation in the United Kingdom. Founded on 11 November 1878 by the City of London and 16 livery companies – to develop a national system of technical education, the institute has ...
,
WJEC and the Welsh
Open College Network
The National Open College Network (NOCN), formerly known as the Open College Network (OCN), is a United Kingdom organisation developed to recognise informal learning achieved by adults.
History
The first organisation of this type was created in ...
, Agored Cymru.
Assessment
Application of Number and Communication are assessed by a Controlled Task and Confirmatory Test. Digital Literacy and Employability are assessed by a Controlled Task and Structured Discussion. At entry level, the nature of the assessment for the qualifications will be determined by the awarding body delivering the qualification. Each level of the skills incorporates and builds on previous levels.
ESW in the Welsh Baccalaureate
Essential Skills Wales is one of the four core components of the Welsh Baccalaureate qualification. ESW is intended to complement the other three components (Wales, Europe and the World; Personal and Social Education; and Work-related Education).
In 2015, 4,123 Welsh Bacc learners achieved level 3 ESW Application of Number, and 1,985 Welsh Bacc learners achieved level 3 ESW ICT.
"Minister congratulates students and teachers following strong A-level and Welsh Baccalaureate results"
Welsh Government, 13 August 2015
References
{{reflist, 30em
External links
ESW home page
Education in Wales