The economic value of intermediate vocational education and qualifications

This report reviews the available evidence on the economic value of intermediate vocational qualifications, looking at the private wage returns (and briefly the improved likelihood of being in employment) associated with such qualifications. The question that the review would like to answer is: ‘what is the economic value of acquiring intermediate vocational qualifications to a particular individual, on average? That is, by how much will his or her wages increase following the acquisition of such a qualification?’ This value could differ, according to whether the new qualification acquired is the individual’s new highest qualification and so takes them to a higher level of attainment than they had previously reached, or whether the individual already held qualifications at the same level or even at a higher level than the new qualification acquired. The review will therefore distinguish between such situations. This is particularly important when considering vocational qualifications, since they can often be acquired at a level at or below individuals’ existing highest academic qualification.