Foundation Degrees
What are Foundation Degrees?
- Foundation degrees integrate academic and workbased learning.
- They are designed in partnership with employers to ensure that they deliver the knowledge and skills relevant to businesses.
- Foundation degrees are university-level qualifications (at level 5 on the National
Qualifications Framework).
Who are Foundation degrees suitable for?
- Employeesfrom both within and outside of the Nuclear sector who have relevant experience (even if they don’t have formal qualifications).
- Employees who have completed level 3 qualifications (for example, NVQ3 or an Advanced Apprenticeship) and want to achieve more
- School and college leavers who have completed level 3 qualifications and wish to gain an employment focussed degree.
Description
The National Skills Academy for Nuclear has selected the University of Central Lancashire (UClan) and Portsmouth University to jointly develop and deliver
the foundation degrees that are needed by the nuclear sector to support career progression opportunities, provide progression to other higher education; including final year bachelors degrees and professional qualifications.
The universities will work with the Skills Academy and other partners to provide foundation degrees for school leavers, new entrants and existing employees. A number of Foundation Degrees have been validated and are available to access including:
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Nuclear Related Technology
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Decommissioning (Validated by UCLan).
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FdSc HVAC Energy Engineering (Validated by UCLan).
In addition to the above Foundation Degrees two more are in the development stage and should be available from September 2009 including:
- Nuclear Project Leadership (Validated and delivered by UCLan).
- Engineering (Validated by Portsmouth University and UCLan)
The Skills Academy is working with Further Education Colleges, other training providers and employers to:
- Develop, roll out and validate Nuclear Related Foundation Degrees across the provider and employer network within the sector.
- Ensure that Foundation Degrees are constantly reviewed so that they continue to meet employer demands.
- Working with Trade Unions to ensure relevance and success
Benefits
- Ensuring national delivery of Foundation degrees via the Skills Academy is of paramount importance in developing continuous career progression and development opportunities.
- Develop a new entry route to the nuclear industry.
- Enables progression from Further Education to Higher Education
Download the product factsheet below
