Business And Technology Education Council (BTEC)
Encyclopedia
The Business and Technology Education Council is the British body which awards vocational qualifications. Such qualifications are commonly referred to as "BTECs".

BTEC qualifications are undertaken in vocational subjects
Vocational education
Vocational education or vocational education and training is an education that prepares trainees for jobs that are based on manual or practical activities, traditionally non-academic, and totally related to a specific trade, occupation, or vocation...

 ranging from Business studies
Business studies
Business studies is an academic subject taught at higher level in Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, India, Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe and the United Kingdom, as well as at university level in many countries...

 to Engineering
Engineering
Engineering is the discipline, art, skill and profession of acquiring and applying scientific, mathematical, economic, social, and practical knowledge, in order to design and build structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes that safely realize improvements to the lives of...

. They are equivalent to other qualifications such as the GCSE (levels 1 to 2), A Level (level 3) and university degrees (levels 4 to 7).

BTEC was formed in 1984 from the Business Education Council (BEC) and the Technician Education Council (TEC). In 1996, University of London
University of London
-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...

 Examinations & Assessment Council
(ULEAC) and BTEC merged to form Edexcel
Edexcel
Edexcel, a UK company, is one of England, Wales and Northern Ireland's five main examination boards, and is wholly owned by the private-sector Pearson PLC, a UK-based media and publishing conglomerate. Its name is a portmanteau word derived from the words "educational" and "excellence"...

.

Examples of BTEC courses include Health & Social Care, Business Studies, Engineering, Science, Information Technology, Media Studies, Travel & Tourism and Performing Arts.

Awards system

  • BTEC Introductory Certificate - Level 1 qualification, roughly equivalent to 2 GCSEs at D-E grades.
  • BTEC Introductory Diploma - Level 1 qualification, roughly equivalent to 4 GCSEs at D-F grades or a Foundation GNVQ
    General National Vocational Qualification
    A General National Vocational Qualification, or GNVQ, is a certificate of vocational education in the United Kingdom. The last GNVQs were awarded in 2007....

    .
  • BTEC First Certificate - Level 2 qualification, roughly equivalent to 2 GCSEs at A* - C grades
  • BTEC First Diploma
    BTEC First Diploma
    The BTEC First Diploma is a vocational qualification taken in England and Wales and Northern Ireland by young people aged 16 and over and by adults. The qualification is organised and awarded by the Edexcel Foundation within the BTEC brand....

     - Level 2 qualification, roughly equivalent to 4 GCSEs at A* - C grades or an Intermediate GNVQ.
  • BTEC National Award - Level 3 qualification, roughly equivalent to 1 A level.
  • BTEC National Certificate
    National Certificate
    National Certificate is the name of an educational award in a number of countries, although the actual merit of award is not always the same.-Ireland:...

     - Level 3 qualification, roughly equivalent to 2 A levels.
  • BTEC National Diploma
    BTEC ND
    The BTEC Level 3 Extended Diploma is a vocational qualification taken in England and Wales and Northern Ireland by young people aged 16 and over and by adults. The qualification is organised and awarded by the Edexcel Foundation within the BTEC brand...

     - Level 3 qualification, roughly equivalent to 3 A levels.
  • BTEC Foundation Diploma in Art and Design
    BTEC Foundation Diploma in Art and Design
    The BTEC Foundation Diploma in Art and Design is a vocational qualification taken in England and Wales and Northern Ireland by young people aged 18 and over and by adults. The qualification is organised and awarded by the Edexcel Foundation within the BTEC brand.-Qualification overview:The BTEC...

  • BTEC Higher National Certificate
    Higher National Certificate
    A Higher National Certificate is a higher education qualification in the United Kingdom.In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, the HNC is a BTEC qualification awarded by Edexcel, and in Scotland, an HNC is a Higher National awarded by the Scottish Qualifications Authority...

  • BTEC Higher National Diploma
    Higher National Diploma
    A Higher National Diploma is a higher education qualification in the United Kingdom. This qualification can be used to gain entry into universities, and is considered equivalent to the first or second year of a university degree course....

  • BTEC Level 7 Certificate/Diploma in Leadership and Management - Postgraduate qualification, Master's Degree level courses representing the vocational qualification steps towards a full degree

See also

  • Council for National Academic Awards
    Council for National Academic Awards
    The Council for National Academic Awards was a degree awarding authority in the United Kingdom from 1965 until 1992. The CNAA awarded academic degrees at polytechnics, Central Institutions and other non-university institutions such as Colleges of Higher Education until they were awarded university...

  • Scottish Qualifications Authority
    Scottish Qualifications Authority
    The Scottish Qualifications Authority is a non-departmental public body responsible for accreditation and awarding. It is partly funded by the Education and Lifelong Learning Directorate of the Scottish Government, employing 750 staff, based in Glasgow and Dalkeith...

    - the equivalent body in Scotland

External links

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