An investigation into post-16 occupational standards in international education systems has recommended that the most immediate task for the technical education panels in England is to achieve consensus on the occupational specification for each route.  

The study aimed to gather evidence on what constitutes a ‘good’ occupational standard and best practice in standards development.

It examined evidence from countries with similar high-performing technical education systems to the new system proposed for England - Australia, Canada, Denmark, Germany, and the Netherlands.

The DfE-commissioned report also suggests that, once the initial development has taken place, a cross-technical routes review should be implemented to ensure common key skill competencies exist to ensure transferability between and equivalence across routes.

The report admits that differing international occupational standards do not always lend themselves to comparison, but found that:

• The evidence supports the implementation of a staged process where occupational competency is first defined and then training designed to meet these needs
• Successful standards are characterised by strong support from industry and other partners
• There is a trend towards functional or key skills equivalents used as a foundation and to transfer between routes, qualifications or occupations.
  

• All of the countries are investing considerable resources in post-16 vocational education and training
• All spend more per student following vocational routes than for those following academic routes
• Students in all countries generally receive around 1000 teaching hours per year
• There is a strong focus on and investment in the professionalisation and upskilling of vocational teachers
• Changes to vocational programmes are made regularly to meet the demands of the labour market.