Citation
Watkins, H. (1999), "NVQs continued", Librarian Career Development, Vol. 7 No. 4. https://doi.org/10.1108/lcd.1999.10207dab.008
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 1999, MCB UP Limited
NVQs continued
NVQs continued
An analysis of the impact of Level 4 NVQs on the professional ILS sector is published in the Library Association Record for February 1999 ("Level 4 NVQs: an alternative route to professional status?", by Nicholas Lewis, pp. 94-6). Lewis's examination reveals that rather than the Level 4 qualification becoming an additional form of accreditation for those already qualified through the graduate route, Level 4 is most popular among senior paraprofessionals who have been promoted on merit and are looking for a high-level vocational qualification to consolidate their position. Significantly, employers are supporting and rewarding their achievements. His conclusion is that this it at odds with the Library Association's official position that professional status should be graduate-only a position the LA fought hard to achieve in the first place. Fans and opponents of NVQs alike may want to take note.