QCA is involved in two major qualifications reform programmes: 14 -19 reform with the new Diplomas (see pages 24-27) and the reform of adult vocational and sector-related qualifications.

This creates an unprecedented opportunity to create a unified, integrated system of qualifications, which will encourage lifelong learning and support Lord Leitch's vision of a flexible, responsive and demand-led system of skills acquisition.

Working with our partner regulators in Wales (DCELLS) and Northern Ireland (CCEA), QCA has taken traditional credit models one step further and has conceived a regulatory framework that can define learning achievements in terms of challenge (level) and volume (credit).

By building up qualifications from a coherent and defined cluster of units of learning, each of which has a known credit value, learners can take a more flexible approach to acquiring skills at school, college, in the workplace and throughout their lives and careers. The design allows credit to be accumulated and transferred between qualifications and awarding bodies.

We have a vision of a fully integrated system of qualifications where a young person might gain credit for units of their mathematics GCSE knowing that this will also contribute to acquiring a Level 2 Diploma in Construction and the Built Environment. Units from the Diploma could transfer across to an apprenticeship, or at level 3 might contribute towards a foundation degree.

Regulating the qualifications framework as a series of related and connected units of learning offers huge potential to learners and to employers wanting to upskill their workforce.

For people who move jobs or locations or whose family circumstances change, this flexible system means that no learning is lost: credit for an achievement can be banked and used later when training is resumed. Employers who might not need the full skills portfolio offered by a particular qualification can offer relevant units to their employees, who can gain credit in a recognised system and contribute to their 'Learner Achievement Record'.

In 2006, the first qualifications were accredited to a trial version of a new QCF. Learners participating in a series of tests and trials all over England and Wales were first registered with a Unique Learner Number (ULN). Each time a learner completes a unit and is assessed successfully, that achievement is logged against the ULN, building up an individual Learner Achievement Record.