Vocational Pathways Award and recognition of achievement

A Vocational Pathways Award highlights how a learners’ NCEA achievements align with pathways to further study and work in six broad industries. This helps employers to easily see how a potential employees’ skills and knowledge match with their industry. 

At Level 2 a Vocational Pathways Award rewards students who achieve 60 level 2 credits from the recommended assessment standards in one or more Vocational Pathway sector. A Vocational Pathways Award must include at least 20 credits from the sector-related standards in a Pathway. 

All standards included in a particular Vocational Pathway are recommended, and a sub-set of these recommended standards are identified as sector-related. Recommended standards support a strong foundational curriculum, and sector-related standards are directly relevant to employment contexts. For more information about the difference between these types of standards please refer to the FAQ: What is the difference between sector-related and recommended standards at level 2?

Note: If you don’t gain a Vocational Pathways Award within one year you can continue to work towards it in the following year(s) as long as you are still working towards NCEA level 2.

A minimum of 10 credits through either:

• specified achievement standards available through a range of subjects and English for Academic Purposes
• Unit standards – package of three literacy unit standards (minimum of 10 credits – all three are required).