Vocational Pathways Award and recognition of achievement

Vocational Pathways Award and recognition of achievement

Requirements for a Vocational Pathways Award

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.


Requirements for NCEA Level 2

80 credits, of which:

  • a minimum of 60 credits are from level 2
  • the other 20 credits are from level 1 or another level; and include literacy and numeracy credits at level 1 or above.

Literacy requirement

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).

Numeracy requirement

A minimum of 10 credits through either: