The Higher Education Funding Council for Wales has produced an outline prospectus for Higher Education institutions in Wales wishing to offer the government's new Vocational Degrees.

In it, the HEFCW outlines plans for the degrees to target 'employees seeking to open up new career horizons by enhancing their education and skills', and emphasises plans for the qualification to address skills shortages and expand Higher Education. The prospectus also states that it would be 'highly desirable' for employers to take an active part in the qualifications, although it doesn't suggest how this could happen in practice.

No additional money will be made available to colleges choosing to offer the qualifications - funding for students wishing to study for them will come from existing college funds. If they choose to do so, however, there's little time to plan - the aim is for the qualifications to be made available for the 2001-2002 academic year. An English prospectus was issued last July.