Employers - "GCSE or equivilent"

[IShotTheDeputyItWasMe]

TD:DR - if my key stage 4 son does "GCSE equivalent" courses, will he be disadvantaged as employers won't know what they are?
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My son has the option to take a mix of 8 GCSEs (maths, science and english) and Cambridge Nationals at key stage 4. The courses will suit him. They are more "vocational".

However, I worry that wider employers will see a Cambridge National and not know what it is. Especially as the top grade is written as D*(2). This is the equivalent of level 9 GCSE. but will people who did GCSEs see it as a DD grade? He is perfectly capable of GSCEs 8/9s.

No disrespect to anyone with one/working towards one (clearly I'm happy for my son to do them) but will people think they aren't the equivalent level or understand the grade? I'm doing an apprenticeship at work and will end up with an "equivalent to 2 A Levels" qualification but really, in my case, it's meaningless. It doesn't translate that way and no one will know what it is.

If he decides to go into work after school (rather than college or an apprenticeship) will potential employers at the paper sift, prefer someone with a level 5 GCSE in eg computer science or someone with a Cambridge National D* (2) grade in computer science?

If he goes into the career he wants, then the qualifications will be recognised.

I know after a few years, very few people will care much but he needs to understand what he is signing up for. My current job asked for a degree but only wanted to see my GCSE passes in maths and English.

One way to avoid this would be to add in brackets after the qualification "equivalent to GCSE grade 8" or whatever.

Apprentices have to prove maths and english for funding purposes. If you exit an apprenticeship without completing maths and english at level 2, the apprenticeship funding is clawed back.

It will also only be an issue for his first few years. I’m Scottish and have Standard Grades, Highers, Higher Still, Advanced Highers and a couple of Certificate of Sixth Year Studies, because I sat mine when the SQA was switching from the old system to the new and we had a mixture in both my higher year and sixth year. I also have a degree, and I can’t remember the last time I put down anything except my degree and career-specific qualifications.

I just meant that a clear cut GCSE qualificafication means no messing about with "equivalents".

Having said that, I have an A* in GCSE English Lit, A in GCSE English Language and an A in GCSE maths and provided the certs for my apprenticeship however... I'm still having to do functional skills. 🤐

what ... why??

All the more reason not to fret too much IMO. You can't control for everything.

Umm, you probably want to query that with your training provider. Because if they've seen the evidence of your qualifications and signed them off, they won't get paid for delivering functional skills to you, and you don't want to be invoiced for a course you never needed to do in the first place....

Really?
I'll raise it with my manager then. I did query it with them at the time and she said it was standard practice so they could get it counted (which I assumed meant funded). A colleague is also doing it under duress because she couldn't find her certificates. National Record of Acheivement for the win!
I will be more than happy if I can drop it. 🤣
Thanks

I've just been helping my son update his CV, we clarify non-GSCE qualifications to avoid confusion for example next to Functional Skills English put (GCSE Grade 4 equivalent) and write out Pass/Merit etc in full for the BTECs.

Having been on the recruiting side and spending a lot of time googling unfamiliar qualifications, it all helps. Bear in mind quite a few employers will still be puzzled by the GCSE 9-1 grades in the first place.

Yeah, so if you can't find your certificates and prove you've done the GCSE's, you will have to do FS again. But if you have proved it, you really shouldn't be doing it again as they're "double paying" for you, and the government don't like that....

I have emailed my manager to query it.
Thank you!