Got a Vocation Mate?

For quite a while now it's been fashionable to complain about the dreadful state of higher education and the degrees that are awarded for non-challenging subjects such as textile design and tourism. No one, at least as far as I am aware, has taken a look at some of the weird and wonderful vocational training that is on offer - take NVQ1 in Horse Care for an example. I mean level 1 is roughly equivalent to giving people credit for being able to spell their names correctly, and it does not take a genius to work out which end of the horse you put the hay and water into, so what does this say about NVQ? Then of course there is LDAF-the Learning Disabilities Award Framework - which is meant to be an induction/foundation for the NVQ level 2 in health and social care - I've just spent a week trying to understand what the course requirements are - some of this is really basic and some is, in my humble estimation, equivalent to the first year of a degree in nursing - clearly a little more than giving the service users a quick brush down and a canter around the paddock.

By the way Mister Squeaky thinks there should be an NVQ in Giant Rubber Goth Bat Care (I think probably level 4 to reflect the difficulties involved), not that the vet will be able to qualify for this as he has had to be taken into mental health care after the Squeaky one's last visit and still trembles at the sound of the bat cage opening - and they still haven't found the nurse....