This paper outlines some of the issues emerging from research in to competence based training and assessment, and National Vocational Qualifications. A model for analysing the key purposes of formal assessment systems is suggested and a conceptual framework is presented which uses the notions of use and exchange value for gauging the worth of qualifications. The author presents material collected during a study of the training and assessment of student air traffic controllers to illustrate how contextual features, particularly at the occupational level, can affect the purpose and design of a qualification as well as the value attached to it by recipients and employers. It is suggested that elements such as: 'purpose', 'perceived value''qualification design' and 'context' provide a conceptual framework within which further understanding of the role of qualifications can be achieved. The longer term aspiration of the analysis begun in this paper is the development of a contextsensitive theory of occupational qualifications. © 1995, Taylor & Francis Group, LLC. All rights reserved.
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