Glossary

ABCC

Association of British Chambers of Commerce

AEA

Atomic Energy Authority

ACBE

Advisory Committee on Business and the Environment

ADAS

formerly known as Agriculture Development and Advisory Service

AS

Advanced supplementary level

Basic Skills Agency (formerly ALBSU)

This Government-funded agency is the central development agency for basic skills in England and wales

BBC

British Broadcasting Corporation

BSI

British Standards Institution

Business Links

A network of independent local business information and advice centres offering a wide range of services to the business community, designed to enhance the competitiveness of local companies. They are run by partnerships which include Chambers of Commerce, TECs, Local Authorities, Enterprise Agencies and DTI.

CAA

Civil Aviation Authority

Cadbury Committee

A committee chaired by Sir Adrian Cadbury that recommended changes to corporate governance in the UK

CAP

Common Agricultural Policy

CBI

Confederation of British Industry

CCT

Compulsory Competitive Tendering

CCTV

Close circuit television

CDL

Career Development Loans - private sector loans to individuals (with Government funded interest 'holiday') to fund training

CNC

Computer Numerical Control

CONTACT

Consortium for Advanced Continuing Education and Training

CRINE

Cost Reduction Initiatives for the New Era - offshore oil & gas industry

CSO

Central Statistical Office

CTC

City Technology College

DERA (formerly DRA)

Defence Evaluation and Research Agency

DFE

Department for Education

DGXXIII

Directorate General XXIII of the European Commission, responsible for telecommunications, information market and exploitation of research

DH

Department of Health

DNH

Department of National Heritage

DoE

Department of the Environment

DTI

Department of Trade and Industry

DoT

Department of Transport

EASDAQ

European Association of Share Dealers - Automated Quotation

ED

Employment Department

EDI

Electronic Data Interchange

ECGD

Export Credits Guarantee Department

EEA

European Economic Area - a free trade zone covering the countries of the European Union, Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein

EEF

Engineering Employers' Federation

EFTA

European Free Trade Area - a grouping composed of Iceland, Switzerland, Norway and Liechtenstein

Enterprise Networks

Scottish Enterprise, Highlands and Islands Enterprise (H&IE) and their networks of LECs

ERDF

European Regional Development Fund - an EU Structural Fund which co-finances activities such as infrastructure investment and business support measures

ESI

Electronic Share Information

ESRC

Economic and Social Research Council

EU

European Union, formerly European Community, composed of Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Spain, Finland, France, the Republic of Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Sweden and the United Kingdom (in the charts, unless otherwise stated, figures for the EU include figures for the UK)

EUREKA

An initiative to encourage and assist market-driven collaborative research and development projects by organisations across Europe. Members include the EU countries, Hungary, Iceland, Norway, Russia, Slovenia, Switzerland, Turkey and the European Commission

Eurostat

Statistical Office of the European Commission

FCO

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

FDI

Foreign direct investment

FE

Further Education (provided mainly by FE, sixth form and some specialist colleges)

FEDA

Further Education Development Agency

FEFC

Further Education Funding Council

FEFCW

Further Education Funding Council for Wales

FEI

Federation of Electronic Industries

G7 countries

Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK and the United States

GATE

Guaranteed Accommodation and Training for Employment

GATT

General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade

GCE

General Certificate of Education

GCSE

General Certificate of Secondary Education

GDP

Gross Domestic Product - the total value of goods and services produced during a period of time

Germany

Unless stated otherwise, figures in the charts for Germany refer to the territory of the Federal Republic before October 1990

GEST

Grants for Education Support and Training

GNVQ

General National Vocational Qualifications (see box below)

GO-L

Government Office for London - one of the Government Offices for the English regions established in April 1994 to bring together the regional operations of DoE, DoT, DTI and the Training Enterprise and Education Directorate of ED

GSVQ

General Scottish Vocational Qualifications (see box below)

HE

Higher Education (provided by universities and in some FE colleges)

HEFCs

Higher Education Funding Councils

HEIs

Higher Education Institutions

HMI

Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Schools

HMIP

Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Pollution

HMT

Her Majesty's Treasury

IBB

Invest in Britain Bureau

IFI

Industrial Finance Initiative

Information Superhighways

Broadband communication networks capable of transferring large amounts of information quickly, usually in both directions

Internet

The Internet is a collection of thousands of networks linked by a common set of technical protocols which make it possible for users of any one of the networks to communicate with or use the services located on any of the other networks

Intrastat

EU-wide collection of trade statistics

Investors in People

The national quality standard for investment in training and development to achieve business goals

IoD

Institute of Directors

IRTU

Industrial Research and Technology Unit (Northern Ireland)

IT

Information Technology

ITCs

Innovation and Technology Counsellors

ITOs

Industrial Training Organisations - mainly independent industry training bodies that set sector training strategy

JSA

Job Seeker's Allowance

LECs

Local enterprise companies in Scotland which combine business development and training responsibilities and have some functions in common with TECs in England and Wales

LINC

Local Investment Networking Company

LINK

A Government-sponsored scheme that encourages collaboration between industry and the science base in over 30 priority areas of research

MAFF

Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries and Food

MBA

Master of Business Administration

MCI

Management Charter Initiative - an employer-led organisation which promotes the development of managers and has lead responsibility for developing national standards of performance for managers and supervisors within the NVQ framework

MOD

Ministry of Defence

MTTA

Machine Tool Technologies Association

multimedia

multimedia denotes the combination of the different media of voice, text, still and moving pictures. The word is also commonly used to describe the process of convergence between the telecommunication, broadcasting and publishing sectors

NACETT

National Advisory Council for Education and Training Targets

NAFTA

North American Free Trade Agreement

NASDAQ

North American Association of Share Dealers - Automated Quotation

NATO

North Atlantic Treaty Organisation

National Curriculum

The framework for teaching and learning across a range of subjects and the associated assessment arrangements, laid down by Statute for all pupils of compulsory school age (5-16) attending state schools

NCVQ

National Council for Vocational Qualifications

NEARNET

Networks of local contacts across the UK to enable local sources of innovation support to be brought together in a coherent way.

NICEC

National Institute of Careers and Education Counselling

NICs

National Insurance Contributions

NIESR

National Institute of Economic and Social Research

NVQ

National Vocational Qualifications

ODA

Overseas Development Administration

OECD

Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development

OFSTED

Office for Standards in Education

OPSS

Office of Public Service and Science

OST

Office of Science and Technology

OTIS

Overseas Technology Information Service

OTS

Overseas Trade Services - a joint operation of the DTI and the FCO and the Government's main deliverer of export promotion services

PFI

Private Finance Initiative - it is designed to encourage private-sector involvement and finance in capital projects

PPP

Purchasing Power Parity - modified exchange rates which adjust for differences in price levels between countries

PSBR

Public Sector Borrowing Requirement

PTP

Postgraduate Training Partnership scheme

R&D

Research and Development

RDOs

Regional Development Organisations - local authority and private sector partnership bodies that promote inward investment in the English regions

RPI

Retail Prices Index

RSA

Regional Selective Assistance in the assisted areas - a job related assistance scheme operated under Section 7 of the Industrial Development Act 1982

RTOs

Research and Technology Organisations - private companies that provide research and associated services on behalf of particular groups of companies which use similar technologies or are in the same sector

S&T

Science and Technology

S,E&T

Science, Engineering and Technology

SBAC

Society of British Aerospace Companies

SCAA

School Curriculum Assessment Authority

SCOTVEC

Scottish Vocational Education Council

SHEFC

Scottish Higher Education Funding Council

SIC

Standard Industrial Classification

SRB

Single Regeneration Budget. Created in 1994, the SRB brought together 20 of the existing regeneration programmes into a single, flexible budget to regenerate local areas in England

SMART

Small Firms Merit Award for Research and Technology: a scheme to support firms with up to 50 employees in highly innovative areas of technology

SMEs

Small and Medium-sized Enterprises

SMMT

Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders Ltd

SPUR

Support for Products Under Research: a scheme to help firms with up to 250 employees improve product and process development

SRAMA

The Spring Research and Manufacturers' Association

Structural Funds

EU Funds which make grants to a range of economic regeneration measures and projects particularly in specially designated geographical areas

SuperJANET

Development of JANET - the Joint Academic NETwork which links academic institutions across the UK

SUPERNET

Services from centres of technological excellence.

SVQ

Scottish Vocational Qualifications TCS

Teaching Company Scheme - places high quality recent graduates with companies to carry out supervised project to encourage technology transfer

TECs

Training and Enterprise Councils -industry-led bodies that set local strategies for training and economic development in England and Wales

TENs

Trans-European Networks - a range of transport, energy and telecoms networks in the EU which may be financed by EU grants, European Investment Bank loans and private sector finance

TVEI

Technical and Vocational Education Initiative

UCAS

University and Colleges Administration System

UKCS

United Kingdom Continental Shelf

UNICE

Union of Industrial and Employers' Confederations of Europe

US BoL

US Bureau of Labor Statistics

WWW

World Wide Web. A search technique for the Internet which links related information.

WTO

World Trade Organisation - inter-governmental body set up as part of the Uruguay Round to administer multi- lateral trade agreements, including GATT

YT

Youth Training - Government-sponsored work-based training available for all 16 and 17 year old school leavers

VOCATIONAL QUALIFICATIONS AND THEIR EQUIVALENTS

APPROXIMATE DESCRIPTION     VOCATIONAL           ACADEMIC
  IN EMPLOYERS' TERMS     QUALIFICATIONS      QUALIFICATIONS

                        GNVQ/GSVQ  NVQ/SVQ

Professional Qualifications                     )
/Middle Managers            5       -           ) Higher
Higher Technician                               ) Education
/Junior Manager             4       -           )
Technician                  3      Advanced     2 A Levels or 3 Highers
Craftsman                   2      Intermediate 5 GCSEs (A-C) or
                                                SCE Standard Grades
Pre-vocational              1      Foundation   4 GCSEs (D-G) - no
                                                equivalent in Scotland

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