Next Generation Higher National Qualifications
Every year, learners across Scotland enhance their prospects by undertaking a Higher National Certificate (HNC) or a Higher National Diploma (HND). We are now adapting our Higher National qualifications to give learners the skills they need to thrive in the modern workplace.
Our Next Generation Higher National (NextGen: HN) qualifications will:
- be adaptable and flexible to respond to the needs of a constantly changing employment environment
- support life-long learning and multiple career options
- integrate essential meta-skills –transferable behaviours and abilities that help learners adapt and succeed in life, study and work
- develop critical industry and subject-specific technical skills
What will be different?
- NextGen: HNC (level 7) and HND (level 8) are standalone qualifications worth 120 SCQF credit points (equivalent to 15 SQA credits) each.
- Larger and fewer units of learning to encourage more integrated learning, teaching and assessment approaches.
- Opportunity to develop meta-skills – these are the skills that help us adapt and excel in any context the future brings. This are embedded in the NextGen: HN qualification design, adapted from: Skills 4.0: a skills model to drive Scotland's future.
- Significantly reduced assessment load for both learners and staff.
- A new approach to grading – recognising learners’ achievements across the whole course through whole qualification grading.
- Digital technology used across delivery to enhance and support effective, flexible and learner-centred assessment, learning and teaching approaches.
- A new, progressive process of external quality assurance based on stakeholder feedback and learners' needs.
- Opportunity to develop knowledge and understanding of Learning for Sustainability, engaging with the United Nations Sustainability Goals in sector relevant contexts. This will be embedded in the qualification design.
Developing NextGen: HN qualifications
The development of SQA’s Next Generation Higher National (NextGen: HN) qualifications follows a service design model, focusing on meeting the needs of learners and centres, with an emphasis on continuous improvement and collaboration.
All NextGen qualifications are initially developed as a ‘prototype’, which is then piloted and evaluated. NextGen: HN prototypes are valid qualifications, sitting at SCQF Level 7 (HNC) and Level 8 (HND), carrying 120 SCQF credit points.
This approach allows us to challenge and evaluate aspects such as our design principles, grading models and approach to quality assurance.
Ongoing evaluation and feedback from learners, centres, deliverers, staff and other stakeholders helps us learn lessons and refine our approaches to inform the final model for NextGen: HN qualifications.
This iterative development approach provides ongoing opportunities for reflection, review and change, but also means that some details – such as knowledge, skills and learning outcomes of draft Units; grading models and rubrics – can only be confirmed after these processes have been worked through.
We will provide all stakeholders with as much clarity as possible as the pilots develop and details are confirmed.
The Minimum Viable Product document explains the concept of a minimum viable product and why we are using this approach in NextGen: HN. It also looks at what a NextGen: HN minimum viable product will consist of.
Use the tabs below to open each section individually. Alternatively you can show all the sections.
Pilot Delivery in 2022/23
HNC Accounting
- Edinburgh College
HNC Agricultural Technology
- Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC)
HNC Agriculture
- Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC)
HNC Childhood Practice
- Glasgow Clyde College
- South Lanarkshire College
HNC Computing
- South Lanarkshire College
- NESCOL
HNC Engineering (Electrical & Mechanical hybrid)
- West College Scotland
HNC Engineering (Engineering Systems)
- UHI
HNC Horticulture
- Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC)
- UHI
HNC Physical Activity and Health
- Dundee and Angus College
- New College Lanarkshire
HND Radio
- City of Glasgow College
HNC Social Sciences
- Dumfries and Galloway College
- West College Scotland
HNC Social Services
- Ayrshire College
- Dundee and Angus College
- VSA SVQ Centre
HNC Television
- Edinburgh College
- New College Lanarkshire
- NESCOL
HND Television
- Edinburgh College
- New College Lanarkshire
Pilot Delivery in 2023/24
HNC Accounting
- Edinburgh College
HND Accounting
- Edinburgh College
- City of Glasgow College
HNC Acting and Performance
- Glasgow Kelvin College
- West College Scotland
HNC Agriculture
- Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC)
HND Agriculture
- Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC)
HNC Childhood Practice
- Glasgow Clyde College
- South Lanarkshire College
HNC Computing
- New College Lanarkshire
- NESCOL
HNC Engineering (Engineering Systems)
- UHI
HNC Horticulture
- Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC)
- UHI
HND Horticulture
- Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC)
- UHI
HND Networking and Cloud Infrastructure
- NESCOL
- New College Lanarkshire
HNC Physical Activity and Health
- Dundee and Angus College
- New College Lanarkshire
HND Physical Activity and Health
- Dundee and Angus College
- New College Lanarkshire
HND Radio
- City of Glasgow College
HNC Social Sciences
- Dumfries and Galloway College
- West College Scotland
HND Social Sciences
- West College Scotland
HNC Social Services
- Ayrshire College
- Dundee and Angus College
- VSA SVQ Centre
HND Software Development
- NESCOL
- New College Lanarkshire
HNC Television
- Edinburgh College
- New College Lanarkshire
- NESCOL
HND Television
- Edinburgh College
- New College Lanarkshire
- NESCOL
Pilot Delivery in 2024/25
HNC Accounting
- Edinburgh College
- City of Glasgow College
- UHI Inverness
HND Accounting
- City of Glasgow College
HNC Acting and Performance
- Glasgow Kelvin College
- West College Scotland
HND Acting and Performance
- Glasgow Kelvin College
- West College Scotland
HNC Agriculture
- Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC)
HND Agriculture
- Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC)
HNC Childhood Practice
- Glasgow Clyde College
- South Lanarkshire College
HNC Computing
- New College Lanarkshire
- NESCOL
- City of Glasgow College
HNC Engineering (Engineering Systems)
- UHI
HNC Horticulture
- Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC)
- UHI
HND Horticulture
- Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC)
- UHI
HND Networking and Cloud Infrastructure
- NESCOL
- New College Lanarkshire
HNC Physical Activity and Health
- Dundee and Angus College
- New College Lanarkshire
- Glasgow Clyde College
HND Physical Activity and Health
- Dundee and Angus College
- New College Lanarkshire
HNC Social Sciences
- Dumfries and Galloway College
- West College Scotland
HND Social Sciences
- West College Scotland
HNC Social Services
- Ayrshire College
- Dundee and Angus College
- VSA SVQ Centre
HND Software Development
- NESCOL
- New College Lanarkshire
HNC Television
- City of Glasgow College (Delivering Centre)
- West College Scotland (Delivering Centre)
- Edinburgh College (Delivering Centre)
- New College Lanarkshire (Delivering Centre)
- NESCOL (Delivering Centre)
HND Television
- City of Glasgow College (Delivering Centre)
- West College Scotland (Delivering Centre)
- Edinburgh College (Delivering Centre)
- New College Lanarkshire (Delivering Centre)
- NESCOL (Delivering Centre)
NextGen: HN qualifications in development
Separate to the qualifications being piloted, the following NextGen: HN qualifications are currently being developed:
- HNC/D Administration and Information Technology
- HNC/D Built Environment Suite
- HNC/D Creative Industries (Art)
- HNC/D Creative Industries (Performance)
- HNC Healthcare Practice
- HND Assistant Healthcare Practitioner
- HNC/D Maritime Suite
We will confirm by the end of August 2024 when these qualifications will be available for centres to deliver as a pilot.
Programme timeline
As the piloting of the next generation of Higher National qualifications (NextGen: HN) continues in session 2023-24, we are working to support the future rollout and expansion of the qualifications by ensuring robust business and technology solutions are in place.
Specifically, we are in the early stages of developing new systems to support NextGen: HN quality assurance, grading, certification and invoicing.
Arrangements for session 2024-25
SQA’s next generation of Higher National Qualifications project (NextGen: HN) is progressing. We are thankful for the support of centres taking part in the pilot phase and look forward to continuing work with them in 2024 - 25.
We recently highlighted that we are working to support the future rollout and expansion of these qualifications by ensuring robust business and technology solutions are in place.
In addition – and to ensure a manageable expansion of the project – we will increase pilot delivery in a limited number of subjects.
We invited applications from colleges and employers/training providers to pilot these subjects in 2024-25.
This application process has now completed and a list of subjects and pilot centres for session 2024-25 has been published above.
SQA Academy module
Our SQA Academy module gives overview of how and why we established the programme, its current progress, and a timeline of future work. The NextGen: HN module is accessible to everyone and outlines the features and benefits of the new HN qualifications.