What is BTEC?

Pearson BTEC is chosen by over 1 million learners every year and is the UK’s largest education body, BTEC offers a range of professional qualifications for anyone taking their first steps into the world of work, progressing through their careers, or planning to enter university. After 30 years of proven success, more and more employers and Higher Education institutions across the globe are choosing BTEC-qualified candidates for their practical knowledge and employability skills.

For over 30 years, BTEC Nationals have set high standards, supporting and stretching students to take that crucial next step in their professional lives.

Whenever new BTEC qualifications are developed, Pearson BTEC work closely with employers and educators to combine the highest standards with a clear focus on employability skills – real learning, and real skills, which have value in the real world.

BTEC learning should empower people to combine knowledge with skills and understanding so they can achieve their full potential in the modern workplace.

BTEC Nationals

Alongside A levels, BTEC Nationals are the most widely-recognised qualification for admission to higher education.

Across a range of sectors, BTEC Nationals equip students with the specialist knowledge, practical skills and understanding they need to progress along their chosen learning and career paths.
BTEC Nationals are career-based qualifications designed to give students the skills they need to move on to higher education or go straight into employment.

More employers and higher education institutions than ever before are choosing BTEC qualified candidates for their academic and practical knowledge and skills.

When combined with academic learning in a school or college (or as a stand-alone course in further or higher education), BTEC Nationals develop practical knowledge and skills which help learners to prepare for – and progress in – their chosen career.
Along with A levels, BTEC Nationals are the most widely-recognised qualification to get into university. In 2015, 95% of UK universities and colleges accepted students with a BTEC qualifications, including universities from the Russell Group.

BTEC has earned a worldwide reputation as a premier applied learning qualification because it provides learners with a clear route into their career. Today’s employers are looking for a confident, work ready employees who have practical knowledge and technical skills that are taught when studying a BTEC.

BTEC Higher Nationals

Aim to develop students as professional, self-reflecting individuals. Higher Nationals (HNDs and HNCs) are professional, technical higher education qualifications, recognised as equivalent to the first two years of a degree.

They have been designed to give you a practical grounding if you decide to complete a degree at university, and to give you the confidence that your qualification is recognised by industry when you enter the real world of work.

BTEC Higher Nationals qualifications are co-designed with over 5,000 teachers, employers, educational institutions, and professional bodies. BTEC learning is designed to empower people to achieve their full potential in the modern workplace by combining knowledge and skills.

BTEC Higher Nationals are widely recognised by industry and higher education institutions around the world as principal vocational qualifications at Levels 4 & 5

They are designed for you,

• if you want to gain both recognition through higher education level studies, as well as want to progress to the final year of a Bachelor’s Degree
• if you want an industry-recognised qualification, providing the skills and experience to support your employment’s progression.

Over 100,000 students like you, from over 60 countries around the world each year studying BTEC Higher Nationals qualifications are finding success in both university and employment. There are many universities and higher education (HE) colleges offering degree courses accept BTECs, as they are professional/technical higher education qualifications , recognised as equivalent to the first two years of a Bachelor’s Degree.
This means that you can top up your final year and complete a degree more affordable. For example,

• In 2015 over 25% of the students entering University in England did so with a BTEC qualification.

More employers than ever before are choosing BTEC-qualified candidates in the UK for their academic and practical knowledge and skills. This is made possible by BTEC earning a worldwide reputation as a premier applied learning qualification, providing learners with a clear route into their career by combining the highest academic standards with a clear focus on employability skills.

Today’s employers are not only looking for employees, who have practical knowledge and technical skills, but who are also confident and work ready.
• Research by Progression Pathways, showed that in 2016 90% of BTEC students were employed full time after graduation.

To ensure you have the best possible experience during your course, as a BTEC Higher Nationals student at RIC, you will receive lectures, tutorials and learning outcome support from our highly experiences faculty at RIC but you will also have access to a specially designed range of digital resources available on a free platform for all BTEC Higher National students.

This platform enables you to access free online learning to develop the skills you need to support your higher education learning, and career development resources preparing you for the real world. Online forums open you up to the community of BTEC Higher National students worldwide, giving you a professional place to discuss anything relevant to your course.

Higher Nationals provide you with qualifications aimed to widen access for higher education and enhance the career prospects of those who undertake them.