Higher Nationals (HN) Flex under licence
Pearson's HN Flex under licence allows approved Licensed Higher Nationals partners to easily adopt modular delivery and deliver bite-sized knowledge, skills, and behaviour units from Pearson’s approved Higher National qualifications, at levels 4 and 5 under the Intellectual Property (IP) licence.
Higher Education Institutes (HEIs) can access wider markets by providing the ability to offer flexible, short-term solutions to students, while still allowing for long-term skills stacking. The opportunity to study and achieve individual Higher National (HN) units is especially relevant for students employed and seeking Continuing Professional Development (CPD) and employment progression opportunities. It also benefits students who wish to upskill or reskill with the potential to seek employment in a new/alternative sector. Furthermore, HN Flex under licence allows HEIs to respond more quickly to skills shortages, in a more cost-effective manner.
Benefits to students
HN Flex under licence will allow your students:
- the flexibility to gain knowledge skills and behaviours in a more efficient and bite-sized way without having to enrol onto a full qualification.
- the ability to 'stack' units towards a full Higher National qualification in the future.
- the opportunity to progress to a Higher National Certificate (HNC) or Higher National Diploma (HND) qualification or even a degree achieving and stacking a Certificate of Unit Credit (CoUC).
- the ability to gain more niche knowledge skills and behaviours and to upskill and reskill through individual units of CPD as and when required.
- the option of studying a combination of up to four units from different Licensed Higher National subjects.to gain professional body/vendor accreditation by completing units as required for it.
- to study individual HN units which have been adopted from the Ofqual regulated suite under the IP Licence. Students may be able to use their evidence of learning towards a Higher National qualification via the Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) process/top-up to HNC/HND/Degree.
Benefits to licenced HN partners
HN Flex under licence will allow partners to:
- offer Higher Nationals flexibly and access wider corners of the market.
- build relationships with local employers through addressing knowledge skills and behaviour development needs.
- provide a CPD offering outside of normal qualifications.
- attract adult students back into education.
- offer flexible patterns of delivery, for example, short dedicated units of study with potential integration into full HN delivery blended delivery etc.
- focus on individual unit delivery (HN Flex) only, for example:
- to meet the needs of employers
- to meet the requirements of an apprenticeship standard
- to upskill/reskill employees
- to provide an opportunity for students to return to study and enable progression route onto a full HN.
Benefits to employers
HN Flex under licence will allow employers to:
- provide CPD via specific occupationally relevant units.
- offer flexible commitment to a full degree.
- invest flexibly with staff development.
- target specific knowledge skills and behaviours and upskill employees rapidly.
- build relationships with the region's local college/s.
- align to Apprenticeship Standards in the UK where possible.