Introducing
Qualifications Wales ensures that learners in Wales can choose from trusted, valued and globally portable qualifications, that are relevant, fair, flexible and designed for a bilingual nation. Qualifications are important personal assets and their value must be protected for the learners they seek to serve. That is why the wellbeing of learners is at the heart of our actions and decisions.
Qualifications are also a key source of evidence for monitoring progress towards the national wellbeing goals. We have been formally subject to the duties of the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act since April 2025, but chose to work in accordance with the Act’s expectations long before that. Our wellbeing objectives are set out in our corporate plan, shaping our long-term vision and reflecting our strategic priorities.
The indicators in the 2025 Wellbeing of Wales report tell us that the qualification profile of the working age population has been improving over time.
By 2024:
• nearly half (46.4%) of working age adults were qualified to at least level 4
• more than two thirds (68.6%) of working age adults were qualified to level 3 or higher, against a target of 75%
• the proportion of working age adults qualified to at least level 2 (equivalent to 5 or more GCSEs at grade A* to C) stood at 87.6%
• the proportion of working age adults with no qualifications had fallen to 7.9 (against a target of 5% in every local authority area by 2050)
Education impacts long-term wellbeing, with qualifications being the biggest single
influence on an individual’s chance of being in employment, and on how much they earn. A skilled workforce also aids economic growth. Our wellbeing objectives support a sustainable and responsive qualifications system with a stable offer of relevant qualifications that will help learners develop the skills and knowledge they need to progress to the next stage in their lives.
This annual report is structured around our organisational wellbeing objectives through to 2035, these are:
• to shape qualifications that prepare and support learners in life, learning and work, and promote equality of opportunity
• to develop an agile qualifications system for Wales that responds to socio-economic changes, meeting learners’ needs whilst protecting the value of the qualifications they receive
• to operate as a forward-thinking, high-performing and inclusive organisation that delivers for the people of Wales
Meeting these objectives requires an integrated approach, with the activity and effort of the entire organisation, and each team within it.