Post added by Anastasia Pouliou
The first time I started working on the area of qualifications and national qualifications frameworks (NQFs) was many years ago and I have to admit that I was amazed. NQFs have helped to make national education systems more readable and easier to understand for citizens. They have achieved this as they share many common characteristics; they classify qualifications by level, based on learning outcomes, support consistency of qualifications, and bring together stakeholders from different directions. Every country has had a different experience and the same applies to my country, Greece, too. Qualifications frameworks have evolved dramatically since 2005 and would be missed if they were not around; this was a key message conveyed by many of the participants in Cedefop’s peer learning conference of 9 and 10 November 2017. My impression is that qualifications frameworks are here to stay but their impact is taking centre stage. Shouldn’t we assess this impact, see the frameworks’ real value and potential as facilitators of change? Do qualifications frameworks really matter for people’s lives or do they remain formal (paper) initiatives?
The main catalyst for the development of comprehensive NQFs in Europe has been the European qualifications framework (EQF). Since 2008, many developments have been made and with the 2017 revised EQF Council recommendation a common trend has appeared. This points the way towards comprehensive frameworks which include qualifications of all types and levels, awarded by different bodies. Nowadays, many countries across Europe are raising the question of their NQFs’ added value and contribution to policies and practices. Which is the visibility of the frameworks? Isn’t this a key element in the process? The way the countries communicate their NQFs makes a difference to their citizens and society as a whole; they target end users via websites, registers of qualifications, links with stakeholders, communication strategies and/or advertisements. Most importantly, when NQF and EQF levels are indicated in qualifications databases and/or on the certificates and diplomas they award1 the visibility of the frameworks is raised. This process actually helps citizens to understand the value of their diploma or certificate across borders and education subsystems, and thus it is easier for them to pursue career and learning pathways across systems and borders.
Another important aspect to consider is the cooperation of the broad group of stakeholders both from education and training and the labour market. Qualifications frameworks have built bridges between these two worlds in order to facilitate job mobility and skills portability. Despite the recent developments, reaching the end users and in particular employers has been difficult. Cedefop has regularly monitored NQF development since 2009 and has shown many examples of steering groups, national qualifications councils or other bodies that come together to support the coherent implementation of their NQF across sectors. And what about labour market use? The impact study of the Irish NFQ showed that the framework is likely to be used in recruitment and in planning work-based learning and training. A national framework with good labour market visibility has been the French NQF and its national register of vocational qualifications known as “repertoire national des certifications professionnelles”. The Scottish one has also been successfully used to promote social inclusion and other broad goals. Still many employers in European countries are not aware of NQFs existence so their views need to be heard, they should be given the chance to revisit, revise and even change aspects of the frameworks.
The monitoring of European NQFs carried out by Cedefop since 2009 has also shown that the common language of describing qualifications, the language of learning outcomes aided their comparison across systems. Learning outcomes are at the core of NQFs but Cedefop’s European handbook on learning outcomes notes that learning outcomes cannot stand alone. Learners, education and training providers as well as employers are key beneficiaries of this process and need to understand clearly the conceptual elements and purposes of the learning outcomes-based level descriptors. The broader impact of qualifications frameworks will depend on how and by whom the level descriptors are applied and the extent to which these processes are transparent.
Following my participation in the 3rd qualifications platform correspondents meeting in ETF’s premises in Turin, I realised that experts from other countries like Russia, Azerbaijan and Ukraine share the same thoughts and pose similar questions. As John O’Connor from an independent State agency, Quality and Qualifications, in Ireland, said “we shouldn’t oversell NQFs as they make a little difference on their own. Brokers of NQFs are key, they are the ones who will carry the message and deliver the benefits to the end users”. Who are these intermediaries, these “middle mechanisms”? Cedefop is planning to make a next step by conducting a survey to EU Member States to find some answers to these questions. I guess it remains to be seen whether the frameworks are destined to fade away, or whether they are being turned into integrated parts of national policies and systems.
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