Post added by Michael Graham
Last week I participated in an excellent NQF conference in Podgorica organised by the Montenegrin authorities. Covering both Montenegro's referencing to (linking) to the EQF and the use of NQFs as a lifelong learning tool, the event nicely captured perhaps the two key gains of NQFs - international comparability and their potential as reform tools.
Experts and officials from the Balkan region and some EU Member States participated. Most of the former Yugoslav countries were represented. Montenegro is a candidate country for EU membership and an ETF Partner Country, so our cooperation with them is close.
This event aimed at information-sharing, and so I want to update QP members on some Balkan developments.
Montenegro is quite advanced in implementing its NQF. It now has approximately 20 qualifications placed in the framework, for example in commercial, agricultural and tourism occupations. It has an 8-level plus 3 sub-level NQF, which accommodates both new i.e. outcomes-based, and existing pre-outcomes qualifications. These older qualifications will be placed in the levels using criteria including their objectives, duration and analysis of their relationship with the new qualifications. This issue of placing pre-outcomes qualifications in the framework is a controversial one in both the EU and partner countries and aired on this Platform before, where it sparked a lively debate. Montenegro, like Croatia and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, has opted to include sub-levels for some of those older qualifications, such as its old Master's degree. They reason that they are still evidence of learning achieved and so should be included. So Montenegro has, as said clearly during the event, built on the old system.
An interesting contrast model is Estonia’s NQF, presented at this event by Kutsekoda (their qualifications authority), which started its new system from scratch, completely effacing the Soviet model. Kosovo, which also presented its NQF, also started from the beginning, drawing on the EQF and also UK approaches.
Montenegro’s vocational qualifications derive from occupational standards, which are mainly locally, rather than donor-generated (in Kosovo almost all occupational standards are developed by donors). It has a mechanism to engage the labour market in its 15 sectoral commissions, and a Qualifications Council which acts as its governing board; it also has provision for validation of non-formal learning and some qualifications are already available via this route.
See more about Montenegro's NQF in our Inventory pages: Montenegro NQF
And its web pages at: Montenegro NQF site
Regional consensus
It appeared the participating countries share much the same understanding of what QFs are for, which, happily, is consistent with the ETF and European Commission approach, that is, for more relevant and high-quality qualifications. Countries see the need for convergence of frameworks and wider VET systems, to support comparability and learners and worker mobility, but understand this doesn’t equate to harmonisation and all underlined the need for frameworks and qualifications which meet national needs. All explicitly said the NQF is a reform tool for their qualifications, especially vocational.
Most are in the early stages of implementation, for example as mentioned earlier, Montenegro has 16 qualifications in its NQF, Kosovo a similar figure and FYROM some HE qualifications, for example. All countries have mechanisms, e.g. sectoral commissions, similar to sector skills councils, to engage labour market actors. All have quality assurance provision, though most framed this in terms of provider accreditation, rather than quality-assuring assessment. All express the need to build capacities of social partners and other stakeholders to engage in VET qualifications issues.
Referencing Montenegro's NQF to the EQF
As things stand, Montenegro is likely to reference, or link, its NQF to the EQF ahead of the other three candidates for EU membership, Turkey, Serbia and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. It will do so by presenting its reports to the the EQF Advisory Group. For those less familiar with the EU, the Advisory Group - which is the Commission plus the 28 countries of the EU, the 4 candidate countries plus Norway, Iceland, Switzerland and Lichtenstein - oversees the EQF's implementation, principally via reviewing these country reports on the comparability of NQFs with the EQF.
Montenegro will present its reports according to the new EQF Advisory Group approach - state of play presentation, then draft report and then nationally-endorsed final report. It plans to complete the three steps by the end of 2104. It will be interesting to see both how this new Advisory Group approach functions and what issues in the Montenegrin report attract discussion in the Brussels meetings. Sub-levels and placing old qualifications in the NQF, for sure.
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