European_Qualifications_Framework

European Qualifications Framework

European Qualifications Framework

Common European reference framework for educational qualifications

The European Qualifications Framework (EQF) acts as a translation device to make national qualifications more readable across Europe, promoting workers' and learners' mobility between countries and facilitating their lifelong learning. The EQF aims to relate different countries' national qualifications systems to a common European reference framework. Individuals and employers will be able to use the EQF to better understand and compare the qualifications levels of different countries and different education and training systems. Since 2012, all new qualifications issued in Europe carry a reference to an appropriate EQF level.

Structure

The core of the EQF concerns eight reference levels describing what a learner knows, understands and is able to do – 'learning outcomes'. Levels of national qualifications will be placed at one of the central reference levels, ranging from basic (Level 1) to advanced (Level 8). This will enable a much easier comparison between national qualifications and should also mean that people do not have to repeat their learning if they move to another country. To compare EQF in different countries https://europa.eu/europass/en/compare-qualifications.

More information Level, Knowledge ...

Notes to the table:

  1. [N 1]
    The descriptor for the higher education short cycle (within or linked to the first cycle), developed by the Joint Quality Initiative as part of the Bologna process, corresponds to the learning outcomes for EQF level 5.
  2. [N 2]
    The descriptor for the first cycle in the Framework for Qualifications of the European Higher Education Area agreed by the ministers responsible for higher education at their meeting in Bergen in May 2005 in the framework of the Bologna process corresponds to the learning outcomes for EQF level 6.
  3. [N 3]
    The descriptor for the second cycle in the Framework for Qualifications of the European Higher Education Area agreed by the ministers responsible for higher education at their meeting in Bergen in May 2005 in the framework of the Bologna process corresponds to the learning outcomes for EQF level 7.
  4. [N 4]
    The descriptor for the third cycle in the Framework for Qualifications of the European Higher Education Area agreed by the ministers responsible for higher education at their meeting in Bergen in May 2005 in the framework of the Bologna process corresponds to the learning outcomes for EQF level 8.

Scope

The EQF applies to all types of education, training and qualifications, from school education to academic, professional and vocational. This approach shifts the focus from the traditional system which emphasises 'learning inputs', such as the length of a learning experience, or type of institution. It also encourages lifelong learning by promoting the validation of non-formal and informal learning.

This reflects a wider shift within which the EQF is acting as a catalyst for reforms: most Member States are now developing their own National Qualifications Frameworks (NQFs) based on learning outcomes. Several countries (IE, MT, UK, FR and BE-Flanders) already have one in force.

At present, an enterprise in France may hesitate to recruit a job applicant from, say, Sweden, because it does not understand the level of the qualifications presented by the Swedish candidate. But once the EQF is fully implemented, a Swedish person's certificates will bear a reference to an EQF reference level. The French authorities will have already decided where their own national certificates in the field concerned lie, so the French enterprise would use the EQF reference to get a better idea of how the Swedish qualification compares to French qualifications.

See also

References

  1. [1]
    "Descriptors defining levels in the European Qualifications Framework (EQF) – Learning Opportunities and Qualifications in Europe – European Commission". Learning Opportunities and Qualifications in Europe. Retrieved 15 March 2018.
  2. [2]
    "Find and Compare Qualifications Frameworks". European Qualifications Framework. European Commission. Retrieved 8 November 2016.
  3. [3]
    "Il Quadro Europeo delle Qualificazioni – EQF: Istruzioni per l'uso" (PDF) (in Italian). Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 June 2020. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  4. [4]
    "Higher Education in Spain" (PDF). Retrieved 21 May 2018.
  5. [5]
    "Qualifikationen der beruflichen Aufstiegsfortbildung DQR-Niveau 7 zugeordnet" (in German). Archived from the original on 31 March 2016. Retrieved 18 November 2016.
  6. [6]
    "Αναγνώριση του Διπλώματος του Ε.Μ.Π ως Ενιαίου και Αδιάσπαστου Τίτλου Σπουδών Μεταπτυχιακού Επίπεδου (Integrated Master)". NTUA. Retrieved 10 March 2019.(in Greek)
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