European Qualifications Framework for lifelong learning and repealing the recommendation of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 2008 on the establishment of the European Qualifications Framework for lifelong learning - Main contents

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 189/15

Qualifications serve a variety of purposes. They signal to employers what their holders in principle know and are able to do (‘learning outcomes’). They may be a prerequisite for accessing certain regulated professions. They help education and training authorities and providers to determine the level and content of learning acquired by an individual. They are also important for an individual as an expression of personal achievement. Therefore qualifications play an important role in raising employability, easing mobility and access to further education.

Qualifications are the formal outcome of an assessment and validation process by a competent authority and typically take the form of documents such as certificates or diplomas. They determine that an individual has achieved learning outcomes to given standards. Those learning outcomes may be achieved through a variety of paths in formal, non-formal or informal settings, whether in national or international contexts. Information on learning outcomes should be easily accessible and transparent.

The recommendation of the European Parliament and the Council of 23 April 2008 on the establishment of the European Qualifications Framework for lifelong learning (1) created a common reference framework of eight levels of qualifications, expressed as learning outcomes with increasing levels of proficiency. They serve as a translation device between different qualifications systems and their levels. The purpose of the European Qualifications Framework for lifelong learning (EQF) is to improve the transparency, comparability and portability of people's qualifications.

The wider objectives of this recommendation are to contribute to modernising education and training systems and to increase the employability, mobility and social integration of workers and learners. It further aims at better linking formal, non-formal and informal learning and supporting the validation of learning outcomes acquired in different settings.

Member States have developed or are developing national qualifications frameworks based on learning outcomes and are relating these to the EQF through a ‘referencing’ process. The EQF levels and learning outcome descriptors contribute to better transparency and comparability of qualifications of different national systems. They also contribute to a general shift towards a learning outcomes orientation in education and training. Referencing to the EQF should be done through the national qualifications frameworks or, where these do not exist, national qualifications systems (hereafter ‘national qualifications frameworks or systems’).

Qualifications are more transparent and comparable when they are presented in documents that include a reference to the applicable EQF level and a description of the achieved learning outcomes.

A wide range of stakeholders should be involved in implementing the EQF at Union and national levels in order to ensure its broad support. Key stakeholders include all learners, education and training providers, qualifications authorities, quality assurance bodies, employers, trade unions, chambers of industry, commerce and skilled crafts, bodies...