Interview with the organisers of the conference, the ETF’s Arien Deij and Epke Vogel, about what qualifications frameworks are, how students, employers and policymakers can benefit from qualifications frameworks, and why frameworks are an attractive way of approaching the reform of education systems.
‘A qualification is a certificate, a diploma you obtain after finishing school or successfully completing a training programme,’ explains Arjen Deij. ‘Today, modern qualifications describe what you are able to do, explain your competences. It is a proof of your skills. It can be awarded by a school, chamber of commerce, or an association.
Qualification = transparent skills
Once you have transparent qualifications i.e., you can see what a person can do, then you can compare qualifications, classify them and allocate levels to them. When you classify qualifications you check if they are complex or simple, whether they imply a high level of responsibility and original thinking or the need for outside instruction.
‘So, a framework is classification, which compares qualifications and links them, and the links between qualifications are the crucial elements of qualifications frameworks,’ says Mr Deij.
Why the links? Through linking, policymakers can prevent educational dead-ends, that are all too common in vocational education. They can make sure that people can always go further in upgrading their competences.
A ladder for lifelong learning
‘It’s like a ladder for lifelong learning on which you can learn and progress,’ says Epke Vogel.
It is nice to learn, and we learn in different contexts—on the job, at school, throughout life—but in the end you need proof of your learning. This is the only way to continue learning through your life.
‘It’s like a driving licence,’ says Mr Deij. When a policeman stops you, you can’t just show him how good you are at driving a car. He demands a certificate, a qualification, a driving licence.’
Certifying people’s skills
That is why there is a need to recognise or certify the competences that people acquire in their lifetime. ‘National qualifications frameworks give an umbrella for certifying skills,’ says Ms Vogel.
Yet it is not easy to implement these concepts. First, for each diploma we need to define what a person must be able to do to obtain it.
From “I know about” to “I know how to”
‘And then you realise that perhaps school is not the right institution to answer this question,’ says Mr Deij. ‘Where do you look for an answer? You need to ask employers, social partners. Implementing frameworks leads to deeper involvement of partners from the world of work in education. It leads to more practical qualifications and a shift from ‘I know about’ style education to ‘I know how to’ style education.’
The NQFs and education reforms
Most ETF partner countries had command economies, with big companies where most people had lifetime employment. Vocational education and training was built to match this system: one school for one company. A school trained people to work in single company. After the collapse of the command economies, vocational schools had to reposition themselves, and many failed to do so. This is reflected in dropping enrolment in vocational schools among young people in the ETF partner countries.
‘Working on national qualifications frameworks brings a systematic approach to the reform of education, including vocational education and training,’ says Mr Deij.
How? Mr Deij says that the process of building helps bring people from different sectors around the table and links VET with employers and with other components of the education system. Employers advise what people need to learn and know, social partners start to be involved in exams and apprenticeships.
Platform to support practitioners around the world
Almost all partner countries are at some stage of designing or implementing qualifications frameworks. And not only ETF partner countries. At the conference on 5-6 October in Brussels we’ll be able to hear what is happening around the world, in South Africa, the Philippines, Australia, South Korea and Colombia, as well as in the EU and the ETF partner countries.
‘There are very few people in each country who are engaged in this matter and they need support,’ says Mr Deij. ‘So we are also trying to establish a community of practitioners.’
Poor countries need to find different solutions compared to rich ones; big countries have different problems compared to small ones. Such a global community of experts, supported by an online platform, which the ETF will launch at the conference, can strengthen informal links, bring some continuity in sharing information among the 138 countries that are in one way or another signing up to the idea of qualifications frameworks.
Response to critical voices
There have been some critical voices about the NQFs, especially the report written by the International Labour Organisation. What does the ETF have to say about it?
‘The ILO didn’t find any evidence of the impact of qualifications frameworks,’ says Mr Deij. ‘And this lack of evidence was interpreted as evidence of a lack of impact.’ The ETF had some methodological reservations towards the report such as the choice of countries, the small number of experts involved, little new data gathered.
‘It is true that changes in education take a long time and qualifications frameworks are no exception,’ says Ms Vogel. ‘We agree that qualifications frameworks are not a unique recipe for success.’
However, ETF experts see the impact of their work on qualifications frameworks almost daily. Qualifications frameworks bring a systemic approach to education reform, they help tackle various issues such as governance, involvement of social partners, matching skills supply and demand and career guidance in a holistic way.
‘The ILO report looked at the results and the promises,’ says Mr Deji. ‘We are looking more at the process. An NQF is never finished, but has to be constantly updated. However, the process means that you have a wide range of people and institutions engaged, you have partnership in education, and you focus on practical things that matter. In our partner countries it is great starting point for a reform and improvement in education.’
‘A qualification is a certificate, a diploma you obtain after finishing school or successfully completing a training programme,’ explains Arjen Deij. ‘Today, modern qualifications describe what you are able to do, explain your competences. It is a proof of your skills. It can be awarded by a school, chamber of commerce, or an association.
Qualification = transparent skills
Once you have transparent qualifications i.e., you can see what a person can do, then you can compare qualifications, classify them and allocate levels to them. When you classify qualifications you check if they are complex or simple, whether they imply a high level of responsibility and original thinking or the need for outside instruction.
‘So, a framework is classification, which compares qualifications and links them, and the links between qualifications are the crucial elements of qualifications frameworks,’ says Mr Deij.
Why the links? Through linking, policymakers can prevent educational dead-ends, that are all too common in vocational education. They can make sure that people can always go further in upgrading their competences.
A ladder for lifelong learning
‘It’s like a ladder for lifelong learning on which you can learn and progress,’ says Epke Vogel.
It is nice to learn, and we learn in different contexts—on the job, at school, throughout life—but in the end you need proof of your learning. This is the only way to continue learning through your life.
‘It’s like a driving licence,’ says Mr Deij. When a policeman stops you, you can’t just show him how good you are at driving a car. He demands a certificate, a qualification, a driving licence.’
Certifying people’s skills
That is why there is a need to recognise or certify the competences that people acquire in their lifetime. ‘National qualifications frameworks give an umbrella for certifying skills,’ says Ms Vogel.
Yet it is not easy to implement these concepts. First, for each diploma we need to define what a person must be able to do to obtain it.
From “I know about” to “I know how to”
‘And then you realise that perhaps school is not the right institution to answer this question,’ says Mr Deij. ‘Where do you look for an answer? You need to ask employers, social partners. Implementing frameworks leads to deeper involvement of partners from the world of work in education. It leads to more practical qualifications and a shift from ‘I know about’ style education to ‘I know how to’ style education.’
The NQFs and education reforms
Most ETF partner countries had command economies, with big companies where most people had lifetime employment. Vocational education and training was built to match this system: one school for one company. A school trained people to work in single company. After the collapse of the command economies, vocational schools had to reposition themselves, and many failed to do so. This is reflected in dropping enrolment in vocational schools among young people in the ETF partner countries.
‘Working on national qualifications frameworks brings a systematic approach to the reform of education, including vocational education and training,’ says Mr Deij.
How? Mr Deij says that the process of building helps bring people from different sectors around the table and links VET with employers and with other components of the education system. Employers advise what people need to learn and know, social partners start to be involved in exams and apprenticeships.
Platform to support practitioners around the world
Almost all partner countries are at some stage of designing or implementing qualifications frameworks. And not only ETF partner countries. At the conference on 5-6 October in Brussels we’ll be able to hear what is happening around the world, in South Africa, the Philippines, Australia, South Korea and Colombia, as well as in the EU and the ETF partner countries.
‘There are very few people in each country who are engaged in this matter and they need support,’ says Mr Deij. ‘So we are also trying to establish a community of practitioners.’
Poor countries need to find different solutions compared to rich ones; big countries have different problems compared to small ones. Such a global community of experts, supported by an online platform, which the ETF will launch at the conference, can strengthen informal links, bring some continuity in sharing information among the 138 countries that are in one way or another signing up to the idea of qualifications frameworks.
Response to critical voices
There have been some critical voices about the NQFs, especially the report written by the International Labour Organisation. What does the ETF have to say about it?
‘The ILO didn’t find any evidence of the impact of qualifications frameworks,’ says Mr Deij. ‘And this lack of evidence was interpreted as evidence of a lack of impact.’ The ETF had some methodological reservations towards the report such as the choice of countries, the small number of experts involved, little new data gathered.
‘It is true that changes in education take a long time and qualifications frameworks are no exception,’ says Ms Vogel. ‘We agree that qualifications frameworks are not a unique recipe for success.’
However, ETF experts see the impact of their work on qualifications frameworks almost daily. Qualifications frameworks bring a systemic approach to education reform, they help tackle various issues such as governance, involvement of social partners, matching skills supply and demand and career guidance in a holistic way.
‘The ILO report looked at the results and the promises,’ says Mr Deji. ‘We are looking more at the process. An NQF is never finished, but has to be constantly updated. However, the process means that you have a wide range of people and institutions engaged, you have partnership in education, and you focus on practical things that matter. In our partner countries it is great starting point for a reform and improvement in education.’
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