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The European Qualifications Framework (EQF)

The EQF will 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.

The EQF was adopted by the European Parliament and Council on 23 April 2008.

The EQF encourages countries to relate their qualifications systems or frameworks to the EQF by 2010 and to ensure that all new qualifications issued from 2012 carry a reference to the appropriate EQF level.

The core of the EQF are 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). It will therefore enable much easier comparison between national qualifications and should also mean that people do not have to repeat learning if they move to another country.

The EQF applies to all types of education, training and qualifications, from school education to academic, professional and vocational. The system shifts the focus from the traditional approach 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.

Easier comparison

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

Most Member States are now developing their own National Qualifications Frameworks (NQFs) to link into the EQF. The Commission, national authorities and social partners are working to implement the EQF through an EQF Advisory Group. The group's work is complemented by the Cluster on the Recognition of Learning outcomes, one of the eight clusters within the Education and Training 2010 Work Programme, which supports the validation of non-formal and informal learning.

A conference on implementing the EQF was held on 3-4 June in Brussels. See material and information conference outcomes.

Documents

• Recommendation of the European Parliament and of the Council (April 2008) on the establishment of the European Qualifications Framework for lifelong learning
  

• Recommendation of the European Parliament and of the Council (April 2008) on the establishment of the European Qualifications Framework for lifelong learning (brochure)
  

• Explaining the European Qualifications Framework for Lifelong Learning (brochure)
  

• The European Qualifications Framework for Lifelong Learning (leaflet)