Slovenian NQF register Key issues in development of European and national NQF registers Institute of the Republic of Slovenia for Vocational Education and Training (CPI) EQF NCP Borut Mikulec

EQF portal Development of the „EQF portal“ at the level of the European Commission: a)First idea: to provide information about the EQF implementation, NQF development and referencing process (from 2008) b)Second idea: to enable search of individual qualifications included in the NQF and referenced to the EQF between different European countries (from 2013) From EQF portal to joint EQF/PLOTEUS portal to „Learning Opportunities and Qualifications in Europe“ Grants for NQF register/database development

Register of SQF qualifications In years we set up new online platform for register of SQF qualifications (existing registers of educational programs were not suitable) Each qualification included in the register is described with set of same parameters Decision to choose these parameters was based on SQF methodology and proposed parameters on the EQF portal Parameters of SQF qualifications are broader than proposed parameters of the EQF portal (including „input“ and „output“ information)

Register of SQF qualifications Within ESF project „Slovenian Qualifications Framework“ ( ) we prepared descriptions of individual qualifications in selected professional sectors (sectoral qualifications frameworks)  Existing accredited qualifications (educational qualifications and NVQs) entered into SQF register SQF web page qualifications-framework-register/ qualifications-framework-register/ SQF register

Register of SQF qualifications „The SQF, in particular with the help of the nascent register of SQF qualifications, significantly increases the transparency of the qualifications system in the country, which is (will be) useful above all to users: participants in education and employees, employers, educational institutions, careers advisers and others.“ (Slovenian EQF referencing report, 2014, p. 29)

Register SQF and EQF portal At the end of 2013 testing phase of the EQF qualifications search engine in 7 selected countries (CZ, FR, IE, LV, LT, SI, GB) The question of the most suitable parameters for qualification description is raised (name, description, level, LO, field of qualification, providers, profession, language, etc.) Final decision: to link PLOTEUS (learning opportunities in EU) with EQF portal 

EQF AG future plans EQF AG note 31-4 (May 2015) To provide jobseekers, learners and employers with information on European qualifications and to link these to ESCO (classification of European Skills, Competence, Qualifications and Occupations) Fields to describe qualifications: title (without translation); qualification group based on ISCED Fields; awarding body; expiry data (validity of the qualification); EQF level; LO descriptions (using a common format); relationship to ESCO occupations; description and/or scope note

LO common format? The need to create common format for describing LO The common format, to be used on a voluntary basis, will add to but not replace existing LO formats currently used at national level. The format will make it possible to:  link the LO descriptions in national qualifications databases to the skills and competence pillar of ESCO by providing comparable data  strengthen the independent ability of the EQF and NQFs to provide comparable information on the content and profile of qualifications, directly benefitting individual citizens and employers.

LO common format? Format needs to be short, constructed according to a pre-defined syntax and refer to commonly agreed (but flexible) learning domains The common format should be provided in the national language as well as English Europass certificate supplement as a model for a short LO description

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