Brussels, 18-19 October 2006
Introduction
The European Commission has recently adopted a proposal for a ‘Recommendation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the establishment of the European Qualifications Framework for lifelong learning (EQF)'.
The EQF is designed to create common references to help the Member States, enterprises and citizens to compare the certifications issued by the various European education and training systems.
It is a response to one of the objectives of the European Council in Lisbon in 2000, to improve the transparency of qualifications.
It establishes eight levels defined by a set of descriptors indicating the learning ‘acquis' expected from a qualification of that level, irrespective of the qualification system.
The EQF might thus allow and even valorise the mobility of individuals, not only beyond national borders, but also on the professional path towards training, and vice versa, throughout people's lives.
Unlike most of the tools or frameworks designed to compare or identify qualifications, diplomas or examinations, the EQF is based on the results of the learning. Aptitudes, skills and knowledge are the main indicators of the reference level rather than the duration of the periods of study.
According to the explanatory memorandum, ‘Increasing transparency is important for the following reasons:
- It enables individual citizens to judge the relative value of qualifications.
- It is a prerequisite and condition for transfer and accumulation of qualifications. Pursuing lifelong and lifewide learning requires that individuals are able to combine and build on qualifications acquired in different settings, systems and countries. Transparent systems make it possible to judge how qualifications can be linked and/or combined.
- It improves employers' ability to judge the profile, content and relevance of qualifications on offer in the labour market.
- It allows education and training providers to compare the profile and content of their own offers to those of other providers and thus also is an important precondition for quality assurance in education and training'.
The ETUC considers this proposal, which it had supported in principle, to be a major stage for the implementation of a European employment market.
Validation and recognition of qualifications and skills
The framework of actions for the lifelong development of Skills and Qualifications which was adopted in 2002 (by the European social partners) considers the validation of learning as a shared objective and a priority field of action.
Validation of learning meets the needs of the individual learner. Validation backs up social integration, employability and the development and utilisation of human resources. Validation is particularly important for people seeking to join or rejoin education and training, the employment market and society as a whole.
The ETUC supports the development of skills and competencies and the validation of non-formal and informal learning in all countries and at all levels of education and training.
The draft recommendation on the EQF is based upon the learning outcomes and not the duration of the periods of study.
The development of competencies and skills after the initial training occurs principally in everyday working or informal training situations. With more particular regard to workers with low skills levels, learning often occurs outside official training structures. Validation and recognition of these activities should form a priority when it comes to the examination of the development of knowledge, skills and competencies among Europe's workforce.
EQF - a tool for mobility
Trade unionists and workers see the European Qualifications Framework as a tool fostering mobility and an aid in accessing lifelong learning. The initiative is European, but most of the actions and decisions required need to be taken at the national level.
The EQF is the pinnacle of an edifice which needs to be based upon the national, regional and sectoral frameworks. These frameworks rest upon individual qualifications which in turn rely upon training, learning and validation. The operational role of the EQF as a meta-framework is limited to the comparison of individual qualifications within the various systems.
The ETUC focuses on this function because it allows workers to be mobile while still being recognised in terms of qualifications beyond national borders. To achieve this objective, national qualification frameworks need to be devised in accordance. This is an essential question for the trade unions.
Qualifications and certifications are generally developed at national, regional or sectoral level, in line with the nature of the social relations and specific cultural features existing at that level.
The EQF must be based on a well defined subsidiarity principle, allowing respect for the different levels of social consultation and elaboration while also simplifying the rules at European level in order to ensure positive mobility.
All decisions concerning the national frameworks, the qualifications and individual methods of recognition, validation or certification must be taken at the national or regional levels, jointly with the social partners.
The ETUC focuses on the need to involve all the partners in these processes. The social partners play and will need to play an active role in the drafting of the frameworks for certifications and qualifications required in professional life. The social partners, jointly with the authorities, will need to define and apply national principles, laws and tools designed to make the national frameworks operational.
Transparency of certifications seeks to remove the barriers to lifelong learning which exist within the national training systems and between them. The EQF must seek to develop bridges between training systems, notably to facilitate mobility between professional training and general education, including higher education. In parallel, the EQF must be used to facilitate recognition of learning in the workplace.
The ETUC will work closely with its member organisations to ensure that this recommendation is adopted definitively.
It will be closely monitoring its implementation, the first stage for European recognition of workers' qualifications, which will need to be fully catered for in the adoption of the statement of co-operation between the Ministers of Education, the European Commission and the social partners at the informal meeting of Education Ministers on 5 December 2006.