Qualifications Frameworks. The Finnish National Board of Education is the National Coordination Point for the European Qualifications Framework appointed by the Ministry of Education and Culture. The National Coordination Point supports and guides the relationship between the national qualification system and the European Qualifications Framework together with other national authorities. Finland was involved in the ECVET technical working group appointed by the European Commission right from the start in 2002. The working group played a key role in preparing the Recommendation. The national pilot project in Finland was launched in 2004 and that was the start of the first FINECVET project, all together 3 of them. The national hearing concerning the ECVET credit transfer system, held by the Finnish Ministry of Education in March 2007 indicated that the greatest additional value of the system is the fact that ECVET could facilitate the transfer, accumulation and recognition of credits and learning outcomes or competences acquired between countries. In general the Finnish Vocational Education and the curricula can be considered ECVET-friendly. The Finnish system fulfills the requirements related to the learning outcomes, units, transfer, accumulation and recognition of prior learning. Education providers in Finland are competent authorities with regards to the assessment, validation and recognition of competences. (Finnish National Board of Education; Publications 2012:15 – Finecvet as a pioneer). The existing statutes that support the accumulation and recognition of competence as well as the qualification requirements that are based on real working life tasks serve as an excellent starting point for education providers when using the ECVET system. In the long run, the implementation of ECVET is beneficial to the learner, the education provider and working life. ECVET brings immediate benefits to learner, which can be seen in the planning of individual learning pathways and competence-based qualifications.
Qualifications Frameworks. The National Qualifications Framework and the Qualifications and Credit Framework The development of the National Qualifications Framework (NQF) began in the 1990s in England, in an attempt to provide a unit-based qualification framework, which is underpinned by a system of credit accumulation and transfer (CATS). The QCA proposed the development of the Framework for Achievement (FfA) for England. This framework aims to offer: • a clearer recognition structure for learning and qualifications • smaller packages of units, which can be accumulated and transferred easily between qualifications and awarding bodies • the potential for employers to gain recognition for in-house training programmes • a distinctive suite of qualifications, which denote competence in specific occupations • levels and ‘credits’, which define the standard and the volume of learning • standard definitions of terms such as ‘award’, ‘certificate’ and ‘diploma’. When the decision was made for the developing English framework to be adopted as the national frameworks for Northern Ireland and Wales, it was re-named the Qualifications and Credit Framework (QCF). The QCF is now is a credit transfer system developed for qualifications in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and is the joint responsibility of the QCA, the Qualifications, Curriculum and Assessment Authority for Wales (ACCAC) and the Council for the Curriculum, Examinations & Assessment for Northern Ireland (CCEA).
