As we begin SCQF Week 2026 and celebrate 25 years of the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework, we’re reflecting on how much learning, work and careers have changed since 2001.
In this blog, John Evans, chair of the SCQF Partnership Board, looks back at where he was 25 years ago and considers what those changes can teach us about the future of learning and skills – and the role the SCQF can play in helping Scotland prepare for what comes next.
Where were you 25 years ago?
It’s a simple question, but one that can take us back to a very different time.
Perhaps you were at school, starting your first job, studying, beginning a new career – or simply figuring out what’s next. Whatever you were doing in 2001, it’s unlikely that you could have predicted quite how much the world of learning and work would change over the next 25 years.
SCQF Week 2026
As we open SCQF Week 2026, which runs from September 21 to 25, that question feels particularly appropriate.
This year marks 25 years of the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF) – 25 years of helping people understand the level and value of learning, wherever and whenever that learning has taken place.
It is a significant milestone, but it is also much more than an anniversary. It is a chance to reflect on how far Scotland’s education and skills landscape has come, the difference the SCQF has made, and what we need from it over the next 25 years.
When the SCQF was introduced in 2001, the educational landscape looked very different. The internet was gradually becoming part of everyday life, but smartphones, social media, online learning platforms and artificial intelligence were still years away from transforming the way we communicate, learn and work.
Since then – and throw in a pandemic – Scotland has seen enormous changes in education and skills.
Where was I 25 years ago?
When I look back to where I was 25 years ago, my life was very different from what it is today. I was working for a global organisation as a divisional HR director and my first son had just arrived. I was learning rapidly on all fronts!
Education and learning was siloed in so many ways – not just in schools and colleges but in the workplace too. Mobility between departments and functions was not easy. However, I worked with a trade union leader who was very focused on employability and skills for life and we worked hard to help our people build sustainable careers, regardless of whether that was with us or elsewhere.
I learned skills that I’ve used in HR and elsewhere. I’ve had to brush up technical skills in recent years and the softer skills of leadership, communication and problem solving never leave you … but can always be improved!
And I suspect that is true for many of us.
The qualifications we gained, the skills we developed, the opportunities we took and the experiences we had have all helped shape where we are today. Learning is rarely a straight line, and increasingly, neither are our careers.
What does the future hold for educaiton?
So, if our lives and the world around us can change so dramatically in 25 years, what does that mean for the way we think about learning, skills and qualifications?
That is one of the questions we will explore during SCQF@25, our 25th anniversary conference at Glasgow Science Centre on Tuesday, 22 September.
Bringing together people from across education, skills, industry and beyond, the conference will look at the SCQF’s past, present and future. We’ll reflect on how the Framework has developed and the contribution it has made over the past quarter of a century, but we’ll also look beyond the anniversary and ask what Scotland needs from its qualifications and skills landscape in the years ahead.
How do we make sure that learning is recognised, wherever it happens?
How do we help people understand the skills and knowledge they already have?
And how do we ensure that qualifications and learning continue to open doors?
These are not simply questions for education providers or policymakers. They affect all of us – individuals making decisions about our futures, employers looking for skills, and organisations working to create opportunities for people to learn and progress.
Making sense of the big questions
The SCQF has always had a role in helping make sense of this complexity. By providing a common framework for understanding qualifications and learning, it has helped people see how different forms of learning relate to one another and, importantly, recognise the value of learning beyond traditional routes.
But a 25th anniversary should not simply be about looking back at what has been achieved. It should also prompt us to think differently about what comes next.
During SCQF Week 2026, we’ll be doing just that. Alongside celebrating 25 years of the Framework, we’ll be sharing stories from people across Scotland about where they were 25 years ago and how their own learning and careers have evolved since then.
Where you were you 25 years ago?
I hope these stories will prompt you to think about your own journey. Where were you in 2001? What have you learned since then? And, perhaps most importantly, what might you be doing 25 years from now?
Because, if the last 25 years have taught us anything, it is that we cannot predict what the future of learning will look like.
What we can do is make sure that Scotland is ready for it – with a learning and skills system that recognises people’s achievements, supports them to keep learning and gives everyone the opportunity to build on what they already know.
Join us in celebrating SCQF Week 2026 – find out how you can get involved here.
As the Scottish Credit & Qualifications Framework (SCQF) marks its 25th anniversary in 2026, we’re shining a spotlight on the people shaping its direction — the SCQF Partnership (SCQFP) Board. First in the series, we meet our Chair, John Evans, who shares his insights into the Framework’s successes and challenges.
John was appointed to the role of SCQFP Board Chair in December 2023.
He holds a number of non-executive positions in the private, public and third sector and is also a director of a Scottish League Football Club. John has worked in senior leadership roles across a range of sectors, including education.
About John’s role
Q: What motivated you to apply for the role of SCQFP Board Chair?
A: I had worked with the SCQFP during my time as HR Director with the police and also as Chair of a Sector Skills Council. I knew the importance of the work and the role to be played in creating a mobile and skilled workforce in Scotland. I felt I could bring an employer’s perspective o the Board.
Q: What’s been the most rewarding aspect of serving on the Board?
A: Seeing the SCQFP team and our contribution develop has been the most rewarding aspect. I believe we now truly understand our value and impact and how we can make a difference. For example, the recent collaboration with the British Council Scotland showed just how much we can offer to other countries.
Strategic vision
Q: What do you see as the SCQF’s most important contribution to Scottish education and skills development in the past 25 years?
A: The most important contribution has been providing a framework and common language for learning and qualifications in Scotland. We often take it for granted, but it’s been a long journey and we’ve benefitted from some fantastic contributions and people.
Q: How do you see the SCQF evolving over the next 25 years?
A: Recognition of Prior Learning will become increasingly important, particularly as people move between roles and sectors throughout their careers. For the SCQF, that means continuing to ensure that the processes around RPL are robust, trusted and clearly communicated. We are in the midst of a skills and work revolution that is possibly greater than the Industrial Revolution and we need to make sure that we have a mobile, agile and skilled workforce. I believe that AI makes human skills and judgement even more important and our work will be at the forefront of that evolution.
Impact and value
Q: Can you share an example of how you’ve seen the SCQF make a real difference to learners, training providers & employers?
A: I have seen first-hand how the SCQF can transform training and development. One example that stands out is my work with the Scottish Police College, where learning moved from a largely rote-based approach to a more work-based model. Crucially, it gave that learning a recognised currency, allowing it to be understood and valued beyond policing. That shift did more than strengthen skills and knowledge – it helped broaden routes into leadership, influenced the profile of people being recruited, and ultimately supported better outcomes for communities across Scotland.
Q: Why should learners, training providers and employers care about the SCQF?
A: It gives us a common currency, understanding, standards and dialogue that connects employers, learning providers and qualification bodies and, most of all, has the learner at the heart of that framework.
Collaboration
Q: What makes the Partnership model effective for Scotland’s qualifications landscape?
A: Just that …. it’s a partnership.
Q: What’s one thing you’d like more people to understand about the SCQF?
A: We need to make it simpler to understand – for everyone involved. I’m not sure that when a learner (or parent/carer) sees an SCQF level on a certificate they always know what it means. Likewise for employers. We do our utmost to help people understand the SCQF, but there’s always work to be done.
Learn more about the SCQFP Board at How We Operate.