Update of the Referencing of the SCQF to the EQF
The Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework Partnership (SCQFP) has published a report which updates the referencing of the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF) to the European Qualifications Framework (EQF). This report was presented to and formally accepted by the European Qualification Framework Advisory Group at its meeting in Brussels in December 2018.
The EQF acts as a translation device to make national qualifications more readable across Europe, promoting workers' and learners' mobility between countries and facilitating their lifelong learning. The EQF aims to 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 SCQF was first referenced to the EQF in 2009. This referencing was published in 2010 as part of a report on the referencing of the National Qualifications Frameworks (NQFs) of the four UK countries to the EQF. In the intervening nine years since publication, the SCQF has developed considerably, with the revision of SCQF Level Descriptors, the redefinition of SCQF Quality Principles and a considerable expansion in the range and number of qualifications on the Framework.
As a result of these developments, and the changes within Scottish Education over the same period, it was agreed between the SCQF Partnership and the Scottish Government to revisit the referencing undertaken in 2010 to test its ongoing relevance. The 2019 Report provides a revised and updated analysis of the SCQF/EQF referencing as well as presenting the most up-to-date information on the SCQF to European colleagues and partners. The original 2010 level to level mapping between the two frameworks was judged to be unchanged and remains applicable in 2019.
The referencing process has also enabled the SCQF Partnership to showcase its many achievements since the 2010 referencing report was issued. The impact assessment commissioned in 2016 highlighted the growing reach of the SCQF, both in terms of the increasing numbers of qualifications listed in the SCQF Database, which is Scotland's national NQF register, and in terms of the awareness and use of the Framework by different stakeholder groups. The impact assessment provided evidence of a growing influence of the SCQF, both nationally and internationally, and this is presented in this report.
The drafting of the report has been managed by the SCQFP, and overseen by a Steering Group composed of senior representatives of organisations covering all of the education, training and lifelong learning sectors in Scotland, plus four national and international experts and three executive officers from the SCQF Partnership Executive Team.
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