EQF

The European Qualification Framework

The EU developed the European Qualifications Framework (EQF) as a translation tool to make national qualifications easier to understand and more comparable. The EQF seeks to support cross-border mobility of learners and workers, promote lifelong learning and professional development across Europe.

Each of the 8 levels of the EQF is defined by a set of descriptors indicating the learning outcomes relevant to qualifications at that level in any qualifications system.

Definition of learning outcomes

The learning outcomes are defined in terms of:

Knowledge: in the context of EQF, knowledge is described as theoretical and/or factual.

Skills: In the context of EQF, skills are described as cognitive (involving the use of logical, intuitive and creative thinking) and practical (involving manual dexterity and the use of methods, materials, tools and instruments).

Responsibility and autonomy: In the context of the EQF responsibility and autonomy is described as the ability of the learner to apply knowledge and skills autonomously and with responsibility.

Note on the use of EQF

It is impossible to assign a EQF level to a single competence. The EQF system is based on complete profiles and it is the combination of the competences that define the level. On the other hand, we felt that it was important to have an indication of the levels of competences. Therefore we defined the EQF level of a competence as the lowest EQF level of a profile in which the competence occurs.

ESCO competences, which have no level by definition, are designated "No Level".

Sources and further reading

Introductory information about the EQF can be found at https://europass.europa.eu/en/europass-digital-tools/european-qualifications-framework.

The above descriptions were taken from this page.