- 2015Approved/Agreed
- 2016Implementation
- 2017Implementation
- 2018Implementation
- 2019Implementation
- 2020Implementation
- 2021Legislative process
- 2022Implementation
- 2023Approved/Agreed
- 2024Implementation
Background
The Polish qualifications framework (PQF) was referenced to the European qualifications framework (EQF) in May 2013. It is based on learning outcomes and has eight levels. It includes different layers of level descriptors (type of education and training and sector), which is an innovative approach allowing easier inclusion of qualifications awarded outside formal education and training, such as sectoral qualifications. The Integrated Qualifications System (IQS) describes and registers different qualifications in one publicly available register (Integrated Qualifications Register - IQR). It also establishes the standards and procedures of confirming qualifications, including quality standards.
Based on the IQS, sectoral qualifications frameworks (SQFs) may be created. A sectoral qualification framework is created by an industry for its own use, for example to serve as a tool for competence assessment in recruitment or staff evaluation. Each SQF translates the requirements of the PQF taking into account the specificities of the given sector.
Objectives
The overall aim of the IQS is human capital development and support for lifelong learning, mainly by increasing the accessibility and quality of qualifications as well as allowing for qualifications to be compared and referenced to the EQF.
Description
The PQF can be considered to have reached an operational stage: it was formally adopted by parliament on 22 December 2015 together with the establishment of the Integrated Qualifications System (IQS) and Integrated Qualifications Register (IQR) and came into force in January 2016.
While the Ministry of National Education is responsible for overall coordination, an advisory stakeholder council was set up in September 2016. An update on the referencing report was presented in December 2016. In 2017, the Ministry of National Education established 14 bodies to act as external quality assurance institutions for awarding bodies.
In 2017, the IQS and IQR were further developed. The IQS is open to all types of qualifications, however, until 2018, it included almost exclusively only qualifications obtained in formal education.
In 2018, IQS implementation reached a more advanced stage, characterised by a change in its dynamic by the inclusion of non-statutory (market) qualifications in the system. In June 2018, the first IQS certificate for a market qualification (installing construction carpentry - montowanie stolarki budowlanej) was issued. The first 25 State-regulated (from outside of the school education/higher education systems) qualifications were added in December 2018. The inclusion of new qualifications was followed by the inclusion of relevant awarding bodies. In 2018, an additional eight external quality assurance entities...
The PQF can be considered to have reached an operational stage: it was formally adopted by parliament on 22 December 2015 together with the establishment of the Integrated Qualifications System (IQS) and Integrated Qualifications Register (IQR) and came into force in January 2016.
While the Ministry of National Education is responsible for overall coordination, an advisory stakeholder council was set up in September 2016. An update on the referencing report was presented in December 2016. In 2017, the Ministry of National Education established 14 bodies to act as external quality assurance institutions for awarding bodies.
In 2017, the IQS and IQR were further developed. The IQS is open to all types of qualifications, however, until 2018, it included almost exclusively only qualifications obtained in formal education.
In 2018, IQS implementation reached a more advanced stage, characterised by a change in its dynamic by the inclusion of non-statutory (market) qualifications in the system. In June 2018, the first IQS certificate for a market qualification (installing construction carpentry - montowanie stolarki budowlanej) was issued. The first 25 State-regulated (from outside of the school education/higher education systems) qualifications were added in December 2018. The inclusion of new qualifications was followed by the inclusion of relevant awarding bodies. In 2018, an additional eight external quality assurance entities were added to the system. By the end of January 2019, 41 market qualifications had been included and about 102 were undergoing the verification process.
While consultations on possible changes to the IQS Act have been conducted from the moment it was adopted, in 2018, a working group to propose amendments to the Act was established by the ministry. Further work on this issue was done in 2019, as well as a public debate on achieving goals and the future development of the Integrated Qualifications System.
As of the end of 2018, 11 proposals for sectoral qualifications frameworks had been developed, with the support of the Educational Research Institute, in the following sectors: banking, IT, sport, tourism, telecommunications, constructions industry, development services, fashion industry, public health, trade and automotive sector.
Implementation of the IQS and functioning of the IQR has been continuously supported by ESF co-funded projects implemented by the Educational Research Institute.
The development of NQS is mentioned in several strategic documents e.g. Human Capital Development Strategy and VET Action Plan.
In 2019, implementation of the Integrated Qualifications System continued - including the further development of the functional capacities of the system (e.g. support for the functioning and work of awarding bodies and validation processes, further development of quality assurance mechanisms and support for the IQS at ministerial level).
Substantial effort was made to support the process of describing market qualifications and their inclusion in the system. By the end of 2019, 61 market qualifications had been included in the system and about 226 were undergoing the verification process. Altogether, over 10 000 qualifications were included in the IQR.
Two SQF proposals were also prepared (chemical industry and agriculture).
Informational activities at central and regional level also continued and a public debate on achieving the goals and the future development of the Integrated Qualifications System was initiated in March 2019. In 2019-20, 10 public debates were organised throughout the country. They were intended to be an opportunity to summarise and reflect on the public activities planned for the future development and implementation of the IQS.
Actions related to the Integrated Qualifications System (IQS) included:
- developing five sectoral qualifications frameworks (SQF);
- preparing recommendations on the functioning of the certifying authority/awarding body in the IQS;
- preparing descriptions of 109 qualifications outside the education and higher education system, which have been included in the IQS.
The updated version of the Integrated Qualifications Register (IQR) was launched. Additional qualification functionalities were implemented in the register, in particular for ministries, including extra information on the professional careers of graduates awarded full qualifications in higher education.
On 18 August 2021, the draft regulation of the education minister on the sectoral qualifications framework (SQF) for the trade sector was passed, incorporating the SQF for the trade sector into the integrated qualifications system. The draft was prepared by the Educational Research Institute in consultation with a consortium of industry stakeholders. The framework was created with the purpose of establishing a tool defining the knowledge, professional skills and social competences needed for work in the trade sector.
The Regulation of the education minister of 12 January 2022 on the Sectoral Qualifications Framework for the trade sector entered into force on 23 February 2022.
On 2 August 2022, the draft regulation of the Minister of Education and Science on the sectoral qualifications framework in the energy sector entered into consultation stage. It includes the sectoral qualifications framework in the energy sector in the Integrated Qualifications System.
The Minister for Education and Science Regulation of 5 July 2023 on the Sectoral Qualifications Framework for the energy sector entered into force on 16 August 2023.
In 2023, 64 market qualifications were added to the register, mainly in the sports and IT sectors, with most below EQF level 6. Additionally, three sectoral frameworks were developed in IT and agriculture.
The regulations were operational and ran as a regular practice.
Bodies responsible
- Educational Research Institute (IBE)
- Ministry of National Education
- Ministry of National Education (until 2021)
Target groups
Entities providing VET
- Companies
- VET providers (all kinds)
Other stakeholders
- Social partners (employer organisations and trade unions)
Thematic categories
Transparency and portability of VET skills and qualifications
European principles and tools, such as EQF, ESCO, ECTS, Europass and ECVET, provide a strong basis for transparency and portability of national and sectoral qualifications across Europe, including the issuing of digital diplomas and certificates.
This thematic category looks at how individuals are supported in transferring, accumulating, and validating skills and competences acquired in formal, non-formal and informal settings – including learning on the job – and in having their learning recognised towards a qualification at any point of their lives. This is only possible if qualifications are transparent and comparable and are part of comprehensive national qualifications frameworks. Availability of qualifications smaller than full and acquirable in shorter periods of time is necessary; some countries have recently worked on developing partial qualifications, microcredentials, etc.
This thematic sub-category concerns all developments related to national qualification frameworks (NQFs). As in most countries NQFs are in place and referenced to the European qualifications framework (EQF), the thematic sub-category covers updating and expanding the frameworks, developing new qualifications and using NQFs as catalysts for other reforms.
European and international dimensions of VET
This thematic category covers both European and international cooperation in initial and continuing VET, aimed at promoting EU VET systems as a European education and training area and making it a reference for learners in neighbouring countries and across the globe.
Expanding opportunities and increasing participation of VET learners, young and adult, and staff in international mobility for learning and work, including apprenticeship and virtual and blended mobility, account for most initiatives in this thematic category.
Apart from established and financially supported EU cooperation, VET opens up to cooperation and promotion of European values and national practices beyond the EU, which is becoming a trend. This thematic category also encompasses internationalisation strategies, transnational cooperation projects and initiatives – including those where joint VET programmes, examinations and qualifications are developed – and participation in international skills competitions that promote the image of VET. Using international qualifications – awarded by legally established international bodies or by a national body acting on behalf of an international body – in the national VET systems and recognising them towards national qualifications is also in focus.
This thematic sub-category applies to using in a country, qualifications awarded by a legally established international body (association, organisation, sector or company) or by a national body acting on behalf of an international body. International qualifications are used in more than one country and include learning outcomes assessed with reference to standards established by an international body (Council Recommendation on the European qualifications framework for lifelong learning, 2017). Some examples include the Microsoft or Cisco certificates in the ICT sector, the European e-competence framework for ICT professionals, and International Welders Federation qualifications (Cedefop, 2018).
European priorities in VET
VET Recommendation
- VET agile in adapting to labour market challenges
- Flexibility and progression opportunities at the core of VET
- VET underpinned by a culture of quality assurance
Osnabrück Declaration
- Establishing a new lifelong learning culture - relevance of continuing VET and digitalisation
Subsystem
Further reading
Country
Type of development
Cedefop, & ReferNet. (2025). Polish qualifications framework (PQF) and Integrated Qualifications System (IQS): Poland. In Cedefop, & ReferNet. (2025). Timeline of VET policies in Europe (2024 update) [Online tool].
https://www.cedefop.europa.eu/en/tools/timeline-vet-policies-europe/search/28490