- 2017Approved/Agreed
- 2018Implementation
- 2019Implementation
- 2020Implementation
- 2021Implementation
- 2022Implementation
Background
The creation of the Slovak national qualifications framework (SKKR) within the ESF project Creation of the national qualifications system managed by the State Institute of Vocational Education reflected the respective EU policy. State Institute of Vocational Education also acts as the national EQF reference point.
Objectives
The SKKR is expected to contribute to making the education and training system in Slovakia more flexible, while the qualification standards will be officially recognised. In addition to the three sub-frameworks corresponding to formal education and training, a fourth sub-framework driven by the labour market should be established. The SKKR will only be viable if this sub-framework is sustainably enriched.
Description
The development of the SKKR has been a lengthy process. It progressed in parallel to the wider reform of VET and involved various stakeholders. Work on the SKKR and the national qualifications register (NQR) has been closely related: the description of qualifications, in terms of standards, forms the content of the register; their levelling is the content of the SKKR. Together with representatives of the sectoral council and other stakeholders, 1 000 qualifications, including standards, had been identified by the end of 2015 within the aforementioned ESF project. The SKKR was referenced to the EQF in October 2017 and the referencing report was approved by the Slovak government in November 2017. The report on the fulfilment of self-certification criteria against the QF of the European higher education area is still pending. An international conference aimed at presenting the SKKR was held on 4 December 2017.
Indicating SKKR/EQF levels on certificates and diplomas has been introduced since June 2019. An ESF project focused on developing a system of verifying qualifications has been launched.
SKKR/EQF levels are also indicated on certificates on qualifications and certificates issued on completion of accredited further education programmes.
Further progress in the development of SKKR is expected from the project System of verifying qualifications. A manual on the creation and using units of learning outcomes will ease the decomposition of existing formal qualifications into units of learning outcomes. These smaller qualifications should enrich the fourth sub-framework of SKKR.
On 24 November 2021, the government approved the Lifelong learning and counselling strategy for 2021-30. According to this document and the subsequent action plan for 2022-24, the National Qualifications System (NQS) and the Slovak Qualifications Framework (SKKR) should be revised. Descriptors for SKKR 0 level should be introduced to cover low-skilled groups at risk and the fourth sub-framework of SKKR and the number of qualifications corresponding to this sub-framework should be increased to make qualification routes more flexible. The role of NQS and SKKR should be newly defined, based on the assessment of their current roles and impact on VET. The NQS and Europass portals should be interlinked by the end of 2023. The ESF project System of verifying qualifications is in progress. 330 qualifications have been pre-selected and assessment manuals for identified qualifications will be developed. A manual on the creation of units of learning outcomes has been prepared.
The Lifelong learning and counselling strategy action plan 2022-24 was approved by the government on 20 April 2022. In line with Action plan Goal 5 ‘Increase the efficiency and flexibility of the Slovak qualifications system’, the evaluation of the effectiveness of the National Qualifications System and the Slovak Qualifications Framework (SKKR) is in progress. The need for the introduction of a robust quality assurance system encompassing all segments of the lifelong learning system has been identified as a core prerequisite for making SKKR fully functional by the expert group working on the study ‘New features of skills development systems’ and during internal discussion of draft laws: act on lifelong learning and act on adult learning. A detailed quality assurance model is currently in place only in higher education and the third sub-framework of SKKR. With regard to the first two sub-frameworks (general and vocational school system education), some impulses are in place supported by the State School Inspectorate and the State Institute of Vocational Education peer review activities. A quality assurance model affecting the labour market-driven fourth sub-framework of professional qualifications is missing and should be backed by the act on lifelong learning currently under preparation. The ESF project System of verifying qualifications is aimed at piloting governance and institutionalisation of validation processes on selected qualifications of the National Qualifications System.
Descriptors for SKKR 0 level that should be introduced to cover low-skilled groups and SKKR 5 short-cycle tertiary programmes are still under preparation.
Bodies responsible
- Ministry of Education, Science, Research and Sport
- State Institute of Vocational Education (ŠIOV)
Target groups
Learners
- Learners in upper secondary, including apprentices
- Adult learners
- Low-skilled/qualified persons
Entities providing VET
- VET providers (all kinds)
Thematic categories
Governance of VET and lifelong learning
This thematic category looks at existing legal frameworks providing for strategic, operational – including quality assurance – and financing arrangements for VET and lifelong learning (LLL). It examines how VET and LLL-related policies are placed in broad national socioeconomic contexts and coordinate with other strategies and policies, such as economic, social and employment, growth and innovation, recovery and resilience.
This thematic category covers partnerships and collaboration networks of VET stakeholders – especially the social partners – to shape and implement VET in a country, including looking at how their roles and responsibilities for VET at national, regional and local levels are shared and distributed, ensuring an appropriate degree of autonomy for VET providers to adapt their offer.
The thematic category also includes efforts to create national, regional and sectoral skills intelligence systems (skills anticipation and graduate tracking) and using skills intelligence for making decisions about VET and LLL on quality, inclusiveness and flexibility.
This thematic sub-category refers both to formal mechanisms of stakeholder engagement in VET governance and to informal cooperation among stakeholders, which motivate shared responsibility for quality VET. Formal engagement is usually based on legally established institutional procedures that clearly define the role and responsibilities for relevant stakeholders in designing, implementing and improving VET. It also refers to establishing and increasing the degree of autonomy of VET providers for agile and flexible VET provision.
In terms of informal cooperation, the sub-category covers targeted actions by different stakeholders to promote or implement VET. This cooperation often leads to creating sustainable partnerships and making commitments for targeted actions, in line with the national context and regulation, e.g. national alliances for apprenticeships, pacts for youth or partnerships between schools and employers. It can also include initiatives and projects run by the social partners or sectoral organisations or networks of voluntary experts and executives, retired or on sabbatical, to support their peers in the fields of VET and apprenticeships, as part of the EAfA.
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 refers to the application of EU transparency tools that allow recognition of qualifications among EU Member States (EQF, Europass, ESCO, ECTS). Among others, it includes linking national VET platforms and databases to Europass in accordance with the Europass Decision and EQF Recommendation and the use of the ECVET principles and tools, such as memoranda of understanding or learning agreements applied in mobility actions. The sub-category also covers measures on recognition of foreign/third-country qualifications for specific target groups, e.g. migrants or highly skilled professionals.
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.
This thematic sub-category refers to the development and implementation of qualifications that are smaller than full qualifications (alternative credentials) or are acquired in a shorter learning experience. It includes microcredentials, partial qualifications, units of learning outcomes (ECVET principle), digital badges, etc. These are owned by learners and can be combined or not to get a full qualification.
This thematic sub-category refers to validation mechanisms allowing individuals to accumulate, transfer, and recognise learning outcomes acquired non-formally and informally, including on-the-job learning, or in another formal system. In case they are not automatically recognised, a learner can have these learning outcomes validated and recognised through a particular process with a view to obtaining a partial or full qualification. This thematic sub-category covers such provisions and mechanisms.