National qualifications frameworks (NQFs) help to make qualifications easier to understand and compare. They can also encourage countries to rethink and reform national policy and practice on education, training and lifelong learning.
NQFs classify qualifications by level, based on learning outcomes - that is, what the holder of a certificate or diploma is expected to know, understand, and be able to do. This classification reflects the content and profile of qualifications. The learning outcomes approach also ensures that education and training subsystems are open to one another. Thus, it allows people to move more easily between education and training institutions and sectors. Cedefop’s National qualifications frameworks (NQFs) online tool provides detailed and interactive information on national qualifications frameworks.