ECVET developments

Policy development
Practical measure/Initiative
Netherlands
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Timeline
  • 2015Pilot
  • 2016Implementation
  • 2017Implementation
  • 2018Implementation
  • 2019Implementation
  • 2020Implementation
  • 2021Implementation
  • 2022Discontinued
ID number
28449

Background

A brief overview of the context and rationale of the policy development, explaining why it is implemented or why it is important.

A national team of European credit system for vocational education and training (ECVET) experts is in place.

Objectives

Goals and objectives of the policy development.

The main objectives are to:

  1. support adult transition to a new job;
  2. support reintegration into the labour market;
  3. update skills and competences in an efficient and cost-effective way.

Description

What/How/Who/For whom/When of the policy development in detail, explaining its activities and annual progress, main actors and target groups.

A national coordination point for ECVET (NCP ECVET) was set up and became part of the Dutch partnership for lifelong learning on 1 January 2015. The Dutch NCP ECVET promotes the awareness and availability of ECVET principles by providing information and supporting implementation.

ECVET has been piloted in mobility projects where learning outcomes acquired abroad are transferred between the participating countries. In 2015, 10 pilot projects were run with the aim of supporting adult transition to a new job, reintegration into the labour market and updating skills and competences in an efficient and cost-effective way. The projects were implemented in health care, social services, pedicure, and the army. These pilot projects have been finalised and were disseminated via a handbook. Two new projects in disability care at secondary and higher professional VET levels started in 2016/17 and aim at the recognition of certification units in the Dutch health care and welfare sector. The pilots demonstrated that it is possible for people with work experience, or work-related training, to obtain a level 3 or 4 qualification within a year.

It is up to schools and employers' organisations whether or not to use ECVET tools as other tools that support flexible learning are provided within the legal framework.

2015
Pilot
2016
Implementation
2017
Implementation
2018
Implementation
2019
Implementation

ECVET is being implemented by the appointed national contact point. Good practice exists in several sectors (technology, health care, agriculture) and has been published in the brochure ECVET in the Netherlands (ECVET in Nederland: Een selectie van toepassing). ECVET is used to:

  1. enable the use of the learning outcomes gained during internships abroad for the acquisition of a qualification issued in the Netherlands;
  2. create training modules for adult learners that match both employers' and employees' learning needs.
2020
Implementation

The tools remain operational. The credit system itself was not used much in VET in Netherlands, as in other member states. In line with the decision at European level, the system for credit points has stopped. However, the ECVET principles and tools continue to be used to develop flexible learning paths that contribute to flexible learning for adults.

2021
Implementation

In December 2021, the national coordination point for ECVET announced that its activities will be discontinued as of April 2022. This decision was based on the Council Recommendation on vocational education and training for sustainable competitiveness, social fairness and resilience (July 2020) that replaces the ECVET recommendation.

However, the main ECVET principles, including the use and recognition of units of learning for flexible vocational education, are included in the new Council Recommendation. Learning outcomes, for example, are now an important part of EQAVET, the European quality framework for vocational education. The ECVET tools that support international mobility, such as the Memorandum of understanding and the Learning agreement, will be further developed in the Erasmus+ programme.

2022
Discontinued

As stated earlier, as of April 2022 the activities of ECVET are discontinued.

Bodies responsible

This section lists main bodies that are responsible for the implementation of the policy development or for its specific parts or activities, as indicated in the regulatory acts. The responsibilities are usually explained in its description.
  • Ministry of Education, Culture and Science

Target groups

Those who are positively and directly affected by the measures of the policy development; those on the list are specifically defined in the EU VET policy documents. A policy development can be addressed to one or several target groups.

Learners

  • Unemployed and jobseekers
  • Persons in employment, including those at risk of unemployment

Thematic categories

Thematic categories capture main aspects of the decision-making and operation of national VET and LLL systems. These broad areas represent key elements that all VET and LLL systems have to different extents and in different combinations, and which come into focus depending on the EU and national priorities. Thematic categories are further divided into thematic sub-categories. Based on their description, policy developments can be assigned to one or several 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.

Using EU transparency tools (EQF, Europass, ESCO, ECTS, ECVET principles)

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.

Learners' possibilities of accumulation, validation and recognition of learning outcomes acquired non-formally and informally

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. 

Subsystem

Part of the vocational education and training and lifelong learning systems the policy development applies to.
CVET

Country

Netherlands

Type of development

Policy developments are divided into three types: strategy/action plan; regulation/legislation; and practical measure/initiative.
Practical measure/Initiative
Cite as

Cedefop, & ReferNet. (2025). ECVET developments: Netherlands. In Cedefop, & ReferNet. (2025). Timeline of VET policies in Europe (2024 update) [Online tool].

https://www.cedefop.europa.eu/nl/tools/timeline-vet-policies-europe/search/28449