The drive to enhance labour market mobility and lifelong learning across Europe hinges on the crucial processes of comparing and recognising vocational qualifications.
Comparability aims to identify differences and similarities between qualifications, while recognition focuses on validating learning and skills acquired in diverse contexts, often granting access to employment or further education. Over the decades, Cedefop has been a key driver in this evolving landscape, shaping both the conceptual framework and the work of relevant stakeholders.
First, recognition
From the outset, the EU’s foundational treaties prioritised the free movement of workers and mutual recognition of qualifications. Initially, the focus was on recognition. The 1963 Council Decision on a common vocational training policy emphasised the harmonisation of basic requirements and mutual recognition of qualifications as key objectives for Community action. The term “comparability” was introduced in the 1974 Council resolution on the mutual recognition of diplomas, certificates, and other evidence of formal qualifications.
In this context, Cedefop’s 1975 founding directive underscored its central role in addressing the recognition of diplomas, emphasising the Centre’s activity in dealing with 'the problem of the approximation of standards of vocational training with a view to the mutual recognition of certificates and other documents attesting completion of vocational training'.
In 1978, Cedefop, in collaboration with the Commission and the Advisory Committee for Vocational Training, began work on recognition of qualifications, starting with a common framework for training levels. The proposal envisaged a division into five levels (semi-skilled workers, workers, skilled workers, technicians, higher technicians, and graduates), which involved comparing approximately 50 occupations across key sectors such as: electrical/electronic, hotel/catering, construction, vehicle repair and agriculture, horticulture and forestry.
The 1985 milestone, a shift to comparability
Building on Cedefop’s foundational work, the 1985 Council Decision (85/368/EEC) addressed the comparability of vocational training qualifications among the Member States of the European Community. The decision introduced five training levels, each with key activities, serving as a general framework for levels of attainment. These levels combined structural elements, required inputs, and job descriptions, de facto shifting the focus from mutual recognition to comparability, while emphasising the formulation of occupational requirements. This approach, providing information to ensure clarity as to the types and levels of knowledge and skills certified by particular qualifications, rather than attempting to standardise training, was deemed more practical.
Following this decision, Cedefop embarked on establishing a foundation for achieving comparability in vocational training qualifications, developing terminology charts and glossaries, and conducting various studies. This effort resulted in complex arrangements among Member States, Cedefop, and the European Commission, leading to the creation of comparability tables for each occupation, with detailed descriptions, titles, types of institutions, and legal responsibilities for certification. However, this approach proved inefficient and labour-intensive, ultimately failing to meet expectations. The methods diverged from the practices of Member States.
Towards learning outcomes, the EQF and beyond
In the 1990s and early 2000s, the focus shifted from comparing inputs and structures to comparing outputs and learning outcomes. Parallel discussions on lifelong learning, transparency, quality assurance, and mutual trust intensified.
These discussions laid the groundwork for comparison and eventual recognition of qualifications. This shift culminated in 2008 with the adoption of the Recommendation on the establishment of the European Qualifications Framework (EQF), repealing the 1985 Council decision. The EQF introduced a set of common reference levels based on learning outcomes rather than specific education and training structures.
Since 2008, European cooperation has significantly advanced, leading to the development of European tools that enhance transparency in education systems and qualifications while promoting a learning outcomes-based approach. Building on these transparency tools and elements for comparing qualifications, as well as ongoing conceptual work, Cedefop continues to work on the comparability and recognition of qualifications across Europe.