Core-Elements-3-1-Regulatory-framework

The regulatory framework of any VET system is a decisive factor for a sustainable and favourable development of VET at all levels and for the reputation VET enjoys in society and the economy.

Two important dimensions are to be distinguished when talking about the regulation of VET systems: first public regulation, and, second, self-regulation.

Public regulation sets the framework for VET offers leading to publicly recognised VET diplomas and certificates. Public regulation can take place at all state levels, depending on the degree of decentralisation of a VET system.

While public regulation sets the cornerstones and provides orientation, self-regulation in VET is very important too. Most quality developments in VET start within the economy, where new trends emerge and call for some kind of regulation and standardisation.

Any modern public VET regulation can be distinguished using the following criteria:

• Inclusion: This has three aspects. First, public VET regulation should include the VET system in the whole education system, in other words it should clearly define the interfaces with basic education and higher general education. Secondly, it should be accessible to all, and offer options for the less qualified and for those not well off. Thirdly it should include the world of work and define its role and responsibility;
• Competitiveness: VET should always try to foster the competitiveness of the economy;
• Permeability: any VET system regulation should allow its graduates to continue education at other VET levels or in other VET offers at the same level and in general education as well;
• Flexibility and autonomy: the regulation should leave room for development and foster innovation at all levels of the system;
• Transparency and limitation of the VET regulation in the sense that the regulation is to be understandable, developed in a transparent and participatory way and therefore accepted by all actors involved, and limited to the essential.
• Competence based: modern VET regulation is based on an outcome orientation (it is competence based) rather than following an input logic.
  
  

Regulations for VET, both public and self-regulation, typically define the following core issues:

• IVET (initial or pre-employment training) and CVET offers (tertiary VET or further training),
• admission,
• types of diplomas,
• assessment and certification,
• recognition of certificates for access to both the labour market and higher levels of general education or training,
• qualifications and training of trainers,
• quality assurance and accreditation of training providers, and
• financing.
  

There are, of course many other issues which may fall within the scope of regulation.

In many VET systems around the globe we find VET regulations either not fulfilling the quality criteria mentioned above, or not covering all dimensions and functions of VET. In many partner countries, public regulation is outdated, and defines a highly centralised system, which caters for the better off, hinders innovation, and does not provide access and pathways to the general education system.

Against this background more and more countries set out to establish so-called national qualifications frameworks (NQF). These are instruments to classify and develop qualifications – that is to say the certificates and diplomas issued in general education and VET – according to agreed levels based on generic level descriptors. The aim of NQFs is to facilitate three things:

• the transparency of the system of qualifications – all official diplomas, certificates and titles have their place at a specific level corresponding to their related level of competence;
• the comparability of qualifications – NQFs allow the value of different qualifications to be compared as regards their level of competence;
• and their portability – NQFs facilitate the recognition of qualifications – fully or partly – for admission to further education or training, for employment in other occupational fields or other regions or countries.​

However, the establishment of meaningful NQFs requires significant investments in terms of time, effort, financial and human resources. Often the NQFs are over-designed and bureaucratic, and the investments are made at the cost of improved or expanded VET delivery.