EUROPEAN QUALITY ASSURANCE REFERENCE FRAMEWORK FOR VOCATIONAL EDUCATION AND

TRAINING (EQAVET)

George Brown

WHAT IS EQAVET?

Recommendation of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 June 2009 on the establishment of a European Quality Assurance Reference Framework for Vocational Education and Training•“Establishes EQAVET as reference instrument to help Member States to promote and monitor continuous improvement of their VET systems based on common European references. The framework should contribute quality improvement in VET and to increased transparency of, and consistency in, VET policy developments between Member States, thereby promoting mutual trust, mobility of workers and learners, and lifelong learning.”

WHAT IS EQAVET?

• Makes use of the Plan/Implement/Evaluate/Review cycle

• Is supported by Indicative Descriptors and Indicators, Common Quality Criteria

• Supports both internal and external evaluation

• Can be applied at the National VET system level, VET provider level and qualification-awarding level

EU-level Implementation

• Reflects diverse nature of existing QA systems: some member states have only recently begun implementing managed quality assurance systems, while others have well-established systems

• As a generalisation, there are two main approaches adopted to EQAVET implementation:– Implement a QA system based on EQAVET

– Relate existing QA system to EQAVET (UK is taking this approach)

• Each Member State has a National Reference Point.

• The Recommendation will be reviewed during 2012 & report by June 2013

UK Implementation

• The four UK nations have mature QA systems which will not be fundamentally changed by EQAVET

• We have undergone a process of self-reflection in the light of EQAVET through the initial completion of questionnaires in September 2011 and updated in September 2012

• Each nation is taking forward EQAVET implementation individually, but with coordination, particularly of engagement with EU activities

• BIS is the main UK National Reference Point; in Wales it is the Welsh Government; in Northern Ireland it is the Dept of Employment & Learning; in Scotland it is the Scottish vq Board

UK Implementation: Examples

• In Wales mapping was undertaken of the EQAVET indicators against the Quality Effectiveness Framework  that supports both work-based learning and FE delivery

• QA system in Northern Ireland is being revised. Revised system should be explicable in EQAVET terms, and EQAVET will be promoted to providers

• In Scotland, the Regulatory Principles will be mapped against EQAVET indicators.

EU-level outputs

• UK nations are active participants in the EQAVET network and working groups

• EQAVET materials are published on www.eqavet.eu

• They include:– Case studies linked to EQAVET building blocks and indicators

– Guide to using the indicators

– Detailed description of using building blocks to establish a strong QA system

• Conferences and themed events

Some general comments

• In the UK, EQAVET is supporting further development of existing systems but is not ‘disruptive’.

• In the UK, QA systems are not integrated across nations (eg. there is no ‘three-country system’).

• It does not (at this stage!) require formal reporting to the EU.

• From a mobility perspective, the challenge lies at the provider level. This is a challenge of communication, and needs to be part of a wider communications drive. There is a range of materials now available to support this.