Towards formal recognition of vocational competence

Acquiring skills relevant to a single occupation is not enough. It is highly important to "provide skills that are responsive to a labour market that is more fluid and a working life that is more mobile", the documents launched recently by the National Qualifications Council state.

Four working documents were launched two weeks ago by the council, whose chairman is Charles Mizzi and CEO is James Calleja.

The council's aim is to organise the systems of formal qualifications and vocational training.

The Maltese education system is seeking to get a foothold in the European and global environment, starting in 1994 with the Secondary Education Certificate (SEC).

This was followed in 2001 with the setting up of the Malta College of Arts, Science and Technology. A National Qualifications Framework (NQF) for Malta is believed to be the next step in the education system's goal of achieving international recognition within the EU.

The National Minimum Curriculum, published in 2000, had proposed a three-pronged approach to instilling learning outcomes in students during their general education, namely, acquisition of knowledge, attitudes and skills.

A syllabus listing exclusively the factual content that a student must master in order to qualify was deemed insufficient to justify his/her claim to have achieved "a comprehensive coverage of competencies", said Mr Mizzi.

"The current (and future initiatives) of the Malta Qualifications Council will be to translate the NMC development in pedagogy to higher levels and higher qualifications in all forms of education and training.

"This 'learning outcome' approach is in line with current European Union trends," he explained.

The first of the four documents outlines the philosophy behind the framework which consists of eight levels of qualification with a set of features and characteristics to foster recognition. This eight-level framework was brought together after extensive research carried out on the national frameworks of various countries.

The progress of the NQF will work in harmony with the Bologna process for harmonisation of higher education architecture and the Copenhagen process for vocational education and training.

The result, the European Qualifications Framework (EQF), will allow countries to cooperate with other educational systems, breaking down barriers of qualifications.

Vocational education and training is another area which will be harmonised within the framework.

The second document tackles the establishment of a new structure of vocational qualifications for Malta and states that "education and training are also an integral part of social development and social cohesion. They transmit values of solidarity. Equal opportunity and social participation have positive effects on health, the rational use of resources, democratisation and the general quality of life".

Mr Mizzi explained that the launch of the documents meant the beginning of a consultation period to also discuss the MCQ proposals whereby training institutions would apply for MQC endorsement of their course level, and for quality assurance of the education provision in the institutions, as outlined in the second and third documents.

"During the launch of the documents, it was emphasised that the proposals are in draft form and will lead up to a conference in October, during which stakeholders will have their say and register reactions to the MQC draft proposals."

In another document, a new credit system is recommended for vocational education - MCVET Malta credit for vocational and educational training. It aims at creating structures that lead to "parity of esteem". Thus it underlines the importance of creating "pathways and links between vocational education and higher education which would provide lifelong learning".

In this way, the document targets four areas: the learner, training providers, the industry and other stakeholders.

The new vocational qualifications (VET Levels 1-5) need to include credits on key competences as described within the EQF, as well as sectoral skills and knowledge, according to the proposals. At the lower levels more emphasis is placed on the acquisition of key competences, these decreasing with each level but which must be always present up to level eight.

These new qualifications will be recognised by the Malta Qualifications Council meaning that they will have value nationally and across Europe automatically.

In order to achieve this and to ensure that Malta offers a quality education, there is a strong argument for the need to implement quality assurance for the training providers as well as for each and every course being offered on the island.

This leads up to the third document which focuses specifically on quality assurance and describes in detail what the MQC will be expecting from training institutions as well as the process for the accreditation of institutions, both private and state.

Mr Mizzi said that since the documents are currently in the consultation phase, "reactions to the proposals will be listened to and a final protocol of procedures charting the way forward will be drawn up and adopted."

The fourth and last document involves the descriptors of the eight-key competences from levels 1-3.

This publication is to act as a guide to training providers offering training at these levels when developing their courses.

The MQC stated that this is just a step in the whole process. Its next step is to work on developing a tool for the recognition of informal and non-formal learning. The publications in fact contain MQC's workplan for the next year.