Employment Perspective On The National Framework Of Qualifications
"Get it done and get it right!" is the message coming to the National Qualifications Authority of Ireland from employers and employees.
Last November, the Authority, with the support of the Further Education and Training Awards Council and the Higher Education and Training Awards Council convened focus groups made up of those dealing directly with issues concerning qualifications and awards in the workplace, e.g. in recruitment and matching qualifications and skills to occupational needs. The Focus Group meetings were facilitated by Ms. Cynthia Deane of Options Consulting and Ms. Deane's report on the meetings was published today.
Participants contributed willingly and generously, sharing their vision, their expertise and their experiences. It is significant that they sought to focus on the potential benefits that will flow from the establishment of the national framework of qualifications, rather than to dwell on some inadequacies of existing arrangements. They also urged the Authority and awards Councils to advance their work quickly.
There was a broad welcome for the framework and its vision of learning and qualifications. Expectations about the role of the framework in recognising all learning achievements, large and small, formal and informal, and in facilitating access and progression throughout life, are high. The framework is expected to act as an agent of change in terms of encouraging those with an employment perspective to treat education and training as a strategic investment rather than a cost to business. One of the main benefits of the framework is that it can link in-company training to a national system of validation and quality assurance. This will optimise companies' investment in the learning of their employees and help to avoid duplication of local or sectoral approaches to training and education needs. It will also build on the success of existing sectoral and occupational approaches to skills and training needs.
Mr. Seán Ó Foghlú, chief executive of the Authority, stated that
"The report is very relevant for the current and continuing work of the Authority and of the Councils. For the Authority itself, it is very relevant to the development of the national framework of qualifications and the linked issues of framework implementation and communication. We are very grateful to all who assisted us in this work, and in particular to Ms. Cynthia Deane and those who took part in the focus group meetings."
Copies of the publication are available free of charge from the National Qualifications Authority of Ireland and on the website of the Authority.
The Authority is planning to publish the outline national framework of publications in February.
