The European Credit System for Vocational Education and Training (ECVET) was developed to enable people to build on what they have learnt in the past when wishing to achieve a qualification. ECVET can be used to give people opportunities to get recognition for learning outcomes they achieved abroad, but also for learning outcomes achieved through learning in another institution or system within the same country or those acquired by experience. The core components of ECVET enable transfer of credit across countries, but also across institutions within a country or across qualifications systems.
- Development of standards of performance reflecting competence in a job
- Based upon the results of learning rather than the learning process
- Recognition of competence against the standards, based upon skills and knowledge, regardless of learning activities
- Credit transfer and accumulation for mobility of people – achievement of Units, Learning Outcomes and Assessment Criteria
- Enable people to gain recognition for learning and experience through assessment
Frameworks for vocational education and training is also evolving across countries - National Qualification Frameworks - which are referenced to a common European Qualification Framework (EQF) in order to make national qualifications more transparent and comparable across Europe. This creates opportunities to develop qualification schemes based on learning outcomes and in line with national qualification frameworks, which can in turn help addressing the issue of cross-border workers activities.