National Qualifications Systems Forum

FOREIGN QUALIFICATIONS RECOGNITION AND NATIONAL OCCUPATIONAL CLASSIFICATION IN CANADA

The recent Pan-Canadian Framework for the Assessment and Recognition of Foreign Qualifications describes the ideal steps and processes to address current gaps for successful immigrant labour market integration. In Canada, regulatory authorities, in each provincial and territory jurisdiction, have the primary responsibility for implementing this framework.

In order to implement the framework, it is important to understand how the existing National Occupational Classification System and its companion processes impact regulator occupations.  

FOREIGN QUALIFICATION RECOGNITION AND CANADIAN STANDARDS

The Canadian Forum of Labour Market Ministers (FLMM) recently released the Pan Canadian Framework for the Assessment and Recognition of Foreign Qualifications.  The framework poses questions and challenges for professional regulatory authorities.   

In Canada, qualification recognition for regulated occupations is primarily a provincial and territorial responsibility that often is delegated, in legislation, to professional regulatory authorities.    

The Pan-Canadian Framework describes the ideal steps and processes that Canada aspires to build in order to address the current gaps to successful immigrant labour market integration.

It defines foreign qualification recognition (FQR) as the process of verifying that the knowledge, skills, work experience and education obtained in another country is comparable to the standards established for Canadian professionals and tradespersons.

Regulatory authorities, in each jurisdiction, have the primary responsibility for establishing occupational standards that ensure public, consumer and environmental protection.

There is no legislated approach to standards in Canada. What then is the Canadian context for standards?

 There are three noteworthy systems that co-exist.  

1. The National Occupational Analysis (NOA) system for standards  is a proven system of national co-operation
2. The National Occupational Standards (NOS) system for standards is a sector specific system.
3. There is a Canada version of the UK National Vocation Qualification (NVQ) system for standards which aligns with emerging international qualifications frameworks.

THE EUROPEAN QUALIFICATION FRAMEWORK LEVELS

The European Qualifications Framework (EQF) for lifelong learning creates a common platform that links the qualifications systems of the forty or so participating nations.

Their purpose is to enable labour market mobility and to facilitate lifelong learning that benefits the people and the country.
 
The EQF is based on learning outcomes. A learning outcome is defined as what a leaner knows, understands and is able to do upon completion of a learning process.

It is outcome based not input defined. 

This establishes a harmonious and balanced work place system that defines qualifications in different ways including theory and experience, technical and practical, individual and collective. It also addresses initial qualifications from schooling and continuous education. 

There are eight levels in the EQF.   Learning outcomes are defined as knowledge, skills and competence

A LITTLE THEORY ABOUT NATIONAL VOCATIONAL QUALIFICATIONS

I enjoyed reading the article “National Vocational Qualifications (NVQ): One route to improve the status of women in Libraries. “ by Sandra Parker, Catherine Hare and Pat Gannon-Leary from the University of Northumbria at Newcastle in the United Kingdom.

It provided a concise overview of the some of the theory behind national vocational qualifications.

National Vocational Qualifications (NVQs) exist in England and Wales while Scottish Vocational Qualifications (SVQs) exist in Scotland. They are both are underpinned by national occupational standards-a concept we have embraced here in Canada.

The following is taken from the section of the paper presented in Jerusalem, Israel entitled “What is an SVQ or NVQ and what is involved in getting one.”

 “NVQs measure skills that are directly relevant to the everyday world of work (Arundale 1995). They are competence based (Dakers 1994b and 1994c) and measure whether a person can carry out his or her work to the defined national standards of current best practice (Dakers 1997b).

THE EUROPEAN QUALIFICATIONS FRAMEWORK

The European Qualifications Framework (EQF) has a competitive advantage in the global marketplace because it signals a more balanced approach to qualifications and it addresses what I think is a systemic issue in education and training.

The EQF is a common European reference framework which links countries’ qualifications systems together, acting as a translation device to make qualifications more readable and understandable across different countries and systems in Europe. It has the twin purposes of promote individual  mobility between countries  and facilitating lifelong learning.

The EQF seeks to balance input qualifications with output qualifications and to focus on vocational qualifications that are considered vital to sustain a competitive advantage.  

Output qualifications are called learning outcomes which are defined “ as a statement of what a learner knows, understands and is able to do on completion of a learning process.

The EQF emphasizes the results of learning rather than focusing on inputs such as length of study.

CANADIAN PRINCIPLE AND PRACTICES FOR STANDARDS DEVELOPMENT

Hank Rubin defines collaboration as a purposeful relationship in which all parties strategically choose to cooperate in order to accomplish a shared outcome.

The Canadian government determined that collaboration was one of the fundamental principles for the formation of a Canadian Sector Council Program. The problem was then how to create  collaboration in sectors where stakeholders traditionally viewed each other as competition or in an adversarial relationship such as union management relations.  

Early proponents of the collaborative model developed expertise in process management. This involved developing an industry wide consensus through the collective application of sector knowledge, skills tools, techniques and systems to resolve systemic Human Resources issues.. 

Early successes lead to a plethora of sector collaborative approaches. As the sector council system matured, The Alliance of Sector Councils (TASC) was created to explore commonalities that would accelerate the adoption of best practices and lessons learned across all sectors.

TASC recently published a document entitled “Accepted Principles and Practices for National Occupational Standards, Certification Programs and Accreditation Programs.”

This article looks at one aspect –National Occupational Standards (NOS). This is important as we move further into our understanding of how the structure of European Qualifications National Standards differs from the Canadian NOS structure.

AUSTRALIAN QUALIFICATIONS FRAMEWORK

My first exposure to qualifications frameworks was the Australian model.

I was asked to develop a workshop for the Canadian Industrial Adjustment Service that explained how the basic structure of the Red Seal apprentice program in Canada could be used to work with non-regulated trades within industry sectors.

I was very impressed. Since then much has happened. This information article outlines the Australian framework while drawing attention to the upcoming improvements.

The Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) is a national policy framework developed to create a comprehensive national system of cross sectoral educational qualifications capable of supporting the increasingly diverse needs of students in education and training. 

SECTOR COUNCILS IN CANADA

You can’t see the forest for the trees.

In addition to attempting to discern the evolution of National Qualifications Systems, I also am part of the Canadian system and as is typical in Canada, trees are pretty important.

Michael Porter in The Competitive Advantage of Nations introduced the idea of a cluster. An industry cluster is a geographic concentration of interconnected businesses suppliers, and associated institutions in a particular field. Clusters are considered to increase the productivity with which companies can compete, nationally and globally.

The United Kingdom, Australia and Canada built on this concept and created sector councils.  There are 34 sector councils in Canada that deal with the elements of a national qualifications framework in distinct ways that represent the industry sectors in which they serve.

In this post, we will first look at a Canadian sector councils, and review their purpose, objectives and benefits.

WHAT IS A NATIONAL QUALIFICATION SYSTEM?

I forgot- I have another bias. I am Canadian.

Accordingly, I am familiar with the Canadian concepts of : Sector Councils, National Occupational Standards, Career Mapping and Laddering, Certification, Accreditation, Competency-Based Standards, Assessor Materials, Essential Skills, Prior Learning Assessment, Language benchmarks, Foreign Credential Recognition, Equivalency and assorted other Canadian developments.

This will provide some structure to my investigations to go along with my stated bias of results through integrity and system thinking.  

1. What is a National Qualification System?

2. What are the component parts of a NQS?

To answer these questions, I started in two unlikely spots- Lithuania and Portugal.

THE NATIONAL QUALIFICATIONS SYSTEMS FORUM

My motive is simple- to learn about the evolution of national qualifications systems across the world.

I am not an authority, nor an educational researcher. I am a simply a worker in the field who is interested in what others are doing. .

It started innocently enough. I was researching the United Kingdom National Vocational Qualification (NVQ) and the Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) for an equivalent standard for a Canadian National Occupational Standard (NOS) for the Petroleum Human Resources Council of Canada in the oil and gas industry….. And yes I will keep a running log of the acronyms.

I was amazed. What started out in Canada led me through an internet journey through the United Kingdom and Australia to South Africa, Jamaica, Denmark, Scotland, Lithuania, the Mediterranean and the European Common Market.