Qualification
DEFINITION 1: The term qualification covers different aspects:
(a) formal qualification: the formal outcome (certificate, diploma or title) of an assessment and validation process which is obtained when a competent body determines that an individual has achieved learning outcomes to given standards and/or possesses the necessary competence to do a job in a specific area of work. A qualification confers official recognition of the value of learning outcomes in the labour market and in education and training. A qualification can be a legal entitlement to practice a trade (OECD);
(b) job requirements: the knowledge, aptitudes and skills required to perform the specific tasks attached to a particular work position (ILO).
SOURCE: based on Eurydice, 2006; European Training Foundation, 1997; OECD, 2007; ILO, 1998.
SOURCE: Terminology of European education and training policy-a selection of 100 key terms.CEDEFOP, Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, 2008.
HYPERLINK: http://www.cedefop.europa.eu/EN/publications/13125.aspx and http://www.cedefop.europa.eu/EN/Files/4096_en.pdf
DEFINITION 2: Formal certification, issued by a relevant approved body, in recognition that a person has achieved learning outcomes or competencies relevant to identified individual, professional, industry or community needs.
SOURCE: Australian Qualification Framework: implementation handbook. Published by Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) Advisory Board, 2007.
HYPERLINK: Http://www.aqf.edu.au/Portals/0/Documents/Handbook/AQF_Handbook_07.pdf
DEFINITION 3: Awards which recognize that learning has taken place and that certain knowledge and skills standards have been achieved and can be practised by the learners.
SOURCE: Vocational and Training Institutions. Ed. Vladimir Gaskov, International Labour Organization, 2006.
HYPERLINK: http://www.ilo.org/public/libdoc/ilo/2006/106B09_15_engl.pdf
RELATED TERMS: award of qualifications, certification of learning outcomes