Qualifications and Curriculum Development Agency

Last updated: 29 October 2009

At present, it is hard to understand all the different types of qualification that learners hold - what level they are, how long they take to complete, what content they cover, and how they compare to other qualifications. The new framework will help present qualifications in a way that is easy to understand and measure.

Credit and level

Every unit and qualification in the framework will have a credit value (one credit represents 10 hours, showing how much time it takes to complete) and a level between Entry level and level 8 (showing how difficult it is).

There are three sizes of qualifications in the QCF:

• Awards (1 to 12 credits)
• Certificates (13 to 36 credits)
• Diplomas (37 credits or more).

So in the new framework you can have an award at level 1 or an award at level 8. This is because the qualification type 'award, certificate, diploma' represents the size of a qualification, not how difficult it is.

Each qualification title contains the following:

• the level of the qualification (from Entry level at the bottom to level 8 at the top)
• the size of qualification (award/certificate/diploma)
• details indicating the content of the qualification.

Simply by looking at the title of a qualification you will be able to see how difficult it is, how long it will take the average learner to complete, and its general content. To understand the level of difficulty of the units and qualifications in the new framework it might be helpful to know that GCSEs (grade A*- C) are level 2, GCE A levels are level 3 and a PhD is a level 8. Knowing this can help to position the difficulty and challenge of each level in the framework.

Benefits

For learners the QCF will:

• offer more freedom, choice and flexibility
• give easy access to information about the commitment needed for different routes to achievement, letting learners balance that commitment with family, work and other responsibilities
• allow them to build up credits at their own pace and combine them in a way that will help them get where they want to be
• enable them to transfer credits between qualifications to avoid having to repeat their learning
• record all their achievements on an electronic learner record, encouraging them and others to value their past achievements

For learning providers (schools, colleges, workplaces) the QCF will:

• enable them to design more flexible programmes, suitable to the individual needs of learners
• help them improve retention and progression rates by recognising smaller steps of achievement more frequently
• track all learners' achievements through the use of a unique learner number (ULN) and an individual's electronic learner record, giving providers standard information about each learner's past achievements
• help them describe achievements to employers and learners in a language that is easy to understand

For employers the QCF will:

• help them to measure quickly the level and size of achievements of prospective employees
• enable them to get in-house training recognised within a national framework
• describe levels of achievement in terms everyone can understand
• make training options and pathways clear, helping employees and employers find the right training for their learning and business needs.