Table of contents
The introduction of the Integrated Qualifications System (IQS) and applications related to the Integrated Qualifications Register (IQR) has provided career and school counsellors with support in their day-to-day work. In one place, you can find reliable information and digital tools. Do you know how you can use them?
How can you use the Integrated Qualifications Register in practice?
1) Accurately assess your client’s competences.
You can compare your client’s skills with specific qualification descriptions in the IQR. You can also immediately show them which gaps they need to address, as well as how and where they can have the knowledge and practical experience gained outside school validated and obtain an official certificate.
2) Plan career pathways and develop a career-change plan.
IQR tools can be used to build development plans and show the links between different occupations. This means you can help your client identify common ground between their current job and their new goal.
Each qualification in the System is assigned a Polish Qualifications Framework (PQF) level. This makes it easy to determine the level of difficulty of a qualification and match it to your client’s educational opportunities.
3) Use the IQR digital tools
The Integrated Qualifications Register itself is an extensive database. You may also find the following tools useful:
- Sectoral Vocational Education Compass,
- ZeteRKa chatbot,
- Skills Audit Method,
- My Portfolio,
- Little IQR,
- Guide to the Integrated Qualifications Register.
Quality assurance
Thanks to these applications, counsellors do not simply direct clients to any available course, but can refer them to reliable institutions where they can obtain a qualification recognised in the labour market. For an employer, a certificate for such a qualification provides assurance that the employee has undergone a reliable validation process (i.e. a process confirming their skills and knowledge) and genuinely has the competences they claim to have.
The applications available on the kwalifikacje.gov.pl portal provide valuable support for all counsellors – whether they work in employment offices, HR departments in private companies or schools.
Guidance and training
Not everything is immediately clear and straightforward – the portal contains a great deal of information, while the tools themselves offer many functions and are intended for different target groups. So how can you find your way around it all?
We run workshops and presentations, both in person and online. We explain the System and demonstrate how IQR tools work. We present the information in a clear and practical way and show how it and the applications can be used in lessons or when working with clients.
Our workshops often cover topics such as:
- planning educational and career futures,
- making use of talents and developing motivation for lifelong learning,
- developing individual education and career pathways,
- combining the potential of IQR tools with professional development in the context of lifelong learning.
See upcoming events: link to the calendar on the Educational Research Institute – National Research Institute website.
If you need answers to specific questions about the System and its tools, contact us.
Want to find out more?
See the latest publications, for example:
Danielewicz M., Tulisow M. (2026). Career guidance in primary schools. A diagnosis. Educational Research Institute – National Research Institute. https://ibe.edu.pl/files/BIBLIOTEKA/ZSK/doradztwo-zawodowe-w-szko-ach-podstawowych.pdf (accessed: 25 May 2026). Kamieniecka M. (2026). Who am I advising? Young people and their educational and career choices. A guide for form teachers and career counsellors. Educational Research Institute – National Research Institute. https://ibe.edu.pl/files/BIBLIOTEKA/Kariera-bez-barier/komu-doradzam.pdf (accessed: 25 May 2026).