Market qualification may be included in the Integrated Qualification System (IQS) at the request of entities engaged in organised activities in the field of economy, labour market, education or training. Those could include: a trading company, a training institution, an organization that brings together entrepreneurs from a particular industry, an association of producers, a sports union, an association etc.

An interested entity (institution, organisation) submits an electronic application, containing a detailed description of the qualification, to the Minister in charge of the qualification through the Integrated Qualifications Register. The application should be processed by the minister in charge within four months. Under the IQS Act, the time limit can be extended by four months on a one-off basis. The application is subject to a fee of PLN 2000.

At all stages of processing the application, the Minister and the specialists/experts reviewing the application are required to work closely with the applicant.

Upon receipt of the application, the Minister in charge takes the following steps:

1. Consultation with the interested parties
On the IQS portal the Minister publishes the announcement about the start of consultations and the possibility of submitting opinions. The purpose of the consultations is to inform publicly about the initiation of the procedure for the inclusion of a qualification in the IQS and to obtain the opinion of the interested parties.

2. Acquisition of expert opinions
After the consultations, the Minister asks experts for an opinion on the socio-economic need to include the proposed qualification in the IQS. On the basis of these opinions, the Minister decides on the merits of further procedure.

3. Assessment of the application
The Minister makes the final assessment of the proposal. The following are taken into account:
- assessment of the learning outcomes required for the qualification in respect of tasks undertaken by the persons with the qualification concerned, as well as the assessment of validation requirements;
- desirability of including the market qualification in the IQS understood as its compatibility with social needs, labour market needs and employers expectations;
- suitability of the requirements for obtaining a particular qualification to objective circumstances and the possibility of achieving learning outcomes within the foreseeable time;
- similarity of the market qualification to the qualifications already included in the IQS.

In the event of the negative outcome of the application, the Minister informs the applicant of the refusal and provides a justification. The Minister's decision is not open to administrative appeal.

4. Assigning level of the Polish Qualifications Framework (PQF)

The Minister appoints a panel of experts to compare the learning outcomes required for a particular qualification with the characteristics of PQF levels and provides the Minister with a binding recommendation on the assignment of the PQF level. The recommendation also includes - corrected in consultation with the applicant - a description of the required learning outcomes.

The Minister submits the recommendation of experts to the Council of Stakeholders of the IQS for opinion. If the opinion is positive, then the Minister assigns the PQF level to the qualification concerned. Otherwise, the panel of experts draws up a second recommendation in which it refers to the opinion of the Council. This recommendation is final

5. Preparation of an announcement on the inclusion of the qualification in the IQS

The Minister prepares the contents of the announcement on the inclusion of qualifications in the IQS. The announcement is published in the Official Gazette of the Government of the Republic of Poland ("Monitor Polski"). On the date of the publication of the announcement, the market qualification is considered to be included in the IQS.

Note: The market qualification included in the IQS becomes operational only when the Minister selects an external quality assurance entity (EQAE) assigned to at least one awarding body authorised to award that qualification.

An awarding body is an entity with the authority to award selected qualifications included in the IQS, that is, to issue documents (e.g. certificates) confirming awarding of qualifications.

The issuance of the certificate is the culmination of the process of checking the knowledge and skills of an applicant for a given qualification. The awarding body is also responsible for the organization of the process. This process is referred to as validation.

What entities can become an awarding body?

Any legal entity conducting business activities may become an awarding body if it meets organisational and staffing requirements for validation to be carried out in accordance with the requirements set out in the qualification description and has no tax arrears.

What does getting the authority look like?

Interested parties apply for awarding of a given market qualification via the Integrated Qualifications Register portal using the relevant form.

The completed application contains the entity's data and a declaration of no arrears on taxes and contributions. Along with the application, a fee of PLN 10,000 is required.

For entities that have applied for an authority to award a given qualification concurrently with the application for inclusion of the qualification in the IQS, the fee of PLN 5000 is required (the fee is paid after the announcement of inclusion of the qualification in the IQS).

The application submitted is subject to a formal assessment carried out by the registry operator. The formally correct application is sent to the Minister in charge of the qualification concerned. If the assessment of the application is positive, the Minister grants the authority to award a certain qualification by an administrative decision.

Following the decision to grant the awarding authority, the Minister has yet to sign an agreement with an external quality assurance entity (EQAE), which will monitor the awarding body and conduct its external evaluation. Only after the conclusion of this agreement can the certifying authority begin validating candidates and issuing certificates.

Market qualifications are what we learn outside of school and higher education - they are gained thorugh courses and training offered by training companies, employers or various associations; it's also the knowledge and skills gained on one's own or resulting from professional experience.

Market qualifications may be submitted to the Integrated Qualifications System by stakeholders or various groups e.g. training institutions, industry organisations, associations. All market qualifications are partial qualifications the awarding of which is based on the freedom of establishment as opposed to full qualifications obtained in the school and higher education systems.

Any market qualification, before being included in the Integrated Qualification System, must be described and its quality - evaluated.

The method of describing market qualifications is determined by Art. 15 of the Act on the Integrated Qualification System. According to this law, any application for the inclusion of a market qualification in the System must include, among others, a description (including the expected demand for the qualification, an indication of groups of persons who may be interested in obtaining the qualification, review of possible uses of the qualification on the labour market), a thorough review of the learning outcomes required for the qualification, as well as validation requirements and awarding bodies.

The description of a market qualification provides a valuable source of information for:

- persons who plan the path of personal and professional development,
- employers who are looking for people with appropriate skills and are interested in taking action to develop their employees,
- educational and professional counselors, school counselors, parents and others who support learners in education and career planning,
- teachers who prepare curricula and assess their effectiveness in the course of their implementation,
- institutions responsible for validation.