About the IQS
The Integrated Qualifications System (IQS) includes qualifications awarded by schools, higher education institutions and other institutions. It introduces standards for developing and awarding qualifications. This makes qualifications easier to understand and compare, including on the international labour market. Information about the range of qualifications is available in the national qualifications register, the IQR.
Relevant ministers
They develop the range of qualifications and ensure that it responds to labour market needs. They decide whether qualifications awarded outside formal education are included in the IQS, grant authorisation to award certificates, and oversee the quality of how these qualifications are awarded and whether they remain up to date.
Awarding bodies
They are authorised to carry out validation, i.e. to check whether a person has achieved the required learning outcomes: knowledge, skills and social competences, and to issue recognised qualification certificates bearing the graphic symbols of the Polish Qualifications Framework (PQF) and the European Qualifications Framework (EQF). If someone has acquired the competences required for a qualification through independent learning, for example at work, they can have them formally confirmed and documented by the relevant awarding body.
External quality assurance bodies (EQA bodies)
EQA bodies are institutions that use collected data to verify whether qualifications are being awarded properly and advise awarding bodies on how they can improve validation and the issuing of certificates.
Other institutions (e.g. training companies)
In response to identified social and economic needs, they contribute to developing the range of qualifications within the IQS – as initiators and applicants submitting applications for the inclusion of qualifications in the IQS, or as participants in consultations organised by relevant ministers.
The IQS provides a space for cooperation to improve the quality and accessibility of the national qualifications offer. It includes qualifications for people of different ages that support personal and professional development. Many different institutions have an important role to play in the IQS. Get involved and have a real influence on the range of qualifications available in Poland!