What is the Integrated Qualifications System?
The Integrated Qualifications System (IQS) has been in operation in Poland since 2016. This system encompasses various qualifications. By law, it includes all qualifications awarded by schools and higher education institutions, such as school-leaving certificates, university diplomas, vocational diplomas, and certain journeyman certificates. At the request of an interested entity and following a positive decision by the competent minister, the IQS may also include master craftsman diplomas, certificates of market qualifications, certificates of sectoral qualifications, and other qualifications confirming successive steps in personal and professional development.
Why was the IQS created?
The IQS is a state policy instrument supporting lifelong learning. The promotion of the principles and standards defined in the IQS Act of 22 December 2015 is intended to contribute, among other things, to:
- greater awareness that we learn throughout our lives on various occasions and in various ways;
- more precise naming of the competences we acquire in the course of learning;
- placing at the centre of attention the knowledge, skills, and social competences needed in a dynamically changing world;
- greater educational activity of adults who have completed their education and started work;
- greater efficiency of employers’ activities, primarily in the area of employee recruitment and competence management of employed persons;
- broader involvement of employers in defining the demand for competences, and consequently, a better alignment of the education and training offer with current and forecast labour market needs.
The impetus for undertaking work on the IQS was the Recommendation of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 2008 on the establishment of the European Qualifications Framework for lifelong learning.
What is the IQS for?
The solutions of the IQS are intended to help people of various ages plan their learning and acquire credible qualifications. In practice, this means, among other things:
- easy access to credible and clear information about various qualifications;
- the possibility to validate competences acquired outside school or higher education institutions (e.g. in the workplace, as a result of self-study);
- greater trust in qualifications awarded by institutions other than schools and higher education institutions;
- diversity and constant development of the offer of available qualifications.
What are the most important solutions of the IQS?
The minister competent for education is responsible for the coordination of the IQS, including designing organisational and technical solutions within the scope of the IQS and monitoring the IQS. The IQS Stakeholders’ Council is an advisory and consultative body to the coordinating minister.
All qualifications are described by means of learning outcomes (knowledge, skills, social competences). Therefore, it is easier to compare them with each other.
The awarding of a qualification is possible exclusively on the basis of a positive result of validation (e.g. an exam). Thanks to this, qualifications are more credible – they confirm that a given document (certificate or diploma) is backed by specific learning outcomes.
Qualifications can be awarded only by authorised institutions. In the case of market, sectoral, and regulated qualifications, these powers are granted by the competent minister.
Learning outcomes required for a qualification can be acquired in different places and times. The awarding body may, in the course of certifying a given qualification, recognise achievements that were obtained in connection with applying for another qualification. Thanks to this, the time needed to obtain a qualification may be shorter.
Documents confirming the awarding of a qualification contain a graphic symbol informing about the level of the Polish Qualifications Framework (PQF) and the European Qualifications Framework (EQF) assigned to this qualification. Information about the PQF and EQF level assigned to a full qualification is recorded in Roman numerals. In the case of a partial qualification, this information is presented by means of Arabic numerals. Qualifications with an assigned PQF level can be more easily compared with qualifications awarded in other countries (European Union and outside the EU).
Key information on all qualifications is available in the Integrated Qualifications Register (IQR). In the case of market and sectoral qualifications, this information concerns, among other things, learning outcomes, typical possibilities of using the qualification, and the similarity of a given qualification to others of a similar nature.