A market qualification canbe included in the Integrated Qualifications System (IQS) at the request of entities engaged in an organised activity in the following areas: economy, labourmarket, education or training.
Such entities can represent, e.g. a trading company, an association of entrepreneurs from a given line of business, an association of manufacturers, a sports union or an association of companies offering training services.
A request to have a market qualification included in the system canbe submitted by any entity, which deems that this qualification needed and is capable of substantiating its choice.
The application should include a detailed description of the qualification.
The description should specify:
The application also includes a statement of the reasons why a given qualification is needed, a description of the demand for the qualification as well as its typical uses.
If the application is properly completed, it will be sentto the relevant minister.
The minister will examine whether the qualification is of the required quality and if there is demand for it. In the event the minister decides so – it will be included in the Integrated Qualifications System (IQS) and the minister will enter the qualification into the Integrated Qualifications Register (IQR).
The minister has 4 month to make the decision. A single 4-month extension of the deadline may occur.
An application for including a qualification in the Integrated Qualifications System (IQS) must contain its description.
The description serves as a guideline for each entity intending to award the qualification in the future – i.e. become an awarding body (AB).
Learn about the elements included in a description of a qualification:
Learning outcomes include the knowledge, skills or social competences required for a given qualification.
Each learning outcome is briefly described and additionally clarified by means of assessment criteria – up to several criteria for each outcome.
The assessment criteria are actions to be performed by the individual throughout the assessment process to prove that they possess the required learning outcomes. The criteria describe, in great detail, what is confirmed by the certificate. They are important for both candidates as well as employers.
These are the minimal standards, which must be fulfilled by entities applying to become awarding bodies to ensure the highquality of the entire process.
These must be adequate for:
The conditions specify the following:
VALIDATION METHODS
Validation is not a typical exam taken at a school or a university.
Apart from the already known knowledge testing methods, validation also uses innovative solutions. Methods thatcan be easily adapted to the needs of adults.
Validation methods and techniques as well as examples of their use have been described in the Catalogue of Validation Methods.
How the individual undergoing validation acquired the knowledge and learned the skills required to attain the qualification is not relevant. Nevertheless, initial requirements may apply for certain qualifications, where thisis expected by the market.
This means that the following may be required of a candidate:
– this information will be relevant for deciding on the inclusion of the qualification in the system by the relevant minister.
This information includes:
The procedure for including a qualification is managed by the relevant minister.
The entity submitting the application to have a qualification included in the IQS shall pay afee of PLN 2,000 at the time of filing the application.
Through the Integrated Qualifications System (IQS) portal, the minister announcesthe commencement of community consultations and collects opinions regarding the qualification.
The minister seeks experts’ advice on whether there is demand for the qualification in the market. Based on the collected opinions, the minister decides whether or not to proceed with the application.
The following are assessed:
The minister appoints a team of experts to compare the qualification’s required learning outcomes to PQF levels.
The team recommends a PQF level for thegiven qualification. The recommendation may also include a revised description of the required learning outcomes, which the applicant agreed to. The minister sendsthe recommendation to the IQS Stakeholders Council.
In the event the Board assesses the recommendation:
The announcement is published in Monitor Polski– the official gazette of the Republic of Poland. The qualification is included in the IQS on the date of this publication.
The minister, specialists and experts shall work in close cooperation with the applicant at each stage of the process.
Each market qualification included in the Integrated Qualifications System (IQS) is entered into the Integrated Qualifications Register (IQR).
The IQR is a public register that collects information on the qualifications awarded in Poland.
The register includes:
Each qualification included in the IQR:
The data collected in the register are publicly accessible on the IQR portal.
1
Once included in the IQS, the qualification has the following status: INCLUDED.
An entity wishing to become an awarding body may apply for the authorisation to validate this qualification.
2
The minister grants the authority to an entity to be an awarding body (AB) and entrusts, by means of a signed agreement, a selected external quality assurance entity (EQAE) with the task of performing the external quality assurance with respect to the AB.
3
Once the agreement between the minister and the relevant EQAE has been signed, the status of the qualification in the IQS changes to ACTIVE. From this moment on, the entity authorised as an awarding body has the right to perform validation and award the qualification.
The minister may authorise other ABs wishing to award the same qualification. Such ABs will become entitled to perform validation only after the minister has appointed EQAEs for them and signed relevant agreements with them to perform the external quality assurance functions for such awarding bodies.
The Integrated Qualifications System is not only about market qualifications.
Qualificationsencompassed in the IQS include:
These qualifications are awarded pursuant to the law, which regulates the functioning of the formal general, vocational and higher education systems – i.e. education in schools and higher education institutions.
All qualifications of this type are included in the IQS.
These include both full as well as partial qualifications.
Awarded pursuant to other laws – outside of schools or higher education institutions. These are an important addition to full qualifications. They are developed as demanded by the market.
Examples include the following: driving licences, diver’s certificate, an inland skipper’s certificate of competence, medical specialities, etc.
These can only bepartial qualifications.
The awarding of market qualifications is not based on commonly applicable law.
These can only be partial qualifications.
Market qualifications may refer to:
Full qualifications
are awarded exclusively by schools and higher education institutions to individuals who have attained certain education levels. Examples include: a matriculation certificate, a BA degree or an MA degree.
Partial qualifications
all other qualifications. These include both qualifications awarded by schools or higher education institutions (e.g. a certificate confirming one’s vocational qualifications) as well as those conferred outside of schools or higher education institutions (e.g. a driving licence).
The scope of the required learning outcomes is narrower compared to full qualifications. In most cases, a partial qualification is awarded in a particular area of activity or line of business.
Partial qualifications may be:
Each market qualification included in the Integrated Qualifications System (IQS) has a PQF level assigned to it – as early as at the stage of including the qualification in the system. Qualifications not included in the IQS do not have a PQF level assigned to them.
A PQF level is assigned to market and regulated qualifications by the minister responsiblefor a given qualification (relevant minister). This is done based on the recommendation issued by a team of experts appointed by the minister, whocompare the learning outcomes required for the qualification in question with PQF level descriptors. The experts proceed according to a specified procedure. They must compare key learning outcomes to those elementsof the PQF level descriptors most closely corresponding to them.The recommendation issued by the team of experts is binding for the minister.
All certificates issued under the IQS have a common visual element: a Polish Qualifications Framework (PQF) trademark.
In addition to the Polish Qualifications Framework (PQF), Sectoral Qualifications Frameworks (SQF) may they further develop the PQF level descriptors in the language and context of a given industry or economic sector.
PQF (POLISH QUALIFICATIONS FRAMEWORK) level – the scope and complexity of required learning outcomes for a qualification at a given level, formulated by general descriptions of the learning outcomes, known as “descriptors”.
(art. 2, pkt 17)
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