Vienna, October 2005 Towards a National Qualifications Framework Practices and projects from TVET and HE ROMANIA Lucian Ciolan Sorin Zaharia MoER APART

Vienna, October 2005 Qualification levels in Romania Five reference levels at the moment Levels 1,2,3 and 3+ developed in TVET; levels 4 and 5 developed in HE Qualifications are described in terms of learning outcomes Introduction of key competences in description of qualifications Certification based on competencies

Vienna, October 2005 TVET - Vocational qualification Occupational analysis Vocational training standards Represents a structure of units of competency Unit of competency – Module – Credit One unit of competency corresponds to a module in curriculum; a module is valued at the level of one credit point (60 hours).

Vienna, October 2005 OCCUPATIONAL ANALYSIS VOCATIONAL TRAINING STANDARD COMPETENCY UNIT 1 COMPETENCY UNIT 2 COMPETENCY UNIT 3 COMPETENCY 1 …… MODULE (1 credit, 60 hrs) OCCUPATIONAL STANDARDS

Vienna, October 2005 Vocational training standards Qualifications are validated / accredited by social partners in the frame of the Sectoral Committees (NTB / National Qualifications Authority) Qualification is described by VTS: Unit(s) of competence Competencies Performance criteria Applicability conditions Evaluation instruments

Vienna, October 2005 CONSEQUENCES EUROPASS: European CV European Linguistic Portfolio MobiliPass (mobility certificate) Certificate Supplement (descriptive supplement of the qualification certificate) Diploma Supplement

Vienna, October 2005 APART is a public institution with legal personality, within the Ministry of Education and Research. APART Agency has three subsidiaries in Cluj-Napoca, Galati, Timisoara and will soon open a fourth one, in Iasi. The main objective of APART : Opening of higher education institutions towards the economic and social environment, by promoting knowledge transfer, integration of Romanian universities into the European Area of education and scientific research,

Vienna, October 2005 EQF consultation – APARTs role National consultation process regarding the opportunity for a EQF during the period July - December Until now: a number of meetings putting together representatives from different universities which belong to the same subject area (engineering chemistry, economics, mechanics) in order to establish a common curricula.

Vienna, October 2005 EQF consultation – APARTs role APART is trying to established a large partnership made by: -universities, both state and private; -National Agency for Employment and its local branches; -professional associations; -employers associations; -trade unions; -other social actors. In order to activate the network and to enlarge the consultation process, APART developed a database. In Romania, APART will conduct the consultation at the university level by collecting the answers to the common questionnaire, as well as by submitting to the National Rectors Council a draft synthesis paper.

Vienna, October 2005 Coordination of a Phare Project Development of Qualifications Framework in Higher Education (PPF) The specific objective of this project: to provide the technical assistance needed in order to propose to the MoER the methodology for developing a qualifications framework for higher education and to submit recommendations on institutional arrangements in order to implement NQF. Regional and national workshops will be organized in order to discuss the methodology and to correlate the university curricula with the labor market demands.

Vienna, October 2005 Problems to be solved… Number and definition of reference levels Set up of sectoral committees Weak definition of qualifications at HE level Correspondence in qualifications system for lower secondary education and general high schools Participation of professional associations and trade unions