These two countries are taking different paths to qualifications frameworks (with Russia making an early start), but they both share a similar challenge: to increase the quality and relevance of their VET systems.

Russia

Introduction

At the start of the NQF project in Russia in January 2005, the mere idea of an NQF was completely novel for both the education and employment communities, as was the concept of learning outcomes. Hence, at first it seemed that the prospective exercise was not a major undertaking, and that it merely involved assigning qualifications to existing levels within the education system. However, with the acquisition of new knowledge and exposure to international experience, there gradually emerged an awareness and understanding that huge changes would be necessary in order to make possible the development of an NQF.

The project started in a situation characterised by:

• a lack of effective links between the labour market and the education system;

• a lack of occupational standards;

• outdated occupational classifications;

• a gap between the classification of occupations in the labour market and their classification in the training sphere;

• uneven economic growth of sectors and regions;

• passive employers who were largely dissatisfied with VET graduates;

• a complacent VET system;

• a lack of flexibility in delivery systems;

• input-based VET standards;

• weak links between occupational qualifications and academic qualifications.