Recognising all learning: the expanding role of national qualifications frameworks

In line with the Commission’s broader efforts under the European Skills Agenda, expanding NQFs to include learning beyond formal education is a critical step toward making all learning visible, valued and portable. This expansion:

• Improves transparency, making diverse qualifications more understandable and comparable
• Enables mobility of learners and workers across sectors, borders, and learning pathways
• Supports lifelong learning, including reskilling and upskilling throughout people’s careers
• Advances EU policy priorities, frameworks such as the Union of Skills, the European Pillar of Social Rights and the Union of Equality
• Deepens the connection between education and labour markets, offering stronger alignment with labour market needs and real-world experience

Peer learning in action: a pan-European conversation

These developments took centre stage at a Peer Learning Activity held in Warsaw on 8–9 April 2025, organised by the European Commission in cooperation with Cedefop and hosted by Poland as part of its contribution to the EU Presidency. The event brought together policymakers and experts from across EQF (European Qualifications Framework) countries to explore how best to integrate non-formal and informal qualifications into national qualifications framework.

Notably, inclusion in an NQF is increasingly seen by both labour market actors and NQF/EQF users as a signal of quality and reliability. Discussions also underscored the following benefits:

• For employers: improved clarity and trust in qualifications used in recruitment
• For education and training providers: increased visibility, access to public funding, and stronger alignment with labour market needs
• For learners: smoother transitions, wider recognition, and more trusted, flexible learning pathways
• For systems: a stronger foundation for social dialogue and policy coherence across sectors

While momentum is building, several persistent challenges continue to slow wider implementation, including:

• Low awareness among employers and learners of what NQFs offer
• Insufficient communication strategies to showcase the value of inclusion
• Administrative burden and rigid approval processes for providers
• The challenge of balancing robust quality assurance with the flexibility needed to attract diverse learning actors

Still, progress is tangible. According to recent (yet unpublished) data from Cedefop, 10 Member States have made significant strides since 2022, with many introducing new procedures and, in some cases, including non-formal qualifications for the first time.

Looking Ahead: Frameworks Fit for the Future

As Europe’s demographic pressures mount and industries transform at speed, the capacity to recognise skills acquired outside classrooms will be crucial for maintaining competitiveness, inclusion, and social cohesion.

Opening up NQFs isn’t a marginal technical adjustment—it is a strategic policy lever. One that supports lifelong learning, fuels cross-border mobility, and helps match the right talent with the right opportunities.

Cedefop, the Commission, and Member States will continue to strengthen efforts on this area because success in the future labour market won’t depend only on skills, but also on their visibility, relevance and recognition.