This article outlines the qualifications system that applies in Northern Ireland, which shares many features with those in England and Wales. These similarities reflect many years of close working between the three jurisdictions in what was a de-facto single market. However, qualifications policy has diverged to some extent over recent years.

A large number of separate qualifications are available for use in both general and vocational learning outside of higher education. These qualifications are designed to give a reliable indication of an individual’s knowledge, skills or understanding, and are only awarded to those who have demonstrated a specified level of attainment. Qualifications are used to certify the achievements of individual learners in schools, further education colleges and work-based learning. They also form a major component of accountability systems.

The article describes the role of the statutory examinations regulator for Northern Ireland (the Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment, CCEA) and that of awarding organisations and centres. It also provides information on the Regulated Qualifications Framework (RQF), which replaced the National Qualifications Framework (NQF) and the Qualifications and Credit Framework (QCF) in October 2015. The final sections of the article briefly address the alignment of the RQF with the Framework for Higher Education Qualifications (FHEQ) and the European Qualifications Framework (EQF), and the regulation of professional qualifications.

Qualifications regulation

The Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment (CCEA) is the independent regulator of general and vocational qualifications, examinations and assessments in Northern Ireland. It is a non-departmental public body reporting to the Department of Education (DE). Prior to 2016, the regulator in England, Ofqual, had been responsible for the regulation of vocational qualifications in Northern Ireland. CCEA is now the sole qualifications regulator for general and vocational qualifications in Northern Ireland, under amendments made to the Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Act 2009.

As well as its regulatory arm (CCEA Regulation), CCEA also operates as an awarding organisation.

CCEA Regulation aims to ensure that the qualifications market in Northern Ireland is fit for purpose by:

• recognising awarding organisations to offer regulated qualifications by checking that the organisations meet CCEA’s Criteria for Recognition (recognition by the regulator in England, Ofqual, prior to May 2016, is accepted)
• holding recognised awarding organisations to account on an ongoing basis, by monitoring their compliance with CCEA’s General Conditions of Recognition
• in some circumstances, establishing and upholding criteria which specified qualifications must meet
• updating a register - the Register of Regulated Qualifications - of all regulated qualifications which are approved for teaching in Northern Ireland, and reporting publicly on these qualifications and on the organisations that offer them (Ofqual, the qualifications regulator in England, maintains this register)
• considering and monitoring risks to qualifications standards
• researching, gathering evidence and investigating issues and taking enforcement action where appropriate and proportionate.

Awarding organisations

Qualifications are provided by awarding organisations (AOs), which are external to the education or training provider. AOs are private companies, with either commercial or charitable status, funded mainly by examination fees. They develop and deliver qualifications to meet government policy requirements and changing skills requirements, and to respond to market demand. Awarding organisations must gain recognised status from the qualifications regulator CCEA (see the subheading ‘Qualifications regulation’ above) before they can propose qualifications for accreditation.

The principal roles of awarding organisations are:

• designing and developing qualifications
• approving and monitoring centres to offer qualifications to the standards required 
• ensuring assessment is carried out in a way that is fair, valid and reliable, and conforms to the rules and regulations that all awarding organisations and their qualifications must meet
• ensuring equality of access to qualifications
• awarding qualifications to learners who have met the qualification requirements.

The Annual Qualifications Market Report (England, Wales and Northern Ireland) provides statistics on the number of recognised awarding organisations offering qualifications, the qualifications available and the numbers awarded.

The Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ) is a central body for the seven largest awarding organisations in the UK. It provides common regulations setting out the key administrative requirements relating to the conduct of general qualification exams and assessments, and outlines special arrangements for individuals with particular requirements. 

The majority of the 158 awarding organisations across the UK recognised to deliver regulated qualifications provide vocational qualifications.

Following reform of GCSEs and A Levels (see the subheading below), six awarding organisations (known as exam boards) offer general qualifications in Northern Ireland.

The CCEA Awarding Organisation offers GCSEs and A Levels which meet CCEA criteria and general conditions for recognition.

GCSEs and A Levels provided by AQA, Eduqas (WJEC), OCR and Pearson and regulated by Ofqual, the qualifications regulator for England, may also be offered in Northern Ireland, as may A Levels designed by WJEC in Wales, regulated by Qualifications Wales. These do not require further accreditation by CCEA, as long as they are in line with Northern Ireland qualifications policy.

Policy divergence at national level means that the general qualifications offered by different exam boards vary in terms of the way they are graded and whether they are linear or modular. For information about how GCSEs designed by different exam boards vary, see this webpage from the CCEA. For information about how A Levels designed by different exam boards vary, see this webpage from the CCEA.

Centres

Centres, sometimes known as examination centres, conduct the examinations and assessments set by awarding organisations. In most instances, centres are schools and colleges, although they may also be training providers, adult education centres, offender learning units or employers.

Centres choose which awarding organisation(s) to work with and must be recognised by these to deliver their qualifications. They must have sufficient resources, expertise, and organisational and administrative processes to support and assess learners to the standards required. Centres are also responsible for internal quality assurance and must make their systems, processes and practices available for inspection and review by the awarding organisation.

Reform of GCSEs and A Levels

Until September 2015, Northern Ireland, England and Wales shared qualifications frameworks, and the five principal awarding organisations (exam boards) offering general qualifications across all three jurisdictions were: AQA, Pearson, OCR, WJEC and CCEA. Centres in Northern Ireland were free to choose which qualifications to offer from these exam boards.

However, plans in England to reform both the qualifications framework and general qualifications (GCSEs and A Levels) triggered some policy divergence between Northern Ireland, England and Wales.

Reformed GCSEs and A Levels began to be introduced in all three jurisdictions in September 2015. These reformed qualifications are designed to comply with the specific regulatory regime which applies in their target market, as set by the CCEA in Northern Ireland; Ofqual in England; and Qualifications Wales in Wales. 

Regulated Qualifications Framework

The Regulated Qualifications Framework (RQF) is the regulatory qualifications framework for Northern Ireland and England. Qualifications accredited for use in Northern Ireland by the Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment (CCEA) are placed on the Register of Regulated Qualifications, with information on their level and size to indicate their position on the RQF. The Register also includes qualifications regulated by the qualifications regulator in England (Ofqual). The RQF replaced the National Qualifications Framework (NQF) and the Qualifications and Credit Framework (QCF) on 1 October 2015 (see historical note below).

Within the RQF, the level and size of each qualification is determined as follows:

The level of a qualification is based on the generic knowledge and skills a learner will be able to demonstrate once they have achieved that particular qualification. Qualifications may be assigned one of a range of levels, from Entry Level 1 (which is the most basic in terms of the outcomes required) through to Level 8 (the most advanced). The level descriptors associated with each level within the RQF can be found in the Ofqual Handbook: General Conditions of Recognition (Section E - Design and development of qualifications.

The size of a qualification is expressed in hours. This is known as the ‘total qualification time’ (TQT). TQT is the estimated number of hours that learners would typically be expected to take in order to achieve the level of attainment necessary for the award of a particular qualification. TQT includes ‘guided learning hours’ (GLH), which is time spent by a learner being directly taught or instructed by a lecturer, supervisor or tutor, and the number of hours a learner might be likely to spend in preparation or study not undertaken under the immediate supervision of a lecturer or tutor. Should an awarding organisation wish to assign credit to a qualification or units of a qualification, this is calculated by dividing TQT by 10.

Historical note on qualifications frameworks

The first nationwide qualifications framework to be used in the UK, known as the National Vocational Qualifications (NVQ) framework, was introduced in 1987. The NVQ framework classified vocational qualifications outside of higher education according to their occupational sector and level of difficulty (of which there were five). It aimed to make the vocational qualifications system easier to understand and to validate new work-based training programmes for young people. In 2003, the NVQ framework was expanded to nine levels and opened up to cover a wider range of qualifications, including general qualifications. At the same time, it was renamed the National Qualifications Framework (NQF) and used across England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Qualifications and Credit Framework (QCF) was introduced alongside the NQF in 2008. It aimed to recognise smaller units of learning, each of which carried a certain number of credits.

Concerns about the QCF emerged during a consultation in 2015, which highlighted that QCF rules imposed a one-size-fits-all approach to the design of qualifications and that this was not always consistent with the development of high-quality vocational qualifications that met employers’ needs. As a result, the Regulated Qualifications Framework (RQF) was developed, replacing the NQF and QCF in Northern Ireland and England in October 2015. The RQF is similar to the NQF and QCF, in that qualifications are still assigned ‘levels’ according to their difficulty. However, unlike the QCF, the RQF does not require qualifications to be combined of units which are assigned credit. Awarding organisations can now choose whether or not it is necessary to break their qualifications up into units, and whether these units should bear credit.   

Mapping the RQF to other frameworks

The table below outlines how the Regulated Qualifications Framework (RQF), that operates in England and Northern Ireland, relates to the Credit and Qualifications Framework for Wales (CQFW); the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF); and the European Qualifications Framework (EQF), which helps comparison between different qualifications systems in Europe.

Adapted from UK ReferNet (Vocational Education and Training in Europe – United Kingdom, 2016, p. 12).The Frameworks for Higher Education Qualifications of UK Degree-Awarding Bodies (FHEQ) (2014) is a five-level framework for higher education qualifications. The levels, designated 4–8, are comparable to Levels 4–8 of the RQF. The FHEQ is described in further detail in the ‘Introduction’ to the higher education chapter.

Professional qualifications

Qualifying for many higher-level occupations in the UK involves gaining qualified status through professional membership of regulatory bodies. This qualified status normally takes the form of a membership designation or a chartered or accredited title rather than a certificate or diploma. As such, it is outside the scope of the qualifications frameworks described in this article. However, many professions use qualifications within the national frameworks as part of their routes towards qualified status.

Further information is available from the graduate careers website, Prospects.

Article last reviewed December 2020.