This article outlines the qualifications system that applies in Wales, which shares many features with those in England and Northern Ireland. 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. They 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 regulator of non-degree qualifications and the regulated qualifications system in Wales (Qualifications Wales), and that of awarding organisation and centres. It also provides information on the Credit and Qualifications Framework for Wales (CQFW). The final sections of this article briefly address the alignment of the CQFW with the Framework for Higher Education Qualifications (FHEQ) and the European Qualifications Framework (EQF), and the regulation of professional qualifications.

Qualifications regulation

Qualifications Wales is the independent regulator of non-degree qualifications and the regulated qualifications system in Wales. It was established under the Qualifications Wales Act 2015. Qualifications Wales ensures that the qualifications market in Wales is fit for purpose by:

• recognising awarding organisations to offer either 'approved' or 'designated' qualifications (see below), and checking that the organisations meet Qualifications Wales’ Criteria for Recognition
• holding awarding organisations to account on an ongoing basis, by requiring them to have in place appropriate systems, processes and resources as explained in Qualifications Wales’ Recognition Policy
• in some circumstances, establishing and upholding criteria that specified qualifications must meet
• maintaining a register of all regulated qualifications - Qualifications in Wales (QiW) - which are either 'approved' or 'designated' for teaching in Wales, and reporting publicly on these qualifications and on the organisations that offer them
• considering and monitoring risks to qualifications standards
• researching, gathering evidence and investigating issues and taking enforcement action where appropriate and proportionate.

The Qualifications Wales Act 2015 only permits centres to offer learners general qualifications which are either 'approved' or 'designated' by Qualifications Wales. Approved qualifications are developed by the WJEC exam board and have met approval criteria that ensure they are designed to meet the needs of learners in Wales. Designated qualifications are developed by the AQA, Eduqas (WJEC), OCR and Pearson exam boards and regulated by Ofqual, the regulator for England. All approved and designated qualifications offered to learners in Wales are available on the Qualifications in Wales (QiW) register.

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, Qualifications Wales (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 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 which deliver regulated qualifications provide vocational qualifications.

Following reform of GCSEs and A Levels (see the subheading below), five awarding organisations (known as exam boards) offer general qualifications, which have either been approved or designated by Qualifications Wales:

• WJEC offers general qualifications that have been 'approved' by Qualifications Wales as meeting the needs of learners and employers in Wales.
• AQA, Eduqas (WJEC), OCR and Pearson offer centres in Wales general qualifications regulated by Ofqual, the qualifications regulator for England, for subjects where there is no Wales-specific qualification available. These are known as ‘designated’ qualifications. See the Qualifications Wales website for more information.

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 more information, see the Qualifications Wales' webpages on GCSEs and A Levels.

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

However, qualifications policy has since diverged. In England both the qualifications framework and general qualifications (GCSEs and A Levels) have been reformed. Alongside this, a 2012 Welsh Government review of the qualifications system for 14- to 19-year-olds concluded that a single system was no longer appropriate.

In September 2015, Qualifications Wales became operational as the new independent regulator of non-degree qualifications and the regulated qualifications system in Wales.

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

Credit and Qualifications Framework for Wales (CQFW)

The Credit and Qualifications Framework for Wales (CQFW) is a national qualifications umbrella framework, supporting the recognition of qualifications across all levels of the education system in Wales. The CQFW is jointly managed by the Welsh Government, the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales (HEFCW) and Qualifications Wales. 

The CQFW comprises three pillars which relate to different strands of the education system:

• the regulated qualifications pillar covers general and vocational qualifications up to (but not including) higher education
• the higher education pillar covers academic and vocational qualifications offered through Wales' eight universities and a number of further education colleges
• the Quality Assured Lifelong Learning Pillar (QALL) acknowledges and accredits learning provision outside of the regulated qualifications and higher education pillars.

All qualifications within the CQFW are developed in accordance with eight high level principles, as outlined in this brochure about the framework from the Welsh Government. These include requirements for qualifications to be assigned a level, learning time and credit as follows:

• The level of a qualification is based on its relative demand, complexity and the depth of learning it requires. Levels run from from Entry Level (which is the most basic in terms of the outcomes required) through to Level 8 (the most advanced). The level descriptors on the CQFW embrace the level descriptors used within other UK qualification frameworks.
• Learning time is defined as the average time taken by learners to complete the learning outcomes of a particular qualification at a particular level. For qualifications on the regulated qualifications pillar, learning time is usually expressed as 'guided learning hours' (GLH), which are the expected number of hours it would take learners to certificate in a qualification, and 'total qualification time' (TQT), which includes GLH and is an estimate of the amount of time a learner will spend in preparation or study for a qualification.
• Credit is awarded to learners based on learning time at a specified level: One credit is awarded for every 10 hours of learning time.

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 NQF and QCF were withdrawn on 1 October 2015 and the Credit and Qualifications Framework for Wales (CQFW), which had been launched by the Welsh Government in 2003, was brought into full use. At the same time, the Qualifications Wales Act 2015 established Qualifications Wales as the independent regulator of non-degree qualifications and the regulated qualifications system in Wales.

Mapping the CQFW to other frameworks

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

Adapted from UK ReferNet (Vocational Education and Training in Europe – United Kingdom, 2018, p. 14/15).

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 CQFW. 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.