Before going into the concrete steps of ECVET implementation (Before – During – After) it is important to also consider more broadly the bodies and organisations involved in the process.
The attached Checklist for ECVET Mobility Partnerships provides a basic overview of the issues you and your partner organisation must work through when establishing an ECVET-partnership. More...

For those considering the application of ECVET principles, tools or practices to a new or existing mobility programme, there is a simple way of dividing tasks and activities, dividing these across three unique stages that cover planning and preparation (Before Mobility), delivery and implementation (During Mobility) and evaluation and follow-up (After Mobility). More...

At the planning stage, it is important to know which elements of ECVET you can implement independently, and which elements might require the participation of other actors and institutions.
In some countries, the process of implementing ECVET in Geographical Mobility might require relatively few changes to that which already exists, with mechanisms already in place for the recognition of mobility-related learning outcomes. In other countries, this can be a complex process that requires the participation of many different actors and institutions. More...

In the ECVET Recommendation, Member States are invited to “create the necessary conditions and adopt measures” so that “in accordance with national legislation and practice” and “on the basis of trials and testing”, it is possible for ECVET to be “gradually applied to VET qualifications at all levels” and to be used for the “transfer, recognition and accumulation of individuals′ learning outcomes”
More recently, Cedefop confirmed fifteen conditions able to influence the implementation of ECVET (Necessary Conditions for ECVET Implementation, Cedefop, 2012) which, set out over five distinct categories, confirm the importance of improved legislative support and enhanced dialogue and communications for the successful implementation of ECVET. More...

Prior to embarking upon the implementation of ECVET, it is important to consider the benefits for your company or institution and the added-value that ECVET might bring to existing programmes and practices.
Systems Level Benefits
From a systems perspective, the use of learning outcomes - a key component of ECVET and many other European tools and instruments - provides greater flexibility in education and training, allowing learners to accumulate learning outcomes with a view to achieving a qualification or part-qualification. Learning outcomes also support increased transparency between countries, systems and qualifications and build on the successes of the European Qualifications Framework - a common European Framework that facilitates the translation of different national qualifications frameworks and their constituent parts. More...

In this section of the Toolkit, we reflect on added-value with a view to aiding your own decisions and to convincing others of the benefits of ECVET.
We additionally consider pre-conditions for the successful implementation of ECVET, at national and institutional levels, alongside the range of actors involved in implementing ECVET in geographical mobility. For the latter, the goal is to describe those actions that you might undertake independently, alongside those that might require the involvement of others. More...

In this core section of the Toolkit, we initially look at how to prepare for ECVET, confirming the added-value of ECVET and how to work with different national and international partnership models, in the sections Preparing ECVET and Partnership Building.
Beyond this, we work systematically through the most important steps associated with the planning, delivery and follow-up of ECVET in Geographical Mobility, in sections entitled Before Mobility, During Mobility and After Mobility.
Finally, Quality Assurance is considered, providing an insight into the main quality concepts in ECVET, and relating these to the four steps of the EQAVET quality cycle. More...

At European level, activity is led by the European Commission and its Directorate-General for Education and Culture, albeit with a requirement for regular reporting to the Directors General for Vocational Training (ACVT-DGVT), an informal body that meets once every six months, bringing together Ministers responsible for education, training and employment, from EU and accession countries, alongside a small number of VET stakeholders (such as Cedefop) and social partner representatives. More...

The European Qualifications Framework, or EQF, is one of a series of instruments developed to support European cooperation in education and training (other instruments include EQAVET, ECTS, NARIC and Europass).
Developed and tested over many years, the EQF was officially launched in April 2008 following a Recommendation of the European Parliament and of the Council. More...

What are Learning Outcomes?
Learning outcomes are defined in the official Recommendation of the European Parliament and of the Council for EQF (annex I), and in a similar ECVET Recommendation (annex I), as “statements of what a learner knows, understands and is able to do on comple­tion of a learning process, and which are defined in terms of knowledge, skills and competence”. Learning outcomes are usually developed as a part of the process of designing and building qualifications, and can be achieved, by individual learners, through various different learning pathways, modes of delivery and learning contexts (formal, non-formal and informal). More...