The Council of Ministers, by its Decision No. 67.445, dated 9/07/2008, approved a proposal for the appointment of a National Committee with the mission of developing a National Qualifications Framework (NQF) for Cyprus. The Committee has been set up and has taken over the task of developing an NQF in line with the QF for the EHEA and the EQF for LLL. The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Education and Culture presides over the Committee and the Directorate for VET at the Ministry is responsible for initiating and coordinating NQF developments. A first NQF draft, with detailed timetable for implementation, was presented in April 2010 and consultation with various stakeholders took place in spring 2011. First referencing report was presented to the EQF advisory group in June 2014.

A comprehensive national qualifications framework (NQF) has been developed, which includes all levels and types of qualifications from all subsystems of education and training, from primary to higher education. The NQF is also open to qualifications awarded outside the formal educational system. In this respect the System of Vocational Qualifications (SVQ), being developed by the Human Resource Development Authority of Cyprus (HRDA), is an integral, though distinct part of the NQF. Referencing of the Cyprus NQF to the European Qualifications Framework (EQF) for LLL is in progress; responsibility lies with the Ministry of Education and Culture, where the contact point has been established.  

National Qualifications Framework of Cyprus
The Council of Ministers approved in 2012 the establishment of the CyQF and the adoption of the 8 levels of the European Qualifications Framework. The National Committee for the Development and Establishment of a National Qualifications Framework in Cyprus, which consists of the Permanet Secretary of the Ministry of Education, Sport and Youth (President of the Committee), the Permanet Secretary of the Ministry of Labour and Social Insurance and the General Director of the Human Resource Development Authority or their representatives.

The CyQF includes the development and implementation of the procedures that relates to the Quality Assurance and the award of Qualifications. It is also the «tool» for the categorization of the qualifications according to skills, knowledge and competencies.

It operates as a reference framework, enabling the validation and comparability of qualifications and hence the mobility of workers and learners. It is an attempt to encompass the diversity of lifelong learning, formal, non-formal and informal learning.

European Qualifications Framework
The European Qualifications Framework (EQF) is an overarching framework which enables European countries to compare their qualifications systems to one another. By doing so, it aims to support mobility of learners and workers across Europe.

The EQF is made up of 8 levels, and acts as a translation device to assist learners and providers across Europe understand how qualifications within the different education systems in the member States relate to each other. It applies to all types of qualifications, from those achieved at school, to academic, professional or vocational qualifications awarded at the highest levels.

One of the key aims of the EQF is to contribute to a mobile and flexible European workforce.

The Committee aims to:
a. establish and maintain a qualifications framework for the development, accreditation and award of professional and vocational qualifications, other than degrees, based on standards of knowledge, skills, competences and attitudes to be acquired by learners.
b. promote and facilitate life-long learning access, transfer and progression.
c. foster the recognition abroad of professional and vocational certificates awarded in Cyprus.
Τhe benefits are:

• The Framework helps one better understand the courses and programs that lead to qualifications.
• It helps one plan his/her learning and develop 'progression routes' to follow; and

• It allows one to make the most of the opportunities to transfer credit points between qualifications thus avoiding repetition of learning

  The Framework also provides an extremely important way of recognizing different types of learning in a wide range of settings - for example, learning in the workplace or in the community.