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Eurydice

EACEA National Policies Platform:Eurydice
National qualifications framework
Serbia

Serbia

1.Organisation and governance

1.5National qualifications framework

Last update: 30 March 2026

The Law on the National Qualifications Framework of the Republic of Serbia established an integrated qualifications framework for all levels and types of qualifications that can be attained through formal and non-formal education and informal learning.  

The National Qualifications Framework of the Republic of Serbia (NQF) is a statutory system established to organise, describe, and classify all qualifications in the education system, irrespective of how or when they are obtained, and to align them with the European Qualifications Framework (EQF). It defines qualifications as formal recognitions of achieved learning outcomes confirmed by public documents and structures them into levels and sub-levels, from basic education to doctoral studies, with clearly defined descriptors of knowledge, skills, and competences for each level. NQF also encompasses quality assurance principles and supports transparency, comparability, and lifelong learning across sectors of education, training, employment, and society. 
 
The basic principles of the NQF in accordance with the law are: 

  • Lifelong learning 

  • Individuality 

  • Equal opportunities 

  • Availability 

  • Transparency 

  • Relevance 

  • Openness 

  • Partnership and cooperation 

  • Quality assurance 

  • Comparability - with the European Qualifications Framework 

 

As defined by the Law, the objectives of the NQF are: 

  • Ensuring comprehensibility, clarity and transparency of qualifications, as well as their interconnection; 

  • Development of qualifications standards based on the labor market needs and society at large; 

  • Ensuring learning outcome-oriented education; competences are based on learning outcomes and defined by qualification standard; 

  • Improving access, flexibility of paths and mobility within the systems of formal and non-formal education; 

  • Ensuring identification and recognition of non-formal and informal learning; 

  • Increasing importance of key, general and cross-curricular competences for lifelong learning; 

  • Improving cooperation among relevant stakeholders i.e. social partners; 

  • Guaranteeing the quality assurance system in the process of developing and acquiring qualifications; 

  • Ensuring the comparability and recognition of qualifications acquired in the Republic of Serbia with qualifications obtained in other countries. 

 

The National Qualifications Framework as a database of qualifications functions as an instrument for the identification, creation, and classification of qualifications in response to labour market and further learning needs, ensuring that qualifications are comprehensible and credible both on national level and in the wider European context. The database is continuously updated. According to official reporting of Ministry of Education, the unified national list of qualifications compiled under NQF includes more than 4,000 individual qualifications across all levels and types.  

Via its public registers, including the national qualifications register and standard registers maintained by the Qualifications Agency, stakeholders can access detailed information about accepted qualifications and their levels. The framework also incorporates structures for career guidance and counselling, which enables different stakeholders to access relevant information. 

The qualifications are divided into 8 levels and 4 sub-levels: 

-From the first to the fifth level - vocational education and training 

-From the sixth to the eighth level - higher education 

 

 

  • Level 1 is obtained upon completion of basic education, adult basic education, basic music education or basic ballet education. 

  • Level 2 is acquired through vocational training lasting up to one year, work-oriented education lasting up to two years, or non-formal adult education consisting of 120–360 hoursof training, as well as through the recognition of prior learning.  

  • Level 3 is acquired after the completion of three-year secondary vocational education or through non-formal adult education comprising at least 960 hours of training and through the recognition of prior learning.  

  • Level 4 is obtained upon completion of four-year secondary education (vocational, artistic, or general/grammar school).  

  • Level 5 is obtained upon completion of master craft or specialist education lasting two or one year, respectively, following the prior attainment of Level 3 or Level 4. Within non-formal adult education, it is acquired by completing a training programme lasting at least 6 months, following the prior attainment of Level 4 and through the recognition of prior learning. A minimum of two years of work experience is required for obtaining this level.  

  • Level 6, sub-level 1 is acquired upon completion of undergraduate academic studies comprising at least 180 ECTS credits or comprising 180 ECTS credits.  

  • Level 6, sub-level 2 is acquired upon completion of undergraduate academic studies comprising at least 240 ECTS credits or specialist applied studies comprising at least 60 ECTS credits.  

  • Level 7, sub-level 1 is obtained upon completion of integrated academic studies comprising 300–360 ECTS credits; master academic studies comprising at least 60 ECTS credits, following previously completed undergraduate academic studies comprising 240 ECTS credits; master academic studies comprising at least 120 ECTS credits, following previously completed undergraduate academic studies comprising 180 ECTS credits; or master applied studies comprising at least 120 ECTS credits, following previously completed undergraduate academic studies  comprising 180 ECTS credits. 

  • Level 7, sub-level 2 is acquired upon completion of specialist academic studies comprising at least 60 ECTS credits, following previously completed master academic studies. 

  • Level 8 is obtained upon completion of doctoral studies comprising 180 ECTS credits, following previously completed integrated academic studies or master academic studies. 

 

A key reform introduced by the National Qualifications Framework is the mechanism for the inclusion of qualifications into the national framework. Unlike previous decades, when qualifications were adopted primarily at the initiative of the education sector with the aim of diversifying and enhancing the attractiveness of educational provision, the new approach opens the process to all stakeholders who recognize the importance of introducing new qualifications and ensuring the relevance of the programmes leading to them. Accordingly, proposals for new qualifications may now be submitted by representatives of employers, civil society, trade unions, and other stakeholders seeking to improve the quality of education. 

The new mechanism further requires that each qualification be based on a standard, a nationally established document containing a detailed description of the learning outcomes that must be achieved in order to obtain the qualification. The introduction of qualification standards has also enabled an additional pathway for acquiring qualifications, which is the recognition of prior learning. This allows knowledge and skills gained exclusively through work or life experience to be identified and assessed, and, through the formal recognition procedure, to result in a public certificate that holds equal value on the labour market as a qualification obtained through formal education. 

In the context of qualifications framework in Serbia, there are several relevant national bodies responsible for some aspects of NQF. 

Following the adoption of the Law, the National Qualifications Framework Council has been established as an advisory body that provides recommendations on the process of human resource planning and development in accordance with public policies in the field of lifelong learning, employment, career guidance and counseling.  

The Agency for Qualifications has been established as the body responsible for carrying out quality assurance and providing expert support to the Council and other relevant organizations in all aspects of the development and implementation of the NQF, as well as the establishment of Sectoral Councils.  

The Agency is also responsible for reviewing initiatives for the introduction of new qualifications and the improvement of existing ones, proposing amendments to qualification standards in line with developments in education and employment regulations, preparing qualification standards and maintaining the Register and sub-registers. Furthermore, the Agency performs recognition of foreign educational documents, including professional recognition of foreign higher education qualifications for employment purposes and the initial evaluation of foreign study programmes, maintains records on professional recognition procedures, monitors career guidance and counselling services and process of the alignment of the NQF with the EQF and QF-EHEA, prepares development projects and analyses to enhance the qualifications system. 

Sectoral councils are relevant professional and advisory bodies founded on the principle of social partnership on the proposal of the National Qualifications Framework Council.