What exactly is the European Qualifications Framework

The EQF was established in 2008 by the European Parliament and the Council, then revised in 2017 to reflect current realities. It serves as a common reference framework that enables qualifications from different European countries to be compared transparently. Unlike other systems, it does not replace national frameworks: it connects them.

Each EU Member State develops its own National Qualifications Framework (NQF) and references it to the EQF. In this way, a qualification obtained in Spain can be understood in Germany, and vice versa. The mechanism that makes this comparison possible is learning outcomes: what a person knows, understands and is able to do, regardless of where or how they learned it.

This approach represents a fundamental shift. Traditionally, qualifications were measured by inputs: duration of study, type of institution, contact hours. By contrast, the EQF measures by outputs: which competencies the person has actually acquired. Consequently, two graduates with very different learning paths can occupy the same EQF level if they demonstrate equivalent learning outcomes.

Official source: European Qualifications Framework — Europass

The 8 EQF levels explained

Each EQF level is defined across three dimensions: knowledge (theoretical or factual), skills (cognitive and practical) and responsibility and autonomy. As one progresses from level 1 to level 8, the expectations across all three areas increase accordingly.

EQF Level	Typical educational equivalent	Knowledge	Autonomy
1	Primary education	Basic general knowledge	Work under direct supervision
2	Lower secondary education	Basic factual knowledge in a field	Work under supervision with some autonomy
3	Upper secondary / basic VET	Knowledge of facts, principles and processes	Responsibility for completing tasks
4	A-levels / intermediate VET	Broad factual and theoretical knowledge	Self-management within established guidelines
5	Higher VET / short-cycle post-secondary	Comprehensive, specialised knowledge	Management and supervision in unpredictable contexts
6	Bachelor’s degree	Advanced knowledge with critical understanding	Management of complex activities with responsibility
7	Master’s degree	Highly specialised knowledge	Management of complex, unpredictable processes
8	Doctorate	Knowledge at the frontier of a field	Authority, innovation and commitment to advancing knowledge

What is particularly relevant is that the EQF does not cover only formal education. It also encompasses vocational training, non-formal and informal learning. In other words, a certification obtained outside the university system can perfectly correspond to EQF level 5 or 6 if the learning outcomes justify it.

Official source: Description of the Eight EQF Levels — Europass

Why the EQF matters to educational institutions

For universities and training centres, the European Qualifications Framework has three direct implications:

First — Graduate mobility. When a graduate from your institution presents their qualification in another European country, the EQF level acts as a bridge. Without that reference, the foreign employer must interpret an education system they probably do not understand. With the EQF, comparison is immediate. For instance, a Spanish Grado and a German Bachelor both sit at level 6, which facilitates mutual recognition without complex administrative procedures.

Second — Accreditation processes. European accreditation bodies — such as QAA in the United Kingdom, ANECA in Spain, HCERES in France, ANVUR in Italy, AQAS/ACQUIN in Germany, A3ES in Portugal or AQU in Catalonia — use the EQF as a reference point when evaluating whether programmes produce the expected learning outcomes for each level. As a result, a university that maps its programmes to the EQF has a direct argument in quality audits.

Third — Transversal competencies. The EQF does not only assess knowledge and technical skills. It also considers responsibility and autonomy — dimensions that connect directly with transversal competencies: leadership, decision-making, communication, critical thinking. This is where the EQF intersects with the ESCO taxonomy and with soft skills certification.

How EQF, ESCO and Europass connect

These three systems form an integrated ecosystem, although each fulfils a different function:

The EQF establishes the levels of difficulty and depth for each qualification — it is the measuring scale.

ESCO classifies and describes the competencies, skills and occupations within those levels — it is the dictionary that defines what is expected at each level.

Europass is the platform where digital credentials certifying those competencies are issued, stored and verified — it is the talent passport.

When these three elements converge in a single certification, the result is a credential that the employer can place at a level (EQF), whose content can be verified against official descriptors (ESCO) and whose authenticity can be confirmed in real time (Europass). EASEC is currently the only European body that issues transversal competency certifications integrating all three frameworks simultaneously.

Founded in 2010 in the United Kingdom and with operational headquarters in Valencia since 2025, EASEC certifies 32 transversal competencies organised across five domains — Intellectual, Technical, Work-related, Interpersonal and Linguistic — with psychometric assessments achieving 98% reliability, ISO 9001 and ISO 27001 certification, and dual-format issuance: European Digital Credential (Europass EDC) sealed with eIDAS and Open Badges 3.0 for LinkedIn.

What happens when an employer receives a credential with an EQF level

Consider a concrete scenario. A company in Munich receives an application from a professional trained at the University of Salamanca. The degree indicates a Grado — EQF level 6. At that point, the employer can compare the academic qualification. Nevertheless, they cannot assess whether the candidate possesses analytical thinking, leadership or teamwork capability, because those competencies do not appear on the degree certificate.

Now, if that same candidate also presents an EASEC certification accrediting their transversal competencies, the employer gains complementary, verifiable information. They can confirm authenticity in under 30 seconds via cert.easec.eu/certificates/verify, see which competencies were assessed and at what level, and cross-reference those results against ESCO descriptors.

This is the added value of the EQF applied to transversal competencies: not merely knowing someone’s academic level, but demonstrating what they can actually do in a professional environment.

Institutions already applying this approach

Formación Universitaria — with over 300,000 students trained — signed an agreement with EASEC to certify students’ soft skills. The news was covered by Cantabria Económica and Mundo Corporativo. Similarly, the EASEC and Perzon.ai partnership — reported by El Debate and Gaceta del Turismo — integrates competency certifications into talent platforms used by LinkedIn Mexico and Randstad.

As Andrea Gray, Institutional Development Officer at EASEC, noted in an interview with Cantabria Económica: “Universities and training centres need to transform their programmes into internationally measurable and recognisable experiences.”

Additionally, universities such as Universität Stuttgart and Midlands Business Academy already use EASEC to convert certification data into evidence for accreditation processes before bodies such as QAA or ENQA.

How to incorporate the EQF into your institutional strategy

If your institution has not yet mapped its programmes to the EQF, these are the recommended steps:

Step 1 — Document the equivalence. Review the learning outcomes of each programme and determine which EQF level they correspond to. The Tuning methodology — developed across 135 universities in 27 countries — provides the foundation for documenting this relationship rigorously.

Step 2 — Include transversal competencies. The EQF measures knowledge, skills and autonomy. Transversal competencies (leadership, communication, critical thinking) fit directly within the “skills” and “responsibility and autonomy” dimensions. Therefore, certifying them with an EQF-aligned instrument strengthens your institution’s position in quality audits.

Step 3 — Issue verifiable credentials. Once competencies are mapped and assessed, the next step is to issue them as digital credentials. EASEC’s assessments are available in 7 languages, fully online and generate a dual credential (Europass EDC + Open Badges 3.0) that connects directly with the EQF and ESCO.

Discover how EASEC aligns its certifications with the EQF →

In summary

The European Qualifications Framework EQF is not an abstract concept. It is the infrastructure that enables a degree, diploma or certification to be understood in any European country. Its 8 levels based on learning outcomes transform education from an input-based system (duration, hours, type of institution) into an output-based system (what the person can actually do).

For educational institutions, understanding and applying the EQF is a competitive advantage. For employers, it is a reliable comparison tool. And for professionals, it is the guarantee that their qualifications speak a language the whole of Europe understands.

The degree says what you studied. The EQF level says what you can do. And the verifiable credential proves it.