Copenhagen Process
The Copenhagen Process is a labour market-oriented strategy that pursues the following objectives:
- improve the quality and appeal of vocational and professional education and training;
- position vocational and professional education and training (VPET) within the European Area;
- strengthen international cooperation;
- foster mobility within and beyond national borders.
These objectives are attained through the comparability, permeability and transparency of competences and qualifications.
States are free to implement the Copenhagen Process or not. Various tools have been developed for this purpose. These include in particular the European Qualifications Framework (EQF), national qualifications frameworks (NQFs), Europass and the European Credit System for Vocational Education and Training (ECVET). The latter was developed for vocational education and training (VET) and is modelled after the European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS) used for university courses. The EQF and NQFs are considered to be two key tools.
The EQF and NQFs are intended to facilitate the translation and comparability of competences and qualifications between countries. Thus when an employer reviews the application of a person who has a foreign qualification, the EQF?/?NQF makes it easier to determine what this person is capable of doing. These tools also help an employee make their qualifications easier to understand by an employer.
