Confused by all the qualifications?

Sometimes it's difficult to understand what level certain qualifications are, how long they take to complete, what the content is, and how they relate to one another. The qualifications and credit framework presents the qualifications in a way that's easy to understand. Have a look at the framework on the Qualications and Curriculum Development Agency's website.

Credit and level

Each unit and qualification in the framework will have a credit value. One credit is worth 10 hours, showing how much time it takes to complete. There is also a level between entry level and level 8, showing how difficult it is.

There are three sizes of qualifications in the framework:

• Awards (1 to 12 credits)


• Certificates (13 to 36 credits)


• Diplomas (37 credits or more)

So in the framework you can have an award at level 1 or an award at level 8. This is because the qualification type (award, certificate, diploma) represents the size of a qualification, not how difficult it is.

Each qualification title contains:

• the level of the qualification (from entry level to level 8)


• the size of the qualification (award/certificate/diploma)


• details about the content of the qualification

This will mean that just by looking at the title of the qualification, you'll be able to see how difficult it is, how long it will take the average learner to complete, and its general content.