Progression
Levels of Progression on frameworks
To be a genuine award, a course must be externally accredited by a validated independent educational body. The main Awarding Bodies in the Republic Of Ireland for private colleges are HETAC, Higher Education Training Awards Council and FETAC, Further Education Training & Awards Council.
There are a number of UK awarding bodies which also offer genuine awards and they include NEBOSH, CIPS, CTH, and ICM. These awards are recognised by Ofqual the Office of the Qualifications and Examinations Regulator (UK) or SQA Scottish Qualifications Authority. Once approved by Ofqual or SQA the awards are comparable to the levels on the National Framework of Qualifications in Republic of Ireland.
The National Framework of Qualifications in Republic of Ireland has a list of Reports which includes a table of information on the qualifications of each awarding body in the UK that have been aligned with the Irish NFQ. These tables contain the following details:
- The name of the qualification
- The qualification reference number associated with the qualification (where applicable) – this can be used to locate more information about the qualification e.g on the UK Register of Regulated Qualifications
- The type of qualification: there are a number of different types of qualification in the education and training system in the UK, such as Vocationally Related Qualifications (VRQs) and Higher
- Level Qualifications (HLQs). Definitions of types of qualification are included in each report
- The number of guided learning hours/credit that are associated with the qualification. A definition of guided learning hours/credit is included in each report
- The level of the qualification in the framework of the home country e.g. Qualifications and Credit Framework of England, Wales and Northern Ireland (QCF) or the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF)
For more detail of these reports - Click here.
What level is the course I’m doing?
Each course offered is at a certain level on the framework. Always add 2 to UK levels to get the comparison level in Ireland. For example if you complete a Graduate Diploma in Management from ICM, that is equivalent to a UK level 6 or Ireland Level 8 Award. For further information log on to www.qualificationsrecognition.ie.
The document, Qualifications can cross boundaries - a rough guide is an excellent guide to comparing qualifications in the UK and Ireland. This was published by each of the Quality Regulatory Bodies representing England, Republic of Ireland, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales. Awards issued in England or Scotland and offered by CMI are compared to the Irish National Framework of Qualifications in this document. In addition there is a recently launched European-wide website comparison, which supports this comparison of different national education systems.
CMI bases its comparisons on this important Qualifications guide. Here is a table below taken from the guide to make it easier for you to compare levels across borders.
Download Guide
| | NFQ (Republic of Irel) | Of Qual (England) | SQA (Scotland) |
| Masters/ Post Grad Dip | 9 | 7 | 11 |
| Higher Dip/Hons degree | 8 or 7 | 6 | 10 |
| Ord Degree | 7 or 6 | 5 | 9 |
| Higher Cert | 6 | 4 | 8 & 7 |
| Cert Award | 5 | 3 | 6 |
If you complete a course at CMI where the award comes from the UK, and need it verified as to the level, contact the National Qualifications Authority of Ireland. After examining the course, they will issue you with a letter confirming the level the UK award compares to in Republic of Ireland.
E-mail: info@nqai.ie
EXAMPLES:
