Detailed roadmap for the eqf referencing of the nqf in fyrom

4.3. Legislation

The Parliament of the Republic of Macedonia adopted the Law on the National Qualifications Framework in October 2013 (Official Gazette of the Republic of Macedonia No. 137/2013). In the general part, the Law defines the subject, provides definitions and gives the principles & goals of MQF. In the second part the Law describes the Macedonian Qualifications Framework: the standards of qualifications, the structure of the MQF, the volume of the qualifications, the levels and sub-levels of qualifications, the number of credits acquired, the types of qualifications, the acquiring of qualifications, the development of qualifications and the sectoral qualifications. The third part of the Law describes the governance of MQF: the National Board for MQF, the competent bodies and authorities for the coordination and development of MQF, the Sectoral Qualifications Councils, and defines their competences. The fourth part describes the Register of MQF and quality assurance in MQF: Register of MQF, input of the qualifications in the Register and maintenance of the Register, quality assurance in MQF and the procedures for quality assurance and improving the quality of qualifications. The fifth part defines the equivalence of the existing qualifications with the MQF and the time-table for establishing the bodies defined with the Law, as well as the Law enforcement.

4.4. Governance

According to the NQF Law the development, adoption, approval and classification of the qualifications are under the responsibility of: the National Board for MQF, Ministry of Education and Science, Ministry of Labour and Social Policy, Bureau for Development of Education, VET Centre, Centre for Adult Education, and Sectoral Qualifications Councils.
The coordination of the development and implementation of MQF is under the responsibility of the Ministry of Education and Science and the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy.
Ministry of Education and Science:

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  provides recommendations for the development of qualifications standards
  
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  leads the referencing of the Macedonian Qualifications Framework to the EQF and the self-certification to the QF-EHEA
  
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  follows the implementation and development of the NQFs in other countries and
  
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  communicates to the stakeholders and to the wider public topics related to the Macedonian Qualifications Framework.
  

The Ministry of Education and Science is the National Contact Point for MQF.

The Ministry of Labour and Social Policy:

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  establishes and develops an information system on the labour market needs and forecasting
  
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  proposes development of standards of qualifications and standards of occupations according to the needs of the labour market
  
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  adopts standards of occupations
  
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  participates in the preparation of strategic documents and analyses relevant for the development of the Macedonian Qualifications Framework and
  
• 
  monitors the employment of persons with acquired qualifications.
  

Competent institutions for development of qualifications are:

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  The VET Centre¹², Centre for Adult Education¹³ and Bureau for Development Education for levels I to VB;
  
• 
  Higher education institutions for levels VA to level VIII.
  

The National Board for the Macedonian Qualifications Framework with members from: the Ministry of Education and Science, Ministry of Labour and Social Policy, VET Centre, Centre for Adult Education, Bureau for Development of Education, National Agency for European Educational Programmes and Mobility, higher education institutions, one representative of the chambers in the Republic of Ma­cedonia¹⁴ and Independent Trade Union for Education, Science and Culture of the Republic of Macedonia:

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  discusses evaluations of policies on education, sustainable employment, and regional development
  
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  recommends actions for better linking the education system with the labour market needs
  
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  decides on the allocation of existing and new qualifications in the Macedonian Qualifications Framework
  
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  proposes development of new or improvement of existing qualifications to the competent institutions
  
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  monitors the development of the Macedonian Qualifications Framework as a whole
  
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  develops and adopts methodological documents for classifying qualifications
  
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  establishes Sectoral Qualifications Councils
  
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  determines criteria for operation of the Sectoral Qualifications Councils and provides recom­mendations for their work
  
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  decides on sub-sectors, areas and sub-areas within the sectoral qualifications and
  
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  adopts the reports of the Sectoral Qualifications Councils, including recommendations on their functioning.
  

The National Board was established in October 2015.

The Sectoral Qualifications Councils (president and eight members of: the Ministry of Education and Science, Association of Employers from the relevant sector, Trade Union in the respective sector, universities, VET Centre, Centre for Adult Edu­cation, Bureau for Development of Education, and the relevant competent body for regulated pro­fes­sions in the country:

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  analyse the current state and trends of the sectoral labour market
  
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  identify the needs for all types of qualifications in line with the requirements of the labour market and the society as a whole
  
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  analyse and evaluate existing qualifications
  
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  review proposals for the introduction of new qualifications
  
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  propose sectoral or sub-sectoral qualifications for all levels
  
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  propose priorities for development of new qualifications and updating of existing qualifications
  
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  provide opinions on the compliance of the assessment standards and instruments with the occupational standards and the standards of qualifications
  
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  establish commissions for assessment and validation of the learning outcomes acquired in non-formal learning
  
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  promote the sectoral qualifications and the employment possibilities, and
  
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  submit annual reports on their work to the National Board.
  

All relevant stakeholders are involved in the governance of MQF through the Na­tional Board for MQF and the Sectoral Qualifications Councils.