On January 16, 2018, the PQF became into law through the issuance of Republic Act No. 10968 entitled “An Act Institutionalizing the Philippine Qualifications Framework (PQF), Establishing the PQF-National Coordinating Council (PQF-NCC) and Appropriating Funds Therefor.” It is a collaborative program by the Department of Education (DepEd), Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), Commission on Higher Education (CHED), Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) and Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).
The PQF describes the levels of educational qualifications and sets the standards for qualification outcomes. It is a quality assured national system for the development, recognition and award of qualifications based on standards knowledge, skills and values acquired in different ways and methods by learners and workers of the country.
RA 10968 outlines the following objectives: 1) To adopt national standards and levels for outcomes of education; 2) To support the development and maintenance of pathways and equivalencies which, provide access to qualifications and assist people to move easily and readily between the different education and training sectors and between the sectors and labor market; and 3) to align domestic qualification standards with the international qualifications framework thereby enhancing recognition of the value and comparability of Philippine qualifications and supporting the mobility of Filipino students and workers.
The PQF is an eight (8) – level qualifications with Senior High School as the foundation. It is differentiated by descriptors of expected learning outcomes along the three domains: (1) knowledge, skills and values; (2) application; and (3) degree of independence. It has also sub-frameworks in separate subsystems of the education and training system. For example, the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) subsystem covers National Certificates (NC) I through IV corresponding to the first four levels while the Commission on Higher Education Subsystem covers Baccalaureate, Postgraduate Diploma, Masters, and Doctorate that correspond to Levels 6 to 8. The two Sub-systems interface in the provision of diploma programs at Level 5.
Qualification is defined as the formal certification that a person has successfully achieved specific learning outcomes relevant to the identified academic, industry or community requirements.
The PQF describes the levels of educational qualifications, the official recognition of a person’s learning achievements. It also sets the standards for qualification outcomes which are the knowledge or skills gained by students after undergoing a certain learning or educational program.
The PQF provides a standard for the recognition of certificates and licenses that individuals may move and progress through. It shows pathways and equivalences to help them make informed choices in education and employment growth. As such the framework promotes mobility, encourages lifelong learning and builds the workforce confidence.
With the PQF, job mismatch can be reduced and productivity increased. It provides employers with specific training standards and qualifications that are aligned to industry requirements. The PQF provides employers immediate information on what a worker can be expected to know and do, and are further assured that qualifications are consistent and are based on standards.
The Philippine Qualifications Framework can help form unity as it harmonizes education and training qualifications in the country by establishing and institutionalizing qualification standards. It provides the government with common standards, taxonomy, and typology of qualifications as bases for granting approvals to stakeholders. Moreover, the PQF helps policy and planning formulation through comparison with the qualification frameworks of other nations, encouraging the forging of mutual recognition arrangements within the ASEAN and other countries.
The Accountancy Profession is one of those professions that is required to comply with the requirements of the PQF. Adopting a well-developed qualifications framework presents several benefits to learners, academe, workers, professionals, employers, industry and government.
Aligned with the PQF requirements are the accountants pursuit for life-long learning. This will help accountants to continually develop their skill sets and will definitely ensure that they are up to date as to what is happening in the accountancy profession. They need to be more creative and innovative to be more relevant professional as they face the future of the accountancy profession.
But the accountants should be guided as to the learning path that they need to take in order to progress from one level to another level. This is where the training providers will come in. They need to provide a well-designed training program that will not only satisfy the continuing professional development (CPD) requirements but will also help the accountants progress from one level to another level.
The accountants need to be more careful now in selecting the trainings, seminars, webinars or workshops that they will attend to check whether it is aligned to their learning path thru progression.
The adoption of the PQF will benefit various sectors if properly implemented. Are you ready with PQF?
Mr. Wilfredo A. Baltazar
Chief Inspector – BOA Quality Assurance Review Office
2021 President, Association of CPAs in Public Practice