Initial Position
The purpose of the Leonardo Da Vinci project “Happy Farm” was to develop a training programme in the field of farming for people disadvantaged in the labour market. The aim was to have the training officially recognised so that students could get a certificate to facilitate their job search. During the two years of the project it became evident that of the partner countries, only Slovenia could fulfil this objective, as a system of national vocational education existed there which also dealt with the definition and accreditation of vocational training at different levels. In Austria and Hungary the national educational systems are clearly defined, but not for vocational training at lower levels.
Around the same time as the Happy Farm project was taking place, many European countries started to develop their National Qualification Frameworks (NQF) with reference to the system of the European Qualification Framework (EQF). Gradually it became clear that within the NQFs there were possibilities for standardisation of non-formal trainings, classification of non-formal trainings in an officially recognised system of education and accreditation and certification of these trainings.
The decision was therefore taken to use the results of the Happy Farm project as an information base for the new “NQF Inclusive” project, and to develop a model of accreditation and certification for non-formal training at lower levels than the existing VETs (Austria: apprenticeship) via NQF.