Q-Cert-VET
Quality Certification for Vocational Education and Training (VET)
More information about Q-Cert-VET is available online at
www.edu-certification.eu
About the European Project Q-Cert-VET
Q-Cert-VET was the European research project for the quality certification (Q-Cert) of vocational education and
training (VET) and was co-funded by the European Commission. It was a two-year long project, ended in December
2012.
The European initiative Q-Cert-VET developed a new quality standard and supports a related certification scheme
for the vocational education and training (VET) sector in Portugal - Quality Standard NP 4512:2012 “Training Management System, Including Technology-enhanced Learning – Requirements”. The Quality Standard 4512:2012 is
available in 5 languages: in Portuguese, English, Spanish, German and Romanian.
The project Q-Cert-VET developed a national quality standard and initiates the development of required tools for
professional quality certification. The reference framework QPL (short for Quality Platform Learning), developed
in Germany, provided the basis for the new quality standard and related instruments and tools for the certification scheme, including the first training course for lead auditors. A strong desire from the Q-Cert-VET consortium
members went beyond a national quality standard: the evaluated and optimized quality certification standard will
be submitted to the European standardization CEN TC 353 in order to become an official European Norm (EN) for
Quality and Certification in vocational education and training.
The creation of the related accredited certification scheme OEC010 by the Portuguese Institute for Accreditation
(IPAC) provides all interested certification bodies with the possibility of applying for certification in NP4512. Certification bodies thus accredited can certify training institutions with the new standard NP 4512:2012.
The consortium of Q-Cert-VET was coordinated and led by Portuguese Centre for Research and Innovation in Business Sciences and Information Systems (CIICESI). It included nine partners from four countries: Germany, Luxembourg, Portugal, and Romania. The University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany, one of the Q-Cert-VET project partners
and the project co-coordinator, is author and auditor of QPL, thereby providing its long-term expertise in learning
quality.
More information about Q-Cert-VET is available online at
www.edu-certification.eu
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission.
This communication reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be
held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
Quality Standard NP 4512:2012
“Training Management System,
Including Technology-enhanced
Learning – Requirements”
The Portuguese Institute for Quality (IPQ) published the Q-Cert-VET / IPQ CTA 25 standard NP 4512:2012 „Sistema
de gestão da formação profissional, incluindo aprendizagem enriquecida por tecnologia - requisitos“ (Vocational
training management system, including technology enhanced learning - requirements). The standard, developed
from the German certification programme Quality Platform Learning (QPL) and subsequently harmonized with
several European and international standards by the Portuguese standardization committee CTA 25, was open to
general feedback in June 2012 during its public inquiry phase.
The publishing of the document marked an important step in the objectives of the Q-Cert-VET Project, which included the establishment of a Portuguese standard with requirements for the management of vocational training
services, including e-Learning, as well as the development of a national accredited certification scheme based on
it. IPQ will continue to evaluate and edit the current content of the standard with respect to the pilot-testing processes taking place in Portugal, Germany, and Romania by Q-Cert-VET project partners. An updated version of the
standard NP 4512:2012 will be published at the beginning of 2013.
Pilot-testing of Quality Standard
NP 4512:2012 in Q-Cert-VET Partner
Countries
Four Q-Cert-VET partners tested the new quality standard “Training Management System, Including Technologyenhanced Learning – Requirements”, becoming the first to benefit from it. Two different training companies in
Portugal, Prisma and iZone, have been using the standard to assist in structuring their training programmes. The
Prisma Training Institute, located in Lisbon, has adopted NP 4512:2012 to its various training offers in the fields of
IT and project management. iZone Knowledge Systems, also located in Lisbon, is using the standard in similar fields.
Through tests in other European national contexts, the Q-Cert-VET consortium has been able to evaluate the benefits of NP 4512:2012. In this way, the project consortium demonstrated the value of the standard to the European
standardization committee responsible for technology assisted learning standards, CEN TC 353. Partner Helliwood
Media & Education from Berlin, Germany is responsible for testing NP 4512:2012 in Germany through its variety
of professional multimedia and & e-Learning applications. The Romanian Regional Training Centre for Local Public
Administration Cluj-Napoca, located in Sibiu, affiliated with the Romanian Ministry of Administration and the Interior, has incorporated the quality standard in its training courses for civil servants and local government employees.
In this manner the quality standard was evaluated and validated in a practical fashion, thus supporting its future
value on both the Portuguese and greater European level.
Q-Cert-VET Contact
Co-coordinator: Sandra Feliciano
Organization: Center for Research and Innovation in
Business Sciences and Information Systems (CIICESI)
Rua do Curral, Casa do Curral
Address: 4610-156 Felgueiras, PORTUGAL
Mobile: +35 196 147 0870
Phone: +35 125 531 4002
Telefax: +35 125 531 4120
E-Mail: sdf@estgf.ipp.pt
Co-coordinator: Prof. (KR) Christian M. Stracke
Organization: University of Duisburg-Essen (UDE)
Address: Universitaetsstr. 9 (ICB), 45141 Essen,
GERMANY
Phone: +49 201 183 4410
E-Mail: christian.stracke@uni-due.de
www.wip.wiwi.uni-due.de
www2.estgf.ipp.pt/research/ciicesi
Partners of the Project
•The Center for Research and Innovation in Business Sciences and Information Systems (PT):
www2.estgf.ipp.pt/research/ciicesi/
•University of Duisburg-Essen (DE): www.wip.wiwi.uni-due.de
•Portuguese Institute for Quality (PT): www.ipq.pt/
•PRISMA Training Institute (PT): www.prisma.pt
•iZone (PT): www.izone-ks.pt/
•HELLIWOOD media & education im fjs e.V. (DE): www.helliwood.de
•Regional Training Centre for Local Public Administration (RO): www.cadmpub.sibiu.ro
•CRP Henri Tudor (LU): www.tudor.lu
More information about Q-Cert-VET is available online at
www.edu-certification.eu