There are about 150 countries and regions with QF development and implementation, including the HKQF, the national QFs in EU member states and the transnational European QF. All QFs have some common essential aims, such as to support lifelong learning, to promote learning progression and mobility, to facilitate qualification recognition, and ultimately to enhance the competitiveness of the workforce.

The HKQF, launched since 2008 by the Education Bureau (EDB) of the HKSAR Government, has been developing as a local framework encompassing qualifications in different sectors of education and training in Hong Kong. The progress of developing the HKQF is encouraging in that it helps industries to define competency standards, assure the quality of education and training provided, and facilitate the progression of learners in Hong Kong. Based on the maturity of the HKQF and the similar principles underpinned the HKQF and the EQF (including, inter alia, the use of learning outcomes and the international QA principles), the European Commission (EC) and the EDB jointly conducted a comparability study in 2014, with the aim of fostering mutual understanding and recognition of the quality and standards of education and training systems in the two regions. The study was completed in March 2016, and the report was finalized and accepted by both the EDB and the EC.

In the report, the use of learning outcomes in the HKQF and the EQF is fully explained. In the HK section, full explanations are provided on the outcomes-based teaching and learning (OBTL), the outcomes basis of the HKQF, the outcomes-based approach of accreditation and the use of learning outcomes in higher education, vocational and professional education, and continuing education. Also in the report, it explains the robustness of the QA system in Hong Kong which has aspired international confidence. The three QA bodies in Hong Kong, which provide oversight of different providers and programmes, also base their QA procedures on well-defined and internationally accepted QA principles.

The study result is expected to be of use to policy makers and beneficial to stakeholders and organisations in different sectors. Institutions and providers will find the level-to-level comparison useful for implementing exchange programmes with credit recognition. Multinational companies operating in Hong Kong will find that the comparison provides strong reference on standards of qualifications when recruiting talent from overseas. The study further supports Hong Kong in being an education hub. The findings of the study also enable local and international enterprises to make business decisions, particularly if decisions are dependent on availability and contribution of personnel with suitable qualifications. Likewise, it is hoped that the government, education institutions and companies in Macao can also benefit from the findings of the report.

Author Profile(s)
Ms Florence TSANG, Assistant Secretary, Further Education Division, Education Bureau, Hong Kong. Miss Florence Tsang has been Assistant Secretary (Further Education) of the Hong Kong SAR Education Bureau since November 2014.  Before joining the Education Bureau, she has served in the Labour and Welfare Bureau and the Development Bureau.  She was one of the officers in the Education Bureau overseeing the Comparability Study of the Hong Kong Qualifications Framework and the European Qualifications Framework.

Dr Yee Wah CHENG completed her undergraduate study in Hong Kong, and postgraduate studies in Canada. Upon graduation, she worked in the universities in Canada and Hong Kong till 2005. In 2006, she joined the then Education and Manpower Bureau of the HKSAR Government for the development of the HKQF. She has then joined the Qualifications Framework Secretariat when the Government announced its set up and operation as an independent unit in the Vocational Training Council since 2009.

For the project, she was the central co-ordination point between the EDB and the EQF. She also coordinated with the project consultant engaged by the EDB.