Contributions to the Design of the Romanian National Qualifications Framework

European countries try to correlate their own qualifications systems. According to the National Education Law, the Romanian National Qualifications Framework structures all the qualifications into 8 levels of formal, non-formal and informal education and training. Levels 8 to 6 refer to qualifications in university education (doctoral, master and bachelor studies) and levels 5 to 1 refer to qualifications in the non-university education and training. Romania has developed and implemented a functional framework for qualifications in the higher education. This is compatible with the similar frameworks put in place in other European countries and is recognized as such, both at national and international level. The design and implementation of the National Qualifications Framework for Higher Education was a first step in the development of the National Qualifications Framework. The research paper presents some suggestions to the development of a consistent qualifications culture in Romania. The main finding is the description of the learning outcomes that are relevant for gaining a qualification in the non- university education and training. Each of the first five qualifications levels is defined by the learning outcomes as a coherent set of knowledge, skills, attitudes and competences a person has acquired or is able to demonstrate upon completion of the learning process during a certain educational cycle. The level descriptors involved in 1 to 5 qualifications levels design are more detailed than those used for defining the European Qualification Framework (EQF), but fully comply with the content and coherence of the system of EQF descriptors.