This page presents various tools and methods for quality management in vocational education and training.

Peer review is a criteria-based way to do external evaluation, and it supports the development of activities as well as quality assurance and improvement in the assessed institutions. 

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Quality Culture (Q-KULT) is a tool that helps VET providers evaluate their organisational culture. The tool has been developed based on the assumption that each organisation has a specific individual culture that can also be assessed in terms of its own specific characteristics and is related (in a way that has yet to be defined) to its quality management system. The prevailing culture in the organisation can benefit the quality management system, but it can also limit the use of the system. For this reason, it is important to identify the culture in one’s organisation and how different types of organisational cultures affect the implementation and/or development of quality management systems.

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The EFQM Excellence Model is a practical, non-prescriptive framework that enables organisations to:

  • Assess where they are on the path to excellence; helping them to understand their key strengths and potential gaps in relation to their stated Vision and Mission.
  • Provide a common vocabulary and way of thinking about the organisation that facilitates the effective communication of ideas, both within and outside the organisation.
  • Integrate existing and planned initiatives, removing duplication and identifying gaps.
  • Provide a basic structure for the organisation’s management system.

Whilst there are numerous management tools and techniques commonly used, the EFQM Excellence Model provides an holistic view of the organisation and it can be used to determine how these different methods fit together and complement each other. The Model can therefore be used in conjunction with any number of these tools, based on the needs and function of the organisation, as an overarching framework for developing sustainable excellence.

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The Common Assessment Framework (CAF) is a total quality management tool developed by the public sector for the public sector, inspired by the Excellence Model of the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM). It is based on the premise that excellent results in organisational performance, citizens/customers, people and society are achieved through leadership driving strategy and planning, people, partnerships, resources and processes. It looks at the organisation from different angles at the same time: the holistic approach to organization performance analysis.

The CAF is available in the public domain, is free of charge and is offered as an easy-to-use tool to assist public sector organisations across Europe in using quality management techniques to improve performance. The CAF has been designed for use in all parts of the public sector, and is applicable to public organisations at the European, national/ federal, regional and local level. The CAF aims to be a catalyst for a full improvement process within the organisation and has five main purposes:

  1. to introduce public administrations into the culture of excellence and the principles of TQM;
  2. to guide them progressively to a fully-fledged PDCA (PLAN, DO, CHECK, ACT) cycle;
  3. to facilitate the self-assessment of a public organisation in order to obtain a diagnosis and a definition of improvement actions;
  4. to act as a bridge across the various models used in quality management, both in public and private sectors;
  5. to facilitate bench learning between public sector organisations.
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The Manual will help VET providers to select good WBL planning practices and to transfer them either into their own or some other organization. The Manual will reflect the needs to improve WBL, guide users in selection of good practices, help and support the transfer process of good practices and pursue added value.

By using this Manual you can:

  • get help with transferring innovations,
  • find examples of good work-based learning practices,
  • find support for the transfer process,
  • provide ways of transferring good practices (GPs),
  • find tools,
  • find justification and provide evidence of the added value of WBL.
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