Peer review is a way to do external evaluation, and it supports the development of activities as well as quality assurance and improvement in the assessed institutions. Peer review is based on criteria. The peer review group of external experts is invited to assess the operations of a VET provider such as teaching and teaching support services. Peer review has been commonly in use in higher education, and its use expanded to VET at the start of the new millennium. The peer review process has become established as a tool for quality assurance and quality improvement.

The European Peer Review Manual describes a European standard procedure for carrying out Peer Reviews in vocational education and training. The European Peer Review procedure is in line with the principles of Common Quality Assurance Framework (CQAF) and guidelines of later acknowledged European Quality Assurance Reference Framework.

Link to the European Peer Review Manual for VET

In Finland the peer review has also been used as a tool to improve the quality of projects. There are own Peer Review Quality Areas and Criteria for projects in Finnish. This handbook includes quality areas for project activities and peer review for an individual project, indicators and examples of the peer review criteria.