Sectoral Qualifications Framework for DEVELOPMENT SERVICES (SQF DS)

Completeness and consistency of the sectoral framework’s level descriptors was guaranteed by basing them on the sectoral determinants. Sectoral determinants, in line with the definition of the sector, describe areas of activity that have common features characterising the development services sector, which has a clear identity. They outline specific and sector-specific areas of competence that feature the sector’s qualifications and distinguish them from those of other sectors. Four determinants were identified for the development services sector, which are jointly representative for the overall learning outcomes contained in the sector’s qualifications (cf. Chapter 1.3).
An important principle in developing the SQF DS is the fact that if specific learning outcomes cannot be found in the sectoral determinants, it is assumed that they are not sufficiently specific for the development services sector and, as universal, are not included in the framework’s descriptors. The SQF DS contains an extensive range of learning outcomes on individual levels, specific for the development service sector, which should allow a given qualification functioning in the sector to be described and aligned with a level. This means that in practice, level descriptors do not have to jointly reflect a specific qualification (and, in fact, they do not do so).