Qualifications Metadata Schema

Information can only be comparable throughout Europe if all Member States and other actors have a common view on the attributes that all qualifications share such as the title, the awarding body, the EQF level, the description of the learning outcomes, etc. This common understanding or common language is structured in an agreed ‘metadata schema’.

A schema is a logical plan showing the relationships between metadata elements, normally by establishing rules for the use and management of metadata. The schema tells IT systems, search engines and web portals how to search for information and what kind of information to look for on qualifications. Using a schema for qualifications makes it easier to develop services providing and integrating information on qualifications and it enables qualifications to be linked and easily with other structured metadata such as ESCO skills and knowledge concepts. The current version of the schema is the Qualifications Metadata Schema v2.0.

Member States and other stakeholders wishing to publish information on their qualifications in Europass need to structure their data according to the Europass Learning Model, based on the Qualifications Metadata Schema v2.0.