Changes to the Qualification System Must Not Reduce Companies’ Ability to Participate
The Estonian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ECCI) considers it positive that the Ministry of Education and Research aims to make the qualification system more efficient, speed up several processes, and enhance cooperation between the education sector and the labor market. However, we are concerned that some of the planned changes could instead reduce collaboration between businesses and educational institutions.
In January, the Ministry of Education and Research proposed several significant changes to the qualification system. These changes relate to the organization of the system, the development of qualification standards, and the funding model for the qualification system.
The Qualification Standard Reform Should Be Implemented on a Smaller Scale
The ministry has suggested that, in the future, qualification standards will only be developed for regulated professions, while for unregulated professions, the development of qualification standards would be possible for a fee.
The ECCI does not support this change. If employer representatives do not participate in the development of qualification standards and unregulated professions generally do not have qualification standards, this would significantly reduce cooperation between the education sector and the labor market—particularly in the case of unregulated professions.
Instead of reducing the number of qualification standards, the ECCI suggests simplifying the process of creating and modifying qualification standards. For example, we proposed that the state could develop an e-platform for qualification standards, allowing flexible updates when necessary.
We believe that the expert panel—including representatives from businesses—must retain the right to decide which professions are important for Estonian society and the economy and require qualification standards. At the same time, the expert panel should also have the right to decide that, for certain unregulated professions, a competency profile alone is sufficient or that no profile is needed at all.
Furthermore, it is crucial that the use of both qualification standards and competency profiles is mandatory for formal education programs and micro-qualification curricula.
In our letter to the ministry, we also emphasized that, as a result of the qualification system reform, vocational institutions should continue to involve employer representatives in the development and updating of qualification standards and competency profiles.
Additional Fees for Qualification Providers Are Unreasonable
The Ministry of Education and Research has also proposed increasing the state fee for participating in the qualification provider selection process from the current €150 to €500 and introducing an annual fee for qualification providers.
Since there is already low interest in applying to become a qualification provider—and for some professions, no applications are submitted at all—the introduction of an annual fee and the increase in the state fee would further discourage organizations from becoming qualification providers. Additionally, this would increase costs for qualification providers, which could, in turn, reduce people's interest in obtaining qualifications.
Therefore, the ECCI has asked the ministry to abandon the idea of introducing an annual fee and increasing the state fee.
At present, it is unclear to what extent the ministry will consider the chamber's comments and proposals.
Next Steps
The Ministry of Education and Research will now draft amendments to the Qualifications Act, which are expected to be completed in the first half of 2025. According to the current plan, the changes would take effect on September 1, 2026.