Qualification Levels Explained
Eight levels, from working under supervision to redefining a field. Here is what each one actually means.
What a Level Describes
A level is not a measure of how long you studied. It describes three things about what you can do at the end of it.
Knowledge and understanding
Skills
Responsibility
These descriptors are adopted from the European Qualifications Framework. That is what allows a level here to be compared with a level abroad — and it matters for anyone intending to work overseas, because it makes a qualification portable rather than local.
The Eight Levels
Open a level to read its full descriptor.
1CertificateWorking under direct supervision
- Knowledge and understanding
- Basic knowledge of an area of work or study.
- Skills
- Limited practical skills required to carry out single-process tasks and solve routine problems using simple rules and tools.
- Responsibility
- Work or study under direct supervision, with limited autonomy.
2CertificateWorking with some autonomy
- Knowledge and understanding
- Basic knowledge of readily available facts, processes and the general theory of an area of work or study.
- Skills
- Basic practical skills required to complete tasks and solve problems by selecting and applying basic methods, tools, materials and information.
- Responsibility
- Take responsibility for prioritising and completing tasks under indirect supervision, with some autonomy, and adapt your own approach when solving problems.
3CertificateSupervising routine work
- Knowledge and understanding
- Broad theoretical knowledge, and the interpretation of available information in relevant contexts within an area of work or study.
- Skills
- A broad range of well-developed cognitive and psychomotor skills required to plan and complete multi-stage tasks and generate the best solution to specific problems.
- Responsibility
- Plan and manage your own work and supervise the routine work of others, taking some responsibility for evaluating and improving how work is done.
4DiplomaFull management responsibility
- Knowledge and understanding
- Comprehensive theoretical knowledge within a field of work or study.
- Skills
- A comprehensive range of cognitive, technical and psychomotor skills required to complete complex tasks and develop creative solutions to abstract problems.
- Responsibility
- Exercise full responsibility for management and supervision within well-defined boundaries where change is unpredictable, and contribute to reviewing the performance of yourself and others.
5Diploma of Associate Engineering (DAE) or Higher DiplomaPlanning with full accountability
- Knowledge and understanding
- Advanced theoretical knowledge with analytical interpretation of an area of work or study, and an awareness of the boundaries of that knowledge.
- Skills
- A specialist level of cognitive, technical and psychomotor skills required to complete variable complex tasks and develop innovative solutions to abstract and complex problems.
- Responsibility
- Plan and develop courses of action with complete accountability, manage and supervise work where change is unpredictable, and review and develop the performance of yourself and others.
6Bachelor's or postgraduate diplomaManaging complex projectsUniversity award
- Knowledge and understanding
- Advanced knowledge of a field of work or study, involving a critical understanding of theories and principles.
- Skills
- Advanced skills demonstrating mastery and innovation, required to solve complex and unpredictable problems in a specialised field.
- Responsibility
- Manage complex technical or professional activities and projects, take responsibility for decision-making in unpredictable contexts, and manage the professional development of individuals and groups.
7Master'sOriginal thinking and researchUniversity award
- Knowledge and understanding
- Highly specialised knowledge, some of it at the forefront of the field, as the basis for original thinking or research, with a critical awareness of knowledge issues across fields.
- Skills
- Specialised problem-solving skills required in research or innovation, to develop new knowledge and procedures and to integrate knowledge from different fields.
- Responsibility
- Manage and transform work contexts that are complex and unpredictable and require new strategic approaches, and take responsibility for contributing to professional knowledge and practice.
8PhDRedefining the fieldUniversity award
- Knowledge and understanding
- Knowledge at the most advanced frontier of a field of work or study, and at the interface between fields.
- Skills
- The most advanced and specialised skills and techniques, including synthesis and evaluation, required to solve critical problems in research and to extend or redefine existing knowledge or professional practice.
- Responsibility
- Demonstrate substantial authority, innovation, autonomy and scholarly integrity, with sustained commitment to developing new ideas or processes at the forefront of the field.
Levels 1 to 5 are issued by awarding bodies such as this Board. Levels 6 to 8 are issued by recognised universities. They are shown here so the ladder is complete — a technical career does not stop at a diploma.
Three Shapes a Qualification Can Take
At any level, what you study can be packaged in one of three ways.
Major qualification
The full qualification at a level, covering the whole range of achievement expected there. This is what most people mean by a certificate or diploma.
Short course
A cohesive set of learning outcomes that is not the full combination required for a major qualification. It can stand alone as a recognised set of skills, satisfy a licensing requirement, or refresh existing knowledge.
Competency award
A single competency standard — servicing a vehicle braking system, or applying occupational safety measures. Used for re-skilling or upskilling an existing workforce.
How to Read a Qualification Title
Every title is built from the same three parts.
- 1
Generic title
National Vocational Certificate
- 2
Trade or occupation
Mechanical Technology (Welding)
- 3
Level
Level 2
National Vocational Certificate in Mechanical Technology (Welding), Level 2
Find the level that fits you
Browse every qualification the Board examines, filtered by level, or read how competency-based assessment works.