A paradigm shift from education based on inputs towards education based on learning outcomes is taking place. Outcomes-based learning is a widely used term. The shift to learning outcomes is important for a number of reasons:

• It shifts focus from providers to users of education and training.

• By explaining what a learner is expected to know, understand or be able to do at the end of a learning process, individuals are better able to see what is offered in a particular course and how this links with other courses and programs.

• It increases transparency and strengthens accountability of qualifications for the benefit of individual learners and employers.

• The vast majority of the world's industrialized and transition countries are reforming their qualifications, while at the same time developing frameworks relate these qualifications to each other and to generally reflect new demands in society and the labour market.

• The development of these systems is often linked to changes in higher education, technical & vocational education and training (TVET) and lifelong learning.

Many countries worldwide are in the process of introducing qualification frameworks. Though the theoretical principles of all frameworks remain largely similar, the objectives of launching the frameworks vary. Whether the emphasis is on increasing the relevance and flexibility of education and training programs, easing recognition of prior learning, enhancing lifelong learning, improving the transparency of qualification systems, creating possibilities for credit accumulation and transfer, or developing quality assurance systems, Government are increasingly turning to qualifications frameworks as a policy tool for reform. In some cases national developments are propelled by the emergence of regional frameworks (such as the European Qualification Framework). In many cases the implementation of qualification frameworks has been widely supported by international organisations and is often linked to aid money and even loans. There is increasing activity from international agencies in the area of qualifications frameworks: the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the International Labour Office (ILO), the World Bank (WB) and the European Union (EU) have current qualification framework projects.