In order to facilitate the referencing process, in 2008 the European Commission supported the development of the EQF web tool, which would enable referencing the qualifications and comparing the national qualifications frameworks and the national qualification levels.
The development of the web tool comprises three phases:
1) EQF web tool phase 1 (wEQF-1)
EQF web tool phase 1 (wEQF-1) was developed between 2008 and 2009. It fulfils the requirements as specified, i.e. it is a web platform which provides basic information about qualifications and qualification levels, allows comparing of national qualifications frameworks with one another, and referencing to the European Qualifications Framework. It has good graphic presentation which allows comparing of two national qualifications frameworks and European Qualifications Framework. The tool comprises two parts: a closed part – the administrator's – designed for saving information from national systems, and the public part, designed to present the comparison. This division into two parts will be maintained for the future, when developing the next phases. Data input is rather difficult, namely the description of the qualification levels and qualifications. EQF web tool phase 1 has only been developed in English.
2) EQF web tool phase 2 (wEQF-2)
The commencement of the work on the development of EQF web tool phase 2 (wEQF-2) was planned for December 2009 but the preparation was somehow delayed. The positive point is that at this phase the web tool will be created in different language versions including all 27 EU languages so that the public part of the WEB tool will be available to all citizens of the European Union. Another important step within the development of the system will be its integration with national information systems which provide information about qualifications and qualifications levels on the basis of a common information exchange protocol.
3) EQF web tool phase 3 (wEQF-3)
In the 3rd phase of the development, all portals administered by the European Union will be connected; in particular, the Ploteus and Eures portals will be integrated. In the documents, this phase is just mentioned, without specifications of the financial requirements or schedule. At this phase, all information about the qualifications, professions, education and value on the labour market will be made available to the public.