First

Duration: 1 February 2010 – 31 July 2011. The project was officially disseminated in Rome, on 23 June 2011.

The aim of the Financial seRviceS EQF Translators in EU (FIRST) was:

• to promote the application of the European Qualifications Framework (EQF) as a valuable reference to redesign and create a modern competence-based qualifications infrastructure for the Financial Services Sector in the EU.

The objectives of FIRST were:

• to apply the EQF and the level descriptors in the EU Financial Services Sector;
• to integrate the EQF and the level descriptors with the current language and work environment of the EU Financial Services Sector;
• to turn the EQF and the level descriptors into an easy-to-grasp and user-friendly reference framework.

The main output of FIRST was:

• Analysis of working processes in the FSS. It identifies the relevant language and features of the business processes and performance criteria in the Financial Services Sector (FSS) to be able to translate the EQF general levels’ descriptors in a more meaningful way for the FSS.
• FSS EQF Translator, designed to explain and better clarify the universal descriptors of EQF for facilitating its application in the European FFS. Hence, it is critical for the new descriptors to mirror the language and working environment of the current financial services industry.
• Report on examples of existing qualifications in the FS Sector. The partnership, using a common template, gathered a representative sample of existing qualifications in the FSS on key EQF levels. The selected qualifications are distributed over EQF levels 3 to 7. They are meant to further facilitate the right interpretation of EQF levels for the FSS.
• A map and model of qualification framework. It represents an analysis of the methodology for the use of the FSS EQF Translator to define and describe single, specific qualifications in view of encouraging the developments of Human Resources in the FSS, driven by an EQF levelling process.

Project Partners

• Applicant: EBTN
• Project Coordinator: Foundation Warsaw Institute of Banking – WIB (Poland)
• Methodological Coordinator: SCIENTER (Italy)
• Evaluator: Berlin School of Economics and Law – BSEL (Germany)
• The Portugese Bank Training Institute – IFB (Portugal)
• Chartered Banker Institute (United Kingdom)
• IFS Malta (Malta)
• Romanian Banking Institute – RBI (Romania)
• The Malta Qualifications Council – MQC (Malta)

Relay Partners

• Dutch Institute for Banking Insurance & Investment – NIBE-SVV (Netherlands)
• Febelfin Academy (Belgium)
• ABIFormazione (Italy)
• The Bank Association of Slovenia – BAS (Slovenia)
• Institut d’Estudis Financers – IEF (Spain)
• International Training Center for Bankers – ITCB (Hungary)
• BNL-BNP Paribas (Italy)
• University “Roma Tre” (Italy)

Kindly contact EBTN Secretariat ([email protected]) for further inquiries.