1 Occupation qualifications in the Seychelles and South Africa: a critical reflection on progress to date 1 Jean-Michel Domingue and Hilda Julie (Seychelles Qualifications Authority) James Keevy and Dugmore Mphuthing (South African Qualifications Authority) Abstract We have prepared this paper as four practitioners located in two African qualifications authorities that have collaborated in the area of qualifications framework development since 2004. In the paper, we give an overview of the development of occupationally-directed qualifications in the two countries to date, recognising that in the Seychelles a strong emphasis is being placed on a competency-based approach, while in South Africa an outcomes-based approach has been favoured. Comparing the two approaches, the current debates in each country and recognising that significant contextual differences exist between the Seychelles and South Africa we attempt to identify common challenges faced in the two countries as well as possible ways in which such challenges can be addressed. Introduction There is little doubt that the Seychelles and South Africa have little in common. The Seychelles is a small island state with a population of 84,000, while South Africa is a large developing country with a population of more than 50 million. The Seychelles has no tertiary institutions, while South Africa has more than twenty well established and large universities, with student numbers alone making up more than the complete population of the Seychelles. Despite these significant differences both countries have opted to develop national qualifications framework since the 1990s, and have collaborated on this matter since 2003. In the case of South Africa, the decision to implement an NQF was strongly influenced by similar developments in Australia, New Zealand, Scotland, Ireland and England in the late 1990s. The opportunity for a radical shift from the education and training model inherited from the apartheid regime presented itself in 1994 when the ANC government came to power. The subsequent development and implementation of a unified NQF for all sectors and levels of the system, strongly influenced by a particular form of outcomes-based education, was overseen by the South African Qualifications Authority from 1997, after the act was passed in 1995. To date the implementation of the NQF has not been without controversy, accompanied by a continued and drawn-out review process, seemingly only coming to an end in October 2007 as this paper is being prepared. As part of the end of the review, it has been proposed that occupationally-directed qualifications be recognised as distinct, requiring a specific approach to qualifications design and delivery. 1 Paper presented at Q Africa 2007, Gallagher Estate, Midrand, South Africa, 22-23 November 2007