FETAC is the national awarding body for further education and training. Its awards are shown in the framework from Levels 1 to 6. The functions of FETAC include making awards, determining standards, agreeing providers’ quality assurance, validating providers’ programmes, and monitoring and evaluating the quality of programmes.  

A Major award is the main class of an award made at a level. It is made up of core components and electives that must be completed to achieve a Full Certificate.

A Minor award is acchieved when the learner meets the required standard in one component and receives a Component Certificate. The component specification is a statement of the standard to be achieved which is expressed in terms of specific learning outcomes (SLO’s). The specification also gives details of the purpose, general aims, assessment details and assessment criteria.

Special Purpose Certificates are awarded for the achievement of a group of prescribed blocks of learning, generally for specific, relatively narrow purposes. Special Purpose awards may stand-alone or can build towards the achievement of a Certificate (major award).

Supplemental Certificates are awarded for the achievement of individual areas of learning that are additional to a previously achieved major award.
Credit is awarded for each component successfully completed and can be accumulated to achieve a major award when the pre-requisites are met. In general each component carries a value of: 1 at its own level, 0.5 at a higher level and 2 at a lower level.

For example the module Level 4 Information Technology has a credit value of 1 at level 4, but if applied to a level 5 certificate its value is 0.5 and if the learner is working towards a level 3 certificate then its value is 2.

Please Note:

A maximum of two credits can be carried forward from one level to the next.

Level 3 modules do not carry any credit value at level 5