TVETipedia Glossary

Post-secondary non-tertiary education

Post-secondary non-tertiary education (or ISCED level 4) provides learning experiences building on secondary education, preparing for labour market entry as well as tertiary education. It aims at the individual acquisition of knowledge, skills and competencies lower than the level of complexity characteristic of tertiary education. (…) The content of ISCED level 4 programmes is not sufficiently complex to be regarded as tertiary education, although it is clearly post-secondary.

Source:
UIS, ISCED 2011 (International Standard Classification of Education), 2012
UIS, ISCED 2011 (International Standard Classification of Education), 2012
Access resource, available in English
As national education systems vary in terms of structure and curricular content, it can be difficult to benchmark performance across countries over time or monitor progress towards national and international goals. In order to understand and properly interpret the inputs, processes and outcomes of education systems from a global perspective, it is vital to ensure that data are comparable. This can be done by applying the International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED), the standard framework used to categorise and report cross-nationally comparable education statistics.

These programmes straddle the boundary between upper secondary and tertiary education. They serve to broaden the knowledge of upper secondary education graduates. These programmes are designed to prepare students for studies at first stage of tertiary education or for direct labour market entry. They do not lead to a tertiary qualification.

Source:
Cedefop, Terminology of European education and training policy. A selection of 100 key terms, 2008
Cedefop, Terminology of European education and training policy. A selection of 100 key terms, 2008
Access resource, available in English, Spanish, German, French, Italian, Portuguese
This multilingual glossary of terms used in education and training policy is intended for researchers and more generally for all those involved in education and training policy. It does not represent an exhaustive inventory of the terminology used by specialists; rather it identifies a selection of key terms that are essential for an understanding of current education and training policy in Europe. This glossary is an updated and extended version of the Terminology of vocational training policy, published by Cedefop in 2004. [...]
This glossary was prepared in cooperation with the European Training Foundation (ETF), The European Commission (DG Education and Culture) and Eurydice (The information network on education in Europe).