Glasgow Science Centre played host last week to something worth marking properly — 130 people from across Scotland’s education, skills, industry and government worlds, gathering to celebrate 25 years of the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework. 

Our Regional Managers, Derek Houston and Michael McKenna, were among them, representing Qualifications Scotland on the day. Here’s what stuck with them. 

The energy was the first thing people noticed. “A really interesting day with a lot of positive energy,” was how Derek summed it up — and it showed in the room, from Minister Alyn Smith’s call for more flexible, lifelong routes into learning and retraining, through to David Cameron’s keynote on disruption and Dr Lee Coutts’ own personal learning journey. 

“For me it was Dr Lee Coutts’ session that landed hardest — hearing his own learning journey put into words something I see in learners and centres all the time: that progression rarely looks like a straight line.”  Derek Houston, Regional Manager at Qualifications Scotland. 

For Michael, it was the sheer range of conversations that stood out. Over the course of the day he spoke with board member Ewan Carmichael, QAA’s Director of Regulatory Services Debra MacFarlane, Gillian Brydson (Executive Director of Education, Skills & Community Wellbeing at Dumfries and Galloway), STF Chief Executive Stuart McKenna, SCQF board members, and several of Qualifications Scotland’s own centres. “All the conversations were positive, varied and interesting,” he said, with learner pathways and the sheer breadth of qualifications now available coming up repeatedly — and the centres, he noted, were genuinely delighted to see Qualifications Scotland represented in the room. 

Derek noted how the conversation kept circling back to how we assess people’s skills and competencies, and to co-creation of qualifications — something Qualifications Scotland has long been part of and continues to be. As he put it, partnership working isn’t a nice-to-have here; it’s a necessity.

“It wasn’t an abstract theme — I had more than one conversation at the stand where a centre contact described exactly the kind of co-creation work we already do together, and it was a good reminder that this isn’t new for us, it’s how we’ve always worked.” Derek Houston, Regional Manager at Qualifications Scotland. 

Michael’s takeaway pointed in a similar direction, but toward what’s ahead rather than what’s already built. “It’s an exciting time where we can all make a huge difference to the generations coming through,” he reflected — though he was quick to add that it isn’t without its challenges. For him, events like SCQF@25 matter because they keep the conversation about learner pathways alive: there’s no single correct path through education and training, and organisations like Qualifications Scotland — alongside its partners — need to keep catering for journeys that all look different. 

That’s really the story of SCQF@25 — not one milestone, but twenty-five years of an organisation that keeps being shaped by the people and partners working within it. Qualifications Scotland was a founding partner back in 2001, and days like this are a reminder that the job isn’t done — it’s ongoing, and it only works because organisations choose to keep doing it together.

“If there’s one thing I’d want someone outside the sector to take from a day like this, it’s that qualifications aren’t just paperwork — they’re what makes it possible for someone to move from one stage of their life to the next, and that only works because organisations like ours choose to keep working together.” Michael McKenna, Regional Manager at Qualifications Scotland. 

Proud to have played our part in 25 years of the SCQF. Here’s to the next chapter.