It is therefore necessary to have some common standards and qualifications in order for governments to adequately assess the opportunities and risks that can come with the movement of any specific individual. But this is easier said than done. In regions like ASEAN, governments have adopted different approaches to the management and recognition of qualifications and qualification bodies. Some ASEAN member states have established comprehensive National Qualifications Frameworks (NQF) the provide a comprehensive overview of the structures and activities that led to the award of qualifications and recognition of learning outcomes, while others have yet to develop national qualification system at all. This makes it challenging to understand, compare and evaluate qualifications between countries. An inability to reference, compare and recognize different qualification systems will become more complex in a post-COVID environment, with the proliferation of academic and professional online learning. While online education opens the door to thousands of professional and academic certifications across the world, it also complicates the process of certifying and recognising multiple qualifications.
