Qualifications frameworks comprise a hierarchy of qualifications, levels and types. They can cover an entire education system or a particular sector within that system (for example, post-compulsory vocational education and training).  They set out the learning outcomes (skills and knowledge) required for the completion of qualifications, as well as the different pathways learners can follow to move between qualification types or progress to higher levels. There is a growing trend in the development of qualification frameworks to focus on issues of transparency, comparability, and national/ international labour and student mobility. Research in this area covers these aspects along with government policy, institutions and regulation, and maintaining quality and relevance.