1. There is a need to better balance academic and vocational education to meet economic and social needs, rather than focusing only on increasing the percentage of students in universities. 2. Vocational education at higher levels is an important but "invisible" part of higher education that suffers from preconceptions of being lower status than academic education. 3. National qualifications frameworks developed in line with the European Qualifications Framework have reopened discussions about defining and leveling vocational qualifications, including whether some vocational qualifications could be considered higher education.