Higher VET for IT, in plain terms

What xtec.dev is

xtec.dev is a personal collection of open materials and tools for the IT family of cicles formatius de grau superior (CFGS) at Catalonia's public schools — the Higher VET tier of the European Qualifications Framework. Three sibling sites cover different jobs: Learn (course materials), School (day-to-day teacher workflow), and Grade (LLM-assisted grading on top of School).

What is Higher VET (EQF 5)?

Higher Vocational Education and Training sits at level 5 of the European Qualifications Framework — between upper-secondary education (EQF 4, e.g. batxillerat / bachillerato) and a university bachelor's degree (EQF 6).

In Spain it's called Ciclo Formativo de Grado Superior; in Catalonia, Cicle Formatiu de Grau Superior — CFGS for short. A CFGS is a 2-year, 2,000-hour post-secondary programme that includes a workplace component (FCT, or Dual training in partnership with a company), and awards a Tècnic Superior / Técnico Superior title.

Recognised as higher (tertiary) education

A CFGS is tertiary education. EQF level 5 — "short-cycle higher education" — sits in the same broad tier as university degrees, alongside well-established equivalents across the EU:

• France — Brevet de Technicien Supérieur (BTS) and BUT.
• UK — Higher National Diploma (HND) / Higher National Certificate (HNC).
• Germany — Fachschule qualifications.
• Italy — Istituto Tecnico Superiore (ITS) diplomas.

In Spain, a CFGS gives direct access to any university bachelor's degree. Once enrolled in a related field, the modules already passed can be convalidated as ECTS credits at the university — typically shortening the bachelor's by a year or more on pathways like ASIX → Informatics or DAW/DAM → Software Engineering.

In other words: it's higher education, recognised across the EU, and a real on-ramp to university — not a "lower" alternative to it. The work is hands-on, the title is a real one, and the doors it opens are the same ones a university degree opens.