Credential Templates, The Former USSR and the Russian Federation

PTUs did not offer complete secondary education. Individuals who entered after lower
secondary education followed different curricula than those after upper secondary education.
Students without upper secondary education were offered some basic courses from the upper
secondary curriculum and additional courses in Soviet society and military training. Students
with upper secondary education received a more advanced understanding of their craft.
2.) Secondary Professional Technical Uchilishche SPTU (Среднее Профессионально-
Техническое Училище СПТУ, Srednee Professional’noe Tehnicheskoe Uchilishche SPTU)
SPTUs developed from PTUs in the early 1970s as many PTUs started to incorporate
complete upper secondary education in their vocational programs. Upper secondary education by
SPTUs was considered to be fully equivalent to that at general secondary schools. They offered
vocational education in a wide range of trades, similar to PTUs.
Programs incorporating upper secondary education usually lasted three years. Upper
secondary courses were distributed throughout the duration of the program. Student took
examinations in upper secondary subjects at the end of their second and third years. The exams
were similar to those in general secondary schools. Only those students who completed the full
three-year program obtained an equivalent of complete upper secondary education.
Diploma of Lower Vocational Education in the Former USSR
The Diploma of Lower Vocational Education (Диплом об окончании
профтехучилища, Diplom ob okonchanii proftehuchilishcha) was generally referred to as the
Diploma of "Skilled Worker". The Diplom stated that the occupational qualification was awarded
by decision of the State Examination Commission (also called the State Attestation or
Qualification Commission). It listed the institution attended and the dates the program started and
ended. If the program combined upper secondary and vocational education, the diploma attested
that the person had "gained complete secondary education”.
The Diploma usually also referred to a numeric category (категория, kategoriya) or,
equivalently, level/grade (разряд, razryad) that was assigned to each specialization. This
identified the level of vocational skill and pay grade.
The Diploma awarded in the former Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic
(RSFSR) was in Russian. The Diploma awarded in any other former Soviet Socialist Republic
was bilingual – in Russian and the local language of that Republic.
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