The Tertiary and Vocational Education Commission (TVEC), in association with the Skills Development Project (SDP) funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), introduced the national certification system for the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) sector of Sri Lanka, which is called the National Vocational Qualifications (NVQ) framework with effect from January 2005.
 

The Tertiary and Vocational Education act no. 20 of 1990 under which the TVEC was established requires it to establish systems for granting of tertiary and vocational education awards including certificates for the TVET sector.