In 2005, the Maldivian Government began work associated with a loan agreement with the Asian Development Bank. The purpose of the loan was to assist the Government of Maldives to develop and implement a unified TVET system and to support the implementation of Competency Based Training in Maldives.

In the Maldivian system there were a number of training providers, each offering their own qualifications, each in turn are based upon different grading or level systems.

Before the development of the national system of skill certification, workers in Maldives had no means of determining or proving their levels of skill attainment. Some of them took tests conducted by overseas examination bodies in order to seek recognition of their Skill. As the process of applying and taking these tests was time-consuming, inconvenient and, moreover, extremely expensive, many workers did not bother to have their skill certified.

As the Maldivian economy became more wages related and the need for skilled labour increased, it became necessary for a system to be established to set standards and to test and certify trade skill in various occupations.