VETTER E learning course (EN)

EU legislation on the validation process of non-formal and informal learning

 

The validation of learning achievements obtained in non-formal and informal settings becomes an essential step in order to tackle youth unemployment in the EU. Validation offers those who have completed at most a lower secondary education and have not been involved in further education or training the opportunity to reflect and identify the relevance of their previous learning experience. Validation of non-formal and informal learning has the potential to motivate young people to return to formal education or to find new pathways in the labour market. Often, young people have had significant working experience outside formal VET programmes. These experiences provided learners with technical skills and must be recognised and validated because relevant. Validation can be carried out by various stakeholders from the VET sector, labour market and third (i.e., voluntary, independent or civic) sector.

 

According to EFQEA recommendation, national VET frameworks should include criteria in order to promote flexible career pathways for learners. This means to set appropriate entry requirements to facilitate access to VET programmes by considering any relevant non-formal and informal learning or preparatory programs. Similarly, qualifications obtained through VET placements should be included in the national qualification frameworks to allow VET learners to access further learning opportunities, such as higher education. Qualifications obtained through formal VET programmes, or in informal settings should be referenced to the European Qualification Framework in order to promote transnational mobility of learners.

 

However, establishing a common EU framework for the recognition and validation of non-formal and informal learning can be challenging. The purpose of the validation process is to offer young people the opportunity to demonstrate their acquired knowledge, competence and skills, also in terms of meta and transferable skills, which are in high demand in today’s labour markets. The VET sector has been a main proponent of validation of non-formal and informal learning because of its strong connection to labour market dynamics, work-based learning and adult education. The VET sector has always made use of learning outcomes and competence-based standards because they are easier to relate to previous work experience. Hence, it is reasonable to expect that the VET sector will continue to play a pivotal role in the future of validation[1].

 

The Recommendation of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 June 2009 established a European Credit System for Vocational Education and Training (ECVET)[2]. ECVET is a tool to help learners in the transfer, recognition and accumulation of their learning outcomes to achieve a qualification. It allows this also for single units of learning. This enables learners to build a qualification at their own pace through learning outcomes obtained in different learning contexts and in different countries. ECVET lays down principles and technical specifications to make qualifications and learning outcomes more portable and mobile, referring to existing legislation and regulation.

 

The Council Recommendation of 20 December 2012 on the validation of non-formal and informal learning[3] is the current major policy document that requires EU Member States to set up arrangements for validation by 2018. According to this document, VET providers should facilitate access to formal VET programmes on the basis of learning outcomes acquired in non-formal and informal settings, also through the award of exemptions and/or credits. The document suggests to link the validation of non-formal and informal learning to existing EU and national qualification systems and standards.

 

 

 

The Council Recommendation describes the elements of validation as following:

 

·        Identification of the competences of an individual;

·        Documentation to build evidence for the identified competences;

·        An assessment of these experiences, where the learning outcomes are compared against standards;

·        Certification of the results of the assessment that may lead to a full/partial qualification.

 

 

Figure 5 – Elements of the Validation Process

 

The stages listed above can be applied in different ways according to the specific needs of each learner. For example, with respect to a formal qualification the assessment stage is essential. Alternatively, with respect to volunteering, the identification and documentation stages might be more relevant.

 

For each stage of the validation process EU Member States should guarantee that a transparent methodology and objective measurement tools are in place for quality assurance. This to ensure a reliable, valid and credible assessment. The credibility and transparency of the validation process is an important aspect in order to guarantee that the learning achievements are recognised by formal educational systems and employers. If this is not the case, the learners will face barriers in terms of educational advancements and employability.

 

The Council Recommendation promotes the development of the professional competences of the staff involved in the validation process. Practitioners should have access to relevant training, practical guidelines, methods and tools. Besides adopting pedagogical, psychological and cultural competences, they should be able to select validation approaches that are fit for purpose. Validation approaches differentiate in summative and formative approaches. The summative approach to validation aims to formalise learning outcomes, often through ensuring the development of hard/technical skills, and is linked to educational institutions entitled to award qualifications. The formative approach aims to provide feedback on the learning process of an individual, often in terms of meta skills, highlighting strengths and weaknesses, providing a basis for personal education/career planning.

 

When extracting evidence of learning achievements, practitioners should select tools that are adequate to each individual situation. In some circumstances, conversation methods and observations are more suitable, in others a test/examination might be more appropriate. When documenting learning outcomes, they need to select the most appropriate tools to present those. Examples are CVs, reference letter or an E-portfolio. The latter is a recent instrument that allows individuals to reflect, identify and collect their acquired competences and skills, providing the target audience with an overall and comprehensive overview of the learning achievements in an authentic manner, in a digital format. The Recommendation draws attention to the relevance of common EU tools for transparency and recognition and their potential support to the validation process, such as Europass and Youthpass.

 

To conclude, the Recommendation set up the European Inventory on Validation of Non-Formal and Informal Learning. The platform is hosted by CEDEFOP, which helps in the ideation, development and implementation of validation systems. This inventory promotes dialogue and mutual learning among VET stakeholders across the EU by offering an overview of best practices and arrangements. CEDEFOP also disseminates EU guidelines on validation schemes. The latest document from 2015 identifies the main challenges faced by practitioners and offers practical solutions.