Over 200 participants will explore strategies for implementing validation of non-formal and informal learning in Cedefop’s conference on how to make learning visible, in Thessaloniki on 28 and 29 November.

The conference is part of the first European vocational skills week, which is organised by the European Commission with Cedefop as a partner.

We are presented with opportunities to learn every day of our life. Beyond the classroom, we can acquire valuable knowledge, skills and competences through training courses, online learning, and in our daily lives whether at work, at home or during leisure time. The results of this learning are often ignored and undervalued.

One major purpose of validation is to make it possible for individuals to take advantage of the outcomes of their learning experiences and use them to gain access to employment and/or education opportunities.

Despite the increasing political commitment, notably through the 2012 Council Recommendation on validation of non-formal and informal learning, the 2014 European inventory shows that there is still a long way to go to reach this objective. Further effort is needed to make validation an established, well-functioning and recognised feature of countries’ employment and education systems.

Cedefop has been working systematically on the issue of validation of non-formal and informal learning since the late 1990s and sees this conference as an opportunity to reflect on the long-term developments in this area, focusing both on what has been achieved and what remains to be done.

The event is organised in close cooperation with the European Commission and will address the challenges involved for EU Member States in meeting the 2018 deadline set by the 2012 Council Recommendation for establishing national validation arrangements.

You can check out the full programme, speaker bios and a background paper οn the conference website.

Use hashtag #ValidationEurope on social media to join the discussion.