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Validation of non-formal and informal learning
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The international project Validation of transversal skills across Europe (TRANSVAL-EU), jointly carried out by 16 European institutions, is an example of policy experimentation with all activities coordinated at ministerial level. The project results are intended to provide specific tools to support lifelong learning further, ease mobility and promote transparency of competences across sectors.
A new procedure for validation of non-formal and informal learning approved in 2021 supports individuals wishing to acquire a formal qualification.
The challenges to career guidance during the coronavirus pandemic, as well as the role career guidance might play during the turbulent years ahead, were highlighted on 17 February during a webinar that discussed the recently published report on an international survey.
Validation of non-formal and informal learning outcomes was introduced in 2011 (for professional qualifications at EQF levels 2-4) and in 2012 (for higher education at EQF levels 5-7).
Cedefop contributed to the organisation of the 3rd Validation of prior learning biennale, in Berlin on 7 and 8 May. The event gathered 300 participants from 40 countries to discuss how to make policies on validation work.
The European Commission, with Cedefop’s support, organised a festival on the validation of non-formal and informal learning, on 14 and 15 June in Brussels, bringing together around 300 practitioners, policy-makers, social partners and youth and civil society organisations to exchange and discuss initiatives and projects in the field.
Austria traditionally places great emphasis on qualifications acquired in formal education: in school-based and dual programmes as well as at tertiary level. However, learning increasingly takes place outside the formal system, such as in the non-formal adult education context, at the work place, and in voluntary work. The dynamics of the labour market – triggered by technological changes and globalisation – require continued learning after completing formal education to extend and deepen knowledge and skills.
A synthesis report, which has just been published, completes the 2016 update of the European inventory on validation of non-formal and informal learning. The synthesis is accompanied by 36 country and four thematic reports.
Over 200 participants in Cedefop’s conference on how to make learning visible, on 28 and 29 November in Thessaloniki, agreed that validation of non-formal and informal learning is important for Europe’s future. Cedefop Director James Calleja stressed that ‘validation fights exclusion and makes employability possible.’
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.