RPL and Recognition at the EQF Advisory Group
The EQF Advisory Group met in June where Dr Ernesto Villalba Garcia introduced the third edition of the ‘European Guidelines for the Validation of non-formal and informal learning.’ The Guidelines follow an extensive period of consultation and research to which Irish practitioners and experts actively contributed.
This edition follows and expands the principles agreed in the 2012 Council Recommendation and considers also the evaluation of the Recommendation. The 2023 edition addresses new and emerging issues such as digital certification and micro-credentials, revisits standards and reference points, cost and financing, outreach strategies, with a particular focus on putting the individual at the heart of systems and approaches.
As ever, the Guidelines provide useful reflection points and guiding questions. Reading highly recommended!
CEDEFOP and the Commission also periodically publish Country Inventories reporting on national and pan-European thematic progress on implementing validation. The 2023 Inventory is at an advanced stage and reflects significant national investment and progress in implementing validation.
The European Training Foundation (ETF) updated on work to map recognition centres, qualification agencies and networks of qualifications databases for EQF and third countries. The webinar is available to watch and highlights shared concerns to make skills and qualifications visible through fair recognition processes.
From a mobility perspective, we know that people who have their qualifications recognised have better opportunities, higher earnings, access to better jobs, and less difficulty getting employment and access to further learning opportunities. Migration is also most common among neighbouring jurisdictions, and increasingly is understood as a circular rather than finite unidirectional concept.
