Recognition of skills and competences acquired through non-formal and informal learning
Opinion factsheet
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- Education and Culture
- Education
Opinion number:
CDR-3921-2014
Status:
Adottati
Objective
Promote recognition of non-formal education/learning as an important goal for the EU institutions. It is not an aim in itself, but part of a coherent vision on how to improve the inclusion and well-being of young people in our society and empower them as active citizens;
Propose a concrete framework at EU level for the recognition of skills and competences acquired not only through formal but also non-formal and informal learning, while ensuring permeability between different levels of education;
Promote the role of local and regional authorities, and the CoR at European and global level, raising their profile and ensuring greater coherence in this field.
Propose a concrete framework at EU level for the recognition of skills and competences acquired not only through formal but also non-formal and informal learning, while ensuring permeability between different levels of education;
Promote the role of local and regional authorities, and the CoR at European and global level, raising their profile and ensuring greater coherence in this field.
Impact
The CoR Opinion on "Recognition of skills and competences acquired through non-formal and informal learning" addressed important aspects of education and training policy. It revealed that while the Commission is actively working with Member States to support and monitor the implementation of the 2012 Council Recommendation on validation of non-formal and informal learning, efforts must be stepped up in order to ensure results at MS and EU level. It also underlined the need for a package of measures to support these efforts to help boost integration in the labour market and promote skills.
The development of a New Skills Agenda for Europe was included in the work programme of the European Commission for 2016 - Priority 1: "A New Boost for Jobs, Growth and Investment". While concrete proposals for actions and measures are to be put forward by the European Commission in March 2016, a series of initiatives and events organised by other institutional actors mentioned below (the Council of the EU, the European Parliament, the European Economic and Social Committee) demonstrate that the topic is gaining traction and it could take a more prominent role on the political agenda. The rapporteur was also invited to present the CoR opinion in several events - SOLIDAR Conference at the European Parliament in 2014 and a Round Table jointly organised by 2 MEPs (M. Nekov (S&D/BG and D. Draghici (S&D/RO)) in November 2015.
The development of a New Skills Agenda for Europe was included in the work programme of the European Commission for 2016 - Priority 1: "A New Boost for Jobs, Growth and Investment". While concrete proposals for actions and measures are to be put forward by the European Commission in March 2016, a series of initiatives and events organised by other institutional actors mentioned below (the Council of the EU, the European Parliament, the European Economic and Social Committee) demonstrate that the topic is gaining traction and it could take a more prominent role on the political agenda. The rapporteur was also invited to present the CoR opinion in several events - SOLIDAR Conference at the European Parliament in 2014 and a Round Table jointly organised by 2 MEPs (M. Nekov (S&D/BG and D. Draghici (S&D/RO)) in November 2015.
Essential points
THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS
underlines that validation procedures for skills acquired outside the formal education system are a vital part of fundamental changes to the European model for vocational education and training;
considers that by putting learners at the heart of lifelong learning policies, further improvements can be achieved regarding the effective deployment of resources for the development of education and training;
calls for quality and equivalence of validation procedures in order to ensure that certificates obtained through the validation process are mutually recognisable throughout the EU;
highlights a strong need to create a pan-European strategy (in the form of guidelines and possible implementation scenarios) with a view to establishing a common framework for recognition of informal and non-formal education/learning in order to facilitate the creation of relevant national procedures;
considers that validation procedures should be clear and not too complicated in order not to deter those who wish to formalise their learning outcomes from doing so and to make lifelong learning a reality;
considers that a sufficiently broad, comprehensive and comprehensible information policy, targeting the public and businesses and informing them of the opportunities for and advantages of validating skills, is of key importance to successful validation procedures.