Introduction
Most of the non-formal and informal learning, defined as the learning not provided by an education or training institution that normally is not entailed to a certification, is not officially recognized on a professional level. This fact is especially harmful to sensitive groups such as women, migrants and unemployed workers, as it may impair their employability opportunities.
With the purpose of overcoming the negative effects of the lack of recognition, the European Union established in 2004 a set of common European principles for validating non-formal and informal learnings. This is the necessary frame to promote comparability and acceptance of the differences between Member States, as well as the acceptance and transfer of the results to different environments.
Focus on validation
The project + APL “More Flexible VET Systems based on the Assessment of Prior Learning”, supported by the European Commission takes a step further in this field and aims to transfer an innovative methodology and tools on validation of non-formal and informal learning, used with recognized success in Portugal. It also aims to implement the methodologies with groups of vocational educational training professionals in Germany, Bulgaria, Spain, Italy and Poland.
Through the validation of these tools, the list of qualifications and learning outcomes needed for professionals working in this field were enriched in the framework of the European Credit System for Vocational Education and Training (ECVET). It also promotes modernisation, quality and flexibility of vocactional, education and training systems in Europe by extending the results obtained at national level.
Final dissemination conference
The conference was held within the framework of +APL on the 22nd October at the headquarters of the Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Navigation in Granada, Spain (Calle Luis Amador, 26, 18014 Granada). The event was open to any interested parties and brought together stakeholders from across Europe which led to a fruitful exchange of information. In October 2014, the final dissemination conference took place in Granada (Spain).