BEYOND FORMAL
LEARNING
WHAT, WHY AND HOW
MOSCOW 21 APRIL 2015
MAIN AIM
 Make visible a persons learning
outcomes that were achieved
outside of the formal educational
system – paradigm shift
underway?!?
 Make use of that learning
 Enhancing lifelong (and life wide)
learning
WHY?
 Making education and labour market
systems more efficient and
sustainable
 Better matching between supply &
demand of competence
 Important for growth and to fight
unemployment
WHAT VNFIL BRINGS TO THE TABLE
 ENHANCING PEOPLES MOTIVATION FOR LEARNING AND INCREASING PARTICIPATION
IN LEARNING
 CREATING POSSIBILITIES FOR MOBILITY AND STRENGTHENING EMPLOYABILITY
 FACILITATES QUICKER UPDATING OF KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS BY NOT RE-TRAINING
PEOPLE, INSTEAD MAKING COMPLEMENTARY TRAINING POSSIBLE BY RECOGNISING
WHAT PEOPLE ALREADY KNOW AND CAN DO.
 BUILDING BRIDGES BETWEEN THE WORLD OF WORK AND THE EDUCATION SYSTEM,
FOR EXAMPLE BY INVOLVING EMPLOYERS IN THE ASSESSMENT OF SKILLS AND
COMPETENCES
A TOOL OR A SYSTEM?
BOTH!
IT SHOULD BE A SYSTEMATICALLY USED TOOL WITHIN A SYSTEM (OR SEVERAL
SYSTEMS)
 The tool: a set of processes, procedures and instruments operating for making
learning outcomes visible and put to use
 The system: includes all surrounding support structures and technical/legal/societal
effects
AN ATTITUDE TOWARDS LEARNING!
FOR WHAT?
Validation is used for:
 Access to further education/training
 Exemption
 Individulising education/traning
 Obtaining qualification
 Certification
 Competence development in companies (QA)
 For integration
 … the list goes on
IDENTIFICATION AND ASSESSMENT
BENEFITS
 Employers will have more and better qualified
individuals to employ
 Individuals will enhance their employability
 Decreasing education/training costs
 Decreasing time in education/training  time
equals money (for the individual, employers,
state)
 Better matching between demand and supply
of competence in the labour market
 Better cooperation between labour market and
educational systems
 System reform/change
CHALLENGES
 Trust and legitimacy –the value of VNFIL
 Quality assurance
 Financing  Who pays?
 Infrastructure  Who does what?
 Paradigm shift regarding how we think
about learning?!!
 Follow-up, statistics, cost/benefit-analysis 
what are the actual benefits/gains???
 INFORMATION & GUIDANCE
MAKING VNFIL OPERATIONAL
CHALLENGES
ANSWERS
 Limited coverage
 National qualifications frameworks
 Fragmented delivery
 Outcome based standards
 Lack of cooperation across sectors and
institutions
 National and regional strategies
 Link to qualificationssystems and framework
weak or unclear
 Increased involvement of guidance and
employment services
 Lack of trust
 Same standards for both validation and formal
education
 Lack of explicit QA arrangements
 Develop validation systems where QA is an
integrated part
 Too weak cooperation between education and
training sub-systems on standards, methods and
QA
 Use NQF to promote a more holistic approach
A WALK IN
THE PARK?
OR MORE LIKE CLIMBING A MOUNTAIN?
COMPLEX ISSUE THAT
REQUIRES YEARS OF
DEVELOPMENT?
WE KNOW FROM EXPERIENCE
THAT IT IS NOT A QUICK FIX!
POSSIBLE SUCCESS FACTORS

START NOW, DON’T WAIT FOR PERFECTION! LEARN AND IMPROVE ALONG
THE WAY!

SUPPORTIVE LEGAL FRAMEWORK

HOLISTIC APPROACH – LINKED WITH NQF

INTEGRATED IN THE FORMAL EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM

OUTCOME BASED STANDARDS

INTEGRATED LONG-TERM FUNDING MECHANISMS

START SMALL

DECIDE FOR WHO AND WHY VPL SHOULD BE DEVELOPED. TRY TO FIND
BALANCE BETWEEN THE NEEDS OF INDIVIDUALS AND THE NEED OF
SYSTEMS. EMPOWERMENT VS. EMPLOYABILITY???

DON’T COPY PASTE!
THE IMPORTANT QUESTION
TO SUPPORT TRUST, TRANSPARENCY AND
QUALITY
-
WHAT WILL GENERATE THE
MOST TRUST, ENHANCE
TRANSPARENCY AND QUALITY
IN OUR CONTEXT?
THANK YOU FOR YOUR
ATTENTION!