The validation of learning outcomes, namely knowledge, skills and competences acquired through non-formal and informal learning can play an important role in enhancing employability and mobility, as well as increasing motivation for lifelong learning, particularly in the case of the socio-economically disadvantaged or the low-qualified.
(2)
At a time when the European Union is confronted with a serious economic crisis which has caused a surge in unemployment, especially among young people, and in the context of an ageing population, the validation of relevant knowledge, skills and competences has an even more valuable contribution to make in improving the functioning of the labour market, in promoting mobility and in enhancing competitiveness and economic growth.
(3)
Employer organisations, individual employers, trade unions, chambers of industry, commerce and skilled crafts, national entities involved in the process of recognising professional qualifications and in assessing and certifying learning outcomes, employment services, youth organisations youth workers, education and training providers, as well as civil society organisations are all key stakeholders with an important role to play in facilitating opportunities for non-formal and informal learning and any subsequent validation processes.
(4)
The ‘Europe 2020’ strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth calls for the development of knowledge, skills and competences for achieving economic growth and employment. The accompanying flagship initiatives ‘Youth on the Move’ and the ‘Agenda for new skills and jobs’ emphasise the need for more flexible learning pathways that can improve entry into and progression in the labour market, facilitate transitions between the phases of work and learning and promote the validation of non-formal and informal learning.
(5)
The Council conclusions of 12 May 2009 on a strategic framework for European cooperation in education and training (ET 2020) (1) noted that lifelong-learning should be regarded as a fundamental principle underpinning the entire framework, which is designed to cover learning in all contexts whether formal, non-formal or informal.
(6)
The ‘EU Strategy for Youth — Investing and Empowering; a renewed open method of coordination to address youth challenges and opportunities’ of 2009 called for better recognition of skills acquired through non-formal education for young people and stressed the need for full use to be made of the range of tools established at EU level for the validation of knowledge, skills and competences for the recognition of qualifications. It was endorsed by Council Resolution of 27 November 2009 on a renewed framework for European cooperation in the youth field (2010-2018) (2).
(7)
In the Bruges Communiqué of December 2010, the European Ministers for Vocational Education and Training, the European Social Partners and the European Commission declared that participating countries should start to develop, no later than 2015, national procedures for the recognition and validation of non-formal and informal learning, supported, as appropriate, by national qualifications frameworks.
(8)
The Communiqué of the Conference of European Ministers responsible for Higher Education held in Leuven and Louvain-la-Neuve on 28 and 29 April 2009 underlined that successful policies for lifelong learning should include basic principles and procedures for the recognition of prior learning on the basis of learning outcomes, while the Council conclusions of 28 November 2011 on the modernisation of higher education (3) called upon Member States to develop clear routes into higher education from vocational and other types of education, as well as mechanisms for recognising prior learning and experience gained outside formal education and training.
(9)
Council Resolution of 28 November 2011 on a renewed European agenda for adult learning (4) defined as one of its priority areas for the period 2012-14 the putting in place of fully functional systems for validating non-formal and informal learning and promoting the use by adults of all ages and at all qualification levels, as well as by enterprises and other organisations.
(10)
The Council Resolution of 19 December 2002 on the promotion of enhanced European cooperation in vocational education and training (5) and the Copenhagen Declaration of 30 November 2002 requested the development of a set of common principles regarding the validation of non-formal and informal learning.
(11)
The conclusions of the Council and of the Representatives of the Governments of the Member States, meeting within the Council, of 18 May 2004 promoted Common European Principles for the identification and validation of non-formal and informal learning.
(12)
A European Inventory on the validation of non-formal and informal learning containing up-to-date information on current validation practices in European countries has been published regularly since 2004, while European Guidelines for validating non-formal and informal learning were published in 2009.
(13)
Decision No 2241/2004/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 December 2004 on a single Community framework for the transparency of qualifications and competences (Europass) (6) established Europass, a European portfolio which citizens can use to better communicate, record and present their competences and qualifications throughout Europe.
(14)
The Resolution of the Council and of the Representatives of the Governments of the Member States, meeting within the Council, of 18 May 2006 on the recognition of the value of non-formal and informal learning within the European youth field (7) invited the Member States to enable the identification of competences acquired through non-formal and informal learning, with a view to their recognition on the labour market.
(15)
The Youthpass was created as a transparency tool for participants in projects funded by the ‘Youth in Action’ programme established by the European Parliament and the Council in Decision No 1719/2006/EC (8).
(16)
The Recommendation of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 2008 on the establishment of the European Qualifications Framework for lifelong-learning (9) invited Member States to relate their national qualifications systems to the European Qualifications Framework and to promote the validation of non-formal and informal learning in accordance with the Common European Principles agreed in May 2004.
(17)
The European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS) established in 1989 within the framework of the Erasmus programme awards credits for formal learning based on learning outcomes and student workload, and also facilitates the award by higher education institutions of credits based on learning outcomes for non-formal and informal learning experiences.
(18)
The Recommendation of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 June 2009 on the establishment of a European Quality Assurance Reference Framework for Vocational Education and Training (10) stated that that Framework should support the implementation of the Common European Principles for the identification and validation of non-formal and informal learning, improving the interrelationship of education, training and employment, and building bridges between formal, non-formal and informal learning.
(19)
The Recommendation of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 June 2009 (11) established a European Credit System for Vocational Education and Training (ECVET) to be used for the transfer and accumulation of individuals’ learning outcomes achieved in formal and, where appropriate, non-formal and informal contexts.
(20)
Consultations in the form of an online survey, discussions in relevant policy bodies, as well as a variety of peer learning activities involving the social partners indicate an overwhelming consensus on the importance of making visible the knowledge, skills and competences gained through life and work experience, and show broad support for a Union initiative to enhance validation policy and practice in the Member States,
