Call for Innovation

Europe faces big challenges qualitatively (need for updated competences) and quantitatively (shortage of labour,ageing of population, drop-outs, retention). Much research has been done on this, especially on the added value of the learning outcomes approach in EQF (Europe and National Systems) and in the validation of  prior learning (VPL). At the end of 2010, the core group met and debated this notion and its problem-solving. This resulted in aiming at linking VPL to a practical focus on social inclusion of underrepresented and non-traditional target groups in HE with the rationale:

• Europe needs competitiveness and investment in especially HE-learning opportunities
• Top-down actions are in place (legislation, regulation, EQF, Guidelines VPL) but practical use (bottom-up methodology) fails
•  HE should be the motor for Europe’s knowledge economy but lacks ‘an open door-policy’
• VPL can open up learning opportunities indiscriminately to all citizens but is strongly under-utilised. Linking VPL to HE-access for specific target groups, can be problem-solving by strengthening existing top-down facilities and bottom-up methodology

The project therefore focuses on turning VPL into a practical access point to open the doors of HE regardless of the background of the learner. By turning existing VPL-methodology into a multi-targeted VPL-approach, not only is its effectiveness developped, but the orientation of HE (customer-orientation, lifelong learning culture, professionalising staff) to learning opportunities for all, is stimulated.

  

Knowledge circulation is the strategy to create a sustainable bridge between the multi-targeted VPL-model and HE. Knowledge circulation implies both knowledge creation as well as using this knowledge. It implies that there is one ‘language’ between the competences described and used in VPL and in HE. The aim is to enlarge the benefits of both systems by closing the gap between VPL and HE, strengthening utilisation in organisations. In this way the output of the key-factor, ‘knowledge’, creates a link and translatability is implicitly and explicitly strengthened.

 

 

Learning from Others: Benefiting from a non-EU Collaboration

Korea also has a need for an HE-competent labor force. Korea has an operational LLL-system for accrediting all forms of formal (national qualifications) learning and non-formal (sectoral certificates) education: organized by the Academic Credit Bank System. Therefore, Korea’s participation in the project is to strengthen the European emphasis by incorporating Korea’s expertise to link all education-based learning outcomes into the VPL-model—to be developed and tested during the project. The result and impact will be creating knowledge with a competence-based data bank for all credits accumulated during different processes of learning resulting in a EU-based Credit Bank System.

Sustaining the Project’s Goal

In the long-term, what will sustain the outcome of the project is the quantity of active users from the underrepresented and non-traditional learners that will effectively use the developed VPL-approach to (re)enter HE and enhance personalized, formative or diploma oriented learning opportunities.

This depends on the success of each partner to recruit an active network, as well as the growth of the number of professionals and stakeholders involved. They are involved through self-generating activities within learning communities, and the relationship between the project-outcomes and the policies of the organizations of the stakeholders, universities/higher education institutions, and target group organizations.

Starting a Raising Awareness Campaign valorizes the project’s products and safeguards their sustainability thanks to the stakeholders themselves, and through the learning communities. The campaign builds on to the number of target groups and addresses them by presenting and debating the project’s findings within the partner countries. Focus is on the ‘worlds’ of learning (education & training), working (HRM, voluntary work and social partners), and guidance.