Research Area - ERIM

Informal Competences and the EU
Master of Science in Business-Society Management
Research Theme I – 2005
International Business, Institutions and Public/Private Partnerships
(BKM02BS)
Research Area:
The Lack of Recognition of Informally Learned Competencies
And The European Union
To what extent are “old member” states, such as The Netherlands, The UK, Denmark
Germany, and Greece and “new member” states, such as, Czech Republic, Hungary,
Latvia, Poland, Slovenia, recognising informal competences? Which country can be
identified as a “best practice”?
Junior Researchers:
Christa Monster 265126
Cecilia Schrijver 266046

Informal Competences and the EU
Executive Summary
This research project gives a review on to what extent ‘old’ and ‘new’ members of the
European Union are recognizing informal competences. Informal and non-formal
competencies are related to informal learning, which can be defined as learning that
takes place outside an educational institution and that does not lead to certification.
Competences in this context mean; being able to act in a certain manner related to the
capability to act responsibly, to take initiative, to work creatively and collaboratively
and to continue learning.
Informally learned competences create several opportunities and advantages to society
as a whole, especially in increasing employability and making the formal education
system easier accessible. If the entire scope of knowledge of an individual is made
visible through recognition, an increasing amount of institutions are going to
recognize all the competences of a person and this creates an overall more productive
population in a country.
In Europe the European Union and OECD pay most attention to the topic of informal
learned competences in their policies and strategies and can therefore be called the
influential stakeholders in this area.
Analyzing the old and new member countries, the United Kingdom was the first in
implementing the recognition of informally learned competences in her system. She
can be called the leading country dealing with this issue. The best practice that
appeared with the new-members of the EU can be found in Czech Republic, this
country in comparison with the other new-members is innovative. It is the only one
who is in the last stage of developing a national qualification system in order to make
informal competences visible.
These are some of the best practices, overall the policies should be aggregate in order
to create an overall EU policy on the recognition and accreditation of informally
learned competencies. These should then be implemented in the member countries in
order to create a system in which informally learned competencies are transferable
and recognized across borders.
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Informal Competences and the EU
Table of Content:
Executive Summary
1. Introduction to Lifelong Learning p. 5
2. Defining Formal, Non-Formal and Informal Learning p. 6-7
2.1 Formal Learning
2.2 Non-Formal Learning
2.3 Informal Learning
3. The Opportunities of Informally Learned Competences p. 7-9
4. The Research Area: Informally Learned Competences p. 9-10
and The EU
5. Methodology p. 10-12
6. Defining the General Stakeholders p. 12-16
6.1 Council of Europe
6.2 UNESCO
6.3 European Union
6.4 OECD
6.5 Conclusion
7. EU Member States Analysis – “Old” Member States p. 16-29
7.1 The Netherlands p. 16-20
7.2 The United Kingdom p. 20-22
7.3 Denmark p. 22-24
7.4 Germany p. 24-27
7.5 Greece p. 27-29
8. EU Member States Analysis – “New” Member States p. 30-39
8.1 Czech Republic p. 30-32
8.2 Hungary p. 32-33
8. 3Latvia p. 33-35
8.4 Poland p. 35-37
8.5 Slovenia p. 37-39
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Informal Competences and the EU
9. Analysis p. 39-40
10. Best Practice p. 41-42
10.1 “Old” EU Countries – United Kingdom
10.2 “New” EU Countries – Czech Republic
11. Recommendations p. 42-43
11.1 For the EU
11.2 For Further Research
12. Letter of Recommendations p. 43-45
12.1 Content of the Paper
12.2 Limitations of the Research Project
Bibliography/Sources p. 46-48
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Informal Competences and the EU
1. Introduction to Lifelong Learning
“Learning begins from birth a continuous learning process that continues throughout
life. In fact, life-long learning is a must for everyone.” (Duvekot, 2004, p.1)
Lifelong learning can be further defined as: “All learning activity undertaken
throughout life with the aim of improving knowledge, skills and competencies within
a personal civic, social and/or employment-related perspective.” (European
Commission, 2002, p.7) Due to the competitive knowledge-based economy, new
technologies, the growing speed of technological changes and globalisation, the need
for the improvement of skills and competencies of a population is growing.
(Colardyn, Bjornavold 2004). Lifelong learning is a major contributor in the
development and improvement of skills and competencies. The concept emphasises
“creativity, initiative and responsiveness”, which then lead to the positive
development of citizenship, social cohesion, employment, higher earnings and
productivity and individual fulfilment. (OECD 2004, European Commission 2002,
p.4) These are all positive aspects to increase economic growth and productivity of a
country. Lifelong learning is an emerging concept and many institutions are realising
the importance of this phenomena.
Learning can be distinguished roughly into two categories; these include formal and
informal learning. “While learning within the formal systems for education and
training is a distinguishing factor of a modern society, learning that takes place
outside this sphere is much more difficult to identify and value.” (Duvekot, 2004, p.2)
Due to formal standards, formal education acquired at schools, universities and other
formal institutions is easily recognised, categorised and certified. However other
competencies, known as informal competencies, acquired by individuals throughout
their lives are often not fully recognised. Informal competencies are acquired at home,
during jobs or volunteer activities and can be used as constructive assets. It is
important to recognise these two types of learning in order to capitalise the benefits of
a populations’ competencies. Through validation and recognition of informal learning,
one can achieve this.
“Recognition of learning is the process of recording of achievements of individuals
arising from any kind of learning in any environment; the process aims to make
visible an individual’s knowledge and skills so that they can combine and build on
learning achieved and be rewarded for it.” (TG2, OECD,p.5) Informal competencies
are not easily recognised, however are very important in achieving lifelong learning
and combining both formal and informal learning as one constructive asset for a
country. “As long as learning, skills and competences acquired outside formal
education and training remain invisible and poorly valued the ambition of lifelong
learning cannot be achieved.” (Colardyn, Bjornavold, 2004, p.69). Therefore the focus
of this research will be on the recognition of informal learning. We will look at the
concept of informal learning and its opportunities. We then proceed with an analysis
of a sample of EU countries on recognition of informal competencies. This will be
analysed by identifying the stakeholders involved and describing the aim of their
policies. The purpose of this research is to provide an explorative review/analysis of
the literature on informally learned competencies. Especially by focusing on a sample
of EU member states and then contribute to existing research.
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Informal Competences and the EU
2. Defining Formal, Non-Formal and Informal Learning
In order to accomplish the research, we first need to explain the concepts we are
dealing with. Generally the term learning is defined broadly into two concepts, formal
and informal. However the literature has shown the emergence of a third concept as
well, non-formal learning. It is important to briefly identify the differences and
similarities between these three concepts in order to properly define the issue we are
dealing with.
2.1 Formal Learning
Formal learning, education and competences involve learning in an environment that
generally constitute of a school, university, or any other formal educational
institution. It can be defined as: “Formal learning can be achieved when a learner
follows a programme of instruction in an educational institution or in the workplace.
Formal Learning is always recognised in a certificate or qualification.” (TG2, OECD,
p.5). A similar definition is presented by the European Commission: “Learning
typically provided by an education or training institution, structured (in terms of
learning objectives, learning time and learning support) and leading to certification.
Formal learning is intentional from the learner’s perspective.” (European
Commission, 2001, p.32) The definition of formal learning is quite clear. Learning at
formal institutions in which you then acquire formal competencies that are easily
recognisable for people in society, it creates a certain knowledge status. Formally
learned competencies are recognised academic acknowledgements through diplomas
and certifications. (Nuffic, 2002)
2.2 Non-Formal Learning
Non-formal learning term has emerged in the literature, it is an intermediary terms
between formal and informal. The definition proposed by the European Commission
is as follows: “Learning that is not provided by an education or training institution and
typically does not lead to certification. It is however, structured, in terms of learning
objectives, learning time or learning support). Non-formal learning is intentional from
the learner’s perspective.” (European Commission, 2001, p.33) The difference
between formal and non-formal learning is the fact that non-formal learning is not
certified or recognised and competencies acquired by the individual while undertaking
these activities are not made explicit.
2.3 Informal Learning
Informal learning is in many ways very similar to non-formal and is often
interchangeably used in the literature as well used together as one concept. Again the
European Commission presents a fairly clear definition of informal learning:
“Learning resulting from daily life activities related to work, family or leisure. It is
not structured (in terms of learning objectives, learning time and learning support) and
typically does not lead to certification. Informal learning may be intentional but in
most cases it is non-intentional (or “incidental”/ random).” (European Commission,
2001, p.32) Often informal learning is invisible, it is difficult to make explicit. It is
often regarded as a by-product of certain activities that are undertaken with another
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Informal Competences and the EU
goal in mind, such as productive or social activities or volunteering. (Onderwijsraad,
2003).
Informal activities and learning results in a person acquiring informally learned
competencies. The word competence in this context means, being able to act in a
certain manner. Whether someone is competent for something will become evident
and can be derived from the way in which the person acts. (Dam, 2004) It is therefore
the capability to act responsibly, to take initiative, to work creatively and
collaboratively and to continue learning. (Infed, 2005) Therefore informal learning
encompasses the recognition of informally learned competencies, which were
learnt/acquired irrespective of prior formal education. (Nuffic, 2002) Competence
recognition can be done through two main means; these include formal recognition
and social recognition.
Table 1: Summary of the 3 Concepts:
Type of Learning Where? Certification? Intentional?
Formal Educational Yes.
Intentional from the
Institutions - Formal Certificate learner’s point of
(Schools,
- Diploma view.
Universities) - Qualification
Non-Formal Other Structured No.
Intentional from the
organisation: Such - No Certificate learners point of
as clubs, institutes
view
Informal Everywhere else. No
Unintentional from
Home, Job, - No Certificate the learner’s point
volunteer work, - Often not of view.
participation in
society etc.
Unstructured
recognised at all.
In this research we will use both the non-formal and informal concepts. Both are
learning that does not occur in an educational institution and is acquired in other
environments both structured and unstructured and both intentional and unintentional
from the learner’s perspective. In our opinion the definitions of non-formal and
informal cover the problem areas that are not being recognised by many institutions,
as this type of learning does not lead to certification. We aggregate the information
and define non-formal and informal learning as forms of learning that take place
outside an educational institutions and that does not lead to certification. Through
non-formal and informal learning a person acquires many informally learned
competencies that could be of constructive use when recognised properly by
international and national institutions.
3. The Opportunities of Informally Learned Competences
“Recognizing informal learned competences in the sense that ‘the bottle is half full’ is
at this moment a leading thought, people acquire in their life along the way all kind of
worth full competences”(Duvekot, 2004 p.36). In the concept that the bottle is half
full these competences embrace that a person knows how to act in different
circumstances. These competences also include social-psychological and social-
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Informal Competences and the EU
normative competences, which are seen as very important competences in a business
environment. (Klarus, Smulders 2000) Acknowledging informal competences helps in
the developments of individuals and strengthens human capital management of
organizations. (Duvekot, 2004) In addition, recognition of these competences can
optimise existing training paths and facilitates a more customized approach to the
development of training paths. The training paths can be tailored to person
requirements, which makes the training in the end more efficient. (TG2, OECD)
These customized training paths are opportunities in the working environment, but
also many opportunities in recognizing informal learned competences can be found in
education. A distinction needs to be made between these two. Although it can be said
that, “learning in school and learning on the job are growing towards each other”
(Klarus, Smulders 2000 p.1). Education/schools and labour organizations see the same
necessity in reacting to the fast changing environment and the new requirements on
the labour market. (Klarus, Smulders 2000) Labour markets change, they reflect
evolutions in technology, markets and organizations and this requires that
competences can be used and transferred in new working environments. Employees
change their jobs several times and then they have to transfer their knowledge and
skills to other enterprises or sometimes even to a new country. (Colardyn, Bjornaveld
2004) This all comes together in the knowledge society in this society a shift is taking
place from paying attention to production factors to a more soft approach; paying
attention to human capital. This society focuses on the learning ability of a person and
their capacity and flexibility. (Schuur et all)This embraces how to make use of a
person, what are the opportunities, whether he is working, learning or looking for a
job.
Opportunities can be seen in improving employability. These are opportunities for
persons who are working or looking for a job. A lifelong learning, this is a concept
with flexible learning forms, facilitating workers’ participation in formal education
and training or improving their existing skills on the workplace. However if a worker
has no background of formal education he is often disadvantaged in gaining access to
further training opportunities or in securing employment that reflects his acquired
skills and experience. (TG2, OECD) Validation of informal competences is an
opportunity in this area. Learning, skills and competences acquired outside formal
education must be made visible. (Colardyn, Bjornavold 2004) If these informal
learned competences can be formally acknowledged, then that can give the worker
evidence of his personal capital, which helps him in workforce negotiations and
creates career prospects and access to further learning opportunities. Recognizing
person’s informal acquired skills helps to develop themselves; this can be seen as an
opportunity for the employees. Another opportunity exists for the employers,
identifying the competences of their existing or potential staff gives them a clear view
of where these competences can be made of use. By recognition of workers’ skills a
match can be made between what the company demands and what is offered by the
worker. (TG2, OECD) This can optimise the human capital of an organization.
Other opportunities can be seen in the issue of education. These are opportunities for
people who are learning or looking for a job. In education a shift can be perceived,
due to the demand of the labour market, next to regular academic courses also courses
are taught that focus more on job competences. (Klarus, Smulders 2000) Education
becomes more competence based, which makes people more prepared for the labour
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Informal Competences and the EU
market. However if people have no formal educational background, recognizing and
making skills, knowledge and competencies of a person visible can be a solution.
Recognition can make people, who have no formal educational background,
motivated to take part in the formal education. Acknowledging of their skills
promotes their self-knowledge, self-esteem and self-concept. (TG2, OECD) If
evidence of their skills can be given, this provides access to vocational or higher level
of education.
In addition, recognition is also used as a mechanism to reduce study time and in the
end still get a formal qualification. This makes getting a formal qualification more
within the reach of a person, because it reduces the amount of work. (TG2, OECD)
For example if it is recognized that a person has certain informal acquired
competences one might be able to start in the second or even third year of a study and
can still successfully complete the qualification. In this way, acknowledging informal
acquired competences should reduce the costs of formal learning to both the learner
and the system. (TG2, OECD)
As can be seen informally learned competences create several opportunities and
advantages to society as a whole, especially in employability and education. If the
entire scope of knowledge of an individual is made visible through recognition, an
increasing amount of institutions are going to recognize all the competences of a
person and create an overall more productive population in their country.
4. The Research Area: Informally Learned Competences and The EU
As can be seen recognising informally learned competences is a rising issue. Some
countries are further than others in recognising or setting up institutions on informally
learned competences. There is however a lack of recognition of informally learned
competencies. How far is the EU in recognising informally learned competencies? In
order to answer this question, we will examine the following:
To what extent are “old member” states, such as The Netherlands, The UK, Denmark
Germany, and Greece and “new member” states, such as, Czech Republic, Hungary,
Latvia, Poland, Slovenia, recognising informal competences? Which country can be
identified as a “best practice”?
In order to research this, we took a sample of ten countries, including five “old”
member states and five “new” member states. These include; the Netherlands, The
United Kingdom, Denmark, Germany and Greece and Czech Republic, Hungary,
Latvia, Poland and Slovenia respectively. Each country will be analysed according to
the following framework for analysis in order to assess its progress:
o The current learning culture present in the culture or major reforms in their
educational system.
o The primary and secondary stakeholders involved.
o If this country is focusing on integrating informal learning in their education
system or is using it to increase employability, or both.
o If there is already evidence of implementation and if it is practiced in a
sustainable manner.
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Informal Competences and the EU
The learning culture in a country can be characterised, especially for the “old”
member states. Countries sometimes differ in defining the issue of informal
competences, but especially differ in structure in labor markets, the way of
cooperating between the different stakeholders, the civil effect and the rules for
informal learning. Countries differ in ways of handling things and have different
systems, which can be captured in the traditional learning culture of a country. In
addition every country has is own education system and policy for recognizing
informal learned competences. In the literature countries are placed in a model
depending on the characteristics of their learning culture. (Schuur et al):
Table 2: Models on Learning Cultures
1. The Dual System Germany, Austria en Switzerland
2. The Mediterranean view: Greece, Italy, Spain en Portugal
3. The North European model: Norway, Denmark, Finland en Sweden
4. The Anglo-Saxon view: United Kingdom en Ireland
5. The Mixed-model: France, Belgium en The Netherlands
As there are five models characterising the “old” member states, we decided to pick
one of each system and analyse them. For the new member states we randomly
choose, our basic criteria was whether there was some information available to
research the country.
In order to answer the question “to what extent” we will analyse the countries by
looking at the various local and international stakeholders involved in this recognition
process. We will also look at the types of institutions that have already been set up
and give an indication on how far they are in the development of this issue. We will
especially take into account two categories on what kind of development the country
has made in terms of informal competences and where their main focus lies. These
include informal competences and:
- Education: Is the country mostly focusing on integrating formal and informal
education in their educational system?
- Employability: Is the focus mainly on recognising informal competences in
order to increase employability of the people in that country. Or their
possibilities for employability?
This can be examined by looking at the types of policies and institutions and where
their focus is. If each country were to have a different focus than the others, it makes
it more difficult to create overall EU policies in which all aspects are integrated. It
would be a huge step in the right direction to have an overall EU policy, which
recognises informal competences in an effective manner. However before doing so,
we will first proceed in defining the important general international stakeholders
concerned with this issue.
5. Methodology
The aim of our research is to provide a general overview of the issue of informally
learned competencies. We do this by carrying out a qualitative research by reading
literature from international bodies and from individual country reports and deriving
conclusions and stakeholders from this literature. By doing so, we can finally present
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Informal Competences and the EU
a proper initial stakeholder analysis and give an indication of the focus by each
individual member state.
In order to conduct this research properly, the reflective circle can be used. Our
research will mainly consist of the first three part of the reflective circle, these include
the; Problem, Problem Definition, Diagnosis and Design phases. (Tulder, 1996, A3) It
can therefore be characterised as a descriptive research. The Reflective circle and the
respective chapters that are part of each phase is visualised in the Diagram 1 below:
(Source: Tulder 1996, Skills Sheet A3)
The initial problem statement is “The Lack of Recognition of Informally Learned
Competencies.
Phase 1: Problem Definition: In this part we will define the problem that we are
dealing with. What is the nature of the problem and what key words and concepts
should be considered? (Tulder, 1996, A3) The main problem we are dealing with is
that many countries are not recognising informally learned competencies. As long as
these competencies are not being properly acknowledged in a country, the concept of
lifelong learning can not be achieved. In order to fully understand the problem, the
terms; lifelong learning, formal, non-formal and informal learning, informal
competencies and recognition need to be explained. This has been done in Chapter
One: Introduction to Lifelong Learning and Chapter 2: Defining Formal, Non-Formal
and Informal Learning.
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Informal Competences and the EU
Phase 2: Diagnosis: This is the part where the problem is analysed, what are the
causes of the problem? What actors are involved and what are the consequences?
(Tulder, 1996, A3) We did not specifically identify a problem which would occur or
persist if informally learned competencies are not recognised. However we did take a
slightly difference approach and identified the opportunities that can be achieved
when these competencies are recognised. These are discussed in Chapter 3:
Opportunities of Informally Learned Competencies. In this chapter the problem of
unemployment is discussed and how informally learned competencies can help these
people enter into education and employability if these competencies were to be
recognised. As unemployment is not the cause of informally learned competencies not
being recognised, we can not identify this as a cause for our issue; recognition of
Informally Learned Competencies. Merely one type of opportunity in which
informally learned competencies can be of use. The consequences of not recognising
informally learned consequences are also discussed there such as loss of productivity
of a population etc. and also in terms of opportunities. The actors that are involved in
this issue, will be discussed in Chapter 6: Defining General Stakeholders. In the
chapters following the specific stakeholders for each individual country will be
identified.
Phase 3: Design: This deals with “what kind of solutions have been developed for this
problem?” (Tulder, 1996, A3) This will be our main research aim. This is done in the
individual country sections, involving Chapter 7 and Chapter 8. Each country is
analysed and stakeholders are defined that are dealing with this issue, solutions such
as governmental policies, bodies and secondary stakeholder are presented in order to
portray how the country is dealing with this issue and on which area they focus on,
employability or education. We then given an indication on the effects of these
policies by presenting a sustainable story and by giving a subjective indication of their
progress. A summary of this can be found in Chapter 9: The Analysis. By presenting
two Best Practices in Chapter 10, we present “good” solutions to deal with this
problem.
These are the three main phases of the reflective circle that were used in our research,
we touch upon the implementation phase towards the end of our research however do
not fully evaluate this phase. As the purpose of our research is to present an overview
of the stakeholders and policies of ten EU members countries on the development of
recognising informally learned competencies, we feel that these three phases are
sufficient to meet this aim. Phase 4 and 5 are not extensively dealt with. We have
placed the last two chapters which deal with recommendations for further research
and for the paper in this section. However no implementation issues are extensively
discussed in those chapters.
In the following chapters we will perform our analysis. We initiate this by firstly
describing the main international/general stakeholders involved. We then proceed
with the stakeholders and policies of individual countries.
6. Defining the General Stakeholders
In Europe different parties are involved in the topic of acknowledging informal
acquired competences. If the policies of these stakeholders around this topic were all
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Informal Competences and the EU
integrated this would create an environment with an international recognition strategy
or system that would be very effective. To create this so called greater stakeholder
engagement, all stakeholders should be involved in policy design and implementation.
There are three reasons why this should be the case (Tulder, 2005, ch.20 p.3-4):
“Stakeholder participation increases the effectiveness of policies and strategies and
mutual understanding can be achieved. In this case it is a co-created meaning. Also a
moral argument can be given, namely that stakeholder participation increases the
legitimacy and the democratic content of the strategy. Al last a content argument is
that participation improves the quality of the content of policies” (Tulder, 2005, ch.20
p.3-4).
In this chapter we will distinguish primary and secondary stakeholders. “Primary
stakeholders are those persons or groups of persons without whom the company
cannot realise its objectives”(van Tulder 2005, ch.8, p.4). Primary in this sense means
those stakeholders who have direct influence on the strategy or issue involved.
“Secondary stakeholders also include parties like the media, trade unions,
competitors, analysts, the general public, environmental activists, supervisory bodies,
non-profit organisations, the natural environment and future generations”(van Tulder
2005, ch.8, p.5). Secondary in this sense means those stakeholders who have not
direct influence on the strategy or issue involved, however it are stakeholders with
whom can be negotiated on the topic.
In this chapter we will describe only those stakeholders in Europe who have direct
influence and participate in the policy design and implementation of education issues,
the primary stakeholders. In the chapters where we look at the country specific
stakeholders of the old and new members of the EU primary and secondary
stakeholders will be mentioned. Below we will analyse the different stakeholders of
Europe who are directly involved in educational matters. The focus will be on
whether they pay attention to the concept of informal learned competences and if it is
part of their strategy or policy.
6.1 Council of Europe
The goals of the Council of Europe are (Hufen, Lotze 2003):
o Enhancing cooperation between European countries on cultural, juridical and
social topics.
o Protecting human rights and minority populations.
o Maintaining democratic principles and respect for the state of law.
o Finding solution for problems in the European society on issues like the
environment and racism.
o Giving aid to middle and east European countries to help them in establishing
juridical and law formations by cooperation programs.
The main aim of the European Council is achieving greater unity and improving the
cooperation, common action between the countries this in combination with helping
the weaker unstable countries (Committee of ministers, 2002).
Lifelong learning is defined by the council as,
“A continuous learning process enabling all individuals, from early childhood to old
age, to acquire and update knowledge, skills and competencies at different stages of
their lives and in a variety of learning environments, both formal and informal, for the
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Informal Competences and the EU
purpose of maximising their personal development, employment opportunities and
encouraging their active participation in a democratic society”(Hufen, Lotze 2003,
p.11).
The main interest of the council lies in higher education and that people who have
acquired a qualification in this kind should have free access to other educational
institutions in other countries. In this area the Council cooperates with UNESCO and
the European Union. Unfortunately there is not yet much attention for the concept of
acknowledging informal learned competences and setting policies, which enable
recognizing of this concept. The council pays attention to educational themes,
however not specific to this topic.
6.2 UNESCO
UNESCO is part of the United Nations and has as main goal maintaining international
peace and security. UNESCO stands for education for all. UNESCO was mandated by
the World Education Forum to coordinate the global efforts to education for all by
2015. (UNESCO, 2005) UNESCO is involved in education, science and culture, with
as main functions (Hufen, Lotze 2003):
o Prospective studies; what type of education, science, culture and
communication is important for the future.
o Sharing and transferring knowledge in the area of research.
o Preparing and adjusting international policy instruments.
o Helping in the development of member states by giving technical cooperation.
o Exchanging specialized information.
The main themes of the issue education, which UNESCO encompasses, are illiteracy,
building schools, adult education, the position of teachers and studying the content of
history books. (Hufen, Lotze 2003)
UNESCO sees the concept of a lifelong learning as a development of the individual
his mind. This concept of lifelong learning includes adult education and integrating
formal and informal education in relation to the economy. The main thought is that
everybody should have access to education no matter of his or her former acquired
competences. (Hufen, Lotze 2003) However there is no specific action or policy that
deals with this idea.
6.3 European Union
The European Union deals with all kind of issues and one of these is education. The
Unions focuses on developing a European dimension in education in several ways
(Hufen, Lotze 2003):
o Education in distributing languages among the member states.
o By recognizing qualification nationally it tries to enhance mobility of students
and teachers.
o Stimulating cooperation between educational institutions.
o Stimulating information exchange.
o Stimulating exchange programs for the youth and stimulating the development
of distance-education.
“The Commission and the member states have developed a number of tools
supporting transfer and transparency of qualifications and competences”(Hufen, Lotze
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Informal Competences and the EU
2003, p.23). One of those tools is a network, which focuses on vocational
qualifications. This is a network of national reference points. In addition a certificate
supplement has been developed. Furthermore also the commission has recommended
curriculum vitae, which presents a persons skills and competences. Another
instrument, the Europass, stimulates training outside the home country by improving
the mobility. (Hufen, Lotze 2003)
All these instruments improve the transparency and mutual trusts of certificates and
diplomas and also help in recognizing informal learned competences by giving them a
formal qualification in the form of a CV.
Especially in comparison with the other two stakeholders of Europe, which take part
in the issue of education, the European Union/Commission deals specifically with
informal competences and sets instruments to make these competences formal and
transparent.
6.4 OECD
“The OECD group includes 30 member countries sharing a commitment to
democratic government and the market economy (OECD 2005). The research of
OECD encompasses issues like education, macroeconomic, trade, development,
science and innovation. OECD is mostly known by her prognoses on economic
development and employability. The main goals of OECD are (Hufen, Lotze 2003):
o Stimulating the development of the world economy by creating sustainable
economical growth and more jobs.
o Stimulating economic development in the member states and in third world
countries.
o Stimulating the expansion of world trade in multi-lateral and on a nondiscriminative
base, related to the international requirements.
OECD had a special education committee that deals with topics concerning education.
One of the projects is DeSeCo, which stands for Definition and selection of
Competences. They did research and made a definition of key competences. OECD
sees the concept of a lifelong learning as very important and they cooperate on this
theme with the European Union. OECD sees lifelong learning as part of stimulating
the development of countries. One focus is on recognizing the value of pre-school
learning, which can play an important part in generating competences. The aim is
making a concept like lifelong learning measurable and visible with qualification
systems. With these systems they try to promote lifelong learning and making
informal learning visible. (Hufen, Lotze 2003) They made several country reports on
national qualification systems. (OECD 2005) It can be said that the OECD really pays
attentions to the topic of recognizing informal learned competences. They have a
committee with a specific project on defining competences. In addition they made
several national qualification reports for countries to promote lifelong learning and to
make informal learning visible.
6.5 Conclusion
From reviewing all these different stakeholders involved with the issue of education
in Europe it can be said that the European Union and OECD pay most attention to the
topic of informal learned competences. The Council of Europe deals with more
general education issues and not with competences or informal learning in specific.
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Informal Competences and the EU
UNESCO does focus on lifelong learning and sees it as an important strategy to
develop the individual his mind. Their main interest is that everybody should have
access to education no matter of his or her former acquired competences. However
they have no specific strategy or policy that deals with this issue. The European Union
focus specifically on informal learned competences and sets instruments to make
these competences formal and transparent. Besides the European Union also OECD
pays special attention to informal learned competences and made several national
qualification reports for countries to promote lifelong learning and making informal
learning visible and transparent.
7. EU Member States Analyses – “Old” Member States
In the following section, a sample of Five “Old” EU members states will be analysed.
These include, The Netherlands, The United Kingdom, Denmark, Germany and
Greece. They will be analysed according to learning culture, Stakeholders and a
subjective assessment of their focus will be made, either on Employability and
Education or both of course. The part is ended with a sustainable story.
7.1 The Netherlands
To what extent is the Netherlands recognizing informal competences?
Comparing it to the United States, Holland is standing in children shoes, however
looking at the fact that it has founded a National Knowledge Centre specialized in
recognizing informal acquired competences in 2001(Erkennen van Verworven
Competencies, EVC in Dutch) it can be said that this country is definitely
acknowledging it.
Since last century much attention has been given to increasing the opportunities for
assessing and recognizing informal competences. This are competences that have
been acquired previously and/ or outside traditional formal educational institutions, by
learning in work settings, at home and during volunteer activities, etc. (OECD report
2004) Especially when the National Knowledge Centre was established by the
government, supported by social partners, awareness on this issue was created. The
main aim, defined by the knowledge center, of recognizing informal learned
competences is contributing to the development of the individual and making the
human capital management of organizations stronger. (Duvekot, 2004)
We will first look at the learning culture of The Netherlands. A shift has taken place
from the traditional way of learning in school to learning anywhere, in the job
environment or in leisure time. Acknowledging the formal and informal learned
competences by combining them can make people of use in broader perspective.
“Recognizing acquired competences can set a bridge between individual learning
processes and the society making use of it”(Schuur et. al, p.23).It can be said that the
economy is changing in a knowledge economy, where the focus is on how to cope
with knowledge; “how to use and transfer knowledge”(OECD report 2004)
This change is influenced by a social-constructive approach. These approach beliefs
that knowledge and skills of an individual only can develop by concrete experience.
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Informal Competences and the EU
Concrete experience refers to knowledge that takes place by reflection and abstraction
from concrete and personal experienced situations. This means that in this approach
the focus is on the ability how to act and how to make use of it; on competences. A
transformation takes place into a knowledge economy in which the attention for the
concept of competencies is growing. (OECD report 2004)
In the Netherlands competencies are defined in four key-features (OECD report
2004):
1. action-orientation. Keyword: problem solving abilities
2. holistic-individual orientation. Keyword: abilities of a person as an authentic
person
3. dynamic-orientation. Keyword: permanent learning and development
competencies
4. integrative nature. Keyword: integration of cognitive, attitude and skill
elements
A person should develop all these competences in order to work on their own
development and to be able to react in their action situations. The growing popularity
of the concept of competences stresses the need for competence qualification systems.
(OECD report 2004) In the paragraph on sustainable stories we will describe how far
the Netherlands is in implementing this kind of qualification systems.
The learning culture in The Netherlands is part of the Mixed-model and the
characteristics of that model are that these countries have a specific way of acting, and
combine the strengths of the other models.(Schuur et all) These countries are eager to
learn and react to their environment, although have their own specific education
system. For example the Netherlands has three different levels in high education;
MBO, HBO and WO. This is a particular education system that cannot be found in
other countries. The characteristics of the other models will be discussed in the next
chapter, when we will analyse one country of each model.
Stakeholders
In 1998 a national action plan was launched called ‘A Life Long Learning’ by the
ministry of Social Affairs and Employment that promoted employability and
reoriented education towards the concept of lifelong learning. This plan had two
different agendas
o The employability-agenda: “a common agenda of government and social
partners, directed towards employability of employed and unemployed”
(OECD report 2004, p.34).
o The impulse-agenda: “a common agenda of government and umbrella
organizations
in the educational field, promoting for example, strengthening of VET”(OECD
report 2004, p.35) (VET= vocational education and training)
The employability-agenda has two main areas where it focuses on (OECD report
2004):
a) “Enhancing social and cultural inclusion through active involvement in the
workplace”
b) “Promoting employability through the introduction of greater flexibility in
education and training trajectories and rapid re-integration in the labour
market”
The impulse-agenda has five areas to focus on:
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Informal Competences and the EU
a) “Stimulating training by employees (by tax-reduction and recognition of
formal and informal learning)”
b) “Striving for a starting qualification for lower educated employees and
unemployed”
c) “Incorporating training in reintegration measures for unemployed”
d) “Strengthening social integration and social cohesion (o.a. by various forms of
basic education for adults)”
e) “Strengthening initial education and training (by combating early school
leaving, by innovating the national qualification structure for VET and by
stimulating the parity of esteem for VET)”
The Stakeholders of the Netherlands involved in this issue are the government and his
social partners. This can be called the primary stakeholders. They are included in
the consensus-model, or ‘poldermodel’. The social partners have their responsibility
for the sector level, this is a coordinated action, which includes the several ministries
and actors. (RG2, OECD) The ministry of Education Culture and Science, the
ministry of Social Affairs and Employment, the Advisory Committee Education and
the Labour market, and actors like the Social Economic Council (SER) and the
Educational Council. An independent body, which represents all interest parties, sets
the national standards for businesses, named COLO (Centraal Orgaan van de
Landelijke Opleidingsorganen van het bedrijfsleven) (Colardyn, Bjornavald 2004).
On the regional level are the Regional Vocational Training College’s (ROCs)
responsible. Their responsibility is shaping curricula, contents largely led by national
qualification and learning pathways. (OECD report 2004) These ROCs are secondary
stakeholders. In addition a very important secondary stakeholder is the Knowledge
Centre, who is specialized in this issue, although is not involved in policy design and
implementation. This center does much research and publishes many papers on this
topic.
Employability versus Education
Both, increasing employability as well as transforming the education system in a
system that is easier accessible, have a priority in the Netherlands. Each of them has
an own agenda in the national action plan. Increasing employability is promoted by
introducing greater flexibility in training trajectories and by tax reduction and
recognition of formal and informal learning on the workplace. Also recognition of
non-formal learning and informal learning is seen as important in the education
system. A debate is concentrating at creating a national qualification structure, which
should be able to include outcomes of non-formal and informal learning. Another
debate questions in what kind of standards it should be assessed and that non-formal
and informal learning should be promoted. (OECD report 2004)
However a qualification system on informal competences is not implemented yet. The
system is still very much in a phase of development up to now and the recognition can
mainly be seen in projects of school and businesses with informal competence
applications. (OECD report 2004)
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Informal Competences and the EU
Sustainable story
In the literature two concrete examples are given of implementation of recognition of
informal competence systems. One example is an example in the food industry in a
company called Frico Cheese. Another case comes form the implementation in the
care-sector. In addition the concept of service learning, which is implemented at
universities in Holland is also an example of learning outside the formal classrooms,
this can be called informal learning, however this is not related to recognition of
informal competences and making these competences measurable and visible.
Frico Cheese is a company in Friesland and up till a few years ago the company did
not invest in developing the less educated employees. Because of the technological
developments in the industry many competences are acquired for working in this
branch. Therefore a switch took place and developing and educating workers was seen
as more important. The company choose for implementing a qualification system in
which also informal competences where taken into account, because many workers
got much experience through the years of work. Acknowledging these competences
acquired by experience would make the employees more motivated to develop
themselves. In addition a personal developing plan was set up to create a better fit
between the development wishes of the company and the worker.
The first step in recognizing the competences was a justification process, established
in cooperation with an educational institution. A portfolio was created in which
experiences are described that led to the useful competences. The portfolio existed of
two parts; one part described all the relevant acquired competences, which were
acquired during and outside work, the other part described diplomas en certificates,
these included education degrees and also certificates from courses and tests. The next
step is an assignment that the employees have to do, to check their competences in a
certain area. In addition the employee is observed during his activities. On all these
criteria his bosses, which are accompanied by and educational institution, judge the
employee. On the base of the portfolio, the assignment and the observation is decided
whether the employee gets a certificate. (Klarus, Smulders 2000)
The case of Frico Cheese is a good example of increasing employability by
implementing this system that makes the employees more motivated to develop and
follow education. Besides this it creates a better fit between the wishes of the
company and of the worker, which in turn makes the work more efficient. The
company is making use of the employee in a more sustainable manner.
In the care-industry also a qualification system is implemented on the base of a
portfolio and by observing the employees. This has been done in cooperation with
several ROCs, CINOP and the national section of business-education and the careindustry
(OVDB, landelijk orgaan beroepsopleidingen zorgsector). The aim in this
branch is bringing everybody on the same level of qualification. Recognition of the
informal acquired competences should lead to shorter education time and more
reactions to applications. In addition the gab needed to be closed between the higheducated
new workers and the old workers who had the same level of qualification
but then, not on the base of education, but on the base of experience.
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Informal Competences and the EU
The first step was an interview by people of the ROCs, the employees were asked to
describe their experience and competences, the data was included in a portfolio. The
second step was observing the employees during the daily activities on the workplace.
On base of these procedures a good overview could be given of the competences of
the person and people were motivated to learn again. Due to the experience they got
the education time was much shorter to get a qualification. (Klarus, Smulders 2000)
Introducing this qualification system is a sustainable manner to get people back to
learn again in order to get the right qualification and to recognize the competences
they already have due to experience.
7.2 The United Kingdom
To what extent is the United Kingdom recognizing informal competences?
The learning culture in the UK is based on Anglo-Saxon method. The UK can be
characterised as a country with a permanent system in the policy formulation and
implementation of innovations and practices on validation of informal competences.
(Colardyn, Bjornavold, 2004) The English National Vocational Qualifications (NVQ)
system has had lots of international attention. It was introduced in the 80’s, in which it
started to recognise informally learned competencies at universities
NVQ is a modular approach towards learning. This has eventually led to the
emergence of APL and APEL. Meaning Accreditation of Prior Learning and
Accreditation of Prior Experiential Learning respectively. APL is a “process that
formally recognises a candidate’s previous work or other experience which can then
be used towards a qualification.” (OECD, 2003, p.86) In the UK “modules to achieve
credits are largely used and recognised by the national qualification framework and
the higher education recognition scheme…. Accreditation of prior learning and of
prior experiential learning is widespread in further and higher education. It reduces
the number of modules needed to obtain a qualification.” (Colardyn, Bjornavold,
2004, p. 76) The UK also uses a portfolio approach, which is a report that shows
personal, social and occupational experiences to highlight competences; it is similar to
a CV. It is however still judged by another entity such as a teacher, jury etc. in order
to make sure that the level was achieved. In the UK the modules approach is
combined with the portfolio approach. Lots of information is collected of an
individual and an assessment is made of his competencies, which are then
documented. Based on this documentation a portfolio is established. This is then sent
to an institution which can certify the document and give it accreditation and will lead
to the awarding of units. (Colardyn, Bjornavold, 2004) This way recognition of
informally learned competencies can be established, which is the emphasis of this
APL system.
Stakeholders
Overall the APL system is very important stakeholder or institution in this context.
It is an explicitly made concept for the accreditation of skills and competencies of an
individual especially adults who possess low qualification to enter or return to higher
education. (SWAP, 2005)
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Informal Competences and the EU
In the United Kingdom the Department for Education and Skills is the main
governmental department for policies on education and training. Key legislation
consists of two Acts: Education Act 1997 and the Learning and Skills Act 2000.
(OECD, 2004, p.6) These are important primary stakeholders. They have also
established authorities that play a specific role in this issue. In England this is the
Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) and in Scotland and Wales these are
the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) and the Welsh Curriculum and
Assessment Authority (ACCAC), respectively. These are important institutions that
acknowledge certain informally learned competencies through an extensive
accreditation process. QCA is responsible for accreditation National Vocational
Qualifications, which includes all formal, non-formal and informal qualifications in
the field of vocational education and training. “Effectively, this means that NVQs do
not distinguish between informal, non-formal and formal learning.” (OECD, 2004,
p.87) Through recognition of NVQs a person can get admission into certain levels of
schooling at college and university. This will help a person enter the formal education
system. However these vocational qualifications have been obtained in a structured
manner.
The government and its social partners in general of course have a very important
primary role. The social partners priority in 2004 “has been to continue to work
effectively with the Government to drive forward the Skills Strategy reforms, to better
meet the skills and training needs of employers and individuals.” (ILO, 2005, p.1) The
Skills strategy proposes a more flexible qualification system, to easier validate and
recognise competencies of individuals and employers. It also gives access to
individuals that do not have impressive qualification to enter free learning to achieve
skills in order to increase employability. Trade Unions together with other bodies are
important secondary stakeholders in this issue, as they are driving and ensuring the
implementation of the Skills Strategy through creating a Skills Agency. Employers
and Unions have also started the Modern Apprenticeship Taskforce to ensure a better
fit between the programme and employers’ current and future skills requirements.
Together they have come up with an overall agreement of targets:
• Programs towards full employment and increase the employability of adults.
• Improve employee competence and achievement of qualifications at all levels.
• Raise demand for skills as part of improving innovation and business
performance.
• Improve effective use and acquisition of skills by employers and employees at
all levels. (ILO, 2004, p.2)
In order to achieve these goals, the social partners and the governments are reviewing
the recognition and qualifications framework, in order to create proper framework for
analysis.
Important secondary stakeholders are all the other bodies involved in the
accreditation process. One such body is the Open College Network, which “validate
programmes of non-vocational training. These take place mostly in adult and
community learning contexts and often relate to arts, crafts and leisure pursuits.”
(OECD, 2004, p.87) This has led to the development of setting up criteria to properly
assess these qualifications. This body is the responsibility of the QCA. Others
important secondary stakeholders are for example: the social partners, sector and
branch organisation, guidance and counselling services, NGO’s and voluntary
services. “Given the relatively long history in the UK, all of the above are involved.”
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Informal Competences and the EU
(OECD, 2004, p.88) They enact force for change and improving assessment of
informal competencies. They also are bodies awarding certificates and implement
policies to improve their learning in their institution.
Another body is the Learning and Skills Council (LSC), this is a non-departmental
public body, which funds education and training. Its responsibility is to encourage
more young people to stay in learning and to increase demand for learning amongst
adults and the elderly. This has to do with the concept of lifelong learning and
improving the overall populations productivity. This contribute to the issue of
recognising informal competencies for employability through learning and training.
(OECD, 2004, p.7) Other bodies at sectoral level are the Sector Skills Councils
(SSCs) ,which support individual sectors in these developments.
Employability versus Education
Many of the initiatives taken in the UK are to allow people to enter higher education
with vocational qualifications. There is an accreditation framework for this that
formalises competencies, which allows access to formal education. Therefore there is
much done in this area in the UK. Other developments are in the area of
employability. The UK has also many different councils and institutions that are
working on improving training and getting skills and competencies recognised within
a company and for the increase in productivity. Therefore the two concepts are fairly
balanced in the UK, and attention is given to both of them. When interviewed on this
issue of recognising informal competencies and accreditation; the most initiatives
were identified to be taken in vocational education and training and adult and
community learning. (OECD, 2004, p.87)
Sustainable Story
Shepherd Construction, is a leading construction firms committed to driving up skill
levels in the sector. Shepherds like other construction companies uses “Construction
Skills Certification Cards to recognise the competence levels of its employees. The
card provides accreditation recognised by the industry.” (ILO, 2004, p.5) These can
then be transferable to other companies. The firm has an assessment centre as well.
This just one example of a company evaluating the skills and competencies for its
employees in order to help them in promotion and individual development.
7.3 Denmark
To what extent is Denmark recognizing informal competences?
Northern Europe, the Scandinavian countries have in the past been closely related in
their educational systems. However they are deviating a little from one another. They
are all characterised by the Northern European Model and all their countries have high
educational systems. The Northern countries are fond of sharing and learning from
one another in their educational systems and are probably the most progressed in
recognising informally learned competencies, especially in Finland and Norway. This
is mainly due to their longer established recognition and development support of
informal competencies in their culture. (Schuur et. al) Denmark is more characterised
by a dual system within a Northern European system, working and learning at the
same time. This system means lots of learning and experience on the job, which then
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Informal Competences and the EU
easily integrates you into the employment system of the country. However they now
want to work towards integrating it with the educational system as well. Denmark is
however far more progressive than Germany, although they are both characterised by
the dual system. However due to the cultural background of Denmark and its relations
to the other Scandinavian countries, Denmark has made much more progress.
Denmark can be characterised as still being in the Experimentation phase of
development in validating non-formal learning. This means that there are still
uncertainties on which initiatives to take, but that there are recognising that initiatives
should be taken. (Colardyn and Bjornavold, 2004) However, due to the progress in the
area by Norway and Finland, Denmark and Sweden are bound to follow. This is due
to their similar view on education as a collective good and the need to integrate formal
with informal learning. It is a fact that these countries are making significant progress
in laws, institutional initiatives and in formal education and training to link formal and
informal education. (Schuur et.al.)
Stakeholders
An important influential stakeholder in Denmark is Grundtvig, an educational
philosopher. He advocated positive attitude towards adult education. And influenced
schools to consciously avoid formal exams and certifications and place more
emphasis on the learning process and development of an individual. He looked at
being able to develop and improve the individual and societal competencies as a
whole. This has been an important influence in the Scandinavian countries, and the
fact that non-certified learning is just as important as certified learning. (Schuur et.al.)
This portrays the openness of the culture in Denmark towards informal learning.
However how can these be properly recognised in order to transfer them
internationally and nationally.
The main primary stakeholder is the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of
Labour. “All public education and training (young and adult) refers to the provision
proposed by the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Labour. The Ministry of
Education and the social partners prepare the standards.” (Colardyn, Bjornavold,
2004, p.73) The social partners play a very large role in this, together with the
Ministry of Education they share the responsibility in Vocation Education and
Training. The aim is to ensure formal education for adults with very rudimentary or
no education, basic adult education has been introduced. (ILO, 2005) In autumn 2004,
the government and its social partners set up a special committee, which will review
current adult vocational training. This is done, because the Prime-minister of
Denmark would like to ensure the high standard and upgrade competencies of the
individuals in their countries. In order to ensure competitiveness and deal with the
effects of globalisation (ILO, 2005)
Another initiative at in the state sector is about skills and competencies needed for a
job. The social partners refer to this as “Competence Package”. In which in an
institution itself competence development takes place, where both managers and
employees are responsible for competence development. At the same time ensuring
the needs of the organisation as well as the individual and professional enhancement
of the employee. This is part of the State Personnel Management policy.
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Informal Competences and the EU
One large initiative by various secondary stakeholders is the Basic Adult Education
Scheme: a new opportunity for adults with low levels of formal education to access
training and have their prior non-formal learning recognised (and reducing training
time accordingly). (Colardyn, Bjornavold, 2004) There are many adult vocational
training courses, which give credit transfer opportunities. “A ‘credit transfer
catalogue’ exists for vocational general education and training in continuing
vocational training. In addition, the recent “Better education’ initiative (2002)
proposes exemption from part of an education or training based on non-formally
acquired learning.” (Colardyn, Bjornavold, 2004, p.75 ) This opens up flexible
pathways for the unskilled worker, towards a nationally recognised qualification as a
skilled worker. (OECD, 2004) Higher recognition in this area is one of the main
objectives of the adult education reform policies.
Another secondary stakeholder includes the Danish confederation of Trade Unions
(LO) and the Confederation of Danish Employers (DA), who signed an agreement to
discuss issue on globalisation and lifelong learning. They would like to support the
continuous development of an efficient system of cooperation and bargaining, which
is supported, by national vocational training system for the labour market. (ILO,
2005) Through this it ensures good vocational training for the jobs necessary.
Employability versus Education
Again, lots of developments are made in competence building and development in
order to create a more productive society and help people with little formal education
participate in the mainstream. Therefore many of the initiatives are more focused on
improving employability and competencies of the entire population as whole in order
to deal with global competitiveness. There is not much mention of improving
recognition in informal competencies to enter different educational levels. Of course
adult education, however this is very much a part of vocational training and education.
Sustainable Story
“Enhancing intercultural competencies among health care staff and home help”. Due
to the increasing international population in Denmark, health care staff in hospitals
and other facilities is dealing with people from non-Danish origins. In order to be
efficient and effective, institutions have established a “Intercultural competencies”
course in order to perform their job properly. “It focuses on knowledge and
understanding of different ethical and cultural values, taking into account different
social norms concerning food and a person’s body.”(ILO, 2005, p.5 ) It is offered
nationwide and it hopes to help integration issues as well. This is an example of how
competence training can help society and how this is important in being able to
perform your job well. There are other such stories as well.
7.4 Germany
To what extent is Germany recognizing informal competences?
The learning environment in Germany can be characterised by a “dual” system, which
is also present in Austria and Switzerland. A dual system means that one learns
something through work experience; it is therefore a combination of work and study.
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Informal Competences and the EU
The dual system is often seen to have a great advantage due to the combination of
formal and experimental learning both quantitatively and qualitatively. (Schuur et.al,)
The disadvantage of this system is its focus on the youth rather than the elderly of the
population. There is also no separate entity or procedure for the recognition of
informal competencies within this system.
Germany has formal qualification levels at each system, upper secondary education
and higher levels. “One typical aspect of most qualifications in Germany is that it is
not merely the learning goals and the method of verifying them that are specified. It is
also stipulated how these goals are to be achieved.” It is therefore process oriented.
(OECD, 2004) Several degrees include the Abitur, Vocational qualifications of the
“Fachschule” and Fachhochschule qualifications. All these require examinations to be
passed and certification is received. “German employment systems attaches great
importance to skilled and qualified labour”, they attached great importance towards
the certification proving this qualification as well. (OECD, 2004) There is therefore a
strong formal educational system present in Germany, however there is a large
opportunity for improvement in the informal educational recognition, as this is not
being achieved properly. However the nature of a dual system does imply the
acknowledgement or recognition of informal competencies through experience and on
the job learning. Therefore some form of experimental learning is already recognised
in Germany. However much has been highly regulated and specified, which makes it
fully embedded in the formal system and there is not much room for recognising true
informal competencies.
Germany is quite behind in the recognition of informal competencies. This is mainly
due to their formal system of education. Several reasons for this are:
- The formal education system and its qualifications are highly appreciated and
acknowledged.
- There is high unemployment in Germany; therefore business and other
organisation have not been investing in other opportunities for learning.
(Which could have actually been of advantage in a society as this one)
- The formal educational system is very complex and leaves little room for
change. (Schuur et. al)
The need to recognising informally learned competencies has risen over the past few
years. Due to the emergence of Lifelong learning, Germany noticed that their
inflexible education system does easily support the development of this concept.
(Schuur et. al) It is rigid and its complexity and inter linkages make it difficult to
change. Also the growing need of the adult population to have their informally
learned competencies recognised is growing as well as the stagnating and declining
economy in Germany. (Schuur et. al)
Stakeholders
An important primary stakeholder in Germany is the Federal Government of
Germany, “there is a strong commitment on the part of public authorities (federal and
Länder) and social partners.” (Colardyn, Bjornavold, 2004, p. 73). In May 2004, it
forwarded a bill to amend the Vocational Training Act; it will become a law in 2005.
In this bill, “Employers, employees and the government are collectively advocating
for the further development of the quality assurance and interpenetration of different
forms of education, as well as for better integration of German vocational education
25

Informal Competences and the EU
and training in the international context.” (ILO, 2004, p1) The German government is
trying to increase the quality of their educational system. It was to increase the quality
of its vocational training as well, especially after evidence has suggested that there
were poor success rates in reintegrating the unemployed in the labour market.
Vocational training needs to be updated. (ILO, 2004)
Another important primary stakeholder is the Standing Conference of Ministers of
Education and Cultural Affairs (Kultusministerkonferenz: KMK) and the “Fourth
Recommendation on Continuous Education”. This institution has adopted regulations
in which it grants people with professional qualifications admission to study courses
at a German University. This way can obtain a proper degree. They seem to recognise
the possession of informal competencies due to professional experience, which leads
to joining the higher educational system (universities) in Germany. (Becker-Dittrich,
2005) This concept can be further identified as the “Externenprüfung”, gives
experienced workers the possibility to take a test, together with ordinary dual system
participants through which there is a possibility to enter the university. However, “the
competence acquired outside the formal system, irrespective of how different they are
from those produced in the formal system, have to be presented and restructured (by
the candidate) according to the principles of the formal system”. (Colardyn,
Bjornavold, 2004). Therefore informal competences have to be just as high as formal
competencies or either has to be adjusted in such a way.
A very important secondary stakeholder is the Federal Institution for Vocational
Education and Training (BIBB). BIBB is “a nationally and internationally recognised
centre of expertise for research and development in the field of initial and continuing
vocational training.” (ILO, 2005, p.1) It is an important player in many different areas
on vocational education, and it directly accountable to the German Federal
Government.
Currently BIBB is working on several programs: (BIBB, 2005)
- The Good Practice Centre: Assisting Disadvantages Persons in the Vocational
Training System (GPC) – which is a database of training module in which
young people, who are socially challenged or having learning difficulties are
assisted in obtaining a training place. They give an opportunity to familiarise
themselves with a particular job or particular skills needed to perform at that
job. BIBB encourages companies to create training modules in order to expand
its database and increase the employability of these people.
- Research of Lifelong Learning – they research among companies and see
where they stand on the issue of lifelong learning and help them create tools to
recognise these informally learned competencies, such as portfolio
documentation of skills, assessment centre development etc.
- Continuing Training Initiative – currently BIBB is working on a project to
develop a continuing training system for the construction industry.
However this is again a stakeholder largely concerning itself with non-formal
education with the focus on vocational training and education.
An important development is the “Weiterbildungspass” which is an imitative where
recognition of informal competencies will be part of or become visible. An individual
creates a certain job history portfolio in which it records their learning experiences,
self-reflection, consciousness and its informal competencies This is an initiative
established for the Ministry of Education by the Deutsche institute fur Internationale
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Informal Competences and the EU
Pedagogische Foschung (DIPF), Deutsche Institut fur Erwachsenenbildung (DIE) and
the Institut fur Entwickelungsplannung und Strukturfoschung (IES). This creates a
national recognised portfolio in which informal competencies can be mentioned and
analysed, which will then in a sense be recognised for future employability
possibilities. (Schuur et. al)
Other secondary stakeholders include businesses and organisation. The National
Pact on Vocational Training and Young Apprentice Development, signed by the
federal Government and other main organisation including large businesses, shows
how businesses are taking responsibility (ILO, 2004) The aim is to offer people who
are willing, training opportunities as well as people with limited opportunities to enter
pre-training and subsequently enter the regular vocational training. Another
stakeholder that can be identified is the Federation of German Trade Unions (DGB),
who provides courses “coaches” obtain certification in order to assist employees in
any way. (ILO, 2004) Another initiative is at sectoral level, where trade unions are
participating in the so-called KomNetz Project. It is aimed at managing the knowledge
of their workers and demand the interest of their employers on their qualifications and
hereby get promotions.
Employability versus Education
The orientation of Germany in informal learning lies mainly in employability. As the
dual system in Germany already signifies a large amount of vocational education, it is
understandable that Germany’s focus lies on improving this sector. It has made
improvements in the recognition of certain competencies or at least in the
development of training and training position in order to develop competencies
necessary. Germany’s main improvements in the recognition of informal
competencies for educational purpose is also on the way, however there are still much
intertwined with the formal system.
Sustainable Story
Mostly the sustainable stories in Germany lie in providing excessive amounts of
training in a company. Some companies include: BASF AG, who in 2003 started to
cooperate with other companies in training, through this initiative it contributes to
securing large training opportunities/places and apprenticeships in the region. There
are more such examples in the Metal and electrical industry and Chemicals Industry.
7.5 Greece
To what extent is Greece recognizing informal competences?
Greece is a country in the European Union in which the concept of non-formal
learning is very dominant. Due to the fact that only 30% of the workers have a formal
qualification, meaning that more than 50% has no formal qualification. (Schuur et al.)
Although these workers without formal certificates have acquired much experience on
the job, however the question is; if these job-competencies acquired by experience are
acknowledged as such.
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Informal Competences and the EU
Another interesting issue is that research in Greece has proven that, having a formal
university degree gives no guarantee for a better salary of a higher status on the labour
market. (Schuur et al.) That raises the question: if university degrees give no
guarantee on a good paid job, so roughly it can be said that formal acquired
degrees/competences are not really appreciated and informal competences might not
be acknowledge on which base are employees hired then.
At first we will investigate the learning culture of this country. In previous chapters
we described a model of countries with similarities and the fact that each country has
is own specific learning culture and education system. Greece is, on the base of its
characteristics, placed in the literature in the model of the Mediterranean Approach.
The countries belonging to this model are Italy, Spain, Portugal and Greece. These
countries have an educational system, which is strongly based on a learning way that
should lead to academic education. There does not really exist a system of job
education. Learning for the job is done by learning on the job in an informal way,
without certificates or diplomas. (Schuur et al.) An academic degree is having a high
status in society, a formal certificate is seen as very important in this culture; however
this contradicts with the facts that this does not give a guarantee for a job. A gab
exists between what is supplied at the labour market and what is demanded. Therefore
an opportunity exists in recognizing informal learned competences combined with
formal learned competences, which should create a better fit between the supply and
demand sides. In order to accomplish this, the skills acquired formal and informally
should be made visible and measurable in a national qualification certification system.
We will analyse to what extent there is a national qualification certification system by
describing the stakeholders involved in the next paragraph.
Stakeholders
The State until 1992 was the most important stakeholder considering education and
vocational training. Two ministries can be called the primary stakeholders; these are
the Ministry of Education and religious Affairs and the Ministry of Labour and Social
Affairs. The ministry of education develops formal education and training. Nonformal,
continuing training is the responsibility of the ministry of labour. Since 1998
social partners also played a role in the issue of training and education. These are the
secondary stakeholders, which include the National labour Institute, National
Employment Observatory and National Centre Vocational Orientation. They have
promoted the concept of national qualification systems and lifelong learning by
publishing relevant research and they have taken iniatives to invest in human
resources. Also the Labour Institute of the General Confederation of Greece Workers
is an important stakeholder that has prepared several studies on lifelong learning. The
Institute also implemented courses on vocational training and participated in local
imitative. (Report Greece 2003) The Association of Greek Industries took another
good iniative by submitting its position in the Memorandum on lifelong learning
formulated in Lisbon in 2000. This memorandum stated that: “there should be a focus
on increasing demand and reducing impediments to lifelong learning,
acknowledgement of skills required via informal learning by education and training
systems” (Report Greece, 2003, p.20).
In addition to all this also an agency exists that provides certificates to employees in
which informal competences are acknowledged. This agency is the Industrial and
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Informal Competences and the EU
Commercial Chamber of Athens. (Report Greece 2003) This agency will be further
discussed in the next paragraphs.
Employability versus Education
Greek has a national policy for human resource and lifelong learning that involves
education and training processes. This includes a strategy for formal learning (initial
education and training) and non-formal learning (vocational training). Vocational
training is specially focused on the labour market. In the education system in Greece
informal learned competences are not yet used to make the system more accessible
and these competences are not recognized as such. It can be said that the concept of
lifelong learning and informal learned competences is more focused on employability
not on the education system. The education system is still very much formalized and
not very flexible. (Report Greece 2003) There is only recognition of informal learning
based on work experience. (Schuur et al. ) In addition the qualification system is only
focusing on employability and not on making the education system more transferable
and accessible.
Greece tries to increase employability by vocational training, which should
complement people’s educational and training background that should close the gab
between demand and supply on the labour market. On the industry level
implementation can be found in recognition of informal competences. For example
the Industrial and Commercial Chamber of Athens has created a certificate system.
This certificate is used to show competencies in a specific profession, regardless of
the formal qualifications of the person certified. This certificate shows a persons
knowledge and skills and if these competences fit with the acquired knowledge and
skills in the market. On the base of that businesses could decide which candidates they
would like to hire. (Report Greece 2003) It can be concluded that Greece is more
integrating informal learning to increase employability and to create a better fit
between the demand and supply side in the labour market.
Sustainable Story
The iniatives of implementation of qualification systems are more present at the local
level. This is a system via a bottom-up principle. (Schuur et al.) For example the
Industrial and Commercial Chamber of Athens has created a competency certificate
system only for the knowledge and experience of those persons involved in his sector.
The procedure to get a certificate includes a case with a practical and theoretical part
and on the base of that the persons are judged. If the person gets the certificate he is
able to show competencies in a specific profession, regardless of the formal
qualifications of the person certified. This helps in creating a fit between the demands
of the employer and the competences of the employee. A further goal is to enrich the
system by covering the whole business area and activities. (Report Greece 2003)
This competency certificate system is a sustainable way of recognizing informal
competences, although it should be implemented in more businesses areas and in a
national system designed by the authorities. This is still a developing process.
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Informal Competences and the EU
8. EU Member States Analyses – “New” Member States
In the following section, an analysis of a sample of five “new” EU member states will
be made. These include; Czech Republic, Hungary, Latvia, Poland and Slovenia. A
similar framework for analysis is used as the above section.
8.1 Czech Republic
To what extent is Czech Republic recognizing informal competences?
Czech Republic is one of the new members of the European Union. The Government
of Czech Republic has set a goal to contribute in becoming a society of learning
participation and solidarity and thereby transforming into a society of the 21 st century.
(ILO, 2005 I) Czech Republic also wants to become a knowledge society in which the
concept of lifelong learning has high priority. The idea of a learning or knowledge
society originates from the idea that the qualifications and competences of people are
becoming a basic production factor. “Therefore the government is considering care
for education as a priority”(ILO 2005, p.2). How the knowledge economy will
develop cannot be predicted, however fifteen years ago this country was living in a
very much predictable environment. The Czech education system for example was
highly centralized before 1990. Curricula and certificates were controlled by the
ministries and controlled by the school inspectors. In this time the production levels
and workforce needs were also centrally planned and there was no free labour market.
This resulted in no youth unemployment and the transition from education and
training to work took place very easily. However the skills of many people were under
utilized due to the organizational character of the work. In the system there was little
space for individual choice, career development or job rotation. (Country Note 1997)
After 1990 a transformation took place towards: “decentralization and devolution of
responsibility to schools and to district authorities, by the establishment of private
schools at the basic and upper secondary levels, by the transfer of most enterprisebased
vocational education to the state sector (originally to the Ministry of the
Economy, and then in 1996 to the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports), under
what has been called "state apprenticeship", and by full freedom of school choice by
students and their parents.” (Country Note 1997, p.6) At this moment there is a
reformation into a knowledge society. Changing into a knowledge society in which
the concept of lifelong learning gets much attention, is this society also recognizing
informal learned competences? Has it set qualification systems to make these informal
competences visible and transparent?
Stakeholders
The ministry of Education is the main primary stakeholder considering the concept
of lifelong learning. The government Council for Human Resource Development has
as one its main tasks the development of the legislation of lifelong learning. The
debate on the precise legislation is still going in cooperation with the Council of
Economic and Social Agreement of the Czech republic. The main tasks of these two
councils is providing information systems and resources in addition to coordinate and
establish cooperation between local government bodies, state administrative bodies,
labour offices and social partners, these are the secondary stakeholders considering
this issue. (ILO 2005 II)
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Informal Competences and the EU
The primary stakeholders specially involved in the recognition of competencies and
qualifications are: “the Department of Administration of Employment Services of the
Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (MLSA) and National Institute of Technical
and Vocational Education (NITVE) which is one of the working units of the Ministry
of Education”(ILO 2005 II, p.2).
The MLSA is developing a system to enable the recognition of skills and
competences. The system is now in the last stage of development and is being tested
by the labour offices. The system encompasses 1600 professions to make the job
opportunities and the requests of the workforce more visible and thereby creating a
good fit between supply and demand. Another policy, which is getting special
attention at the moment, is the creation of a system, which is called the European
Curriculum Vitae. This is created with as aim to provide a system in which
international candidates can be compared by their qualifications. (ILO 2005 II) This
stimulates an international continuous learning process and fosters mobility.
Also a national qualification system is prepared, related to lifelong learning and
vocational training. This framework is created by the NITVE. This framework will
contain comprehensive and partial qualifications in relation to a profession. This will
increase the economic development in Czech Republic. (ILO 2005 II)
Education versus Employability
Both the concept of increasing employability and integrating informal learning in the
education system is covered in policies of the ministries of this country. Informal
competencies are made visible in national qualification systems and the so-called
European curriculum vitae is being developed. This national qualification system will
increase employability by making competences visible and thereby create a better fit
in the labour market between what is demanded and what is supplied. The European
Curriculum Vitae is an example of making the formal education system more easily
accessible on international level. Although the specific concept of acknowledging
informal competences as formal qualifications in order to have easier access to formal
education is not one of the strategies in the concept of lifelong learning in this
country.
Sustainable Story
The national qualification system is in its last stage of development and is being tested
by the labour forced. Therefore it is not yet implemented in business industries. The
system will encompass 1600 professions, it will be of major use for all kinds of
branches in identifying and recognizing skills and competences of employees. These
informal competences can increase employability and will make it easier to compare
the available job opportunities with the available workforce with the appropriate
qualifications and thus choosing the most suitable candidate for the job.
A sustainable practice can be found in the energy sector, although this has more
relation with formal education. In this industry cooperation takes place between
power companies and vocational schools. These schools give training for employees
in this profession. This is organised by the Czech Association of Employers in
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Informal Competences and the EU
Energy. This is an iniatives at the regional level. At the national level a system is
established which enables comparisons of qualifications at the international level.
This is a system for the electro-technical professions for the final apprentice exams for
graduates. This system improves the accessibility on an international level. (ILO
2005, II)
8.2 Hungary
To what extent is the Hungary recognizing informal competences.
Hungary has been admitted into the EU during 2004, it has to now develop policies
and systems, which comply with EU standards. During 2005 a National Development
Project was launched meaning creating strategies at every level of education and
training. This could only have started in 2005, because Hungary then had the funds to
invest in such projects and now meet the standards of the EU. (ILO, 2004) Many
national institutions and local programmes are focusing on becoming familiar with all
the educational EU policies in order to implement them successfully in Hungary.
The lifelong learning strategy has not yet been elaborated into a comprehensive
strategy at the Hungarian Government, however the importance is being recognised.
Also Hungary has not yet created definitions for formal and non-formal learning
compared to the European interpretations. (European Commission, 2003)
Stakeholders
A primary stakeholder in this is the Hungarian Government, where the
implementation of lifelong learning is top priority. And with its National
Development Plan their funds are being distributed in such a way to increase the
quality of life, therefore the quality of education. (European Commission, 2003)
Within the government the primary responsibility lies with the Ministry of
Employment, Policy and Labour and participates with the Ministry of Education. Part
of the duty of the Ministry of Employment is to “facilitate lifelong learning”.
(European Commission, 2003) However no clear policies have been initiated and
proposed yet. The ministry did start measures called “Developing Skills and Abilities
Necessary for Lifelong Learning” which supports the basic skills, knowledge ensuring
employability and competitive. As well as the “World-Language Programme of the
Ministry of Education, “Development of Entrepreneurial Skills in secondary and
higher education” and the “Development of Vocational Training with Respect to
Content”. (European Commission, 2003) These are all initiative to ensure that the
population is learning lifelong skills and remain competitive. However these are
mostly achieved through the formal education system and will receive formal
certification. Hungary is trying to identify where competencies and qualification
needs lie and where they have to be recognised. A program launched is the Vocational
School Development Programme, which is aimed at developing competencies in
schools and developing skills for life. (ILO, 2004)
Another act established by the ministry involves adult education. “The fundamental
goal of this act is to ensure, by providing uniform regulation, consumer protection for
those participating in such training as well as transparency and accountability of the
adult training system and to regulate through appropriations.” (European Commission,
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Informal Competences and the EU
2003, p.7) A large secondary stakeholder involved in this is the Adult Education
Accreditation Board (FAT); an independent professional board entitled to provide
accreditation to institutions involved in adult education and to adult education
programs. Through this mechanism, certain forms of adult education are being
recognised when executed at the accredited institutions. This helps adults become
more productive and more motivated to participate.
Employability versus Education
Hungary is establishing better educational systems in order to facilitate lifelong
learning. However in education itself non-formal and informal learning has not yet
been recognised. “In this area there is little experience available to us… The
recognition of non-formal and informal knowledge or that gained via life and work
experience provide assistance in learning general knowledge, however there is no
organised method of that knowledge.” (European Commission, 2003, p.17) There are
however developments in the recognition of adult training and in the area of
competence development in schools and educational institutions. This phenomenon
increases or ensures employability of people in Hungary.
Sustainable Story
At the moment, no sustainable story can be found.
8.3 Latvia
To what extent is the Latvia recognizing informal competences?
Latvia is one of the new European Union member states; it officially joined the EU on
the first of May 2004 together with nine other countries. Latvia gained its
independence in 1991 and in 1995 it applied for admission to the EU and during the
talks about the EU convention, there was a mention about vocational training and
creating common EU policies in this area. (MFA Latvia, 2005) Also during that
period, the concept of lifelong learning had appeared at the European Commission
and in 1996, the concept of lifelong learning started to emerge in Latvia. (Ivanova,
2004)
However Latvia has a history of some forms of informal learning or lifelong learning,
universities in the countryside helped people develop skills for life, non-formal adult
education was carried out in knowledge societies, teacher in-service institutions
worked for the development of teachers and other forms of non-formal education
were carried out without having a specific term for it. (Ivanova, 2004) Developments
are made on lifelong learning in legislative acts, vocational and higher education and
in the well functioning Educational Law, all institutions that set the basic principles of
the Latvian Educational System. However overall it can be seen that the learning is
still a priority of the younger population in Latvia, and promotion of adult learning is
still developing. Although it is important to develop non-formal education, a large
percentage of women only participate in this rather than men. Another problem in
Latvia is that even access to formal education apart from informal education depends
largely on income. “As a result, those people who most need education and training
for improvement of their economically inactive population have different levels of
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Informal Competences and the EU
education. Survey data emphasise the possibility of risk of social exclusion for job
seekers because this category reports lower participation in education. Populations
with a low educational level participate less in formal and non-formal education.”
(ILO, 2005, p.2)Therefore not only is the problem of non-formal education prominent
in Latvia, also the problem of formal education is still a problem in Latvia.
Stakeholders
In 1993 a first legitimate entity started to concern itself with adult education and nonformal
learning. “The development of lifelong learning systems in Latvia started in
1993 with establishment of the Latvian Adult Education Association.” (ILO, 2005,
p.1) This is a large non-governmental, non-profit organisation in Latvia concerning
itself with adult education systems. The aim of LAEA is to “promote development of
non-formal adult education systems and to participate in life-long learning policy
making, thereby promoting development of a civic, democratic and open society in
Latvia.” (LAEA, 2005) It initiates many projects in which it promotes adult education
and partners with many different organisations including the EU. “LAEA members
are 75 legal entities (in April 2003) who represent adult education centres in districts,
folk high schools, folk schools and non-governmental organisation, training centres,
universities, vocational schools and evening schools” (European Commission, 2003,
p.4) The LAEA is an important secondary stakeholder in this issue, as it work
together and represents a large part of the society. It creates a tie between societal
needs and the governmental policies. Which in a sense makes it a little bit of a
primary stakeholder as well.
Other very important primary stakeholders are on the national/governmental level of
the country, these include the Ministry of Education and Science and Council for Cooperation
in Vocational Education. Latvia adopted the “national programme for
lifelong learning” on December second 1004. This means they are only at the
beginning of developing this. (ILO, 2004) The ministry mainly responsible for
activities in this area is the Ministry of Education and Science, which is an important
primary stakeholder in this issue. In the Cabinet of Ministries regulation No.557
(2002) it states that one of the ministries tasks is to promote the development of nonformal
education. However at the moment no single department is responsible for this
particular issue. (European Commission, 2002) Therefore the development of nonformal
education and competencies is quite stagnated and underdeveloped, formal
documents of education and training are necessary to apply for a job. “So far the basic
documents of recognition of informal learning are drafted. However, it is not
implemented yet…. Informal learning is not formally recognised.” (Trapenciere,
2004)
For Vocational Education and Training (VET), Latvia is quite developed. A Council
for Co-operation in Vocational Education was established, which includes many
representatives from other ministries and stakeholders. (European Commission, 2002)
One of the objectives of this policy is “to create opportunities for the population to
acquire skills and knowledge which meet labour market requirements.” (Trapenciere,
2004) The governments main priorities in this policy are: improvements of the
administrative system for training, strengthen support institutions and improvement of
the accreditation of vocational education curricula and training establishments.
(Trapenciere, 2004) A large improvement that is being made is to create opportunities
34

Informal Competences and the EU
for the 50+ to remain at work and follow trainings. Many of them do participate in
these forms of informal training, yet it can be characterised as on-the-job training.
(Trapenciere, 2004) Therefore in the area of vocational education and training
improvements are being made to develop competencies acquired by individuals
undergoing such education. However this in a sense is still very much linked to formal
education and training and less to the recognition of informal competencies.
Employability versus Education
As can be seen much of the development in Latvia in the area of recognising
informally learned competencies lies mostly in the promotion of longer and better
employability. The ministry of education and science is far behind in recognising
informal and formal learning and integrating them together at an educational level.
VET is popular in Latvia, however still underdeveloped. Therefore, “in general, data
shows that Latvia still needs to work hard to implement the strategy of the lifelong
memorandum.” (ILO, 2004) Especially in the recognition of informal competencies
not much has been developed yet.
Sustainable Story
Latvia is still in the early stages of development in recognising informal competencies
especially at educational level. However there seems to be one success story in Latvia
on the area of Vocational Training. One popular sector in Latvia is the Banking
sector. “One particular sector should be emphasised and it is banking sector. The
Association of Commercial banks of Latvia has its own training centre. Training is
aimed at increasing of qualifications and skills for bank sector employees at different
levels.”(ILO, 2004) Although training no mention of actual recognising the
competencies learned is made. However it is a step in the right direction.
8.4 Poland
To what extent is Poland recognizing informal competences?
Poland became a member of the European Union on 1 May 2004, together with nine
participants belonging to the new-members of the European Union. In 1999 this
country transformed her education system, with as aims raising education levels and
adapting the educational system to labour market requirements. Poland already
reached one of the highest educational attainment levels of the OECD countries, 90%
of young people completed upper secondary education in 2002. An even bigger shift
took place ten years before in 1989, when the economy changed from a planned
economy to a market economy. Major transformations took place in the field of
privatisation of the former state of cooperative sector. Only in 2000 Poland had to
deal with an economic slow down, resulting in an increase in the unemployment rate
to 20%. (Poland Country Report 2005) In 2003 not much has changed the
unemployment rate is then 18, 7%. (European Commission 2004) This country has a
difficult labour market with one of the lowest labour productivity rates in the OECD.
An opportunity for this country would be recognition of informal learned
competences in the labour market to increase the productivity rates, by making the
work more efficient.
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Informal Competences and the EU
Stakeholders
The concept of lifelong learning also gets attentions in Poland and the main focus is
on adult learning. The Ministries involved in this concept are the Ministry of Labour
and Social Policy and the Ministry of National Education and Sport. These primary
stakeholders have set two main policy strategies: “national strategy for employment
and human resource development 2000-2006” and “the strategy for development for
continuing education until the year 2010” (Poland Country Note 2005, p.18). The first
strategy is the responsibility of the ministry of labour in which the main goals are: the
need to improve labour market participation, employability and adaptability to
changing market conditions. The second strategy is the responsibility of the ministry
of education in which the main goal is: to develop a lifelong learning concept. (Poland
Country Report 2005)
Secondary stakeholders involved in the issue of unemployment are the Practical
Education Centres and the Voluntary Corps, these institutions deal with the
educational needs of the unemployed. (Poland Country Note 2005) Secondary
stakeholders specifically involved in the issue of lifelong learning or informal
competences do not exits, due to the fact that Poland is only dealing with lifelong
learning in the area of formal learning, with focus on adult learning. The concept of
informal competences is not acknowledged and recognized yet, not by the authorities
and not by secondary stakeholders like institutions.
Education versus Employability
“Unemployment is very closely related to the level of education: 68,2% of the
unemployed have only primary or basic vocational education” (European Commission
2004) Unfortunately adults with low levels of education lack motivation to improve
qualifications to have a better chance in finding a job. In order to reduce the rate of
unemployment it is needed to improve the skills and qualifications of the worker.
Poland tries to achieve that by making full use of the reform of the education system,
in a formal manner. (European Commission 2004)
In the literature the opportunities of recognizing informal competences, setting
qualification system and reducing the unemployment rate in that way is not described.
Poland is still focussing on formal education and formal on the job learning training
courses. The problem of the high unemployment rate is addressed in the sense that
some regulations exists that enable unemployed people without any qualification to
undergo extended training for up to two years. (Poland Country Note 2005) However
no information can be found on policies or strategies how they realise these extended
trainings and if the unemployed get a certification if they succeed.
The opportunities of informal learning however are recognized in the country report
of 2005, in which is stated that: “Certification of informal learning and the promotion
of “on-the-job” learning possibilities would substantially reduce the costs and barriers
for adults to engage in learning” (Poland Country Note 2005, p.26). Only no policies
or strategies are developed in the education system or in the area of increasing
employability. Poland is not yet implementing informal learning forms or
qualification systems.
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Informal Competences and the EU
Sustainable Story
Lifelong learning is a goal of the ministry of education, although in this concept
Poland is focusing on the formal education system and not on informal learning.
There is no evidence of implementation of a qualification system or of recognizing the
concept of informal competences. The relation between informal learning and on-thejob
learning and reducing the costs and barriers for adults in the learning is seen.
However no policies or strategies are set for implementing this concept. There is no
evidence that the opportunities of recognizing informal competences by making them
formal in a qualification system are implemented or in the developing phase.
8.5 Slovenia
To what extent is Slovenia recognizing informal competences?
Slovenia belongs to one of the new members of the European Union and not until
fourteen years ago it was dependent. It gained its independence in 1991 after the
collapse of the former Yugoslavian federation. The former relation with Yugoslavian
can still be seen in the education system, which not much differs from the education
systems of the other ex-Yugoslav countries.(Ignjatovic et al.2003)
Slovenia is transforming her educational system for almost a decade now, although
still has the same main authorities. That is the Ministry of Education, Science and
Sport and the Ministry of Labour, Family and Social Affairs. The responsibilities of
the educational department have to do with the entire school system, from pre-school
education through basic, secondary, post-secondary and higher education. The
Ministry of Labour deals more with the issue of recognizing non-formal and informal
learning. “It is responsible for approving occupational standards that form the basis
for the officially recognized vocational and technical education and training programs
delivered by the formal education system”(Ignjatovic et al. 2003 p.31).
The aims of the reformation of the education system are (Ignjatovic et al. 2003, p.67):
“Accessibility and transparency of the public education system”
“Legal neutrality”
“Choice at all levels”
“Democracy, autonomy and equal opportunities”
“Quality of learning to take precedence over the accumulation of facts”
Recognition of informal acquired competences will make accessibility better, will
give people equal opportunities and learning will be more efficient, which will result
in higher quality.
Stakeholders
The primary stakeholders involved are The Ministry of Education, Science and
Sport (MOESS) and the Ministry of Labor, Family and Social Affairs (MOLFSA).
They share the responsibility for labor market related adult education, although have
also separate responsibilities. (Ignjatovic et al.2003)
MOESS is mainly responsible for structuring and funding of the education system, the
management of public institutions, inspection procedures and financial assistance to
students. It deals with legislation and with the implementation of education acts.
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Informal Competences and the EU
MOLFSAs’council of experts is responsible for setting new occupational titles and
defining new standards and wages and salary systems. The council presents his
decisions to MOLFSA and MOLFSA has the final answer in it. MOLFSA is also the
ministry that deals with labor market related continuing vocational and educational
training. (Ignjatovic et al.2003)
“In 2004 several partners cooperated in planning vocational and professional training
at all levels, defining knowledge standards, adopting training programmes and their
implementation” (ILO Slo 2005). Only these kinds of training belong to formal
education, it is part of the concept of lifelong learning and helps to develop the
professional career of an individual, however it does not include informal learning.
The educations system is still centralized and compact, qualifications systems are
made on the national level in which MOESS is responsible for general education and
MOLFSA for the vocational part of vocational education and for the qualification
systems. Unfortunately the whole issue of integrating formal, non-formal and
informal learning is still in its developing process.
Only one specific council or institutions or secondary stakeholder is dealing
specifically with recognition of non-formal and informal learning. This is the National
VET Council and the related National VET Centre. They provide certificates when
people met a certain vocational standard of skills, people should prove that they meet
the required level of skills. Although if also informal acquired skills and competences
are encompassed in this certificate cannot be found in the literature. (Ignjatovic et
al.2003)
In addition two systems exist considering qualification systems in general; one is of
the department of MOESS encompassing national school qualifications, the other
system is the certification system on the labor market for which the MOLFSA is
responsible. However the Employment Service of Slovenia is dealing with the
unemployed, not specifically with informal acquired competences of the unemployed,
but it can be called a secondary stakeholder considering the labor market. (Ignjatovic
et al.2003) There is also a certain act with the aim to reintegrate the unemployed in
the work environment. This will be discussed in the next paragraph.
Employability versus Education
The education system is still very much centralized and there is no special attention
to recognizing informal competences or to make the system more accessible in this
manner. Only the concept of lifelong learning is seen as important, therefore in 1996
an Act on Adult Education is established. (Ignjatovic et al.2003) However the adult
education system is only recognizing formal acquired competences inside the formal
education system. No specific body or institutions is dealing with this issue of
recognizing informal learned competences.
Increasing employability is an issue for which the ministry of labor is responsible. In
2000 they created a National Vocational Qualification Act with as aim the re-insertion
of the unemployed. The Act resulted also in the foundation of the National VET
Centre and the National VET Council. People should met a certain vocational
standard of skills and knowledge, which is set by the National VET Council in a
catalogues, in order to get an certification. This is a good way in recognizing the skills
38

Informal Competences and the EU
obtained on the job, training courses or self-education. The certificate is nationally
valid, only you do not have access to the education system exclusively to the labor
market. (Ignjatovic et al.2003)
Sustainable Story
In the literature not much can be found on the issue of recognition of informal learned
competences and the information that exists states that it is not yet practiced in a
sustainable manner. Although there is evidence that with the qualification system of
the National VET Council: “Up to 2003 nearly 200 vocational standards have been
prepared and approved. In 2002 qualification certificates were awarded to 140
surveyors of dangerous means transportation, 25 home careers and 25 chemical
processors” (Ignjatovic et al.2003 p.61). These are the only statistics or facts that can
be found. It is clear that Slovenia is in the process of recognition and focuses more on
increasing employability than on improving the education system in this manner.
9. Analysis
As can be seen many countries are improving their policies. Informal competencies
are starting to be recognised in these areas. However, it can be seen that each country
is doing this differently. Some are more developed than others and some use different
stakeholders. It was quite clear that the initial responsibility in creating a system lies
with the government and its education ministries. As long as the government does not
develop any real policies such as in Hungary and Poland, a country is not able to
achieve what the UK, the Netherlands and even Czech Republic are achieving. The
UK and the Netherlands are already fairly developed, Denmark is also improving and
has a favourable learning culture in the country for this development. Germany is still
stagnated and very fond of its formal learning culture. The other new member
countries are all fairly behind in their development of recognition and accreditation
systems. We have also seen that differences exist largely due to the learning culture in
the country. Examples of this are Denmark, in which there is a favourable climate and
Germany in which there is not. This can make a huge difference. In the table below
(Table 3, p. 40) a aggregation of all the findings are given.
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Informal Competences and the EU
Table 3: Aggregation of Findings
Country Stakeholders Focus and Sustainable Story
The Netherlands
Mixed model
The United
Kingdom
Anglo-Saxon
Denmark:
Scandinavian
Model
Germany
Dual System
Greece
Mediterranean
Model
Primary: Government and Social Partners
Ministry of Education,
Culture and Science
Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment
SER, Educational Council
COLO, ROC
Secondary: The Knowledge Center
Primary: APL
Department for Education and Skills, Education Act 1997,
Learning and Skills Act 2000
National Vocational Qualifications
QCA, the Social Partners
Secondary: Open College Network
Learning Skills Council
Primary: Grundtvig (Philosopher),
Ministry of Education, Ministry of Labour
Secondary: Basic Adult education Scheme
The Danish confederation of trade Unions and Danish
Employers
Primary: Federal Government of Germany
Vocational Training Act
Standing Conference Ministers of Education and Cultural
Affairs.
Secondary: Weiterbildungspass
BIBB, National Pact on Vocational Training
Primary: Ministry of Education and Religious Affairs
Ministry of Social Affairs and its social partners
Secondary: National Labour Institute
National Employment Observatory, National Centre
Vocational Orientation
Czech Republic Primary: Council of Economic and Social Agreement of the
Czech Republic
Department of Administration of Employment Services of the
Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (MLSA)
National Institute of Technical and Vocational Education
(NITVE)
Secondary: State Administrative Bodies
Labour Offices and Social Partners
Hungary Primary: Hungarian Government
National Development Plan, Ministry of Employment
Policy and Labour, Ministry of Education.
Secondary: Adult Education Accreditation Board (FAT)
Latvia Primary: Ministry of Education and Science
Council for Co-operation in Vocational Education
Secondary: Latvian Adult Education Association, VET
Poland Primary: Ministry of Labour and Social Policy
Ministry of National Education and Sport
Secondary: Practical education Centres, Voluntary Corps
Slovenia Primary: Ministry of Education, Science and Sport
Ministry of Labour, Family and Social Affairs.
Secondary: Employment Service
Both Employability and
Education, fairly developed
Frico Cheese
Care Industry
Both Employability and
Education fairly developed
Shepherd Construction
Company
Employability
Health Care Industry
Employability
BASF AG
Employability
Industrial Commercial
Chamber of Athens
Czech Association of
Employers in Energy (CSZE)
Not much developed. A bit of
both.
No Story
Employability
Banking Sector
No specific one.
Underdeveloped
No Story
Employability
In the process
Note: For Further Information on the Sustainable Stories of Individual Countries, see respective
Country Analysis.
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Informal Competences and the EU
10. Best Practice
10.1 Old EU Members – United Kingdom
From the old member state countries that were analysed the UK can be identified as
having a “best practice”. They were fairly early in the development of APL than the
other countries. They have a specified term for this, which the Netherlands has also
recently started to engage in. The UK is both engaged in making possibilities for the
recognition of informal learning and competencies in employability and education.
As they are characterized by a permanent system, which means that they have already
policies in place. They already have the foundation of bodies that can help in the
recognition process. This does however mean that it needs to be developed even
further. The Department of Education and Skills and its Councils and Acts are
important steps in the direction of having informally learned competencies
recognized. Adults are stimulated to continue learning and enter higher education and
employees are encouraged to develop skills portfolio and to contribute to the Skills
Strategy. This increases education levels, employability and overall productivity of
the country.
Therefore the UK can be called a best practice as it focuses on both Education and
Employability and they need to be both developed in order to create an increasingly
productive, education and employable population in a country. Perhaps countries in a
lower development stage can take as example the UK.
10.2 New EU Members – Czech Republic
From the new member countries a best practice was chosen as well. The Czech
Republic can be called the best practice compared to the other new members of the
European Union considering her policy and strategies in the recognition of informal
competences. From the new-member countries of the European Union Czech
Republic is a country that sees recognizing informal competences really as an
opportunity in the concept of lifelong learning. This is the only country compared to
the others that were analysed that has two councils of ministries involved in the
legislation of lifelong learning; the Council for Human Resource Development and
the Council of Economic and Social Agreement. In addition it also had a department
and an institution especially involved in the recognition of competencies and
qualifications; the Department of Administration of Employment Services of the
Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (MLSA) and National Institute of Technical
and Vocational Education (NITVE) which is one of the working units of the Ministry
of Education.
The MLSA is at this moment developing a system, which enables the recognition of
skills and competencies. The system is now in the last stage of development and is
being tested by the labour offices. The system encompasses 1600 professions and
occupations to make the job opportunities and the requests of the workforce more
visible and thereby creating a good fit between supply and demand. This system will
increase employability in the near future and will make it easier to compare the
41

Informal Competences and the EU
available job opportunities with the available workforce with the appropriate
qualifications and thus choosing the most suitable candidate for the job.
It can be concluded that Czech Republic is the most innovative country compared to
the other new members of the EU, because it is the only one that is in the last stage of
developing a qualification system, which encompasses 1600 professions. It has a
stronger government focus on the issue and seems to pay more attention to this issue
than the other new members.
11. Recommendations
11. 1 For the EU:
The EU overall, should be more clear in developing an overall common policy. With
the concept of lifelong learning they are trying to achieve this. However it should be
further developed in order for countries to implement their suggestions within their
own system. By creating own common policy especially on the recognition of
informal competencies for the purpose of entering higher education. This seems to be
an area where there is not much development yet and where a common policy by the
EU could be of great assistance to countries that are yet to implement such measure.
In the area of employability, many countries are already quite developed and are
developing this, through improvements in vocational policies and programs. The EU
should aggregate the best practices and create an overall policy which would suit
various countries.
These improvements would be of great advantage in order to be able to transfer
informally learned competencies abroad and have them recognised. By creating a
common accreditation system this can be achieved.
11.2 For Further Research:
As we have only looked at a sample of EU countries, it is difficult to generalise.
Perhaps for further research it could be suggested that a full analysis of all EU
member states is performed. This way conclusion can be fully drawn and better
recommendations can be given. Especially for the EU common policy on lifelong
learning and what specifically has to be done to achieve this common policy.
In this research we have specifically looked at the recognition of informally learned
competencies. Which is one part of education that still needs much attention.
However in the era of lifelong learning, it might be more interesting to looked at the
formal educational changes and systems as well. Especially with the growth of the EU
and the creation of common policies this might be a very useful research. Looking a
the entire concept of lifelong learning and the differences and similarities between
countries would add value to making EU policies. The creation of common formal
educational systems and have certifications internationally recognised is an important
issue as well.
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Informal Competences and the EU
The analysis in this research was based on giving an indication on whether the
stakeholders involved in a particular country were focusing on increasing
employability or whether they had greater focus on increasing education. There are
other areas where one can look at when analysing informal competencies. Another
important area is the recognition by companies in these countries. It would be
interesting to see whether certain companies are really recognising informal
competencies other than by means of vocational and on-the-job training. Are
companies also selecting on the basis of informal competencies when a person does
not have proper formal education? This could be an interesting topic. However it is
very difficult to research and probably step one in this process is creating certain
institutions that do recognise these informally learned competencies properly. Or
perhaps a company could play a large role in this?
These are some of the recommendations for further research. It is a very interesting
and challenging topic. Especially in the case with the common policy for the EU and
on how to properly achieve lifelong learning in all its member states.
12. Letter of Recommendation
12. 1 Content of the paper
By critically looking at our own paper, some strengths and weaknesses can be found.
From these strengths and weaknesses we can find the opportunities and threats for
future research.
First, we will describe the parts we consider as strengths of this paper. Before we
started this research this topic, recognizing informal learned competences, was fairly
new to us. During years of study we never read books or academic articles on this
topic. We tried to give a clear overview of this topic in our paper and we think we
succeeded. The clear overview of different countries within the EU and their role in
recognizing informal competences can be called a strength.
Another strength is related to the fact that we write this paper for a customer and we
give him an initial list of stakeholders within the EU that are involved in this topic.
We looked at the primary stakeholders in Europe, who have direct influence and
participate in the policy design and implementation of education issues. In addition
we looked at primary and secondary stakeholders of five old-member countries and
five new-member countries of the EU. The strength is that this research gives a clear
overview of the stakeholders involved for our customer.
The last strength we regard that is worth mentioning are the appropriate and relevant
sources we found. We searched in different databases and journals and examined
several websites of NGOs, countries and institutions.
Secondly we will describe the parts we consider as weaknesses of this paper. It might
be seen as a weakness that we took ten sample countries and not for example five. If
we had taken five countries we could have provided a more in depth study of each
country. In this paper we give a very general overview of ten countries.
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Informal Competences and the EU
Another weakness could be that this research is more a descriptive study. We
described a problem, gave a definition of the problem, followed by a diagnose and we
finished by presenting the outcome of our research. We did not go trough the last
stages of the reflective circle and did not provide an implementation strategy for the
countries. A weakness can be that we choose not to describe how countries should
implement a policy or strategy related to the recognition of informally learned
competences. Instead we decided to give a review on to what extent these countries
are recognizing this concept.
The last weakness that might need to be mentioned is that the content of this paper
might be too long. The table in Chapter 9 gives a good to the point overview, however
the content of the entire paper might be too long and too descriptive.
We will continue this letter of recommendation by describing the opportunities for
future research projects. This paper can be seen as evidence that even with a topic,
considered to be new for us, in the end we can provide a clear overview. An
opportunity in this sense can be that it might be interesting in the future to investigate
new topics, innovative ideas, as we have proven to be able to give an overview of an
initially unfamiliar topic.
Another opportunity is related to the above one, due to the fact that one of our
strengths is finding good sources, we are able to provide a clear overview on a
relatively new subject. An opportunity can be to even further expand our idea of
where good sources can be found. For example by searching in books and in different
libraries.
This last paragraph will describe the threat for future research projects. We might
consider writing too descriptive as a threat, because we might not be able to provide a
good to the point overview. This can even result in too much repetition in a paper.
12.2 Limitations of the research project
Several limitations exist considering the research process of this project. One of the
limitations is the fact that not all countries are discussed. We chose five “old” member
countries from a model that signified their learning culture, however within that
criteria we randomly chose a country. The “new” member countries were chosen at
random, the main criteria were the information published on this issue on that specific
country. That we choose to look at ten member countries of the EU creates a bias in
deciding which has the best practice, as we only considered those ten countries.
Unfortunately, not much information on this issue is published about the new member
countries, this can also be seen as a bias. In addition we only looked at English (and
some Dutch and German) information. If we could understand the papers published in
the native languages of the new member countries, more information could be used
and analysed.
Another limitation can be found in the limited time that we had for this research, if we
had more time we could really investigate this issue in more depth and perhaps have
investigated more stakeholders.
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Informal Competences and the EU
The last limitation, which should be mentioned, has to do with the area we focused on
in our research. We decided to focus on informal learning and whether it is integrated
in the education system of a country or integrated to increase employability, or both.
We did not focus on informal learning in relation with businesses, whether it is
integrated in the system of businesses. Also the research was focused on informal
learning rather than the entire concept of lifelong learning
45

Informal Competences and the EU
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