The recommendation emphasises the importance of coordination of and appropriate information on validation. The Member States are invited to ‘promote the involvement in the development and implementation of the elements and principles […] of all relevant stakeholders, such as employers, trade unions, chambers of industry, commerce and skilled crafts, national entities involved in the process of recognition of professional qualifications, employment services, youth organisations, youth workers, education and training providers, and civil society organisations’. The Member States are furthermore called to ‘promote coordination on validation arrangements between stakeholders in the education, training, employment and youth sectors, as well as between those in other relevant policy areas’ (Council of EU, 2012, p. 4, points 4 and 5). More...

The recommendation pays particular attention to the role of guidance and counselling in taking forward validation. Member States should ensure within validation arrangements information and guidance on the benefits of, and opportunities for validation, as well as on the relevant procedures, are available to individuals and organisations’ and ‘the validation of non-formal and informal learning is supported by appropriate guidance and counselling and is readily accessible’ (Council of EU, 2012, p. 3, points 3b and 3e). More...

The 2012 recommendation underlines that the individual must be at the focus of validation arrangements: ‘[the] arrangements for the validation of non-formal and informal learning which enable individuals to (a) have knowledge, skills and competences which have been acquired through non-formal and informal learning validated, including, where applicable, through open educational resources; (b) obtain a full qualification, or, where applicable, part qualification, on the basis of validated non-formal and informal learning experiences (Council of the EU, 2012, p. 3, point 1, emphasis added). More...

The 2012 Recommendation iIdentifies four distinct phases: IDENTIFICATION of an individual's learning outcomes acquired through non-formal and informal learning; DOCUMENTATION of an individual's learning outcomes acquired through non-formal and informal learning; ASSESSMENT of an individual's learning outcomes acquired through non-formal and informal learning; CERTIFICATION of the results of the assessment of an individual's learning outcomes acquired through non-formal and informal learning in the form of a qualification, or credits leading to a qualification, or in another form, as appropriate (Council of the EU, 2012, p. 3, points 2a to 2d). More...

The member states should, with a view to offering individuals the opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned outside formal education and training — including through mobility experiences — and to make use of that learning for their careers and further learning, and with due regard for the principle of subsidiarity have in place, no later than 2018, in accordance with national circumstances and specificities, and as they deem appropriate, arrangements for the validation of non-formal and informal learning. More...

The current database aims to support European countries in their efforts to develop and establish arrangements to validate non-formal and informal learning. It is also a tool for anyone interested in validation, to understand better how validation is carried out in Europe. More...