Background

1. Transparency of informally acquired competences in Europe:The exemplo Toolkit for small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs)

2. Background • Increasing crossborder mobility • mobility for young persons strongly supported from the EU • mobility of enterprises (competitive factor) • Increased importance of life long learning Enterprises have to rely on instruments which make competences transparent, not important where and how (formal, non-formal or informal) they have been acquired.

3. Objectives of the exemplo project:Development of a toolkit for SMEs • Exemplo tools should be … • independent from specific national VET systems • suitable for small and medium sized enterprises • adaptable to varying demands of companies and employees • contain formative and summative elements • go along with „European principles for the validation of informal learning“

4. Exemplo approach • Using experiences from Europe • Including social partners, SMEs and employees • Development of a toolkit and guidelines for enterprises and training providers • Piloting and Testing of tools in SMEs in European countries with different VET systems

5. Multi actors partnership • Finland • France • Germany • Norway • Poland • Spain • UK

7. Exemplo Approach Competence needs of SMEs Including employers Transfer of individual competences into enterprises Life long learning – competence assessment (formally, non-formally, informally acquired) Individual competences

8. The Exemplo toolkit: An overview • Kompetanseattest (NO) • ERA – Evaluación y Acreditacición de las Competencias Profesionales (ES) • FIT – Formation Intégrée au Travail (FR) • Lernprozesse im Betrieb anregen und gestalten (DE) • Staff Development Matrix (Pl) • RARPA – Recognising and Recording Progress and Achievement in non- accredited learning (UK) • TBQ – Transparenz beruflicher Qualifikationen (DE) Self-assessment Assessment by others Assessmentof competencies Development ofcompetencies Description Validation,Certification Employer-oriented Employee-oriented Professionalcompetence Personal andsocial competence

9. Classification of the Exemplo-tools • Who is the subject of the assessment of competences? • What does the method primarily focus on? • Who is in the centre of the process? • What kind of competences are to be measured/validated? Self-assessment Assessment by others Assessmentof competencies Development ofcompetencies Description Validation,Certification Employer-oriented Employee-oriented Professionalcompetence Personal andsocial competence

10. Two examples for different needs • (self) assessment of actual level of competence Competence Card for Workplace (NO) • transfer of learning outcomes into professional practice Transparency of Competence (DE) • inhouse development of competences in SMEs

11. Example I: Competence Card for Workplace Documenting competences: Competence Card for Workplace (NO) contains: • Curriculum Vitae (CV) • Competence Pass Classification: Self-assessment Assessment by others Assessmentof competencies Development ofcompetencies Description Validation,Certification Employer-oriented Employee-oriented Professionalcompetence Personal andsocial competence

12. Example II: Transparency of transfer of learning outcomes Self-assessment Assessment by others Classification: Informal learning processes, which take place after a training course in the workplace, are made visible. Assessmentof competencies Development ofcompetencies Validation,Certification Description Employer-oriented Employee-oriented Professionalcompetence Personal andsocial competence Evaluation with Employer andTraining provider Informal learningat the workplace Seminar Self-evaluation Agreement on objectives Certificate

13. … experiences and recommendations • Universal applicability vs. orientation towards identification of specific competences • General standards vs. (company-)specific design of competence assessment procedures • Self-evaluation vs. evaluation by others • Simplicity of use vs. validity of results

14. … experiences and recommendations • Identification of specific requirements of a company • Decision about objectives of the competence assessment procedure • Including external experts! • Pragmatic approaches to be encouraged - experimental approaches welcome „All models are wrong, but some are constructive“ (quotation after VOX, Norwegian exemplo partner)

15. Further Information you will find in the final publicationImpuls, Vol 25 and on the project website www.exemplo.de THE END Natalie Morawietz morawietz.natalie@f-bb.de www.f-bb.de