Beyond Manitoba
Sometimes the best way to attract good people is to show them how easy it will be for them to leave you. The Royal Air Force in the UK is an employer of choice because they can demonstrate the employability of their “graduates”.
John Konrad is an international researcher in Vocational Education and Training [VET] and a policy advisor to British and European governments He is a national and European Expert on the Transparency and Recognition of Qualifications and Competencies.
Standards drive credibility for validating non‑formal and informal learning
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Academic credentials are often automatically included in job requirements because they are seen as minimum standards for skills and knowledge.
But current practice in Europe is placing increasing emphasis on recognizing learning in the workplace because that is where the rubber hits the road in terms of effectiveness.
John Konrad has been tracking these issues for several years as a vocational instructor and an internationally recognized researcher.
It’s a question of currency and credibility. If you are talking about summative assessment, it’s got to be the same standard and it’s got to be done in the same way because otherwise RPL is seen as a soft option and its credibility and its currency is lacking.
Which is a shame, because in many cases if you are testing people in the workplace your assessment, all things being equal, is likely to be more reliable and valid than people sitting in a formal examination in a college or a university.
And I think anybody in Europe would have no problems with this, and you see it comes out in the latest version of the European guidelines.
NB: See more in the European guidelines for validating non-formal and informal learning (2009)