Recognition of competences

This recognition would allow you to hand out a formally recognised certificate to the attendants of your eScouts course once it is tested and finished. Education systems and their formal recognition procedures have a long history in each country. This is the reason why such procedures are different in every country, if there are any. This also means that there is no general European model.

State of affairs

At theDortmundproject meeting on 14 and 15 July 2011, all partners have delivered a first report on their recognition perspectives within the survey drafted by the sfs/TUDO team. This was relatively difficult to answer for the partners, since the type of competence and the training course was not yet defined in very much detail. Neither the size nor the specific content of the training units was specified. The only thing which was and is evident to all partners is the fact that the learning programme to be developed will be situated in the area of further or continuing training.

The main objective of the survey and the corresponding survey questionnaire or guide was to make sure that all partners collected some information on the formal procedures and requirements needed for an eventual recognition process in each country, i.e. to raise general awareness at an early point of time of the project that

• there are some formal requirements to be taken in consideration at the hour of designing the learning programmes
• formal requirements for recognition, if defined at all, are different in each country
• for developing individual strategies in each country, additional information needs to be gathered for inserting the learning programme into the educational activities of specific social communities or institutions
• in all countries strategies of recognition must include strategies of alignment with other stakeholders in the respective field pursuing similar or identical interests

In the following paragraphs, the situation and perspectives will be described for each of the five countries participating in this survey.

Country-specific information

   Bulgaria  

 The Bulgarian partner claims that the authority which eventually might be relevant for the recognition of competences gained through the planned courses will be the National Agency for Vocational Education and Training (NAVET). All further conditions of a possible recognition process are described in some detail.

   Italy

 The Italian partner has provided a detailed description of the Italian system specifying that recognition of VET-related qualifications lies in the responsibility of the regions. The decentralised approach has led to a variety of different recognition procedures. Two possible reference profiles could be used for the eScouts programme: the facilitator-like “Responsible for Communication, promotion of services and products of public/private bodies, facilitation of online services” being in the process of recognition inTuscany, and the Intercultural Mediator, which was recognised very recently, though it is not said in which region. No academic levels as possible reference levels are mentioned.

   Poland

 For the time being, the Polish partner has left open to which educational level (e.g. VET or academic level) and hence to which recognition authority the eScouts learning programme would have to be related. A profession to which the eScouts competence could be related has not been found.

    Spain

 The Spanish partner describes a recognition system in transformation where central competences are being shifted to regional authorities with requirements and procedures still being defined. The report deliberately leaves open to which level of education the eScouts programme would be referring. Further clarification is announced.

   United Kingdom

 The British partner has chosen to relate the eScouts programme to an academic level where individual universities decide about recognising a learning programme and what sort of certificate will be linked to it.

Conclusions

Few are the conclusions which can be drawn from these first explorations, since the nature of the eScouts learning programme was little defined at the time the reports were composed. The first and foremost purpose of these explorations was to make the partners acquainted with their specific national and regional systems of recognition. Further information and knowledge will have to be gathered once the eScouts competence profile and learning programme will be more defined and specified.

• Although some of the partners already did relate the eScouts learning programme to either the VET or the academic level, further decisions have to be taken once the eScouts facilitator clientel and their present education levels are better known. These may vary from country to country.
• From this choice of education level, further information needs may arise for a second survey lap after the Worcester meeting in mid-January 2012 either deepening the existing information or replacing it due to a possible change of the education level referred to in each country.