Competences Before Diplomas

Short Description

Through the recent publication of the ‘European Skills Agenda for sustainable competitiveness, social fairness and resilience’, the EU Commission recognises the importance of skills to ensure social fairness.

The overall aim of the Competences Before Diplomas (CBD) project is to identify and develop possible ways of recognition and validation of competences acquired by non-formal and informal settings, especially with left behind adult learners and other disadvantaged target groups, mainly through the use of a Validation Portfolio.

Specific objectives:
• To promote the socioeconomic advancement and inclusion of disadvantaged individuals that experience gaps in formal education credentials, through the recognition and validation of their non-formal skills and competences;
• To study, analyse, explore and make more accessible the European and national scenarios of validation of competence and adult education in terms of statistical data, public policies and best practices;
• To increase access of target groups to the recognition of competences acquired in non-formal and informal settings, through a training curriculum focused on the European Key Competences for Lifelong Learning and a Validation Portfolio;
• To provide free access to digital learning content, through the creation of an interactive digital platform, containing all learning materials and methodologies developed in the project as interactive activities, and additional content regarding the topics of innovation in education and of competence validation;
• To contribute to the improvement and update of policies, through a set of recommendation guidelines aimed and fostering strategic actions and common efforts carried out in cooperation by public authorities, training organisations, social actors and certification institutions, in order to increase opportunities to validate non-formal competences and to raise awareness about the importance of recognising different types of certification.

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Project Partners