Abstract:

The economic downturn that is currently being felt throughout Europe is bringing to the forefront the importance of Learning, Education and Training in assisting people to overcome the present difficulties and provide important contributions for relaunching the economy.
As workers are increasingly required to learn new skills and to diversify their core know‐how and competences, the European Union has tried to provide EU citizens with common tools and frameworks that can assist them in having their knowledge and skills recognized in different countries of the EU.
This has been particularly relevant in the case of Vocational Education and training (VET) and the EU’s activities through the Copenhagen Process, promoting VET reforms to provide European countries with the labour capital they need now and in the future.

Several instruments have been created to achieve this objective, the Europass, the European Qualification Framework (EQF) The European Credit system for Vocational Education and Training (ECVET), The European Quality Assurance Reference Framework for Vocational Education and Training (once EQARF, now EQAVET).
The EWF has been particularly active in investigating the links between its own harmonized system of professional qualification for the welding sector and the EQF, recognizing the potential benefits of referencing its system to this European Qualification Framework, thereby bringing a sector of activity with a significant impact at the European level closer to the EU’s efforts to improve training and qualification.

The B‐PROF project, coordinated by EWF is a practical example of these efforts. By creating a methodology of assessment of informal and non‐formal learning for welders lacking proper recognition of these qualifications, the project will allow for the introduction of this system across the European area. Extending the methodology across EWF training organizations will boost adult learning practices and competence validation all over Europe.
The project has set up an APL methodology, giving welders the possibility of applying to receive validation and recognition of knowledge, skills and competences acquired through informal and non‐formal means. The methodology outlines key assessment units based on EWF qualifications, representative of the main set of skills that a basic welder should be able to prove.

This methodology intends to give welders across Europe an alternative path towards qualifications, while maintaining a strong degree of technical added‐value.
The following paper provides an overview of the tools currently available, the opportunities they offer and also the challenges that they pose to organizations in general. The paper also presents a practical case of referencing these European tools into the ongoing activities of B‐PROF, a European Grundtvig Multilateral project.

Keywords:

EQF, adult education, training, qualifications, welders, learning outcomes.