An important aspect was raised by the EA member
Mr Marek Olszewski during the debate on fostering inclusion and equality through investment in education in the SEDEC commission. The recognition of skills and competences acquired through non formal and informal education is required to enhance employability, argued the EA member. There is a need to guarantee at EU level the appropriate quality and equivalence of validation procedures in order to ensure that certificates obtained through the validation process are mutually recognisable throughout the EU.
He reminded, however, that it is the local and regional authorities that have key responsibilities for education and training and direct knowledge of both the skills required for the labour market in their area and the training requirements of their citizens and therefore are well placed to contribute to policy development and implementation in the field of education and training, including the validation of non-formal and informal learning.
Mr Olszewski underlined the need to place 'the learner' at the heart of education policies to achieve the best results and argued that at the moment, money is spent inefficiently as most policies address educational institutions, rather than learners.
