Introduction to all themes
Theme 1: Validation and working life
The main focus of this theme is to look at the importance of VPL as a tool for making existing skills of workers visible and giving those skills value. Shedding light on competence requirements within occupations can assist in connecting them with future skills needs for specific jobs and sectors.
Another aspect is that bringing transparency to the skills that an employee/individual developed in various working contexts can motivate people towards identifying ways to develop their skills at their current jobs. In return, these aspects are connected to the aim of a globally competitive working life. Hence, VPL can connect processes in Human Resource Management and well-being, addressing the interests of both companies and employees.
Theme 2: Validation and education / training
Increasing diversity in the way people learn is challenging the traditional mode of assessing prior learning, as well as didactic practice. Structured education and training pathways need to be equipped to take prior learning into account and support learners appropriately in their further learning.
Mainstreaming VPL and various modes of learning (with regards to context, content, length etc.) can be a motivational factor for the learner, and as such a crucial element in real access to VPL. The way these modes of learning are recognized, also needs clarification – the concept of ubique learning.
Theme 3: Validation and personal development
Awareness of one’s own competences through documentation supports positive self-esteem and motivates further personal development. Transversal and transferrable skills (soft skills) can play a key role with regards to identifying opportunities for learning and work.
Identifying methods and tools for making all types of skills visible can benefit personal development and career learning. Career Management Skills (CMS) are tacitly embedded in the validation process, but can CMS be used in a more goal-oriented way with specialized guidance?
Theme 4: VPL and social sustainability
Validation has a role in widening participation in learning, active citizenship and democratization. Outreach is needed for vulnerable groups with a focus on information, guidance and support.
The different spheres of learning, such as community and service learning and voluntary work, can provide opportunities for validation processes. That will call for a learning outcome based approach which improves access to educational pathways, thus enhancing inclusion.
Theme 5: Research strand
Presentations of current research in the field.
WORKSHOPS DAY 1: 19th of May, 13:00 – 14:20 and 15:00 – 16:20
NB! The presentations will be repeated twice; early afternoon and late afternoon – choose a different theme!
Theme 1: Validation and working life
Helén Björnsdotter
Started to work with Labor Market issues in 2005 and since then with many different type of assignments mainly focused on RPL and migration, both on national and municipality level. Well experienced within project managing national projects within the European Social Fund.
Helén Björnsdotter, Bachelor of Science in Political Science and History.
Pär Sellberg
Since 2009, Pär works as a Senior Advisor at the Swedish National Agency for Higher Vocational Education, the Unit for Skills and Lifelong Learning. At the Agency he has been responsible for the specific type of VPL that is designed and provided by Industry Sectors for recognizing professional skills. Previously he was a saddler for twenty years working for different craft associations with modern apprenticeship, VPL and journeyman and master certifications. Pär is also one of the VPL experts within the Nordic network for adult learning (NVL).
Conny Larsson
M.Sc. in Business Administration, B.Sc in Working Life Pedagogy. Many years of experience in Labor Market and Education issues. Initiator of development of the Sobona validation model. Project Mangager for VPL-development at Sobona. Head of the Sobona competence and validation administration.
Saygın Baban
Saygın Baban is the Director of Entrepreneurship and Sectoral Councils Department at the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey.
He has Bsc in Industrial Engineering and masters degree in Finance and Statistics.
He was a part and coordinator of various national and international projects in a wide range of areas such as vocational education and training, unemployment, green economy and vocational qualifications and standards.
He is the founding general manager of TOBB MEYBEM Vocational Qualifications and Certification Center which aims to offer certification and verification services for the employees.
He is the Board Member of Technopark of Middle East Techincal University and member of the advisory board of the Environment Agency of Turkey.
Thomas Nylund
M.Sc.Eng, PhD. h.c. CEO of Effen Konsult. Senior advisor. Deputy Chairman of the Board of Governors of the University of Gävle, Sweden.
Chairman of Executive committé for vocational education in Logistics, SKY Foundation, Sweden.
15 years’ experience as manager in Waste Management,. Engaged by Sobona as advisor and for quality assurance in development of VPL.
Theme 2: Validation and education / training
Francesca Uras
Francesca Uras is Project Manager at eucen, the European University Continuing Education Network. She has a Bachelor in Political Sciences and a Master in International Relations and in Human Rights. Working for eucen – the European University Continuing Education Network, she has more than 7 years of experience in handling projects especially within the Erasmus+ Programme, in a range of different areas related to the promotion of lifelong learning, social inclusion, inclusive education, digitalisation, university-business cooperation, work-based learning and more. She was part of the coordination team of the project VINCE – Validation for Inclusion of New Citizens of Europe, in the years 2016-2019.
Dr. Jean-Marie Filloque
Dr. Jean-Marie Filloque (68 years old) is an electronic engineer and a PhD in computer science that he has taught at University of Western Brittany until 2012. He has been Vice Rector for Lifelong Learning of this university between 2006 and 2016 and in charge of academics affairs since 2012. He has been President of the French National UCE network between 2005 and 2012. He has been an active member of the EUCEN Steering committee since 2005 and during 3 mandates and one of the EUCEN’s representatives in the DG-EMP working group VET4U2 on VET. He is currently member of the national Ethic and Scientific Committee on access to Higher Education.
He works in the area of adult education since 1979, firstly as educator in electronic and computer science, as director of the UCE department between 1998 and 2008 and after as vice-rector. He is involved in several European projects, mainly on RPL, HEI cooperation and HE strategy.
Its main areas of interest are in APL, certification and diploma transparency, social economy, access, management of UCE units … but, also, and more generally, in strategies and policies for cooperation and development of LLL. He has participated in several committees connected with the French Conference of Rectors, or with French Ministry of Higher Education and acts today as expert for the High Council for the Evaluation of Research and Higher Education either in France (HCERES) and Belgium (AEQES).
Greta Kirdulytė
Greta Kirdulytė is a senior researcher at PPMI where she is involved in policy analysis and advising the public sector stakeholders. She is mainly focusing on higher education, vocational education and labour market policies. At PPMI, Greta designs and leads international, multi-method analytical assignments that help the European Commission and other European organisations develop better policies and improve their implementation.
She is currently leading a project on microcredentials for labour market-related education and training commissioned by Cedefop. Recently, she has also co-authored a NESET analytical report “Towards a European approach to microcredentials: a study of practices and commonalities in offering microcredentials in European higher education”, which sought to provide a background analysis to inform the European Commission about the development, provision and recognition of microcredentials. The report fed into a wider consultation and analysis for a European approach to microcredentials.
Prior to joining PPMI she gained experience in the European Commission, NATO ENSEC COE, Transparency International, and UNICEF while engaging in a broad variety of research activities, assisting in evaluation and monitoring tasks, and coordinating an international event. Greta has an educational background in social sciences gained during BSc studies in Politics with International Relations at Aston University, and MA studies in International Security at the University of Bath.
Henning Salling Olesen
Henning Salling Olesen is professor at Roskilde University, previously president of European Society for Research in the Education of Adults (ESREA). Researches learning in relation to work in all its aspects, featuring af psycho-social life history research methodology.
Theme 3: VPL and personal development
Susan Forseille
As the Director, Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition (PLAR) at Thompson Rivers University (Canada), 22-years as a career-educator, and an enthusiastic researcher, Susan Forseille has been privileged to work in, and conduct research around, multiple intersections of career development, prior learning, and education. She holds a Bachelor of Arts from Simon Fraser University, a Master of Education from Thompson Rivers University, and is currently completing her PhD with the University of Leicester. Susan is the Chair of the British Columbia Prior Learning Action Network (BCPLAN) and an active board member of the Canadian Association For Prior Learning Assessment (CAPLA). Susan is a passionate PLAR advocate believing adult learners acquire great amounts of knowledge and skills through life and work experience.
Ulrich Scharf
Ulrich Scharf is the managing director of SkillLab and a serial social entrepreneur. SkillLab’s solution enables employment services and training providers on three continents to deliver skill-based career orientation remotely and at scale. The Amsterdam-based social startup develops an AI-driven solution empowering people to turn their skills into careers.
Mainstreaming VPL and various modes of learning (with regards to context, content, length etc.) can be a motivational factor for the learner, and as such a crucial element in real access to VPL. The way these modes of learning are recognized, also needs clarification – the concept of ubique learning.
Theme 4: VPL and social sustainability
Marie Macauley
Marie Macauley, UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning Learning where she leads a number of different projects, including the UNESCO Global Network of Learning Cities, the programme on the recognition, validation and accreditation of prior learning of migrants and refugees around the world, and an international project on education in prison.
Before UIL, Marie was a manager at the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada (CMEC) where she contributed towards the development of policy in K-12 and adult education in Canada and internationally.
Dr. Ruud Duvekot
Dr. Ruud Duvekot (1960) studied Economic and Social History at Utrecht University in the Netherlands. His track record shows a continuous focus on research, development, implementation and capacitation of policy and practices in ‘the world of lifelong learning, especially the validation of prior learning’. In 2000 he chaired the national working group on developing a national policy for the Validation of Prior Learning, resulting in the national policy on VPL, entitled “The glass is half filled” (2001).
At present, he is:
- Associate Professor at Utrecht University of Applied Sciences in the field of assessment and personalised learning strategies (www.hu.nl).
- Managing-director of the Centre for Lifelong Learning Services (CL3S), providing learning services (advice, research, development) for organisations and individual to invest in sustainable development of ‘the self’ (https://CL3S.nl).
- UNESCO Research Fellow (since 2010) in the broad field of Recognition, Validation and Accreditation (RVA) for young and adult learners. https://uil.unesco.org/lifelong-learning/recognition-validation-accreditation/rva-themes
- Chair (since 2002) of the Foundation European Centre for Valuation of Prior Learning (https://ec-vpl.nl) The foundation studies, accumulates and distributes information on all aspects of VPL, such as national and international information pertaining to projects, procedures, instruments, financing, legislation, etc.
- Member of the Committee for the global VPL Biennale Initiative, https://vplbiennale.org
He publishes regularly on VPL, lifelong learning and the innovation of learning systems. In 2016 he published his thesis (in Dutch) entitled ‘Valuing Learning. A qualitative research into the concepts of personalised learning and of Validation of Prior Learning’.
Deb Carr
Deb is a designer, policy developer, researcher and evaluator of skills recognition systems and programs within the Australian, United Arab Emirates and Thailand’s (T)VET sector.
Deb has contributed to a growing body of RPL knowledge through sharing her research in the International Labour Organisation’s (ILO) Global MOOC for RPL practitioners; delivering RPL practitioner professional development webinars on behalf of the Australian VET Development Centre (VDC), advising on the National Centre for VET Research (NCVER) exploratory study into how RPL is being used across contemporary Australia, researching Thailand’s utility of RVA for migrants and refugees, and is currently consolidating lessons learnt to compile UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning’s (UIL) global guidelines on RVA for migrants and refugees.
Deb is currently working in the UAE as the (T)VET Policy Specialist for the UAE Military Qualification Centre towards optimising RPL outcomes to transition retiring members into civilian occupations commensurate of their acquired skills and knowledge acquired during service.
Deb’s Master’s thesis ‘The RPL Candidate – a neglected stakeholder’ researched candidates’ lived experience of the Australian RPL process. Her study found instead of building confidence as common policy rhetoric claims, the Australian RPL process erodes confidence. Deb received a Conference Scholarship from the NCVER (Australia) for her research. She looks forward to furthering her research at Doctorate level to investigate in what ways the RPL (RVA, APEL, PLAR) process empowers candidates with meta-learning skills.
Her passion is human-centric RPL/RVA processes that empower adults in their lifelong learning and earning journey.
Gina Ebner
Gina Ebner is Secretary General of the European Association for the Education of Adults. She worked as a language trainer in adult education and as a pedagogical manager for a vocational training institute in Austria. In Brussels, she was a project manager at EUROCADRES (Council for European professional and managerial staff). She was also president of the Lifelong Learning Platform.
She has worked on issues such as gender equality, outreach, validation, life skills, benefits of lifelong learning and many more. She believes in adult learning and education as a central instrument to shape Europe’s future in a positive way and is enthusiastic in advocating for strong adult education communities, structures, policies and civil society.
EAEA represents non-formal adult education with 125 member organisations in 43 countries. EAEA promotes adult learning and access to and participation in non-formal adult education for all.
Theme 5: Research strand
Sanna Vehviläinen
I am a professor of Career Counselling at University of Eastern Finland. My research interests include: conversation analytic research on guidance, counselling and psychotherapeutic interaction; building guidance expertise, university pedagogy and higher education development; developing communities through guidance methods.
I have written several textbooks on guidance and published internationally especially on counselling and guidance interaction. Based on my work on counselling and guidance interaction and an application of activity theory, I have developed a pervasive generic model for guidance activity, which I have applied to numerous research and training contexts. My interests include theorizing guidance and counselling based on social justice, as a praxis of dialogue. I also practice as a private professional supervisor and trainer.
In my talk, I will introduce the tenets of social justice approach and give examples of how they may be put into practice.
Hildur Betty Kristjánsdóttir
Hildur Betty Kristjánsdóttir is the Managing director of The Education and Training service centre (ETSC) and adjunct in The University of Iceland and a doctoral student.
The aim of her research is to examine the benefits of recognition of prior learning for individuals in life, work, and study.
For the last 15 years Betty has been working in the field of adult education as a manager, career counsellor and a specialist and her main focus has been on VPL developments
Soffía Gísladóttir
Soffía Gísladóttir is the Regional Director of the Directorate of Labour in the Northeast and East of Iceland.
Prior to this position Soffia was the Director of the LLL Centre SÍMEY in Akureyri, North Iceland.
Soffía has a BA degree in Pedagogy and Educational science from the University of Iceland and has a Teacher Certification from the same University.
Soffia has a MA degree in Educational Science from the University of Akureyri with special emphasis on RPL.
This presentation focuses on a pilot project that took place at the University of Akureyri when an individual with 36 years of work experience, as a journalist, was assessed for Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) at the Faculty of Media Studies.
WORKSHOPS DAY 2: 20th of May, 13:00 – 14:20 and 15:00 – 16:20
NB! The presentations will be repeated twice; early afternoon and late afternoon – choose a different theme!
Theme 1: Validation and working life
Dr. Oran Doherty
Dr. Doherty is currently the Manager for the hugely successful Apprenticeship in Retail Supervision Programme delivered in Ireland. For the last 15 years he has held several managerial positions responsible for the design and delivery of work-based learning programmes. Recognising learning achieved in the workplace is an extremely important component of these programmes. He has published a number of national sectoral skills reports that examine emerging skills for the future workplace. These reports have been extensively used by industry and education providers in the design of new programmes. Oran has presented at numerous conferences throughout Europe on the theme of industry-education collaborations and also on the topic of recognising and accrediting learning acquired in the workplace. He has also participated in a number of EU skills and work-based learning projects and initiatives.
Dr. Doherty’s workshop will examine the emerging skills for the future workplace and how education providers and industry need to collaborate to address these skills. The importance of recognising learning in the workplace will be highlighted and a number of practical innovative solutions to assess work-based learning will be presented.
Haukur Harðarson
Haukur Harðarson works as a specialist and project manager at the Education and Training Service Centre (ETSC) in Iceland. Haukur has been involved in validation practices and development of the national strategy for VPL for the past 15 years. Now with a specific focus on validation in working life in cooperation with employer organisations and trade unions.
Haukur has been involved in analyses of competence needs within the labour market and linking to the National Qualification Framework (ISQF). He is a member of the NVL network for validation.
Guðfinna Harðardóttir
Guðfinna Harðardóttir is the Managing director of Starfsmennt, the Educational Training Centre for Public Employees in Iceland. Guðfinna has many years experience working with lifelong learning and collaboration of labour market partners as she has worked as a specialist at the ETSC, at the Icelandic Association of Local Authorities and the Ministry of Finance and Economic affairs. She holds BA and Cand.mag. degrees in German and MA in Human Resource Management.
Starfsmennt was established in year 2001 as a result of a collective agreement between the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs (employer´s side) and the majority of unions within BSRB, the Federation of State and Municipal Employees. Starfsmennt´s objective is to assist public employees and organisations in enhancing competences, both general as well as specific, so employees can adjust to challenging assignments in an ever-changing work environment and organisations can build up a culture where competences, skills and wellbeing of their workforce is a priority.
Leonardo Pedreira
Leonardo Pedreira is currently Manager of Basic Education at the National Department of SESI, where he works with the 27 regional departments to guarantee an education of excellence to more than 300 thousand students of the network. He supported the implementation of the “SESI Education Training Center”, the elaboration of Didactic Material and application of the School Management Program.
Passionate about education and social impact, he holds a degree in Business Administration from the University of São Paulo. He studied applied psychology at the IE Business School in Europe, presented a scientific article on organizational behavior at the Academy of Management in the USA. He has worked at the Lemann Foundation, with educational assessment, with the Qedu platform and as head of Education Policy Planning. He was National Consultant for the Consed / Undime front of implementation of the Brazilian National Curricular Basis, supporting States in the training of teachers for the new curricula. He was General Coordinator at the Ministry of Education (MEC), where he coordinated the area of Youth and Adult Education (EJA), Integral Education and Transversal Contemporary Themes. He was Interim Director in the ministry and drafted the Annual Budget Bill. He worked at the São Paulo State Government Secretariat in articulation with municipalities and in project management, leading the INFOSIGA-SP open data team and developing management tools, artificial intelligence models and impact studies. He was a consultant at Korn Ferry Hay Group where he delivered projects to optimize organizational structures, measure competencies and develop talent. He was Director of the Academic Center, coordinator at AIESEC and worked at startup Veduca and Banco Itaú. He did social exchange in China.
Theme 2: Validation and education / training
Anna Kahlson
Senior Advisor at the Swedish National Agency for Higher Vocational Education (Myndigheten för yrkeshögskolan – MYH)
Anna has extensive experience working with lifelong learning, VET, adult education, and validation of prior learning. At MYH her main area of responsibility is the National Qualifications Framework and the Swedish National Coordination point for the European Qualifications Framework (EQF). Anna heads several projects at MYH, the most resent one being a 3-year pilot developing a validation pathway within Higher Vocational Education (YH-flex) as well as the NOVA-Nordic Erasmus+ project looking at links between VPL, National Qualifications Frameworks and non-formal learning/qualifications.
During part of 2017 and 2018 she served as a committee secretary for the Swedish National Delegation for Validation. From 2012–2016 Anna was employed as a qualifications expert at the European Training Foundation (ETF). Prior to that she worked as a national coordinator for VPL at MYH. She also has experience of working with VPL at municipal level, mainly working with validation for refugees.
Marcus Karlsson
Marcus Karlsson, Expert at the Swedish National Agency for Higher Vocational Education (Myndigheten för yrkeshögskolan – MYH)
Marcus previously worked at the Swedish Public Employment Service (Arbetsförmedlingen) where he mainly worked with long-term unemployed individuals supporting them for re-entry in the labour market. Since 2018 Marcus is working at the Swedish National Agency for Higher Vocational Education (Myndigheten för yrkeshögskolan, MYH). At MYH Marcus has worked with quality audits of programmes within the Swedish HVE system and with supporting HVE providers with their work on validation. Since the start of 2022 Marcus is part of the unit for Skills and Lifelong Learning at MYH where he works with the agency´s task of promoting validation at both regional and national level. He is part of the project group responsible for piloting a validation pathway in HVE (YH-flex).
Edda Jóhannesdóttir
Edda Jóhannesdóttir has BA in pedagogy and education and MA in Educational and Vocational counselling. Edda has worked at IDAN education centre for 15 years, first as an Educational and Vocational counsellor and for the last 6 years as a Director in the counsellor department. The main focus in the counselling department at IDAN is validation of prior learning in the certified trades as well as educational and vocational counselling for adults.
Edda has been on the forefront and lead key projects in the development of methodology and processes to increase the effectiveness and impact in evaluating prior learning.
Hildur Elín Vignir
Hildur Elín Vignir is the Managing director of IÐAN educational centre and lead the company from 2006 when it was founded. Hildur has worked in the education and training sector for over 25 years. Hildur has a B.ed. in education and MA in Educational and Vocational counselling as well as a diploma in Executive education.
Camilla Alfsen
Camilla Alfsen works as a Senior Adviser at the Norwegian Directorate for Higher Education and Skills. She has been working with Validation of Prior Learning at national level since 2003, and has written reports and participated in numerous projects and events over the years.
In this VPL Biennale she will present recent developments in the Norwegian provision of VPL in upper secondary education and the production of guidelines for VPL in modularised education and training.
Theme 3: VPL and personal development
Sandra Cheyne
National CIAG Policy & Professional Practice Lead – Skills Development Scotland (SDS)
Sandra is responsible for the strategic development and influence of modern career information, advice and guidance policy and practice; whilst also advocating for the reach of the Career Management Skills Framework for Scotland.
She was responsible for instigating and developing new professional pathways to encourage diversity and growth of young talent into the career guidance profession in Scotland.
Maurice de Greef
Prof. Dr. Maurice de Greef is chair holder of the UNESCO Chair on Adult Education and realized a dissertation (PHD) about the outcomes of education. In cooperation with Maastricht University he realized more than 110 studies in more than 150 communities and 8 countries concerning the impact and success factors of education. He managed local, regional and European projects in innovating learning-environments, strategic policy-making in education and developing strategies for approaching learners and realizing new courses in local settings. He was member of the national board of non-formal adult education and responsible for the national conferences about adult education. Besides this he was member of the board of the national organization for civil servants (policy-makers) of education.
Jaana Nuottanen
I work as the Executive Director of the Association of Adult Education Centres in Finland, which acts as an umbrella organization for the adult education centres in Finland. The Association, founded in 1919, is a non-governmental organization (NGO) with the main task of improving and lobbying for nonformal adult education and learning in Finland.
My educational background lies in adult learning (languages and literature), general political science and political history. I have gained previous work experience e.g. from entrepreneurship and consultancy, Alumni Relations of the Helsinki University, assistance of MP´s and Minister of Basic Services as well as from the party office of The Greens.
I am proud of having obtained a wide-ranging expertise through work and positions of trust: management and strategic planning, education and HR development, community relations, Interest representation, corporate and stakeholder relations and networks, culture, social and health sector, marketing, communication, language skills and multiculturalism. My approach to work (and life) is comprehensive, analytical, goal-oriented and active. I enjoy networking across different boundaries and with different people.
Multilateral co-operation makes life fulfilling and the possibilities it brings exciting.
Theme 4: VPL and social sustainability
Eeva Jeronen
Ms. Eeva Jeronen, MA, is a specialist at Sivis Study Centre, a Finnish institute promoting non-formal adult learning in NGOs. Her tasks include developing skills recognition and validation as well as consulting and training voluntary organisations in utilising methods and tools identifying and recognising skills from non-formal and informal learning. She also works at the Youth Work Center of Expertise Kentauri where one of the areas of focus is developing digital applications and utilising AI for skills recognition of young people, aiming to benefit from the competence accumulated in hobbies and voluntary activities in formal studies and work life.
Her previous projects include “Improving validation in the voluntary sector” (ImproVal, funded by Erasmus+ and coordinated by Sivis) which collected a set of European tools for validating volunteers’ skills and studied the usefulness of validation tools. She is a member of the Youthpass Advisory Group which started its working period in March 2022.
Bryndís Skarphéðinsdóttir
Bryndís Skarphéðinsdóttir works at the Education and Training Service Centre in Iceland (Fræðslumiðstöð atvinnulífsins) where she holds the position as a NVL national coordinator for Iceland and the NVL Guidance network, as well as a consultant for the Tourism Skills Centre. She has a B.A. degree in Global Health from University College Copenhagen and a MSc in Business & Work Psychology from the University of Manchester.
At the Biennale conference in Reykjavík, Bryndís will address the importance of guidance throughout the validation process and how empowering the synergy of validation and guidance can be for individuals.
Steinunn Björk Jónatansdóttir
Steinunn Björk Jónatansdóttir has a B.A. degree in Education studies and took a master’s degree in Career and Guidance Counselling from The University of Iceland. She is a Career counselor in a lifelong learning center in Iceland and has worked in adult education and guidance for eight years. Her main topics are counselling for individuals and groups with little or no formal education, helping people improve their skills in the labor market, goal setting, self empowerment, personal counselling and validation programs. She took part in the testing pilot in the GOAL project on adult guidance, where the focus was on outreach through career guidance to people on social welfare and in rehabilitation.
Kees Schuur
Kees Schuur M.Sc. is a board member of the European Centre for Valuation of Prior Learning.
He has been and is participating for a lifetime as a project manager, senior expert, researcher, and trainer in various national and European projects in the fields of VPL, LLL and ICT for different target groups, a.o. volunteers, military personnel, teachers, career guides, drop-outs/NEETS, reintegrating women, childminders, VET, and universities.
In his work, he applies a holistic approach of valuing learning and working processes at personal, social, organisational, branch and national levels. This approach centres on combining structured, top-down steered VPL processes with the bottom-up self-managed process of creating and using a personal portfolio. He develops/ed tailored competence-based strategies for organisations (e.g., the Dutch army) and the social society (e.g., volunteers). In a current project, he researches the link between positive emotions and the recognition/valuing of competencies, and he develops training models for tuning to the changing roles, activities, and competencies of career guides and assessors.
In his presentation “VPL 5.0: a necessity in Society 5.0 and Industry 5.0” he will present the Competence Market Model, the changing demands, and the transformation that VPL has to make.
Theme 5: Research strand
Per Andersson
Per Andersson is a professor of education at the Department of Behavioural Sciences and Learning at Linköping University, Sweden. His research interests focus on recognition of prior learning, professional development among teachers in vocational and adult education, and marketisation of adult education. Recent articles concerning the recognition of prior learning are published in International Migration and the European Journal of Education.
Timo Halttunen
Timo Halttunen is a head of unit at Brahea Centre, Areal Research and Development at the University of Turku, Finland. His expertise ranges from recognition of prior learning to competency-based curricula development. He is also a member of the European Commission Working Group on Adult Learning. At the moment, he is a member of a Nordic research team carrying out a study on validation. In this study, the researchers examine what social meanings validation is given in curricular texts of vocational education teacher training programs in Denmark, Sweden and Finland.
