Valuing Prior Learning

RUUD DUVEKOT
The underlying principle of lifelong learning is that initial education is no longer enough
for a lifetime social-economic career. It is more important to develop your competencies
(skills, knowledge, attitude & ambitions) throughout life by realising that `your glass is
already half full’, and by understanding that everyone always learns in every possible
learning environment: formal (school) and non-formal or informal environments (like
workplace, at home, volunteering).
The Leonardo-project “Managing European diversity in lifelong learning (VPL2)”
aimed at strengthening the use of valuation of non-formal and informal learning for both
summative and formative purposes in a qualitative and quantitative sense: more use of
the valuation of prior learning by individuals and organisations, supported by a more
demand-led and customer-oriented learning system.
Valuation of Prior Learning (VPL) means:
1. Valuation shows the real human potential of personal competencies;
2. VPL is the process of (a) assessing and validating personal competencies within the
social-economic context and (b) offering a personal development-strategy;
3. VPL focuses on the individual perspective and makes the (public and private) system
customer-driven for the sake of personal development;
4. VPL shows the way how organisations have or should articulate the need for competencies
in their HRM, facilitate the learning process of their employees and connect
their demand-articulation to the competencies standards of the learning system;
5. Organisations benefit from VPL through individuals’ development.
More than 200 case studies were analysed in 11 European countries representing the main
European learning cultures: Czech Republic, Cyprus, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy,
Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. The analysis
showed that this goal was served by working both top-down as well as bottom-up. The
bottom-up approach made the specific needs for lifelong learning on the labour market
in different sectors visible. The ‘top-down’ data showed the various services national and
sectoral learning systems are already offering to or designing for the potential users, i.e.
the modern, lifelong learning workers. Both approaches were used simultaneously on
three sectoral levels (profit, non-profit and voluntary sector) and in the seven different
European learning cultures.
Evidence showed that top-down and bottom-up met each other halfway, empowering
individuals and organisations to serve their summative and formative purposes by defin-
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