Conference Program

Perspectives Оn Adult Education Through Flexible Validation Options

Silvia Toneva, PhD, Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohrdiski”, FEBA, e-mail: newskillsbg@gmail.com

One of the employment opportunities available to adults, and one that is well regulated in most European countries, is the validation of the knowledge, skills, and competences acquired outside the formal education system. This process shortens the time required for learning and provides officially recognised qualification documents, which facilitate access both to the labour market and to further education. The Council Recommendation on the validation of non-formal and informal learning provides the framework for structuring national validation mechanisms aimed at enhancing mobility, employability, and lifelong learning. Following the adoption of this Recommendation, most Member States developed their own regulatory frameworks for the assessment and recognition of professional competences. Some countries have accumulated substantial positive experience in this field, whereas others still lag behind in the process. In 2023, another important policy document was adopted - the Commission Recommendation on the recognition of qualifications of third-country nationals. Its guidelines are intended to accelerate and simplify the recognition of qualifications held by third-country nationals and to improve their integration into the labour market. This policy document is focused on making the European labour market more attractive to third-country nationals. It emphasises to Member States that qualification recognition procedures should be simplified. Such an approach would enable third-country nationals to engage in employment corresponding to their skills and, at the same time, help reduce negative practices such as trafficking in human beings for the purpose of labour exploitation. A systematic review of the regulatory framework in the field of validation demonstrates that in most countries, including Bulgaria, these mechanisms have been developed in a way that is largely tailored to the local population and is therefore difficult to apply to persons from other countries. It is precisely in this context that there is considerable potential for updating the existing regulatory framework so as to encourage the validation of professional knowledge and skills among both nationals and migrants or immigrants. Strengthening measures that guarantee that the competences of citizens from other countries are not devalued in the host country would contribute to their more effective integration and to addressing labour shortages and workforce needs within the business sector (Souto-Otero & Villalba-Garcia, 2015).