| Author (Corporate) | European Commission |
|---|---|
| Series Title | COM |
| Series Details | (2012) 485 final (5.9.12) |
| Publication Date | 05/09/2012 |
| Content Type | Policy-making |
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Today's learning opportunities are limitless, borderless and instantaneous. Individuals learn and acquire new skills and competences not only in the traditional setting of the classroom (formal learning) but more and more outside it. Important learning takes place at work, through participation in civil society organisations or in the virtual space provided by the internet and mobile devices, individually or with peers. Increasingly often, companies offer their workers training opportunities to upgrade their skills through organised, but non-formal, learning. Informal learning is also becoming increasingly important in a global and interconnected world where technology allows individuals to learn in a plethora of different ways through for example open educational resources and at a distance. Engaging and empowering all learners with learning experiences is essential in order to cope with rapid economic and technological changes, more frequent job transitions throughout an individuals' lifetime and pushing individuals to acquire higher and more relevant skills to increase employability, productivity and economic growth. In today's situation of rising unemployment - particularly acute among young people - and lack of economic growth, making use of new learning opportunities outside the formal system and of the skills acquired through these is urgent: Europe needs to develop the right mix of skills and achieve a better match between skills and jobs to help boost competitiveness and prosperity. In such context, education and qualification systems need to give an opportunity to all citizens to make visible what they have learnt outside school and to use it for their career or further learning. This can be achieved by a process of validation of learning outcomes acquired through non-formal and informal learning; in this process an authorised body confirms that an individual has acquired learning outcomes (knowledge, skills and competences) measured against a relevant standard. |
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| Source Link | Link to Main Source http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=COM:2012:0485:FIN:EN:PDF |
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| Subject Categories | Culture, Education and Research |
| Countries / Regions | Europe |
