The bilans of competences as a tool to build a career (professional project)

Małgorzata Dudziak ,Ewa Bodzińska-Guzik

Regional Labour Office

mdud@wup-krakow.pl , ebod@wup-krakow.pl,

The bilans of competences as a tool to build a career (professional project)

Presentation and summary of the contribution

a. Elements of the context (scope – public – problematic)

According “State of Play “ – Malopolska , LLL-HUB

Detailed studies done in Poland (Study of Intellectual Capital, PAED) showed continued disadvantageous tendencies in this regard. According to the report on after-school education („Kształcenie po szkole” (Polish version only), Konrad Turek, Barbara Worek, 2015) “within 12 months preceding the fifth study (that is nearly throughout 2013), 37% of Poles aged 18–59/64 (about 9.2 million) improved their competencies in the form of courses, training, self-learning or formal education”. Among them:
- 20% (4.8 million) joined courses, training events, workshops, lectures, seminars, conferences, practical training, occupational internships or post-graduate studies:
- 6% (1.4 million) participated in obligatory work safety and fire-prevention courses;
- 14% (3.5 million) improved their competences joining non-mandatory courses and training events;
- 20% (5 million) learned on their own (learning something new or acquiring experience with the help of their family, friends, colleagues at work; books, professional journals; computer programs and the Internet; programs broadcast on television, radio, museums, exhibitions, galleries and centers of science). Involvement in self-learning was increasing systematically for five years (from 10% in 2010);
- 14% (3.4 million) of the respondents joined formal education (learning at secondary schools or tertiary schools).

A decisive majority of Poles (63%) did not improve their competences in any way last year, not even through self-learning and 34% of Poles declared that they had never participated in courses, training events, workshops, practical training or any other forms of education. In the group of people aged 25–59/64, 31% improved their qualifications in various forms, including 14% of people joining non-mandatory courses and training events.

The said report notes that the structure of people engaging in lifelong learning includes people with higher education motivated regardless of their age. Amongst Poland’s sixteen regions, Małopolska ranks second place in terms of participation in non-mandatory courses and training events and is one of two regions where an increase was noted in this regard.

The proposed systemic changes have to take into account factors which motivate adults to pursue further education. The aforementioned studies showed that this is primarily willingness to improve skills needed in current work (72% of the respondents), requirements set by employers (31%), development of one’s interests (29%) and interest in being awarded certificates or diplomas (22%).

The training industry itself defines barriers in the development of educational and training services for adults. The barriers identified in the development of the training industry itself (Study of Human Capital, BKL, 2015) concern insufficient quality requirements in services financed from public money, a drop in the demand for training and problems with access to highly qualified training staff.

In response to the problems identified at the EU level, the “renewed European agenda for adult learning” adopted by Council Resolution on a renewed European agenda for adult learning (2011/C 372/01) takes a new approach to the pursuance of a policy oriented at increased participation in education. It points out an approach based on learning outcomes with the learner in focus, thus combining the implementation of this strategy with the need to develop a multi-faceted management model. Putting the learner in focus stresses the learner’s autonomy and responsibility. At the same time, it emphasis the need to ensure better access to a wide offer of high-quality training, effective counseling systems and flexibility of solutions matching the varied training needs.    

Adoption of learner-centred perspective in the lifelong learning policy involves a change in the strategy of action oriented at its implementation. It triggers the need for a greater individualization of the proposed offer of support taking adequate account of the needs and expectations of learners. It has material consequences for the manner of intervention oriented at participation in education by reversing the mechanism practiced to date and adopt an approach based on the demand for training.

The other major aspect of the proposed systemic changes are the recognition and formal certification of  learning outcomes generated outside of the formal system. This is one of material aspects of the development of lifelong learning policy promoted by the European Union. It relates to the new approach to learning which is focused on the learning outcomes. Following this model, the emphasis is placed on the results of educational activities, all paths leading to their attainment (formal, non-formal education, informal learning) being considered equivalent. Hence, the solutions designed in conformity with these concepts provide for remodeling of the functioning systems for the award of qualifications so that the learning outcomes form the essential method of their description, and the solutions designed enable individuals use their competences developed as a result of earlier learning. This will make educational paths flexible, enhance people’s mobility and provide a better match between the supply and demand sides in the labour market, while implementing the principles of lifelong learning.

This direction was set by the European Commission at the strategic level. The strategy document “Europe 2020” accentuates the importance of actions to be taken in this regard. A leading project “Youth on the Move” under the thematic priority “Smart growth; developing an economy based on knowledge and innovation” lists, amongst the Commission’s responsibilities, actions intended to officially recognize informal learning and non-formal education, obliges Member States to develop a national qualifications structure and link better the effects of education with the labour market demands. The flagship initiative “An agenda for new skills and jobs” (priority “Inclusive growth: fostering a high employment economy delivering social and territorial cohesion”) points to the need to ensure, acquire and recognize competences necessary for continuing education and taking up work. This is a follow-up to EU’s policy in the area of lifelong learning which established, in 2008, the European Qualifications Framework (Recommendation of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 2008 on the establishment of the European Qualifications Framework for lifelong learning). These solutions express EU’s desire to enhance the mobility of its nationals and better match the supply and demand sides in the European labour market. The European Qualifications Framework is to primarily serve as the reference point for comparisons of levels of qualifications awarded in different systems and in different countries. The underlying rule for the system founded on the EQF is the application of an approach based on the learning outcomes and, in this context, the definition and description of qualifications.

Even though in Poland the National Qualification Framework is implemented at the national level, the Małopolska Region started, in 2008, work on a coherent policy of adult learning. The work started with cooperation being established between various LLL institutions. The Małopolska Partnership for Lifelong Learning was set up which now involves 150 institutions engaged in the region’s labour market, education and training. Based on that cooperation, pilot projects were done in 2012 – 2015 to implement systemic solutions, i.e. a system for the financing of education through vouchers and a system for the recognition and award of qualifications. These are two systemic changes to be implemented in relation to the pursuance of the “Europe 2020” strategy in Poland.

All measures in the fields of education and the labour market require coordination between the supply of educational services and the current and forecast demand for occupations and specializations on the part of employers. Coordination of education and the labour market should take account of the fact that both current and long-term coordination (forecasting) activities are  equally important. Małopolska is now doing the current coordination whilst long-term coordination will be effected at the national level. Examples of current and long-term coordination activities are presented in the diagram below.

    Proper tools for Management Carrere
How to change the situation?
How to proceed in order to motivate and increase participation of low/missing skills adults?
The profile of person, who says “I don’t need any training, I don’t need it…”:
Work all day, very often with physical exertion so they are very tired
Their workplace is situated far from home, so they spend a lot of time on getting to work
They don’t see any link between trainings and their work and improvement
The challenge is to find a way to prepare the public support , tools of career  management to improve their lives.

    Developing the environment for grow
Method bilance of competences makes possible to prepare the portfolio or e - portfolio as well as to identify the potential and competitive advantages in the labor market . Especially important in creating the tools was to connect reflection and self-evaluation of person and at the end learning some  competences by this process. For example: management of their carrier .
The last part of support are the training vouchers as a chance to increase level of qualifications. This mechanism require responsibility of the person and offers an independent choice of a training company based on quality of services.

b. Expected objectives and outcomes

The objective of Direction Career Project  is to develop the skills and gain qualifications for  working people in particular with low qualifications . In the period from 2016-2023 46 000 people will use the bilance of competences  and / or subjective education system. Implementation of the project   will cause a change of attitude in the area of LLL and gaining foreign project participants also competence management own career path in preparation for the effective validation using portfolio .
b. Plan of actions to be implemented
For collaboration
Create the environment
Prepare advisor , develop their competences of aviseor,
 choose the operator of voucher,
create a cooperation with training institution and others

  For citizen of Małopolska
  arouse interest,  
 career guidance- bilance de competences , portfolio ,
 using  voucher for training ,and pass exams ,
  change the behavior of LLL

c. What are the lessons at this stage of progress or implementation?

Even  the  person is  interested in guidance and training they say that they do not have time or it is too far away to take training so they said thanks for vouchers and bilance

d. Can you precise two or three points (questions, propositions, remarks) that you wish to highlight and debate during the workshop?

How to create common  language for all in the area of LLL  ?
Better solution for cooperation of institution in field of LLL at all level
Planning or design career – what are the differences ?/when we create new tools
Vouchers, portfolio  as a tool for create the space for competences
Quality  of training what is new ?