Guidelines for collecting stories from LLL-learners, case study: Alice Duarte
22nd December 2015
Tag list
Location / Country / Region
Lisbon/Portugal/Sintra
Time frame
The Storytelling covers the childhood of the LLL Learner (3 of February of 1956 and her Adulthood (until 2007).
Short description
In this case study we intend to present and reflect the importance of storytelling on adult learning recognition. In fact, this got visibility in Portugal on 2001, when the recognition of informal competences acquired in different learning context started. As a researcher I believe that everyone has acquired important skills from non-formal education that formal education sometimes cannot provide. So, it is important to create a context of competency areas based on specific life themes, which will allow us to understand the direct relationship between life story (informal learning) and the practical skills’ applicability in day-to-day life. The learner, as an active actor in society, modifies and enhances his contribution with his learning acquired throughout his life course. The storytelling presented on this case study was conceived based on the Portuguese Recognition Competences (2007) for the basic level and the object of study is the LLL – Learner’s life.
Actors Involved
Alice Duarte – LLL – Learner – Alice took part in a process of recognition and revalidation of skills in a centre of new opportunities, which had to prepare a storytelling of her life story. In the description of her autobiography, Alice documented her learning which was acquired in informal ways, starting from her childhood until her adulthood. In the description of her life story, alongside with a reflective learning portfolio, Alice would have to demonstrate learning acquired fewer than four major areas: Mathematics for Life, language and communication, information and communication technologies, and finally, the area encompassing all others, the area of citizenship and employability. All these areas are structured in specific learning levels, split into unit’s skills that define the adult profile in her life story. For this project Alice was invited to present her autobiography as a story of her learning skills. Nowadays (2014) the Portugal Government abandons the RVCC System and creates the Centers of Qualification and Professional Education entitled as CQEP. This new system is created for young people aged less than 15 years or those, regardless of age, who are attending the last grade of primary education, or adults aged over 18 years with needs of developing and strengthening of knowledge and skills.
This new system does not differ a lot of the old RVCC system. In fact this system has the same following intervention steps as the old system:
Diagnosis – candidate profile analysis in order to identify educational answers and / or training adjusted to his situation (motivations, needs and expectations);
Information and Guidance – identification of individual education projects and vocational qualifications, bearing in mind realistic options for further education and / or integration in the labour market;
Routing – implementation of the applicant’s referral to an educational supply and / or vocational training or to a process of recognition, validation and certification of skills – RVCC (only possible for adults between 18 and 23 years old, with at least three years of proven professional experience), based on the prior process of diagnosis and guidance;
And last but not the least, the Recognition and skills validation – identifying and validating skills acquired by adults throughout life, formal learning, non-formal and informal, to achieve the skills certification – demonstration of adults’ skills, before a jury, by conducting a test.
Anícia Rebelo Trindade – Educational Researcher and one of the professional recognition of competences.
Maria José Sousa – Educacional Researcher.
Center of New Opportunities of Amadora
Trainers of each area of competences – Mathematics for Life, language and communication, information and communication technologies, citizenship and employability.
Target audiences
Portugal has been working in recognition of skills since 2001, created by the ordinance 1082A/2001 in September. In that time, the Recognition Validation and Certifications Competences was led by the ANEFA (National Agency for Education and Training of Adults). In according to Anefa (2002, p.9) we understand a formal education, as an education that is provided in public or private establishments and leads to a diploma certification, the non-formal education occurs in parallel of the formal education but does not necessary lead to a diploma certification. This education ways of recognition and acquired competences awards the same diplomas and certificates as conferred by regular education, and the means of access and the plans and methods of studies organized differently, taking into account the age groups intended, the life of past experience and the demonstrated level of expertise. The target audiences of this system are people that had to abandon school earlier, but got in time many learning experiences from their daily work. Alice Duarte was part of a process of recognition and revalidation of skills in a centre of new opportunities, which had to prepare a storytelling of her life story.
Relevant links, websites, etc.
ANEFA (2002). Centers for Recognizing, Validating and Certifying Competences – Guidebook. Lisboa.
ANEFA. in: http://opac.iefp.pt:8080/images/winlibimg.aspx?skey=&doc=5126&img=161
Carneiro, M. (2011) et all. Accreditation of prior learning as a lever for lifelong learning: Lessons learnt from the New Opportunities Initiative, Portugal .
Braga: UNESCO, MENON Network, & CEPCEP. In: http://www.ucp.pt/site/resources/documents/CEPCEP/Accreditation_final.pdf
Cavaco, C.(2007). Reconhecimento, validação e certificação de competências: complexidade e novas atividades profissionais. Sísifo. Revista de Ciências da Educação, 02, pp.21-34. Consultado em 05/07 em http://sisifo.fpce.ul.pt
Cury, A. (2005) Pais brilhantes, professores fascinantes: como formar jovens felizes e inteligentes. Cascais: Pergaminho.
Duarte, I. (2003).O valor da aprendizagem experiencial dos adultos nos Centros de Reconhecimento, Validação e Certificação de Competências – Roteiro Estruturante. Faro: sn. in: http://proformar.pt/revista/edicao_3/centros_reconhecimento.pdf .
Meignant, Alain (1999). A Gestão da Formação. Lisboa: D. Quixote.
Pineau, G. (1999). Expériences d’apprentissage et histoires de vie. Traité des sciences et tecnhiques de la formation, Edition Dunod
Presse, M.-C. And Cavaco, C. (s/d) Concept Formation Expérientielle. (s.n.): Projet EDUQUAL – FCT in http://www.ie.ul.pt/pls/portal/docs/1/446631.PDF
BACKGROUND
Links with the European Framework
Key competences for lifelong learning – http://europa.eu/legislation_summaries/education_training_youth/lifelong_learning/c11090_en.htm
EQVAT – European Quality Assurance in Vocational Education and Training – http://www.eqavet.eu/gns/policy-context/european-vet-initiatives/european-qualifications-framework.aspx
EUCEN – Observatory for lifelong Learning – http://lifelonglearning-observatory.eucen.eu/recommendationcompetences
Links with national / regional priorities
ANQEP-National Agency for Qualification and Professional Education – http://www.anqep.gov.pt/default.aspx
CQEP-Centers of Qualification and Professional Education – http://cqep.anqep.gov.pt/cqep.html
CQ – National Qualifications Catalog – http://www.catalogo.anqep.gov.pt/
IEFP – Employment Services and Vocational Training – https://www.iefp.pt/
Political and Economic dimensions
The “excellent learner” is not a perfect human being, but one who has to empty serenity and sensitivity to learn “(Cury, 2004, p.17). The verb “empty” here, does not mean ” throw away “everything that the learner added throughout his life, but it means to recognize that what you have learned and developed in terms of acquired skills can be improved and rethought in order to have a continuing role in the development of society as an active citizen. This is the meaning of Lifelong Learning.
RVCC process is a complex process, since we are to “work” with adult life experiences. As stated Cavaco (2007, p.23) “the process of recognition and validation of competences is complex and difficult both for the adult involved and for the teams.” To help them with this demand, the RVC professionals have at their disposal a benchmark of key skills and a methodological implementation guide, which is not to be taken to the letter, but to interpret the adult life as well, and as said the training session the trainer, “is not the adult life experience that has to integrate in the frame, but the frame will have to adjust to adult life experience.”
This activity was more valuable, since it allowed Alice Duarte to recognize and explore her fields of knowledge and discover other all the knowledge that she has acquired throughout her entire life.
Alice enrolled the process of RVCC in 2009, and in addition to giving a certification diploma to Alice, the process gave her the opportunity to reflect about her learning contexts and become fully aware of her experiences.
Before Alice’s competences recognition process, she only possessed the commercial course that gave her the equivalent to the 2nd level of basic education.
At the end of Alice’s competences recognition process, she got the 3rd cycle of basic education.
She describes her story life, reflecting about all her experiences since she was born (1956) until 2007 (her youngest child entrance to high school).
Social dimensions
In social dimension we can say that there are many differences between Alice’s childhood and nowadays childhood, as she said: Today children do not play healthy street games, their toys are computer games and unfortunately this has brought tragic consequences, such as child obesity for example. In fact, many children are suffering from this serious problem, not only because of physical inactivity but also because of the poor feeding habits as hamburgers, fries, soda etc. She is also concerned that during her childhood, agriculture and livestock was more pure and organic, in other hand nowadays she saw that the agriculture and livestock is not so pure, in fact, the animals are fed with special food based on hormones to grow faster, and because of that the flavour of the food is not the same. In fact, fruits and vegetables had another flavour and that is why she prefers biological products, because they are of higher quality and healthier. In the year that she was born (1956) she said that: «the President of the Republic was Craveiro Lopes, and the prime minister was Salazar. Portugal lived under a dictatorship, where people had no freedom of speech, there was censorship everywhere. There was the intervention of the PIDE (International Police and State Security) which was responsible for the unjust crimes in our country, many people were tortured and imprisoned unjustly, only because of their ways of thinking. This police body existed from 1945 to 1969, so human rights were not respected, workers were exploited and they were not paid their fair value, I remember every year during the students’ demonstrations, there were always many injured and even some dead. Many politicians such as Alvaro Cunhal, Mário Soares were arrested for having different opinions. Fortunately in 1974 Portugal initiated new democratic rights, expression of human rights through a pacific, bloodless revolution. The central power for many years had delayed Portugal’s progress». Among other examples described on her storytelling, she described her experience when she took her driving license. She learned that «a car is like a weapon that kills, so we have to have as much attention as we walk on the road because it is proven that most accidents happen by diligence of people, some because they drink too much, others walking on high speed others who do not respect the priority rule. We must respect our lives and the lives of others».
Technical dimensions
Alice describes on her storytelling many job experiences (painter Cards in 1970; photographer in 1971; assistant on Portuguese electrical Automatic in 1972). In September she started working with an aunt in an office where she stayed until the present day. She started by doing work bellboy – was around the street work – made banks deposits – payments in finance. When she was in the office she did invoices and receipts, later she got the part cash – payments and receipts – made applications for authorization to import materials for an industry that was called BRIS, treat all the paperwork with the brokers and conferred and controlled all amounts charged on invoices from suppliers, made payments, made many orders to customers, while working at the Accounting department. Nowadays she classifies documents (client invoices, Suppliers, Treasury documents) every month, since her Company has to submit the VAT monthly, she has to verify the consistence of all embedded documents in accounting (ex. VAT + MAP balance sheet), she also has to open emails, distribute received by the respective sectors, consult the online banking Company, check all debits and credits, management electricity bills , water, telephones, sales money, and outputs of several payments, and makes every month listings to make payments to suppliers and receipts listings. She says that she is «always careful with [her] equipment and (…) check (…) all equipment [if was] switched off (…) [calculates] machines photocopies [in order the control the spend of paper and] turn off the light [of her] room even for a short time, [because she said that is] a way to save energy (…). She took several training courses: Accounting; English; Computer Widows 95; Excel, WORD Advanced.
Environmental dimensions
On her entire life Alice has to calculate and estimate the budgets that she has to fulfil her needs. As she said for example: «In my house I also calculate my budget and make a list of expenses to pay each month and see what’s left. When we talk about family we have to estimate the budget that we have for each month, and so I try not to waste money during week. I always take lunch from home and so I spent at least 0.50 euro a day for a coffee. So, during the weekends we take a walk together as a family and have lunch out (once in a month). I always try to balance things.” She also organized hers and her oldest child’s marriage: « The organization of my marriage started by first going to conservatory deal with all the paperwork, Birth Certificate, mark the date in the conservatory of the Civil Registry and ask the Conservative movement to the place of ceremony. Invited witnesses (My godparents were my uncles and bosses). I began to see wedding dresses and bought in Tito Cunha (sent do like a model he had seen in a magazine) my dress cost € 3,000 USD 00 = EUR 1 500.00 We made the Guest list with family and friends and Godparents. There were 100 people in total. For the banquet we chose to hire a particular person already experienced in this area (we knew they were competent people, were a cook + three people), just inform what we intended to do the menu, in total the party stood at $ 50,000 00 = € 249,40 that who paid were the parents half for each side is the 25 00 $ 00 = € 124.70.”
1. DETAILED DESCRIPTION
The RVCC centers (Recognition, Validation and Skills Certification) in 2007 were structured in levels: primary and secondary (academic and professional), around the Guidelines to Key Competencies and three areas of intervention: Recognition, Validation and Skills Certification. The Key Competencies Referential is a guiding document of the whole process. For key competencies are considered the essential know-how according to each level of education, in which the individual intends the recognition of his skills against the requirements and constant innovation of society. As mentioned, this is a “reference guide structure, it is both open and flexible, giving it a character of constant adaptation to diversity and plurality of groups of adults and contexts”. It should not be understood as a checklist because it is not “just checking” if the individual has a certain competence, but how he realizes that competence. How he realises its importance to him at some point in his journey and learning. The intention is that the individual identifies the pivotal moments that motivated him to learn and to change in order to adapt to the context. The framework of basic level, which was based on the analysis of the reflective autobiography of Alice Duarte (the learner’s life story presented in this case study), consists of three cycles, 1st cycle, 2nd cycle and 3rd cycle, covering each of these cycles four areas of key skills, considered by the Portuguese Ministry of Education as essential to the formation of adults and include: Language and Communication (LC); Citizenship and Employability (CE); Mathematics for Life (ML) and Information and Communication Technologies (ICT). The benchmark for each of these areas consists of four power units, each consisting of a set of evidence criteria that will guide the technical recognition skills as well as the adult in the illustration skills acquired throughout his life. The demonstration is performed taking into account the criteria for evidence of each of the aforementioned areas. These evidence criteria relate to adult interactions with society in a holistic perspective, but also specific. Holistic because it can be as diverse as possible (environment, labor, culture, migration, history, social events, quality of life, new technologies, etc.), and specific because it relates to experiences that the adult had throughout his life journey. On the other hand, the benchmark of secondary level is based on three areas of Key Competences: Citizenship and Professionalism (CP); Society, Technology and Science (STS); and Culture, Language and Communication (CLC). The process of recognizing skills at the secondary level can also be done on a professional level, that is, the professional RVCC.
Unlike the entry level standard, the reference of the secondary level is not only made up of skills units and evidence criteria. There are other conceptual and cross members to areas of the standard, namely: skills Dimensions (aggregation of competency units and the respective criteria of evidence); Nuclear generators (broad themes which, when exploited, can demonstrate a range of skills); Reference areas for action (action contexts: private, professional, institutional and macro-structural, and Themes (area or real situation in which the skills are generated, resulting from the crossing of the generation centers with reference fields); skills units (resulting from the generation centers and are distributed as follows: 8 for the area of Citizenship and Professionalism; 7 for Society, Technology and Science and 7 for Culture, Language and Communication) and benchmarks (through actions which the adult shows skills). Further to this, at the secondary level of Reference were also integrated elements of complexity (identify, understand and act) that will help adults and skills recognition team not only in the process of recognition and validation of skills, but also in the definition of training paths. These references will, at both levels, guide all the work done in each of the actuation axes: the recognition, validation and certification of skills, and that guided the recognition of skills of Alice Duarte to the basic level, 3rd cycle. The Skills Recognition axis is a process of identification, analysis and reflection skills acquired throughout life, whether in formal learning and work, both in non-formal and informal contexts. The recognition of learning achieved and skills acquired in each of these contexts is achieved by developing a set of activities based on skill assessment methodologies and life stories.
Throughout the stage of the recognition of skills, the information functions, advice and assistance are present (in which professionals and trainers should support the adult, considering the needs identified in the construction of his portfolio) and prepare for validation of his skills through a validation jury.
2. ANALYSIS
Innovativeness
The methodology of the skills assessment seeks to involve the adult “in the constitution of a personal portfolio of knowledge in use, gathering evidence that route, looking for (recognised) ways to validate these skills, explicitly valuing the paths already travelled and enhancing the strength needed to undertake voluntarily new learning”. May be held individually or in groups, the skills audit is fundamentally a call for reflection on past experiences, in which the individual will remember and discover skills acquired, but that may have been hidden or undervalued by the individual, constituting a process of reflection on himself, a process of self-education, self-assessment and self-orientation.
This work of reflection on the journey of life, that is, lifelong learning, is done with the use of approach to life stories (storytelling), seen as a tool that seeks to rethink the issues of training, emphasizing the idea of Paulo Freire, that “no one is trained by anyone, but also no one is born taught” and that “training is inevitably a moment of reflection about the life trajectories”.
The use of this methodology in the RVCC process aims to promote adult reflection on his life path, centering it in a narrative material consisting of memories that he considers significant “experiences” of his learning, his evolution in social and cultural itineraries and representations he built of himself and his human and natural environment. In this process of reflection, the individual has the opportunity to gather and sort his different moments of life giving him a specific time consistency.
All this work will culminate in a Reflective Learning Portfolio, which is a dynamic portfolio of personal testimonies, in which the individual has put together a set of written documents that prove the knowledge, the learning, experiences and skills that has acquired and consolidated throughout his life, in order to facilitate reflection on his life path and the (re)definition of a personal project, which is ultimately an assessment tool of acquired skills that can be validated and simultaneously motivation for new learning and to obtain higher levels of skill or school or work.
In the specific case of our study, Alice Duarte after completing the recognition of skills to the basic level, 3rd cycle, wanted to continue her learning and the use of skills acquired during the course of her life. Registration and disclosure of skills in the Learning Portfolio also has an important role to improve and support the understanding of non-formal education and learning processes throughout life.
Key success factors
Framework of key competences for different levels of education: primary and secondary. Benchmarks framed in the context of adult life history and appreciation of informal learning acquired in different thematic areas identified for each level of education: primary and secondary. Society acceptance of this model of learning recognition and increased employability of adults levels who attended this methodology; Personal appreciation of learners and motivation for continuous learning.
Sustainability
Based on recognition of informal learning frameworks, the sustainability of this process lies in its effective application and demonstration of operation in obtaining certificates by the recognition of informal learning.
It is a Portuguese model internationally recognized as a model of good practice in the identification of skills.
Contributions to LLL Policy
The life stories constitute a rigorous documentation and reflection on the experience of the individual and the skills acquired. This work is stimulated and guided by different activities and instruments proposed by the professional of Recognition and Skills Validation, as well as other actors involved in this process, through which the individual is aided to remember and become aware of his learning, appropriate and recognize his experiences, knowledge and skills”.
The adult can be forwarded for additional training courses available at the centre to address the difficulties highlighted in the areas of Key Competences Referential, or to other training opportunities, when he does not meet the necessary conditions to continue the process of RVCC. These offers are available at the Recurrent Education; Literacy Courses; Actions “S@ber+”, short training courses whose purpose is to motivate the adult population to improve their school or professional qualifications and appropriate responses to the new demands of a changing world; EFA courses for adults aged over 18 years, allowing the formal acquisition of knowledge, skills and behaviours that were not acquired throughout life, giving them the 4th, 6th and 9th grade and the level I or II of professional qualification; and Courses of Education and Training (EF).
Many of adults who attended the recognition, validation and certification of skills have continued their studies, and had significant improvements in active job search.
Many employers value certificates obtained through the recognition of acquired skills. Indeed the results point to a lifelong learning system and in the labour market. There are benefits that are beyond the education world or the labour world, but the explicit objectives are restricted normally to resume formal education and/or finding a job or progress in the labour market.
What could be appropriated by others?
According to the context and society of the different countries of the European Union, this practice can be applied in other countries, and they can adapt this learning recognition model considering the issues that best illustrate and reflect the competencies to acquire as part of its curriculum organization.
The example of Portugal may indeed be an application model for lifelong learning, because the skills recognition process also provides, when the requirements are not identified to integrate the process of recognition of skills, re-routing to courses specific and targeted training to meet the training needs that a particular individual has.
Therefore, it is important to create this structure composed by the following steps:
- Hosting: explanation of the process, fill the registration and availability forms;
- Form groups and contact with adults;
- Diagnostic interview;
- Decoding of Reference;
- Definition of adult profile (if he is capable or not to integrate the process of recognition of skills, that is, if he has minimum requirements of age and life experience so it can be examined in the light of the key competencies of reference); Thus, it is a difficult decision about the path: entrance to the skills audit or referral to other training options if they did not meet the minimum requirements to integrate the process;
- Counselling and adult guidance according to the analysis path made in the previous steps; Creating the Dossier (Portfolio Reflective Learning) with the constant support of the skills recognition technician and trainers of the respective areas of key skills;
- Dossier analysis (by trainers);
- Balance and Skills Statement (by trainers);
- Additional 25 hours of training, if necessary.
- Preparing for Jury Session (technical recognition skills); Analysis of Dossier (External Evaluator);
- Session Jury (which includes the recognition technician who followed the entire process, all trainers in different areas, and the external evaluator who analysed the reflective portfolio of learning).
These steps can be adapted according to the country concerned.
How does it contribute in qualify members for the Labs and experts for the Forums?
As we could see in all this description, the recognition of skills is a valuable tool to engage any professional on pursuing the excellence. Sometimes individuals do not realize that they have some competences, that is where the system of recognition and validation of skills can make a contribution. In other words, you only can use what you have, if you understand and you know that you have it. Otherwise, you will spend the life feeling that something is missing when it was actually there all the time. The recognition of competences could be a great tool to help and qualify members for the Labs and even experts for the Forum. As we can see, these mediation tools help adults to focus on the recollection of their own learning processes, leading them to revisit their everyday life. These instruments allude to past, present and future times, in that it is intended not only explore and articulate the past experiences, but also help the adult to design his future.
3. Lessons Learnt
Regarding the building of a shared definition of LLL in LLL-Hub
Learning is more than identifying the existence of a learning opportunity, learning is to use learning for our own benefit or collective benefit in order to transform our context. It is the way of appropriating in the unknown and make it noticeable and recognizable in our every day life.
Lifelong Learning is a set of learning that is carried out in a formal context (education and training institutions), non-formal learning (arising from the formal context, but which is not defined or programmed) and informal learning (learning acquired in a plural context).
Lifelong Learning is an implied need of the individual’s adaptation and integration to society and to the environment around him.
When the individual fails to learn, he ceases to exist as an actor in the history of human evolution.
As Lifelong Learning, we understand all activities that contribute to the development and improvement of individuals in context or not work, a concept that is associated with the figure of the individual’s role in society.
Thus, the concept of lifelong learning is underpinned by the idea of setting up as a “high point of the [growth] process (…) a significant contribution to a particular individual actively adapts to his environment” and turn it, adapt it or even modify it in order to achieve a balance between different forms of knowledge (Meignant, 1999, p.264).
The concept of lifelong learning that is relevant here is related to the development of skills and use of these skills:
“(…) A deep and comprehensive intervention conducive to the development / construction of intellectual, physical and moral structures, leading to changes at the level of personality and modified through the relationship between the individual and the environment”
We have a holistic and pluralistic view of lifelong learning.
Regarding the possibilities of having practices in LLL which evolve and become more innovative
The skills recognition methodology integrates a set of steps that are structured and directed towards identifying needs of non-formal and informal learning acquired by the individual throughout his life at the basic or at the secondary level.
In Portugal, this practice is not applied in a systematic and structured way as the structure that was created for the primary and secondary education. It extends the recognition of lifelong learning also to higher education. This requires creating benchmarks of key competences for the different areas of higher education.
Here, it presents a practical case study with the individual at the centre. This process allows the individual to identify his acquired particular expertises, but also demonstrates how to apply the acquired knowledge in his every day life experience.
Here emphasis is placed on human capital and on the individual through the interaction with his environment, with others, and with the research and self-learning that is performed in an informal context.
On the other hand there is already a professional level skills recognition process for secondary education, the designated professional RVCC. That the individual who completes this process gets a double certification. Gets the certificate relating to the secondary level, and the certificate which mentions that holds the powers required to perform a certain level of professional practice.
Making this recognition more innovative and directed to a technological society, there is the need to create a digital language recognition. The ability to target tools for the identification of skill units of competence indicators, and areas of adult competence in a particular subject area.
In the near future it creates applications that allow expedite the analysis and identification of the skills of individuals. In our view, it would be around a huge leap to the theme of lifelong learning, the possibility to document all information digitally and allow the recognition of skills (through the different actors that comprise it) to be also performed digital form.
Regarding the key actors, their roles and activities in LLL
Diagnostic Technician – The role of diagnostic technician is to examine the candidate’s profile to skills recognition process. Check if he has the requirements for the process, or is better suited to another mode of teaching and learning, namely: education and training courses, technical education courses, and modular courses, among other forms of pursuing her lifelong learning. Thus, the main activities of the diagnostic technician are to: Contact individuals subscribed; arrange interviews host so they can learn more about the individual’s profile. After analyzing the diagnostic technician should guide the individual to the training offer that best fits your profile.
Key Competences Recognition Technician – The role is to help the individual to document their experiences throughout his life, from childhood to adulthood. Thus, the recognition of technical skills held a different session (individual or collective) that helps the individual to recognize their skills and to describe them in order to write a reflective autobiography.
Trainers in key areas – Trainers of key areas have the role of helping the adult to identify his skills according to the area to which he is integrated. So the trainers have to develop activities that help the individual to demonstrate his skills in a particular area. Propose individuals for the evaluation session of powers before a jury. Articulate all the necessary procedures with the trainers regarding the reflective portfolio of learning.
Coordinator of the recognition process – His role is to coordinate with all stakeholders (technical diagnostics, recognition of technical and trainers) that are integrated at the level of skills recognition.
Director of Centre of Recognition – The role of the director of the center of recognition is to regulate and manage all the recognition process. His activities consist primarily in meet with different technicians and clarify all issues related to the process.
Administrative – His role is to manage the administrative component of the whole process.
External Reviewer – A figure who is external to the process, which makes the audit of the developed learning portfolios in order to ensure that they met all the requirements, and that are fit for the final jury session, in which the skills of candidates are recognized.
Regulatory Authority – Enabling the issue of licenses, and regulate the process of recognition, which is integrated in the indirect administration of the Portuguese Government.
Regarding the appropriateness between local / national and European frameworks and how to act upon them to make them converge
To converge the local learning recognition process, with the process of national learning, and even European, is to consolidate the activities that have been developed so far, including a EQAVET – European Quality Assurance in Vocational Education and Training. (http://www.eqavet.eu/gns/policy-context/european-vet-initiatives/european-qualifications-framework.aspx) which aims to provide regular updated information on the form and quality assurance in European Education and Vocational Training systems and networks that integrates EQAVET, and the schedule of activities, relevant documents and useful links.