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VPL- Valuation of Prior Learning

A European project initated by the Han University , supported by the European Commission under the Leonardo da Vinci Programme. Eleven countries involved : the Netherlands, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Germany, France, Ireland, Italy , Lithuania , Norway and the United Kingdom. Here is the website : www.vpl4.eu. Here is a synthesis of Iriv's contribution.

Presentation

Valuation of Prior Learning (VPL) is the designation of a broad outlook on the implemenation of lifelong learning. The challenge is therefore to change the social-economic system into a flexible and fast-adapting system to the quickly changing need for competences on the labour market. In the context of the knowledge society, VPL addresses this need by showing the real human potential on the basis of the analysis and valuation of personal competences. VPL offers a personal development-strategy in which the organisation-context and public/private services are crucial for keeping up with the speed of competence-development. The VPL focuses on the need of :

the individual to be able to take control of his/her own learning and career in order to stay employable
the organisations on sectoral level to be able to facilitate these individual learning paths and become able to use this within the context of their own mission/goals
the learning system (VET, guidance and counseling) to adapt itself to rendering flexible services to these individuals and organisations.

Context

investigating how zones of mutual trust actually work, which key factors are essential, and how to support or improve these zones of mutual trust,
investigtaing the contribution of the Commission's framework for Common European Principles on Validation of Non-formal and informal learning (CP) to lifelong learning ;
showing how the framework of Europass contributes to Lifelong learning,
showing the role of the decision makers in the chain of services available to individuals and organisations ,
showing the socio-economic possibilities and advantages of individual empowerment in the context of Lifelong learning by making the learning system more demand-driven and customer-oriented,
being able to manage diversity on the basis of European exchange of methodology, instruments and good practices.

Objectives

exchange is at the heart of the project, good practice is used to describe the best working of an approach for activating lifelong learning in organisations and by individuals in Europe learning cultures ;
validation methodologies are analysed on the level of the 7 main European learning Cultures ;
on the level of quality and standardsetting the same tactics is used to make the own case a stronger case by embedding strong buildingblocks from all over Europe in the learning culture ;
learning from each other's culture and practices is a strong incentive for the knowledge exchange between different learning cultures ;
all learning cultures will focus on designing a competence-centered learning-infrastructure in which on national and sectoral levels all the existing services will be offered in due time in an integral approach to individuals & organisations.

Project outcomes

a recommendation for a European framework ;
an overview of good practices in Europe ;
guidelines reference manuals for decision makers ;
national study reports with practices and analysis ;
reports with description of instruments and methods,
a model for calculation of value of the use of VPL ;
a compilation of strategies for individual and organisational empowerment,
a series of articles published ,
an electronic newsletter published ;
a web site turned into an open space ,
an advisory board for the partners on the proceedings of the different workpackages,
an expert support group established of experts fromnational and european organisations,
reports from work meetings made available a month after the different work meetings.

Partners

15 organisations in ten countries.

Chypre Demokratiki Ergatiki Omospondia Kyprou Alecos Tringides Vyronos Avenue 40 CY-1096 Nicosia Tel.: +357 22872177 ; fax : + 357 2267094	République Tchèque Narodni Ustav Odborneho Vzdelavani Hana Cihakova CZ-10200 Praha Tel.: +420 274862251 ; fax : + 420 274863380 http://www.nuov.cz/
Allemagne Gesellschaft für Berufsblidende Massnahmen Joachim Dellbrück Reichenbergerstr. 88 D-10999 Berlin Tel.: +49-30 61 77 64 86, Fax: +49-30 61776418 Volkshochschule Stuttgart Wolfgang Klenk FRitz Elsas str. 46-48 D-70174 Stuttgart Tel.: +49-711 1873724, Fax: +49-711 1873724 http://www.vhs-stuttgart.de/	France CNCP Anne-Marie Charraud 80 rue Lecourbe 75015 Paris Tel.: +33 1 44 383152, Fax: +33 1 44 383199 http://www.cncp.gouv.fr/ Institut lillois d'éducation permanente Brigitte Kayser Place Georges Lyon BP 11941 59013 Lille cedex Tel.: +33 320 6222262, Fax: +33 3 20 53 80 27 http://www.ilep.fr/ Iriv Dr Bénédicte Halba 26 boulevard Raspail 75007 Paris Tel.: +33 1 42 84 08 25 Fax: +33 1 42 84 08 25 www.iriv.net
Irlande University of Limerick Dermot Coughlan Department for Lifelong Learning IE-Limerick Tel.: +353 61 213 544 Fax: +353 61 202757 www.ul.ie	Italie Scienter Elisa Mancinelli Via Val d'Aposa 3 IT-40123 Bologna Tel.: +39 051 6560401, Fax: +39 051 6560402 http://www.scienter.org/
Lituanie Methodological centre for vocational education and training Giedre Beleckiene Gelezinio Vikostr.12 LT-01112 Vilnius Tel.: +370 5 2123523, Fax: +370 5 2498183 http://www.kpmpc.lt/	Pays-Bas Han University Ruud Klarus Heyendaalseweg 141 NL-6525 AJ Nijmegen Tel.: +31-24 3530014 Fax: +31-24 3530005 http://www.han.nl/start-en/ Foundation European Centre Valuation Prior Learning Ruud Duvekot Jagersweg 23 NL-5262 TM Vught Tel.: +31-73 6572565 Fax: +31-73 6560581 http://www.valew.eu/ European Educative Project Jos Paulusse Jagersweg 23 NL-5262 TM Vught Tel.: +31 73 6572565, Fax: +31 73 6560581
Norvège Vox Torild Nilsen Mohn Postboks 6139 NO-0602 Etterstad Tel.: +47 23381300 Fax: +47 23381301 http://www.vox.no/	Royaume-Uni Edinburgh University Bonnie Dudley Edwards Bristo square 5/1 UK- EH8 9 AL Edinburgh Tel.: +44-131 6502570 Fax: +44-131 6508115 http://www.ed.ac.uk/home

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