Making Skills Recognition More Inclusive How Can the Validation of Non – Formal and Informal Learning Better Serve the Most Vulnerable?

Event Information

Online
28 Oct
10:00 am 12:00 pm CET

ESF+ Community of Practice on Employment, Education and Skills is organising the webinar ‘Making Skills Recognition More Inclusive How Can the Validation of Non-Formal and Informal Learning Better Serve the Most Vulnerable?‘, which will take place virtually on 28 October 2025, from 10:00 to 12:00 CET.

We invite you to join an online discussion on how to make validation more inclusive, especially for vulnerable groups, in the context of changing migration patterns and evolving labour market demands.

The event will bring together ESF+ stakeholders, NGOs, and Managing Authorities to assess how validation is currently supported under ESF+ (2021–2027) and explore future directions. Participants will also gain insights into how validation has been integrated into Germany’s Vocational Training Act and into Portugal’s Qualifica Programme.

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Time (CET) Topic and speaker
09:45 - 10:00
Technical set-up and virtual welcome coffee
10:00 - 10:10
Opening and Welcome
Rasa Micevičienė, Coordinator of the ESF+ Community of Practice on Employment, Education and Skills
Laura Mangeng, Directorate-General Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, European Commission
Jörg Markowitsch, Thematic expert of the ESF+ Community of Practice on Employment, Education and Skills
10:10 - 10:30
Keynote: Validation of non-formal and informal learning in Europe: A tool for inclusion or exclusion?
Ernesto Villalba-García, CEDEFOP, Expert in VET Supporting Policies - Validation
10:30 - 10:40
Discussants and Introduction to Break-Out Sessions
- Paula Guimarães, Assistant Professor, Institute of Education, University of Lisbon
- Tina Rapp, Validation Support Unit, Skilled Trades Promotion Board of North Rhine Westphalia (LGH), Germany
10:40 - 10:55
Discussion
10:55 - 11:00
Comfort Break
11:00 - 12:00
Two parallel Break-Out Sessions
Break-Out Session on Germany

11:00-11.15 From Project to Policy Framework: ValiKom and the Integration of Validation into Germany’s Vocational Training Act
Tina Rapp, Validation Support Unit, Skilled Trades Promotion Board of
North Rhine Westphalia (LGH), Germany

11:15-11:30 Insights into the validation of informally and non-formally acquired skills in elderly care
Marcus Flachmeyer, Scientific Staff Member and Member of the Executive Board of HeurekaNet - Independent Institute for Education, Research and Innovation.

11:30 -11:55 Discussion moderated by Jörg Markowitsch,
Thematic expert of the CoP on Employment, Education and Skills

Break-Out Session on Portugal

11:00-11.15 Validation of skills as a cornerstone of Lifelong Learning in Portugal
Paula Guimarães, Assistant Professor, Institute of Education, University of Lisbon

11:15-11:30 Insights into the Practices of a Qualifica Centre
Marco António Paz, Counselor at INOVINTER Qualifica Centre Lisbon and PhD candidate at the Institute of Education, University of Lisbon

11:30 -11:55 Discussion moderated by Márton Csillag, Thematic expert of the CoP on Employment, Education and Skills
11:55 - 12:00
Closing remarks