ACREDITA’T, JOB EXPERIENCE & OFFICIAL QUALIFICATION

Musings of The Grandma...

Learning does not only happen in a classroom. Throughout our working lives, we acquire knowledge, develop skills and learn how to perform professional tasks. We may learn them at work, through volunteering, with a scholarship or internship, or by attending courses that do not lead to an official qualification.

But what happens when you know how to do a job but you do not have an official certificate to prove it?

This is where Acredita't, the Professional Competence Accreditation Service in Catalunya, can help.

Acredita't is a public service that allows people to obtain official recognition of professional competences acquired through: work experience, volunteering or scholarships, or non-formal training.

The important idea is simple: You may already have professional competences even if you have never received an official qualification for them.

The accreditation process gives you the opportunity to demonstrate those competences and have them officially recognised.

The service is designed for people who have professional experience or non-formal training related to the competences they want to accredit.

There are different requirements depending on the professional competence level.

For Level 1 competences, applicants must generally be at least 18 years old.

-If accreditation is based on professional experience, volunteering or a scholarship, they must demonstrate at least 2 years of experience and 1,000 hours during the previous 15 years.

-If it is based on non-formal training, they normally need at least 200 hours of related training during the previous 10 years.

For Level 2 and Level 3 competences, applicants must generally be at least 20 years old.

-If accreditation is based on professional experience, volunteering or a scholarship, they must demonstrate at least 3 years of experience and 2,000 hours during the previous 15 years.

-If it is based on non-formal training, they normally need at least 300 hours of related training during the previous 10 years.

There are specific rules when the training associated with a particular competence is shorter than these general requirements.

The process is much easier to understand if we divide it into four stages.

1. Admission

First, the applicant provides information about their professional and training history and submits documents that can demonstrate their experience or training. The documentation is checked to determine whether the person meets the requirements to participate in the accreditation process.

2. Guidance and advice

Once admitted, the applicant receives professional guidance. An adviser helps identify which professional competences the person may have acquired and which evidence can be used to demonstrate them. This is an important part of the process because people are not always aware of everything they have learnt during their professional lives.

3. Assessment

The next step is to assess whether the applicant can actually demonstrate the professional competences. The evaluator analyses the documentation and evidence provided. If there is already sufficient evidence, the competence can be demonstrated through the documentation. If more evidence is necessary, the evaluator may use an interview, workplace observation or a practical simulation. And there is something important to  remember: This is not a traditional exam. The objective is not to test what you have memorised. It is to demonstrate what you already know how to do as a result of your professional experience or previous learning.

4. Accreditation

If the competences are successfully demonstrated, the applicant receives an official certification recognising them.

Obtaining accreditation can be useful for several reasons. It can officially recognise skills that you may have been using professionally for years. It can strengthen your CV and make your professional experience more visible. But it can also become part of a larger educational pathway.

The accredited competences may allow you to validate part of a Professional Certificate or a Vocational Education and Training qualification (FP). After the accreditation process, you can also receive guidance about the training you may need to complete a qualification.

In other words, accreditation does not necessarily represent the end of your learning journey. Sometimes, it is the beginning of a new one.

We often associate education with schools, classrooms, textbooks and examinations. However, people learn in many different ways. We learn by working. We learn by solving problems. We learn by helping other people. We learn by repeating a task until we master it. We learn from colleagues, customers, mistakes and experience.

A person may have spent ten or twenty years developing professional skills without ever receiving a formal qualification recognising them.

Acredita't tries to build a bridge between these two worlds: what people have learnt throughout their lives and what the education and professional qualification system can officially recognise.

Because experience matters. Skills matter. And sometimes the only thing missing is a document that officially says: Yes, you know how to do this.

More information: FP Gencat

Anyone who stops learning is old, 

whether at twenty or eighty. 

Anyone who keeps learning stays young.

Henry Ford