EUPA NEXT
EUPA NEXT

Rationale and Objectives

The rationale for the project

  • According to ISCO88 administration personnel is classified under other associate professionals (Category 34 Other Associate Professionals and subcategory 343 Administration associate professionals) which (according to CEDEFOP: Future skills supply and demand in Europe) is the first profession in demand up to 2020.

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  • HRDA Cyprus (Human Resource Development Authority) research on the employment forecasting 2010-2020 demonstrates that Administration and support services is the fourth sector with the greatest average yearly increase.
  • This is aligned with the fact that the labour market training programmes co-funded by the ESF focus on the training of unemployed people on secretarial skills .
  • This sector is easily accessible and very attractive to unemployed women (Unemployment is a major issue in EU. The rate of unemployment is higher for women, especially those with no skills).
  • Administrators are employed by all companies and organizations in EU regardless of size and industry and its role is vital.

This important sector is NON-REGULATED. Administrators may be secondary school graduates or may have a college diploma in secretarial studies. It is not rear to find administrators with academic credentials in other fields. All administration personnel, even if they do not have (or do not have relevant) academic qualifications, need to validate their knowledge, skills and competences in order to move from one job to another or from one country to another. Often it is the case that these people progress (career wise) as they develop more skills and competences from admin personnel, to executive secretary, personal assistant or even office manager. Again they should be able to validate knowledge, skills and competences in different levels.

 

It is noted however that the sector of Administration Personnel is used as a case study as our main objective is to find ways to achieve validation of non-formal and informal learning for any non-regulated sector. [/read]

EUPA_NEXT proposal and priorities

EUPA_NEXT focuses on the validation of non-formal and informal learning and its permeability with formal education pathway through the use of a formal accreditation system (ISO). It aims to develop a methodology for certification of non-formal and informal learning of non-regulated professions and at the same time to develop an EU certificate for administration personnel.

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At the sectoral level EUPA_NEXT focuses on two priorities

  1. Developing short-cycle post-secondary qualifications in accordance with the EQF. EUPA_NEXT adds value at the sectoral level through the development of an EQF based qualification (4 levels) for the sector of administration personnel. This qualification is ISO certified (using ISO17024 which certifies personal competences)
  2. Facilitating the validation of Non Formal Learning and Informal Learning and its permeability with formal education pathway through the use of a formal accreditation system (ISO). Using this certification people without academic credentials or experience may be certified based on what they know and are able to do.

EUPA_NEXT is very important at the Policy Level  (encouraging countries to progress on this EU Priority) Eupa_Next brings together partners from different countries with different activities in ECVET that will benefit from the exchange of experiences and from exploring different methodologies. ECVET is important for mobility and validation of Formal Learning, Non Formal Learning and Informal Learning.  At the policy level by 2012 member countries should have created the necessary conditions and taken the measures for gradual implementation of ECVET. Member states must now move from principles to implementation which makes the promotion of ECVET and the transfer of methods and tools a critical factor for its success. The project brings together countries at different stages (CEDEFOP Monitoring ECVet implementation 2013).

  • Cyprus is one of the countries where no/limited testing is taking place.
  • Slovakia has already formalized its commitment to the ECVET implementation but there is no ECVET project at national level.
  • In Germany most of the curricula and training regulations are input-oriented and with no systemic approach for validation of non-formal learning and Informal Learning although some ECVET projects are being implemented.
  • In France validation of Non Formal Learning and Informal Learning has become systematic and movement between training schemes is possible.
  • In Spain validation is possible and the process is output oriented.
  • In Greece the IVET system is input oriented. A legal framework for validation exists but is not in place.

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Eupa_Next Objectives

  1. Develop a European Qualification for administration personnel.
  2. Facilitate the understanding of EQF and ECVET policies and explore different methodologies for the assignment of credits.

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  1. Develop a comparative report on the situation of the countries on EQF and ECVET.
  2. Provide ISO certification for the materials and assessment developed under project EUPA (level 2 materials) and certify with ISO the materials and the assessment for levels 3, 4, 5. EUPA_NEXT is a COMPLETE SOLUTION for admin personnel (in 4 levels).
  3. Provide flexible pathways to learning and validation (classroom trainings, e-books, just assessment).
  4. Develop a how to practical guide for the validation of Formal Learning, Non formal learning and Informal Learning for any non-regulated profession.
  5. Make a policy recommendation for official recognition of EUPA_NEXT.

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