Post added by Anna Kahlson
When reforming vocational qualifications it is of importance to keep the benefits for individuals in mind as qualifications are awarded to individuals and are therefore theirs to use. Reforming qualifications in ETF partner countries should improve mobility, progression, the possibility of recognition and validation of non-formal and informal learning to mention a few. For individuals this should facilitate better career pathways, better opportunities for employment, personal development and social mobility.
These are some of the issues we will work on, specifically from a migration point of view, in workshop 3 of the ETF conference ‘Making better Qualifications’, April 8 and 9 in Brussels.
At the conference in our workshop we want to examine the relationship between better (more transparent, more portable, more relevant) vocational qualifications and mobility and migration in ETF partner countries. Many of us have, at some point, met a migrant driving a taxi and then found out that he or she is a surgeon or a lawyer or an engineer. This is the typical metaphorical image of what is referred to as “brain waste” when talking about labour migration. There seems to be a persistent underutilisation and mismatch of migrants’ skills. Migrants often find it difficult to get access to employment matching their qualifications and training, there is a lack of trust in foreign qualifications from employers and it is not uncommon for returning migrants to not be able to use new skills upon return home. Can this” brain waste” somehow be turned into “brain gain”, as migration experiences have the potential to enhance the skills of most individuals so that migrants, employers and society profit from labour migration? There are of course many issues to take into account when aiming at reducing brain waste, portability and relevance of qualifications is only a small part of this equation.
In the workshop we will touch upon two sides of this equation; the receiving country perspective and the perspective of countries of origin, both for potential and returning migrants. In this workshop Filippo Del Ninno and I will work together with Isabelle Le Mouillour from the German Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training, Alisher Faromuzov, Adult Training Centre (Tajikistan) and Anna Muravieva, Centre for Vocational Education Studies, Moscow (Russia). Isabelle will give us the example of how Germany as a receiving country addresses recognition for migrants, Alisher will give the example of a country of origin and Anna will help us document the discussions and conclusions.
In our little professional world we assume that continued implementation of mobility tools such as qualifications frameworks (both national and transnational such as the EQF), recognition of qualifications and validation of non-formal and informal learning, the use of learning outcomes in qualifications designs, in combination with overall VET reforms, will enhance transparency and trust in vocational qualifications and facilitate mobility. In the workshop we will discuss reform of qualifications in relation to labour migration on both systemic level and on specific characteristics of individual qualifications, which facilitate mobility.
Even if you can’t come to our conference physically you can participate virtually. We want your opinions:
What is the most important thing we can do to enhance the portability of vocational qualifications?
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