Skills4Retail Newsletter
OTB led a Certification Session on March 28 and established a welcoming space for the consortium of Skills4retail’s examination of important subjects. As they moved from the Transition Pathway Pact to the Certification and Accreditation domain, participants examined the European Qualifications Framework (EQF) and how it aligns with the project objectives stated in WP3 and WP6. The discussion clarified the differences between accreditation, certification, and labels. It also provided insight into Portugal’s certification environment at the Higher Education Institution (HEI) and Vocational Education and Training (VET) levels, as well as CEDEFOP.
The consortium also approached important subjects and provided fruitful inputs:
- National accreditation is required in order to generate money, even though time and expense constraints are acknowledged.
- Investigating European possibilities to guarantee program legitimacy and cross-border recognition, such as the European Quality Assurance Register for Higher Education.
- Highlighting the advantages of European accreditation for the effectiveness and quality of programs.
Thoughts from smaller group talks emphasized how crucial it is to embrace a European certification and accreditation process. Partners acknowledged the difficulties on a national and European scale and reaffirmed the importance of working toward a single solution, especially when it comes to resource optimization and process simplification.
The following closing talks, along with suggestions concluded that the consortium will concentrate on coordinating content development with project goals and realistic staff demands.
Meeting with the European Quality Assurance Register for Higher Education is one of the suggested follow-up actions, and incorporating the needs analysis findings into the creation of the course material.
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