Transversal competencies in Lithuania: awareness raising at national level
Lithuania is implementing several initiatives in the field of validation of non-formal and informal learning. One of the initiatives – Master-PRO project, funded by ESF, should be mentioned. The idea of Master-PRO has derived from the employer associations in Lithuania, claiming for a methodology and tools, facilitating career guidance of the employed persons, who are lifelong-learning on the job. Continuous discussions with employers as well as representatives of Vocational Education have revealed the surprisingly increased importance of transferable skills, which were taken into consideration when constructing the methodology of validation.
During May and June 2022, the draft methodology was discussed in 15 public hearings in various cities and towns of Lithuania: Vilnius, Kaunas, Klaipėda, Šiauliai, Panevėžys, Kėdainiai and Alytus. Around 20 representatives from the organisations of employers, as well as representatives from Vocational Education have gathered into each of the meetings. Above the arguable aspects of the methodology of assessment and validation of non-formal and informal learning at work, a clear agreement has been reached to emphasise that first of all, validation procedure should be concentrated mainly towards transferable skills. At the next phase of the initiative, it is planned to pilot and adapt the methodology of validation in various sectors, and draw much more attention to the variety of assessment methods to assess the transferable skills of the persons learning on the job.