Recognition of skills in fair trade sector

FAIR, a project seeking to recognise skills informally and non-formally developed in the fair trade sector, is in its final stage. The main aim of this project is to carry out research in the fair trade sector across a number of European countries and identify what skills and competences volunteers working within fair trade organisations gain as a result of their experience. It also explores how existing structures at national and European levels can be used for recognising non-formal and informal learning apart from formal qualifications.

The project, financed by the European Commission within the Leonardo da Vinci community programme, is coordinated by ASTER soc. cons. p.a. and promoted by CTM Altromercato, both from Italy. The Faculty of Education, through Suzanne Gatt, at the University of Malta is a partner in this project.

The fair trade sector in Malta is represented by the Koperattiva Kummerc Gust (also a partner in this project) which works to promote fair trade in Malta. Many may be more familiar with their shop L-Arka in Valletta ( www.l-arka.org ) or activities such as Taste the World. Fair trade promotes a form of trading that is fairer to the producer, many times situated in poor economic areas such as Africa and South America.

The objectives of FAIR are to identify in every partner country the places where non-formal and informal learning takes place within the world of fair trade and to outline the competencies that are acquired in such places.

It also seeks to enhance the informal and non-formal learning experiences in the world of fair trade, in order to establish methodologies, apt for each single national context, for the comprehension and description of the skills acquired in the course of informal and non-formal learning within the structures that operate in the fair trade sector. This will lead, according to the experiences/good practices of the partners, to the formation of a transnational, experimental model of certification of skills, which can also be used within educational and training courses.

Finally, the project seeks to investigate whether, and eventually in what way, the commercial world attributes a positive and significant value to skills that can be acquired in the course of informal and non-formal learning specifically within the field of fair trade. This project comes at an interesting time. In September 2006, the European Commission published a document creating a European Qualifications Framework (EQF). The objective was to provide a tool enabling all EU member states to develop their National Qualifications Framework (NQF) which is pegged to the European Qualifications Framework.

The implications are that any qualification issued in any of the EU member states can gain recognition across Europe through an easy translation mechanism. Such initiative forms part of the Lisbon strategy which promotes the mobility of workers as part of a knowledge society. Malta has been very active and the Malta Qualifications Council has issued a National Qualifications Framework last November. This framework is to be finalised following the consultation period.

The European Commission has also been working on the recognition of informal and non-formal skills within the 2010 Education and Training Programme. So far, there is currently no common European Framework that allows the recognition of such skills. Nonetheless, informal and non-formal learning is becoming increasingly important in view of a lifelong learning approach. The work within FAIR provides a contribution not only for fair trade organisations, but also to government, non-governmental organisations as well as individuals. It provides insight into what tools and methodology can be used in order to be able to capture the skills and competences one can learn in an informal and non-formal setting.

This may be relevant to other non-governmental organisations that are involved in informal learning.

It also explores how possible national and European structures can be used to recognise such skills, preferably within a Qualifications Framework.

Work within FAIR is now approaching its end. Tools for identifying informally and non-formally learnt skills have been developed, the research has been carried out and the phase on looking at how existing structures for the recognition of such skills can be utilised nationally and at a European level is under way.

A dissemination seminar about the work of the project will be held next Friday. The seminar may be of interest to educators, those involved in qualifications, non-governmental organisations, unions, private training services, employers, and others. Anyone interested in attending can e-mail Dr Gatt on suzanne.gatt@um.edu.mt