All learning should carry a value. As things stand in our society, the only kind of learning to which a value of sorts is attached is formal learning, the one covered by academia or formal training, certification and schooling. But what about all other kinds of learning accumulated painstakingly over time and in varied manners and which, unfortunately, are not acknowledged, much less validated? The system, including the prospective employer, ignores them, sticking to the unspoken motto - no certificates - no job.
When talking about skills, today's norm is that these must be learnt at school. But many skills are learnt in different places, from different sources. Take children born into the family of a baker or a stone mason. The knack of gauging when the dough is well kneaded or knowing that a wall is stably constructed all become second nature over time. No school can teach these skills, which develop akin to life skills.
Then again, there are skills learnt from involvement in varied organisations, be they voluntary, social or of a religious nature. There is nothing that can prove a person has the hands-on skill of delegating people in a parish meeting, or organising a jumble sale or even help setting up an exhibition to raise funds for a philanthropic society. But these are skills in their own right and, as such, are appreciable for all they are worth.
Following the launch of the National Qualifications Framework (NQF) in June 2007, the Malta Qualifications Council (MQC) has been presenting new guidelines to tap all possible avenues of learning. With the recent issue of a fourth document entitled 'Valuing all learning: frameworks for the validation of informal and non-formal learning in Malta', the council is presenting a working document spelling out the necessary framework that could set the wheels moving in the right direction - aimed towards the appreciation of all forms of labour skills which could become functional elements within the employment sector.
The document outlines informal and non-formal learning, and aims to validate all learning not necessarily classified under formal educational criteria. (Copies of this document are available at no cost from MQC's offices at Sta Luċija, or can be downloaded from the website at www.mqc.gov.mt).
All this could be considered an offshoot to the efforts evolving under the direct influence of the Lisbon Strategy, which seeks to enhance the possibility of lifelong learning facilities. In this instance, however, the onus is on helping launch people onto the labour market at embarkation point.
"It is a great pity that our compulsory education system, as it stands today, only assesses children who emerge holding formal academic subjects within their qualifications portfolio. Those who leave school holding just a school-leaving certificate are almost totally ignored.
"It seems as if the system is discarding them, scantly acknowledging whatever they have learnt during their five years of secondary education. Nobody should be discarded at the end of what amounts to a total of 100 months of schooling," James Calleja speaks in his capacity as chief executive of the MQC within the Ministry of Education, Culture, Youth and Sport.
He has been working on the MQF for the past years, unstintingly aiming toward the ultimate goal of helping people learn, learn better and be appreciated for it. Albeit his staple work and that carried out by the MQC to help make vocational education and training in Malta more visible and accessible, he is painfully aware of the immense lacuna that still exists and which faces a good number of school-leavers.
Statistics taken from the SEC and Matriculation Certificate Examinations Statistical Reports show how out of a cohort of 5,533 (number of children born in 1988), 30.48 per cent (equivalent to 1,687 16-year-olds) did not register for or failed the 2004 SEC sessions.
Similarly, out of the 1989 cohort of 5,584, 1,582, or 28.33 per cent, failed or did not register for the 2005 SEC sessions. This means that these only possess secondary school-leaving certification, becoming engaged in the labour market in tasks not requiring formal education or entering the field of Vocational Education and Training (VET) through either of two pathways - to VET directly to Mcast, or through ETC and then to Mcast.
Validation of informal and non-formal learning gives the opportunity to individuals considered as 'failures' within the formal educational system, to alight the 'ladder' of the NQF and move on from VET and possibly to higher education. This proved successful in other member states, and validation of informal and non-formal learning is mandatory for adult VET in some countries such as Denmark.
One of the objectives of validation is to increase the participation in higher education in Malta, which is very low compared to the Lisbon targets of 85 per cent. In 2006, only 28.10 per cent of the 1,988 cohort passed A-levels and Intermediate examinations to secure entry to the University of Malta; in 2007, only 27.97 per cent of the 1,989 cohort had the entry requirements for University.
"Other forms of training, aside and apart from formal training, do exist. Take the son of a carpenter. If he has been watching and helping his father for a number of years, he must have the basic, if not, professional carpentry skills. That is invisible learning for you - unacknowledged, because it doesn't come accompanied by a piece of paper - a certificate. We are working hard to turn things round and give these youths a helping hand and valuable self-worth."
That is not all. People who acquired skills through leisure activities such as hobbies, and those who picked up a skill through their involvement in voluntary or social organisations may well be able to validate their own learning and take it a step further by pursuing further studies. They would be aided by career guidance tutors to help them assess the best possible route to validate their baggage of skills.
Valuing all learning is of tantamount importance and one of the MQC's guiding principles. Whether formal or informal, within the academic curriculum or not, learning should still be appreciated for all its worth. The aim is to give a chance in life to youths who reach school-leaving age without having yet obtained SEC certification. In this instance, the EU is insisting on validating not merely what has been learnt, but what a person is capable of doing and accomplishing.
Dr Calleja says: "By helping people measure what they have learnt through all types of learning, we would be one step closer to supporting the 'invisible' stakeholders in the educational system, the individual employers, the trade unions and the voluntary organisations who could draw on the skills of untapped people who would still be able to contribute highly within the workforce.
"We want to reach everyone, irrespective of physical and mental abilities. If our country achieves this, it would have met one of its major social and political challenges."
Ultimately, the validation process is a tool for inclusion, as every individual has an equal right to employability, mobility and lifelong learning.