Key Global Evidence: Assessment and Certification
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This section addresses inadequacies in the way learners are assessed and evaluated as well as the need for more effective benchmarking of qualifications to facilitate their transfer at international level.
Learning Is Not Being Assessed
By assessing the effectiveness and impact of learning, an individual can identify what they should progress to next.
Though a lack of assessments does not necessarily reduce the impact of learning, assessment itself provides a vital mechanism for measuring and grading learner progress.
Assessment Methods Are Ineffective
There are significant challenges around the way learning achievements are assessed. We need better mechanisms for businesses to assess the current strengths and weaknesses of employees, in particular, their transferable qualities. There also needs to be ways of benchmarking qualifications against those of other providers.
Inadequate Certification
In too many cases, certification is not representative of a particular level of competence. Instead, it just gives proof of attendance or an indication of the ability to pass an exam rather than do a job.
In some cases, learning is not certificated at all. Many in-work education programmes, for instance, are not certificated or accredited by a recognised body, and this makes it difficult for the employee or learner to prove they have successfully met a particular standard or level of competence.
Employers still value certification as a way of understanding or measuring competence. But, they are losing faith in certification, feeling that much of it has little value.
Learning Is Not Benchmarked Across Borders
The increased mobility of workers has created a need for better international standards of accreditation and certification.
Staff move between countries in particular areas of business. But country-specific technical requirements sometimes force employees to retrain locally even when they are sufficiently qualified to do a job.
This is also an issue of progression for employees. As more individuals cross international boundaries to work, they want to be able to take their qualifications with them and ensure that they will hold value wherever they go.
