The Lagoa Centre for Recognition, Validation and Certification of Competencies (RVCC), located at the University of the Algarve, forms part of Portugal’s National System of RVCC Centres. Portugal created this system in 2001 as a means of identifying the knowledge and competencies acquired by adults over the course of their lives and careers. Its purpose is for them to obtain certificates for compulsory education. Through its accreditation system, the Lagoa RVCC Centre aims to encourage members of Portugal’s most economically and socially disadvantaged communities to seek continuing education.
A series of statistics and research has focused on the level of qualifications of the Portuguese workforce. As Duarte (2004) clearly states, the 2004 forecasts for Portugal show that a high percentage of the population has low qualifications (68.4%). The forecasts also reveal that Portugal has the lowest capacity for recovery of all European countries. According to the National Institute of Statistics, in 2000 more than three million active adults had not completed their nine years of basic schooling.
In 2001, a National System of Recognition, Validation and Certification of Competences (RVCC) was created for adults in Portugal . The main assumption of this system was that a high number of adults were quite competent at their jobs, but did not have formal diplomas. The main source of their learning was therefore not school education, but a multitude of informal contexts and experiences. The idea was that this experiential learning could be certified.
The main instrument of the RVCC process is a national framework of key competences. These competences are divided into four areas: language and communication; mathematics for life; citizenship and employability; and information and communication technologies. Adults who wish to have their competences certified can register in one of the centres that have gradually been established for this purpose in Portugal . With the help of pedagogical teams, people are able to demonstrate that they have the competences stated in the framework.
The Center of Recognition, Validation and the Certification of Competitions (RVCC) of Lagoa makes part of a National System of Centers RVCC.
There are 98 Centers In Portugal which constitute the National Net of Centers of RVCC, guided by the Ministry of Education through the General Address of Vocational Education.
From a Lifelong Learning perspective, this System allows to identify the knowledge and competencies that the adults have been acquiring in its professional and social trajectory, having as purpose the validation and the school certification at the level of the basic obligatory school.
To certify experiential learning by means of formal educational diplomas.
To give adults a second opportunity to enter the world of education and training.
To increase the academic level of the Portuguese population.
In 2005, the University of the Algarve was allowed to open an RVCC centre. Until the end of 2006, this university was the only higher education institution (HEI) that had an RVCC centre. The main stages of the RVCC process in our centre are:
1. Recognition.
This involves identifying the competences that individuals have acquired throughout their lives in different contexts, e.g. social, family, workplace learning, etc.
An RVC professional conducts two biographical interviews with each adult to form a first impression of her/his life path and to ascertain whether other types of educational paths are more suited to the adult's present situation. Adults are then divided into small groups. Over the following six weeks, they participate in working sessions, in which they share their life experiences. They try to understand the type of life situations that could demonstrate the particular competences they might have. Some of these sessions are thematically oriented, according to the framework of key competences. After this period, our team has a clearer view of each individual. This enables the team to negotiate with each adult, in order to decide which level they want to reach and what training they need to achieve their goals.
2. Validation.
Training is essential to this phase. It is either conducted by the centre's trainers or by other external programmes, if necessary. This training enables adults to build up a portfolio that contains the evidence of their competences. Since experiential learning is central to this process, the portfolios vary in structure and, more particularly, in their content. The logical end of the process is validation by a jury that assesses the adults' portfolios. An external evaluator sits on the jury.
3. Certification.
This is the official confirmation of the validation after which the adults receive a formal diploma. When the process has been completed, adults guide working sessions in which our team helps them with their future projects. Such projects may range from continuing their studies to starting a new microenterprise.
The RVCC process targets the most deprived communities. It has been shown to be effective in many ways in these communities. The majority of people who go through this process undergo clearly visible transformations. They usually enter the centre with extremely low levels of self-confidence and self-esteem, convinced that their professions are worthless and that their social significance is null. They are not used to being listened to or to being the centre of attention. Biographical approaches are partially responsible for the transformations. Adults review their lives by looking at events or phenomena with the help of professionals who show them their value. Gradually, they discover new meanings and values that give them a sense of worthiness.
A number of professions have very low social value. However, in the RVCC process, every profession involves some competences. The surprise that some people feel on discovering this simple fact is also helpful in the ‘conscientization' (Freire, 1987) processes that form part of all the activities in the centre.
Some adults report immediate advantages on finishing the RVCC process (for instance, a better salary). Most adults who finish the RVCC process continue with their studies, search for training in very different areas, and come back to the centre to seek information and personalized help.
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