1. Validating competences gained through non-formal education and volunteering Viljami Hätönen Guides and Scouts of Finland Meaningful competences for tomorrow’s needs

2. Background Quality education is needed for Europe to develop and prosper European Qualifications Framework (2012) – Recommendation to validate non-formal and informal education in Europe by 2018 – Levelling formal degrees and competences gained in non-formal settings (scale: primary – doctorate)

3. Validation ”Validation is a process where demonstrated and/or documented evidence of a volunteer’s competencies or achievements are assessed against a commonly agreed set of criteria to assure their quality matches these criteria, and are then documented.” What’s in it for the volunteers? – Personal development, employability, increasing the quality of voluntary work What’s in it for the organizations? – Motivation & engagement, professionalisation of the NGO, data regarding the involvement and quality of voluntary activities What’s in it for the employers? – Alternative for professional training, motivated and skilled employees What’s in it for the formal education? – Taking classroom learning into action, added value in developing competences

4. Case: Guides and Scouts of Finland Validation programme launched in 2013 – Phase 1: Training system – Phase 2: Volunteering positions Goal is to ensure the quality of volunteering, Training system and keep Scouting relevant as a volunteering opportunity

5. Training system validation Core content analysis – Each training module’s content is reviewed and split into three categories: MUST know, SHOULD know, NICE to know Measurement and points (ECTS) – The workload of the volunteer is measured in hours and transformed to ECTS points (Yes, sounds a bit like school but learning has never been this fun!)

6. Training system validation Modeling the learning outcomes – Clearly defined learning outcomes – The objective is achievable and measurable – The objective is expressed in a simple way: ”The person can… /…is able to…” Absolutely not: ”understands” / ”comprehends” / ”knows” / ”has familiarized” – These are more about the educational objectives than a subjective learning outcome

7. Training system validation Assessing the learning – Portfolio, CV, video, interview, Empower Yourself, competence diary, Europass, tests, essays, group talks, etc. Certification – A well-documented process can be validated with a formal certificate – Our partner is the OK Study Center

8. Volunteer position validation Much harder work due to variance in content, quality, engagement, etc. Piloting at the Finjamboree Roihu 2016 Process quite about the same as in Training system validation – But first we need to define what are the competences gained in Scouting

9. Competences/skills gained in Scouting Understanding SelfUnderstanding Others Ethical Innovation Self-development Mentoring / coaching International & intercultural Communication Undertanding SocietyUnderstanding Environment Value-based leadership Security Organizational Nature Sustainable development It’s still a draft, working hard on it :) There are also lot of practical or ”hard” skills, but they are more of a by-product

10. Where’s your NSA at? Discussion!

11. Thank you! Viljami Hätönen National Board, volunteer support Guides and Scouts of Finland viljami.hatonen@partio.fi