As part of the ongoing Assess Plus project, work is ongoing into the development of O3 – a “practical and innovative ICT-based tool designed to to evaluate competences on Skills Audits in Adult Education included in the European Framework of Reference.”
To date, INQS has undertaken a wide range of research and examinations into the potential approaches to such an app with a view to supporting the user experience and to develop a resource which will be of use to the target audience, to project beneficiaries and to stakeholders.
As part of the project development, partners have been working hard on developing learning material for the Assess Plus Virtual Canvas. INQS has been re-developing material around legal frameworks for Skills Audits, some of which is outlined below
Generally, there is no “official” European legal framework for skills auditing. As outlined in the very useful 2018 report “Skills audits: tools to identify talent”
“There are different legal frameworks regulating access to skills audits. While movement towards a uniform regulation of access to skills audits may not be desirable, it will be important to ensure that where skills audits are not a right, sufficient opportunities for access are provided within the context of skills and employment policies, particularly at the lower skills levels and for disadvantaged groups.”
You can learn more about the status of different countries and their position on skills auditing through the “Skills audits: tools to identify talent. This provides a very useful overview of the status of skills audits in general in the European Union.
It is important to note the distinction between “legal requirements” compared to “standards” that are expected to be adhered to. At a National level, for instance, in countries such as France, a skills audit is seen as a universal right available for every individual regardless of his/her situation vis a vis the labour market and can only be provided by an accredited provider. This means that if one was looking to implement a skills audit on behalf of a company in France, it must be provided by a neutral organisation from outside of the company and this is a legal requirement. Countries such as Ireland and Greece do not have a legal framework for facilitating skills audits, but may have sector-specific policies designed to support effective skills audits.
For more information and resources, please check out http://www.assess-plus.eu