The Council adopted two recommendations to support skills development

The first focuses on the European approach to microcredentials, the second on the individual learning accounts.

The Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council met on Thursday 16 June. Among other items on the agenda, the Council approved two recommendations to Member States that are crucial for formal and non-formal education and skills development - the Council recommendation on the European approach to microcredentials for lifelong learning and employability and the Council recommendation on individual learning accounts.

Microcredentials as a means to flexible career paths

The European approach to microcredentials is one of the key initiatives of the European Skills Agenda, the European Education Area and the development of cooperation in education after 2025. Support for the concept of microcredentials is also included in the Council recommendation on vocational education and training (VET) for sustainable competitiveness, social fairness and resilience and in the European Strategy for Universities.

Recent changes in society, accelerated by the Covid-19 pandemic and the ongoing digital and green transformation, have significantly increased the demand for flexible lifelong learning opportunities that are able to respond quickly to changing labor market needs. More and more Europeans perceive the need to extend and improve their knowledge, skills and competences so that they can find and keep a job and also be able to contribute to solving pressing societal issues. Microcredentials should be awarded as a confirmation/certificate after completing short learning activities of various formats (e.g. courses and trainings).

The Recommendation on the European approach to microcredentials states, in particular, that there is as yet no common European definition of microcredentials, it further includes the European standards for microcredentials and key principles that should be followed in their design and implementation. The aim of the Recommendation is to encourage Member States to take a unified approach and to strengthen trust in microcredentials in society in general, thus enabling all people to have access to flexible education and the acquisition of knowledge, skills and competences that are mutually recognized not only in one country but also abroad. Therefore, one of the important properties of microcredentials should be their transferability. The microcredentials can also be designed and issued by different education providers and can reflect different forms of education (formal, non-formal or informal).

Member States should inform the European Commission by December 2023 of how they are implementing the Recommendation. The Commission should then inform the Council of the progress made within five years of the adoption of this Recommendation.

More information in the Council's press release on the Recommendation on Microcredentials.

Individual learning accounts to support lifelong learning of adults

The second Recommendation on individual learning accounts is also linked to the support of the acquisition of knowledge, skills and competences and to the support of digital and green transformation. The main aim is to increase the number of adults who actively participate in lifelong learning each year. Like microcredentials, individual learning accounts are one of the key initiatives of the European Skills Agenda and the European Pillar of Social Rights Action Plan.

The Council recommends to Member States to consider introducing so-called individual learning accounts in order to support individuals in their participation in further education, which will in turn promote their employability in today's rapidly changing labor market. If Member States decide to set up individual learning accounts, there should also be support measures at European level (for example, support for the availability of career guidance, support for the creation of a public register of available training or support for the creation of a national portal for accessing the individual learning accounts and the public register).

Individual learning accounts should provide financial support to working age adults to enable them to take part in training and further education, whether they are currently working or unemployed, thereby motivating them to continue their education and to expand or acquire new skills (up-skilling and re-skilling). This measure should also help achieve the goal set at the Porto Social Summit in May 2021, that by 2030 at least 60% of adults in Europe will take part in some form of education each year.

Concerning the funding, the Recommendation mentions, for example, the possibility of sharing financial costs between national authorities, employers and funds managed by the social partners. European funds such as the European Social Fund, the European Regional Development Fund, the Just Transition Fund, the Recovery and Resilience Facility and others can also support the implementation of individual learning accounts and the above-mentioned support measures.

The support for the overall objectives of this Recommendation in each country will be reflected annually in the European Semester. After five years, the European Commission will prepare a report for the Council assessing the progress made in this area.

More information in the Council's press release on the Recommendation on individual learning accounts.