The European Commission launched a new tool for trustworthy digital diplomas and certificates that have authenticity across the European Union.
Nicolas Schmit, European Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights, started the launch event of the ‘European Digital Credentials for Learning’ with a welcome speech in which he stated how skills are one of the top priorities for the European Commission (EC). The first headline target of the European pillar of social rights action plan is that 78% of adults between 20 and 64 should be employed. A main change implies addressing the gender employment gap and young people who are not in employment, education or training. The second headline reads that adult participation in training and learning activities should be increased every year to at least 60% (see SwissCore article for more information). Schmit proceeded to cite the European Skills Agenda, which contains specific actions dedicated to the creation of tools to support people in their lifelong learning pathways: The ‘initiative on individual learning accounts’ (action 9), ‘a European approach to micro-credentials’ (action 10) and a ‘new Europass platform’ (action 11). Before the end of the year, the EC will present the implementations of action 9 and action 10, to help upskill and reskill Europeans and make lifelong learning a reality. The ‘European Digital Credentials for Learning’ are part of action 11 and are a paradigm shift in the way learning achievements are provided in Europe, they are in fact being moved to the digital world. Individuals will now be able to easily share their learning achievements in a secure and digitalised way. This tool can automatically verify information such as the identity of an awarding body or the quality assurance of a qualification. This will not only help learners, but also employers and job seekers.
The European Digital Credentials for Learning is part of the Europass Digital Credentials Infrastructure (EDCI) that is being developed by the EC to support how credentials are recognised in Europe. Digital credentials can describe activities (e.g. classes attended), assessments (e.g. projects), achievements (e.g. skills developed), professional entitlements (e.g. registration as a medical doctor) or qualifications. The new tool can reduce administration work for both students and staff and support instant verifications. During the launch event, different stakeholders took the floor to discuss how the European Digital Credentials are very useful to the education and training field. Mile Dzelalija from the University of Split explained how they have been piloting the system. The tool increases transparency of higher education institutions qualifications, enhances lifelong learning and facilitates student mobility. Digital credentials are also an essential part of European cooperation. For example, the European University of the Seas (SEA-EU), an alliance of 6 universities and 32 associated partners, uses digital credentials to help prepare more than 100’000 students for the labour market.
A representative from the Moodle Academy explained how digital credentials can be used in their organisation. It will help them issue credentials for their own training activities and allow Moodle users to view their accomplishments. The Ministry of Education of Luxembourg then continued with giving a concrete example of the use of these diplomas. A foreign embassy had contacted the Ministry directly to make sure of the validity of a student’s diploma; this could be avoided with the use of single European framework for digital certificates. Last, the Erasmus Student Network (ESN) made the public aware of how this tool can help recognize non-formal training and education and help volunteers raise their level of employability.