REVA Experiment Assessment: At the Dawn of an RPL Renewal

In recent years, the government has questioned the Recognition of Prior Learning system and now shows its commitment to reinventing it. For this, it relies mainly on the report "From RPL 2002 to REVA 2020" by Claire Khecha, Yanic Soubien and David Rivoire and on the evaluation report of REVA's first phase experiment. The results of this experiment transforming RPL -- a more efficient and effective RPL pathway, in 4 months versus 16 months previously, and 86% total or partial certification -- were presented in March 2022 by Beta.gouv.fr, State incubator of digital public services, to Elisabeth BORNE, Minister of Employment, Labor and Integration, to Brigitte Bourguignon, Deputy Minister for Autonomy, and Carine Seiler, High Commissioner for Skills, before all certifying bodies and support providers who participated in the project, including IPERIA. Let's take stock.

The professional branch of individual employment and domestic work aims to be a key player in the evolution of the RPL system through experiments. This commitment is also dear to IPERIA. This is evidenced by its innovative and practical approach - 83% success rate in qualification certification through RPL in 2020[1] -- which relies on several parameters:

"Because it embodies skills recognition for sector professionals, as a certifying body, we have long invested in this method of accessing certification, a retention driver for employed workers. This is why we wanted to get involved in the REVA project," explains Camille Savre, head of IPERIA's certification engineering service.

REVA aims to develop and streamline access to RPL, the 3rd path to certification in France, which struggles to find its place in the professional training ecosystem, and to engage society in a lifelong skills recognition system. An initial experiment was conducted in 2021 with 146 candidates in elderly care occupations, relying on five certifying bodies. IPERIA is one of them, recognized for its expertise and inspiring practices in RPL, particularly its ability to conceive and adapt the system to meet audiences' needs in the professional branch of individual employment and domestic work. Learn more about the project.

As part of the REVA experiment conducted by IPERIA, 20 candidates passed the eligibility stage, an individual interview based on a positioning tool to measure professional experience. Supported for two months by training organizations accredited for IPERIA certification—Reflets and Institut Aritas Formation—in Nice and Toulon, they followed the pathway to the RPL certification juries for the "Family Assistant" or "Dependency Personal Carer" qualifications, held in mid-January.

19 of them obtained certification, with 7 achieving a complete qualification and 12 obtaining blocks attesting to skills matching their experience. This experiment allowed job seekers to take a first step in validating their skills, obtain certification to develop their projects, and increase their professional activity. "It's a real springboard to employment for different profiles to find additional activity or reintegrate," indicates Camille Savre, head of IPERIA's certification engineering department.

Moreover, whether they partially or fully obtained the targeted certification, candidates generally praise the experience, as the involved training organizations reported: "This RPL process made them aware of the skills they had already acquired through their experience, but above all, it motivated them to pursue training. Candidates were very attentive to the feedback and advice given for continuing the pathway."

The REVA project doesn't stop there. Beta.gouv.fr, the project leader, has already announced other stages. Meanwhile, we continue to innovate in RPL and we're also involved in another project with the General Delegation for Employment and Vocational Training (DGEFP): RPL by blocks. IPERIA aims to be the spearhead of a resolutely modern, efficient RPL in tune with today's skills society. The experiment recently concluded here, too, and results are expected soon. Stay tuned!

[1] Source: 2020 Assessment of the professionalization policy for the professional branch of individual employment and domestic work