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Published on: 16/12/2021Updated on: 16/12/2021
REVA stands for Recognition and Validation. On the initiative of Labor Minister Elisabeth Borne, a large-scale experiment on Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) was launched this summer through Beta.gouv.fr, an incubator network of decentralized agencies, operators, and ministries. Recognized as innovative in its RPL practices and its ability to design and adapt the system to meet the needs of individuals in the individual employment and domestic work sector. IPERIA was selected as one of 5 certifying bodies participating in this REVA project.
The shared ambition is to innovate in evolving RPL and ultimately develop this certification pathway, which, despite its undisputed social utility, hasn't "taken off" since its creation nearly 20 years ago due to high dropout rates throughout the process. IPERIA's mission in this project is to build on its historical ability to provide one-week eligibility decisions and propose a new approach that is less focused on administrative aspects and more on the candidate's experience during the eligibility phase.
A Promising System, Underutilized Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL)
This certification system, established in 2002 by Secretary of State for Professional Training Nicole Péry, is recognized by both Labor and Education Codes. It enables professionals to earn certifications based on their work experience, helping them validate their skills and advance in their careers. The only requirement is to be able to prove at least 1 year of full-time experience (continuous or not) related to the targeted certification.Today, despite its relevance, the system faces obstacles preventing it from reaching its full potential. Despite IPERIA's ongoing support, many candidates find the process challenging and view it as an obstacle course, leading to high dropout rates. This notably led Elisabeth Borne, Minister of Labor, Employment and Integration, and other involved ministries to commission a report on RPL's future, outlining actions and recommendations to implement. "Our objective is to run a pilot program in the care and health sectors, where we face both significant skills shortages and recognition challenges. Based on the results of this experiment, which began in September 2021, we aim to develop broader solutions that can be applied across the field field where there are significant skills needs today and extreme recognition challenges, to draw conclusions, then to generalize," states Carine Seiler, High Commissioner for Skills and REVA steering committee member.
Toward a Pathway Logic...
The REVA project places the candidate at the heart of the RPL system. Supported throughout the pathway, beyond 24 hours, they become truly active in their journey. Indeed, at each stage, their positioning, ambitions, desires and other criteria are measured through a digital questionnaire to evaluate the appropriateness of methods chosen by each certifying body. "Our idea is to create standards based on users. We put the candidate at the system's center and have them test everything we've built from end to end," explains Olivier Gérard, REVA project leader at Beta.gouv.fr. The experiment should enable the designing of a complete service offering. A digital platform will allow an actual pathway logic.
...Already Implemented by IPERIA
Because innovation and pioneering spirit are part of IPERIA's DNA as a skills certifier for the professional branch of individual employment and domestic work for over 25 years, Beta.gouv.fr sought its expertise last June. "We were questioned about our practices, how we adapt the pathway to the candidate," says Camille Savre, Head of IPERIA's Certification Engineering Service. "Indeed, adaptability is our leitmotif as a skills certifier. We organize certification juries close to candidates across the territory. We only set dates when candidates are ready. We follow them in their pathway; we follow up with them. We provide language support when needed... The RPL certification pathway that IPERIA offers is individualized." Always recognize skills to develop access to employment and its sustainability.
Eight-Day Eligibility, Centered on the Individual
The REVA project aims to be innovative and ambitious by offering eight-day eligibility centered on the candidate. At the same time, this stage can take several months for some certifying bodies due to administrative burdens. At IPERIA, the average eligibility duration is already eight days. "We organize a weekly eligibility commission and are responsive. If a file arrives complete, it's reviewed that week and goes to commission. When the file is incomplete, the request for additional documents is made the week the file is received," indicates Stéphanie Le Penven, Head of Certification Management Service at IPERIA.
Within REVA, the innovation lies in rethinking this express eligibility by centering it on the individual and their pathway. "We have implemented an individual interview with a digital professional positioning tool," announces Camille Savre. "We created this positioning tool in 2020 when redesigning the occupation-specific eligibility file for sector qualifications. We optimized it into a digital version with REVA. It's a digital questionnaire that asks candidates about all activities performed in their professional experiences and pathway (for example, 'I have done housekeeping: never/rarely/often...'). It allows us to know if the person has experience across all certification activities and thus determine if they're pursuing the appropriate certification." This eight-day eligibility focuses on the candidate's pathway while administrative aspects take a back seat, with candidates signing a sworn statement.Concrete Results
Following collective information sessions about sector occupations organized by Pôle emploi, two groups of RPL candidates positioned themselves in Toulon and Nice. Across the two groups, IPERIA conducted 40 interviews to determine eligibility.
For the group in Nice, 12 candidates obtained eligibility. They are now engaged in an RPL process for the "Dependency Personal Carer" qualification, supported by Reflets, an IPERIA-accredited training organization. The group in Toulon includes 10 eligible candidates, with 7 pursuing the "Family Assistant" qualification - a rare occurrence! They have begun their RPL pathway, supported by Aritas, an IPERIA-accredited training organization. Pôle emploi's involvement in the project, which funds these pathways, has enabled unprecedented profiles to be reached. Certification juries are scheduled for January 2022.
"We have a collective duty to help working individuals become aware of the skills they possess and to embrace the mindset of the skills-based society we aspire to build.Today, competence is a concept for many citizens that doesn't translate into something concrete," emphasizes Carine Seiler, High Commissioner for Skills[1]. This is one of the challenges the REVA experiment must address. Initial conclusions regarding the eligibility and closing stages will be presented next spring.[1] Extract from her intervention during the online debate conference "Reinventing RPL: REVA, the skills recognition revolution? accelerator for Open badges deployment?" on June 18, 2021.
