Three million untitled employees will be able to prove their work experience

A total of three million workers will be able to prove the professional skills they have acquired in the workplace or through non-formal training, a procedure that will affect all productive sectors and to which a budget of 852.5 million euros will be allocated. .

Almost half of the Spanish workforce (48%) do not have formal recognition of their skills, despite carrying out their work activity on a daily basis, which reduces their training and employment options. The Council of Ministers, at the proposal of the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training, approved this Tuesday a royal decree that establishes the opening of a permanent procedure to evaluate and accredit said competences.

The procedure in force so far has only certified the professional skills of 300,000 workers in ten years. With an initial budget of almost 852.5 million euros, the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training will accredit the skills of more than three million people in four years.

The approved text, which modifies the previous royal decree on the matter of 2009, determines that the competent administrations will maintain this continuous process so that anyone can request it.

It is one of the actions included in the Plan for the Modernization of Vocational Training with the greatest impact on the workforce, since it puts an end to the limitations of the existing method that greatly slowed down the accreditation of competences through specific calls referring to one or more qualifications. It will have as reference all the VET offer linked to the National Catalog of Professional Qualifications.

In a video sent to the media, the Minister of Education, Isabel Celaá, pointed out that this initiative is a "further step" in the objective of progressing towards a "comprehensive and modern" Vocational Training system, and has underlined the relevance of the "initial" amount that will be allocated (852 million) to this issue.

With this measure, he added, it will be possible for three million workers to prove their skills in the next four years, and those who take refuge "will be able to complete their training and obtain the FP title or the corresponding certificate of professionalism."

In this way, a response will be given to "a basic right" of workers that "will undoubtedly facilitate their progression in their professional itineraries.

The process will begin with a first stage in which an advisor will make an orientation report on the applicant.

Then, the evaluation phase will take place through the analysis of the indicated report, the documentation provided by the candidate and different methods that allow to verify the skills acquired in the workplace. Finally, the results will be transferred to a state registry.

Regarding the requirements, candidates must justify at least three years of work in the development of the competence they wish to accredit, with a minimum of 2,000 hours worked, in the 15 years prior to submitting the application.

For level I competency units, those that include a reduced set of relatively simple work activities, with limited theoretical knowledge and practical skills, two years of experience will be required with a minimum of 1,200 hours worked.

This transformation promoted by the Ministry of Isabel Celaá is in line with the employment strategies of the European Union aimed at the qualification of the active population in order to facilitate employability, mobility, social cohesion, equity and learning to throughout life.