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CAPLA

Canadian Association for Prior Learning Assessment


...supporting the recognition of prior learning since 1997

Association canadienne pour la reconnaissance des acquis


...oeuvrant la reconnaissance des acquis depuis 1997

The HUB
JUNE 2013 ISSUE 42

CONTENTS
Yukons FQR Conference Employer Engagement and RPL Lets Hear It for the Grads at RRC le Devoir article
(French & English)

Yukons Foreign Qualifications Recognition Conference


The Kwanlin Dn Cultural Centre in Whitehorse provided an attractive venue for the Yukons first FQR conference on April 24, 2013. The Honourable Scott Kent provided opening remarks, followed by five other speakers who addressed issues related to immigration policy, settlement, credential assessment and the recognition of prior learning (RPL). Over fifty people attended from a range of different organizations. Sharon Young from the Department of Education who planned the event received congratulatory comments from both participants and speakers for her outstanding effort and wonderful hospitality.

RPL and Trade Unions in S. Africa CAPLAs AGM CAPLAs Board of Directors
From left to right: Government of Yukon officials Kelly Jiang and Nathalie Ouellet join speakers Tanis Sawkins (VCC), Bonnie Kennedy (CAPLA), Jeff Stull (IQAS), Allain Lauzon (IQN) and Catherine Rivard (HRSDC) for a picture with Mona Syed and Sharon Young (also Government of the Yukon).

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CAPLAS Fall Focus Workshop is on November 17 - 19, 2013 in Toronto. Visit www.capla.ca to register and to view program updates throughout the summer.

Employer Engagement in RPL


Increasingly, RPL has become a focus of employers and is used as part of good human resource management practice. RPL can be a cost and time-effective tool to help employers gain a better understanding of the skills for each employee and in an organization. RPL can inform selection and hiring practices, training and development plans, or even succession planning. Ultimately, RPL can encourage a culture of learning, which helps build staff loyalty (and retention) and improved productivity. Employers are also the recipient of RPL practice, i.e. applicants and workers will present an RPL statement that is usually produced from an academic institution indicating what was assessed and what is recognized, and often these are defined in terms of academic credits (and not workplace skills). Where employers learn to work with these statements, judgments can be made on appropriate placements (e.g. job roles) or helping define further education or training needs. The term RPL (or its variants) is not widely used by employers, nor is there a shared understanding about what it means. RPL, however, manifests in human resource planning and management activities, such as recruitment and selection processes, or skill development (i.e. employee training). Employers want workers that are trained, skilled, committed, motivated, productive and loyal; they believe that training or career development initiatives are expected to result in a positive return on investment (ROI) and address business goals or key concerns such as: recruitment and retention of high performing employees; increasing motivation and productivity; enhancing organizational commitment/ loyalty; reducing waste, absenteeism and turnover; and Increasing guest satisfaction and customer loyalty (e.g. reduce complaints). Workplaces are significant learning institutions. For many adults, most (perhaps all) of their formative learning is gained on the job. Workplaces that
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have a positive learning culture enable workers to gain practical skills and experience while earning an income. Many of these workers have no means or opportunity to gain education or training in an academic setting. RPL allows for the maximum utilization of human resources and saves both time and money by avoiding duplication of learning. For individuals, RPL can facilitate access to employment and opportunities for advancement. Although workplaces are key learning environments, the conditions are not always ideal or suitable to learning. A preeminent Canadian employer once stated, Were not in the business of training, indicating that they understand the need to invest in and conduct training but that they are not specialists. For this reason, he elaborated by saying that the result of their efforts was haphazard and disparate. Although investments are made to improve on human capital, and these investments are often referred to as training, they may lack the rigour or scope to meet the needs. Furthermore, the training is not adequately supported and often treated as an event rather than a planned, systemic approach. For new hires, training generally includes a brief orientation to the workplace along with brief information on corporate values and goals, and job shadowing with a senior staff person. Other training investments tend to be limited to permanent and senior staff; employers believe that new hires, frontline staff, and seasonal or temporary workers are not worth the cost to train. Often these training events are one day in length, designed to raise awareness or reinforce values. A similar issue concerns capacity and the alignment between employer needs and priorities and training programs and supports. Most employers in Canada operate businesses that employee less than 20 workers. Rarely will they have a dedicated staff person or specialist for HR. Subsequently, small and medium size employers will often lack the skills and experience, and the systems or support to manage staff training and development needs. Often employers are unfamiliar with the terminology used to describe various initiatives, making it difficult to

find appropriate supports or uncertainty on where to begin to improve on practices. At times, employers needs and priorities are not characterized as training or development issues, even though a common thread is RPL. This is particularly true as they are faced with increased and conflicting demands related to social, political, environmental, economic, technological or regulatory influences. (The list is long.) One employer has described the perfect storm, saying We are faced with an aging workforce paired with skill shortages and competition for skilled labour. The increased diversity and mobility of workers has introduced complexity and the need to better understand skills, experience and qualifications earned outside of Canada. Differences in work culture and other cultural frameworks (such as individualism versus collectivism, or achievement versus ascription) will continue to challenge employers. Canadian employers and workers would benefit from a comprehensive RPL (i.e. skills) system that makes it easy for employers to understand how RPL is integral to good HR practices and addressing business priorities. For workplace_based RPL to be embraced by employers, there must be a clear and explicit link between employer stated goals and RPL programs and services provided. This emphasizes the need to integrate policy with corporate culture. An RPL system would also help learners better navigate education and work opportunities, creating an increased demand for a currency of skills and increased and improved RPL practices. Where RPL is not understood or stigmatized, a strong marketing effort will help learners, practitioners, educators and employers better appreciate the value and relevance

to needs. RPL practitioners will start to align practices and the language with business needs and priorities, and improve on helping learners communicate their skills and prior experience in a way that is meaningful to employers (and not just educators). Practitioners would also benefit from engaging employers in making decisions on RPL practices, which will help bring an understanding and create better alignment with business needs. RPL implementation can be complex and overwhelming. Part of the challenge is being able to communicate the concept. Eliminating confusing language and getting rid of jargon is essential; instead, RPL must be defined by products and services that meet needs part of a systemic approach to addressing learner and labour mobility, or addressing a skills agenda. Tools and strategies that illustrate practical applications of RPL, along with evidence of quality practice and standards are needed. In many cases, this is simply an exercise of building on current practice and bringing coherence to the activities. This also highlights the need for adequate supports and the need to gather research or evidence of good practice. Employers are invested in RPL: its essential to addressing core business goals. Improved programs and services to assist employers will further improve on practice, create better links with RPL practitioners and ultimately facilitate increased learner and worker mobility the tenet to a thriving, flexible, and productive workforce. Philip Mondor Senior Vice-President, CTHRC

Lets hear it from the Grads! Lets hear it for the Grads!
On June 11, 2013 at Red River Colleges Spring Convocation, three experienced RPL professionals graduated with the RPL Practitioner Certificate an advanced level of learning in RPL. This article profiles these three graduates and their journey in the RPL field and in completing the certificate. Graduates of this program acquire the knowledge, skills and abilities to function as a practitioner in the RPL field. Graduates develop skills in advising, assessing and facilitating credible RPL practices and systems. The program is designed to build on and complement current skills and abilities in related fields such as adult learning, human resources, career and employment counseling, and qualifications recognition. What skills and abilities do Program graduates have? The RPL Practitioner Certificate graduate should be able to: Advise clients through an RPL process adhering to institutional, organizational, legislative and professional association requirements to ensure clients receive quality RPL services. Develop quality assessment practices and assess prior learning (knowledge, skills and abilities) using a variety of processes, including portfolio, to meet the needs of individuals. Demonstrate professional practices including, but not limited to, leadership skills, cultural sensitivity, ethical behavior and maintaining quality standards in RPL practice. Demonstrate essential and employability skills in oral, written and interpersonal communication, teamwork, critical thinking and problem solving, group facilitation, and research. Practice quality assurance in advising, assessing, and facilitating processes within RPL systems. Implement and maintain sustainable quality RPL systems as part of a team to meet the needs of key stakeholders.
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Advocate for RPL and quality RPL practice for individuals and organizations. Implement RPL professional development programming to meet individual and organizational needs. Apply project management principles and practices to achieve organizational goals and strategic plans.

Lets Hear it from the Grads!


I. Donna Riddell 1. Brief background: I am Donna Riddell, a mother of four who lives in rural Manitoba. I have a background in Early Childhood Education (ECE); I completed the RPL process to upgrade my credentials so that I could continue and complete my Early Childhood Program Management (ECPM) post diploma. I currently teach in the Early Childhood Education (ECE) Diploma program at the RRC Portage Campus, as well as distance education with the ECPM program at Assiniboine Community College (ACC). I became involved with RPL because I truly believe in a strength based approach to education - and RPL has the best fit of all the educational philosophies/practices that I know. I have felt the benefits and seen the benefits of good RPL practice and want to promote RPL in rural Manitoba. 2. Describe how you completed the RPL Practitioner Certificate: I completed my RPL Practitioner Certificate through a combination of processes - one Summer Institute, which was great to connect face-to-face with other students and the instructor; and several by LEARN (online course delivery), which was also an awesome experience and helped me become more familiar with online facilitation. I did the last course by an RPL process, which I did find challenging as I missed the class interactions. I didnt always feel confident in my own abilities as Im not immersed in RPL as part of my work.

The RPL Practicum was definitely a highlight - I really, really appreciated being out in the RPL community, learning from others. I really value that experience. 3. Identify some key areas in RPL practice where you gained significant learning: Empowering students; RPL use with gap training methods; and I liked Workplace Education Manitoba (WEM) and WPLAR (Workplace PLAR)- that system really made sense to me and was exciting! I really enjoyed the online courses through LEARN and the course facilitator, Gail Hall. I also really liked working with the other students from across Canada - it was the same group for a few courses. I missed taking the RPL Special Issues course with them a few years ago, during that Summer Institute held at RRC. It would have been so awesome to meet them all! Students/instructors do build relationships virtually - positive relationships. For instance, I have benefited from Frank Vandenburg in New Brunswick I follow him on Twitter and email him with questions. That relationship is all virtual; weve never met! 4. Describe how you currently are using this learning or plan to use this learning in future work/endeavors: I am hoping to work my way into RPL through the RRC Regional Campuses. I am also continuing my education and seeking out a Masters program. I hope that RPL will be part of my Masters focus. 5. Any other comments: I think that my favourite course was the Train the Trainer: Portfolio course - the e-portfolio was a great task for me. I find that portfolio development and maintenance is very rewarding and validating. I think Im lonely at times in the rural areas - and having a portfolio/maintaining a portfolio gives me the needed validation for my skills and abilities when I might not get that otherwise.

II. Mavis Lewis Webber 1. Brief background: For over twelve years I worked for the Province of Manitoba, delivering Competency Based Assessment and Prior Learning Assessment programs for Early Childhood Educators. I started to complete the RPL Certificate in 2004 as a means to further my knowledge, skills and abilities in that position. I am currently employed at Red River College. For a year I was the RPL Advisor/Assessor in the Early Childhood Education department. In my tenure in that position I began the process of developing RPL Resource Guides for the new early childhood curriculum. 2. Describe how you completed the RPL Practitioner Certificate: I completed the RPL Practitioner Certificate in a variety of manners Summer Institute; on-line and LEARN; I completed RPL processes for 3 courses using the Resource Guides; and I received transfer credit for completion of another related certificate program. 3. Identify some key areas in RPL practice where you gained significant learning: Over the years of completing the RPL Certificate, the knowledge I gained was put into practice advising and assessing learners in their RPL processes. As I worked through resource guides and proved my prior learning for some of the courses, I was able to transfer this hands-on awareness into the resource guides I developed for Early Childhood Education students. Also, networking with other RPL practitioners was invaluable in sharing resources. 4. Describe how you currently are using this learning or plan to use this learning in future work/endeavors:

The learning that was gained during this certificate program will be utilized in the future development of RPL tools and resource guides. 5. Any other comments: The options to complete the RPL Practitioner Certificate met the needs of a working professional with many other commitments. Thank you for this opportunity. III. Lauren Waples 1. Brief background: I have been involved in working with and assessing adult learners for more than 20 years. I was introduced to RPL in 1999 when I became part of a project team tasked with developing an RPL process for Early Childhood Educators in Manitoba. In 2001 I began working as the Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) Advisor at Red River College. Red River Colleges RPL Services has an RPL Strategic Plan which describes and guides the system implementation. One key aspect involves quality. To engage in and to ensure quality practice in RPL Advising, I set a goal to attain the RPL Practitioner Certificate. 2. Describe how you completed the RPL Practitioner Certificate: When I became involved with RPL in 1999, I completed both PLAR Foundation and Advanced Practitioner courses at Red River College. When I began the RPL Practitioner Certificate, I transferred both of those courses into the new program. I was an instructor and course developer for the Train the Trainer: Portfolio course and completed RPL Special Issues through a combination of classroom and RPL processes (report/assignments). RPL Practicum was completed through RPL processes (portfolio including evidence and employer verification). 3. Identify some key areas in RPL practice where you gained significant learning:

I have increased my knowledge of RPL and effective and efficient RPL Advising practices. This has allowed me to more effectively guide and assist potential learners accessing College programs. I developed relationships with RPL practitioners working in a variety of organizations and postsecondary institutions across the country. I use the RPL Stages identified by Susan Simosko to categorize my RPL activities and I self-assess my knowledge and skills against the PLAR Practitioner Competencies for Advisors. I have enhanced my leadership skills and have been a member of the Board of Directors for the Manitoba Prior Learning Assessment Network (MPLAN) for the past 6 years. I have increased my understanding of and commitment to quality RPL systems and practices. In November 2009 I worked with CAPLAs RPL Standards Working Group and wrote the call to action report, RPL Standards and Guidelines for Canada: Mapping the Road Ahead. 4. Describe how you currently are using this learning or plan to use this learning in future work/endeavors: I use the information gained, as well as the research investigated, to examine my current practice as an RPL Advisor. I am an instructor for the RPL Practitioner Certificate and recently revised and updated the online RPL Foundation Course. While revising this course, I researched RPL processes and practices both inside and outside of Canada and incorporated this learning into the RPL Foundation curriculum. I will continue to research and connect with international RPL Practitioners and experts. 5. Any other comments: My learning was richer because I was able to apply the RPL principles and practices, and implement the knowledge and skills in my everyday work. I believe that specific RPL training and adherence to professional standards helps to ensure credibility and integrity of practice. I proactively completed the

RPL Practitioner Certificate in response to potential certification requirements for RPL Practitioners. Participants from all provinces and territories in Canada have participated in the Certificate courses. To date over 710 individuals have completed the basic RPL Foundation course with a growing number continuing on to complete other Certificate courses. In addition, individuals from Ireland, Trinidad/ Tobago, New Zealand, and Bermuda accessed the courses online. Delivery internationally thus far has included the RPL Foundation course, which was delivered in Brazil and in Bermuda. Acquiring a credential in the RPL field helps to ensure quality practices in advising, assessing and RPL administration /systems development. Congratulations to these very successful RPL Practitioner Certificate graduateslets hear it for the grads!!

L-R: Donna Riddell, Lauren Waples and Mavis Lewis-Webber

Prepared by: Deb Blower, RPL Facilitator Red River College of Applied Arts, Science and Technology C519-2055 Notre Dame Avenue Winnipeg, Manitoba R3H 0J9 204-632-2065 dblower@rrc.ca For more information on the RPL Practitioner Certificate, please go to www.rrc.ca/rplcertificate

Reprinted with the permission of Le Devoir

Le Devoir -Education, Thursday May 30th 2013, page C2 Prior Learning Assessment School Is Not The Only Place of Learning
Though degrees will open the doors more easily in ones career, past experience can also contribute Hlne Roulot-Ganzmann In Quebec as in many other places, prior learning assessment is a phenomenon that really appeared at the turn of the century, as part of the wave of a lifelong learning philosophy. Ten years later we can see that the new system is working well and benefits individuals, companies and society in general. But now this new system surely deserves some improvements and better coordination between all the players in order to reach maximum benefit. A major step was achieved when learning stopped being considered the exclusive domain of
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educational institutions, commented Guy Fortier, executive director of Comptence Montral, a group of twelve post-secondary colleges in Montreal working to promote prior learning assessment. Nowadays in the 21st century there is awareness that all forms, sources and modalities of learning are valued, because of the importance of experience. Many people have acquired competencies in many ways and if unrecognized, we could lose the value of such learning. Assessing competencies against recognized degrees or certificates can help a whole segment of the population who would otherwise be kept out of the labour market. In some circles, degrees are indeed an inescapable requirement, especially among regulatory bodies, or in the areas of education, administration or in health

and social services sectors. Large companies looking at time or energy savings will use them (degrees) as a means of skimming off the most impressive resumes received from recruitment drives in order to sort one candidate from another. To individuals, degrees in which the PLA process is used will represent the surest way to better working conditions, finding a new job or applying for a newly announced post in their company explains Guy Fortier. Lets take the case of an IT specialist with 10 or 15 years of seniority. He will have acquired new competencies through professional development and advanced courses, updates, on the job training and so on, but most of this is without any official accreditation. A new post will have been opened in the organization asking for a specific degree but he wont have it. The job will stay out of reach unless he can demonstrate his expertise and obtain the required degree. An assessment is also very important for immigrants with degrees from abroad. A company cannot easily discover the value and content of all the courses given in colleges and universities all over the world. PLA can give you an official assessment with a Quebec government seal to take with you into any job interview and can reassure employers as to the value of the individual in front of them. Recognition by peers It cannot be contested that in many fields hiring rates are inspiring. At Comptences Montral we see figures of 98% in the field of biological and food-processing techniques, 97% in administrative techniques, 95% in human techniques, 92% in physical techniques and 88% in arts and graphic communications. These good figures are partly due to degrees, adds Guy Fortier, but the impact of PLA on individuals self-confidence and pride is not to be overlooked. What we have now is people having experienced failure in school during their youth being gratified with a certification or a degree from a specialist in their own field!

Effectively PLA is an assessment system demanding the individual to demonstrate their expertise. In professions ruled by a regulatory body, the assessment is controled by members of that body. In colleges and in vocational training centers in School Boards, PLA is performed by teachers and trainers, in areas such as office automation, computer techniques or day care services etc. And in sectoral workforce committees, these tasks are done by specialists: carpenters, cabinet makers, mechanics etc. All of these content specialists will have used assessment tools to evaluate the expertise of the individuals asking for a certification or a degree, explains Guy Fortier. The process may be long, often over many months. Many different abilities may have to be verified, and often one by one. Whenever possible, evaluations are done using situations in a real working environment, where reallife situations are presented. Finally, each individual who demonstrates full or partial expertise will be granted either a degree or a partial recognition. In the case of the latter, individuals are offered training to acquire the missing skills. The Process PLA may have a cost. Regulatory bodies and sectoral workforce committees have their own fees. School boards and Cegeps do receive some public financing from the ministry of Education. At the secondary level every assessment is free while in the cegeps $40.00 will be asked for each skill evaluation, and these fees may be paid by the company employing the individual. Companies that are on the cutting edge in human resources management are already aware of the advantages from assessing and recognizing the expertise of their employees. says Guy Fortier. When keeping or attracting good employees is on the table, such concerns can have a strong impact. In these times of a shortage of qualified employees, PLA can be a beneficial solution. Since 2010 in Quebec, a consultation body which is affiliated with UQAM is looking at work-related competencies and funded by the Commission des partenaires du march du travail (CPMT). Its mission
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is to monitor international development and research in the field of in-service training, development and recognition of skills in order to discover the best practices in these areas. Quebec is well equipped with a good system because, unlike the rest of Canada, we have developed a skill-based approach, even at the school education level, says Guy Fortier. This doesnt mean that this new process runs smoothly, and the system still remains relatively unknown. There needs to be a greater collective move of all the actors concerned

- government, companies, regulatory bodies, the education system, sectoral workforce committees - so that this system may be more effectively used throughout the province of Quebec. Contributor 2013 Le Devoir. All rights reserved. Document id. : news20130530 LE2013-05-30_379179

Texte reproduit avec la perrrmission du journal Le Devoi

Le Devoir ducation, jeudi 30 mai 2013, p. C2


Reconnaissance des acquis et des comptences - Il ny a pas que lcole qui est un lieu de formation Bien que le diplme permette plus aisment de faire voluer une carrire, lexprience accumule peut aussi y contribuer Hlne Roulot-Ganzmann Au Qubec comme ailleurs, la reconnaissance des acquis et des comptences (RAC) est un phnomne rcent, vritablement apparu au tournant du XXIe sicle, dans la foule du courant prnant la formation tout au long de la vie. Une dcennie plus tard, le systme fonctionne bien et on en voit tous les bnfices tant pour les individus que pour les entreprises et la socit dans sa globalit. Il mriterait pourtant un certain allgement et une meilleure coordination de tous les acteurs pour passer la vitesse suprieure. Un grand pas a t franchi lorsque la socit a reconnu que lapprentissage nest pas lapanage des institutions dducation, estime Guy Fortier, directeur gnral de Comptences Montral, un regroupement des douze cgeps de lle uvrant en faveur de la reconnaissance des acquis et des comptences. Aujourdhui, au XXIe sicle, [la socit reconnat que] les formes, les sources, les modalits dapprentissage sont varies, que lexprience a une valeur certaine. Une partie de la socit a des comptences dveloppes par toutes
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sortes de moyens, qui, si elles ne sont pas reconnues, forment une espce de manque gagner. Reconnatre des acquis et des comptences en les traduisant par un diplme ou une certification reconnus, cest mobiliser toute une partie de la population, qui sans a, peut tre exclue du march du travail. Car dans certains milieux, le diplme reste un passage oblig : dans les professions rgies par un ordre, par exemple, dans lducation, ladministration, les services sociaux, etc. Il est galement, pour les grandes entreprises qui veulent gagner du temps et de lnergie, un moyen dcrmer et de sassurer de la crdibilit des curriculums quelles reoivent lors de leurs campagnes de recrutement. Pour les individus, cest donc le plus sr moyen damliorer leurs conditions de travail, de trouver un nouvel emploi ou de pouvoir postuler pour une ouverture de poste au sein de leur entreprise, explique Guy Fortier. Prenons lexemple dun informaticien qui a 10 ou 15 ans danciennet. Il a dvelopp des comptences parce quil a suivi du perfectionnement, parce quil sest mis jour. Un nouveau poste souvre dans son organisation, qui exige un diplme spcifique. Il ne la pas. Il est bloqu... moins quil ne fasse la dmonstration quil possde les comptences et quil obtienne la certification. Une reconnaissance est trs importante galement dans le cas de personnes migrantes ayant obtenu un

diplme ltranger. Difficile pour une entreprise de connatre la valeur et le programme de toutes les formations donnes dans les collges et universits ailleurs dans le monde. La RAC permet alors de se prsenter en entretien dembauche avec un papier officiel prsentant le sceau du gouvernement qubcois et rassurant les employeurs quant la valeur de lindividu quils ont en face deux. Reconnaissance par les pairs Car force est de constater que dans plus dun domaine, les taux de placement sont allchants. Chez Comptences Montral, on parle de 98 % dans le secteur des techniques biologiques et agroalimentaires, 97 % pour celui des techniques administratives, 95 % pour les techniques humaines, 92 % pour les techniques physiques et 88 % en arts et communications graphiques. De bons chiffres qui sont dus en partie au diplme, ajoute M. Fortier, mais il ne faut pas ngliger limpact de la RAC sur la confiance et la fiert des individus. Nous avons parfois affaire des personnes qui ont t en chec scolaire dans leur jeunesse et qui, l, se voient attribuer une certification, un diplme, par des spcialistes de leur domaine ! Car la reconnaissance des acquis et des connaissances est un processus dvaluation durant lequel la personne doit faire la preuve de ses comptences. Dans les professions rgies par un ordre professionnel elle est ralise par des membres de lordre en question. Dans les cgeps et les centres de formation professionnelle des commissions scolaires, la RAC est prise en charge par des enseignants, des formateurs, quil sagisse de bureautique, dinformatique, de services de garde, etc. Enfin, dans les comits sectoriels de main-duvre, ce sont des spcialistes - menuisier, bniste, mcanicien, etc. - qui valuent les aspirants. Tous se dotent dinstruments et doutils dvaluation pour attester les comptences des personnes qui souhaitent obtenir leur diplme ou leur certification, explique Guy Fortier. Le parcours peut tre long et stendre sur plusieurs mois. Parfois, il faut attester quelques dizaines de comptences. Quand cest possible, lvaluation se fait sur un cas rel, en milieu de travail. Sinon, on met en place des situations concrtes. Au bout du compte, les comptences

peuvent tre reconnues de manire complte, auquel cas lindividu obtient le diplme, ou partielle. Dans ce cas, nous mettons en place des ateliers lui permettant dacqurir les comptences manquantes. Dmarches La RAC peut cependant avoir un cot. Dans le cas des ordres et des comits sectoriels de mainduvre, libres eux dtablir une tarification. Les commissions scolaires et les cgeps reoivent quant eux un financement public de la part du ministre de lducation. Au niveau secondaire, lvaluation est donc gratuite, alors quil en cote environ 40 $ par comptence au niveau collgial. Des frais qui peuvent galement tre pris en charge par lentreprise dans laquelle lindividu travaille. Les entreprises qui sont lavant-garde en matire de gestion des ressources humaines sont trs conscientes des avantages quelles ont faire reconnatre les comptences de leurs salaris, affirme Guy Fortier. En ce qui concerne la rtention et lattraction de personnel, a a un impact non ngligeable. Et en ces temps de pnurie de main-duvre qualifie, elles peuvent videmment y trouver un bnfice. Depuis 2010, il existe au Qubec un Observatoire comptences-emplois affili lUQAM et financ par la Commission des partenaires du march du travail (CPMT). Sa mission ? Faire de la veille internationale et de la recherche dans le champ de la formation continue, du dveloppement et de la reconnaissance des comptences, afin dinventorier les meilleures pratiques en la matire. Le Qubec dispose dun bon systme, surtout parce que, contrairement au reste du Canada, nous avons beaucoup dvelopp lapproche par comptences, mme au niveau de lducation scolaire, estime Guy Fortier. Ce qui nempche pas une certaine lourdeur dans le processus et surtout que le systme reste mconnu. Il faudrait une plus grande mobilisation de tous les acteurs - gouvernement, entreprises, ordres, milieu ducatif, etc. - pour que ce systme soit plus utilis lchelle du Qubec. Collaboratrice 2013 Le Devoir. Tous droits rservs. Numro de document : news20130530 LE2013-05-30_379179

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TREADING A FINE LINE: RPL AS A POTENTIALLY DIVISIVE DISCOURSE


Linda Cooper, University of Cape Town This paper is being re-printed with permission from Linda Cooper who presented at the BC Summit in March, 2013 Introduction My presentation will focus on the role of RPL as viewed by the trade unions, taking as a specific case study the South African trade union movement which has placed high priority on RPL. Looking back over the past few decades, I will show how the union movements vision of RPL has shifted as the political role and ideological orientation of the trade unions has changed. Historically in the 1970s and 1980s, the black trade union movement built itself as a powerful oppositional force to apartheid; the paper looks at how within this movement, the experiential learning of workers was recognized and valued within the day-to-day processes of trade union education and learning. I will then go on to examine how, in the post-apartheid period trade unions threw their weight behind the development of new education and training policies which incorporated a strong commitment to RPL. This was aimed at having the skills and knowledge of workers recognized and accredited in the workplace for purposes of career advancement and for access to further learning. These developments marked a shift in the trade union movements discourse on RPL away from a radical, transformative approach to RPL to a more human capital approach to RPL. I will conclude by raising a number of critical questions about the implications of this shift for equality and inclusivity, and what RPL practitioners might do to ensure a more inclusive outcome for RPL. The historical role played by RPL as Pedagogy in trade union education The 1970s and 1980s in South Africa saw the reemergence of a strong trade union movement amongst black workers, despite black trade unions
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being technically illegal and subject to repression by the apartheid government. Black trade unions played a key role not only in shop-floor struggles but also in the broader anti-apartheid struggles of the 1970s and 1980s. In this environment, these unions developed some distinctive organizational features including strong shop-floor structures and an emphasis on worker leadership and workers control. During these formative years of the contemporary labour movement, a distinctive approach to the valuing of workers experiential knowledge was forged: For trade unions, knowledge had a strong political character; Knowledge was seen as arising out of workers experiences of organisation and action; Common-sense, everyday forms of knowledge were valued, and there was a primary emphasis on knowledge being useful; Knowledge was seen as a collective resource and something to be shared by all workers; An important role of union education was to enable workers to assert their own voice. (See Cooper 1998: 145- 146). Within this context, RPL took the form of being an integral part of, and almost synonymous with, trade union education. This is an example of what Breier (2011: 201) refers to as rpl lower case that is, RPL as part of adult pedagogy (as opposed to RPL upper case that takes place prior to entry into an education programme). This is clearly illustrated by one trade union educator of the time who described the approach in this way: ... there has been an attempt within the ...... education committee to base itself on what workers know, not only what they dont know; it has tried to take that and working class experience as part of the basic point of departure in all education exercises; and it has set for itself the goal in education work, not simply of increasing the quantitative amount of knowledge of workers, but increasing also the confidence of workers in themselves, what they know and what they can do..... In our research, we have approached workers knowing and acting as if they are the experts.

.... .We have seen the consequences of this: - pride and confidence in seeing their own words and their own experience and feelings portrayed as knowledge to be shared by others..... And we have seen that this confidence and pride in turn promotes a search for knowledge and development.... (Grossman, 1988, cited in Cooper, 1998: 148). This distinctive approach to valuing workers experiential knowledge was not unique to the South African labour movement but in different ways, echoes earlier histories of labour education elsewhere (see for example, London, Tarr and Wilson, 1990 on education of the American working class; Philips & Putnam, 1980 on the history of British working class education, and Welton, 1987 on Canadian workers education). My PhD research involved an in-depth casestudy of learning within one branch of a national, local government trade union (Cooper, 2005). The research showed that the recognition of prior, experiential knowledge within the trade union context did not only take place within the unions structured education programmes (courses or workshops) but also in a range of more informal organisational settings including meetings of a range of structures within the union as well as during the course of workers engagement in strikes and other protest actions. This research also showed that a common feature of the processes of RPL as adult pedagogy across these diverse contexts is the rich and distinctive array of symbolic tools of mediation (Vygotsky, 1978) that are drawn upon in the processes of expressing and mediating knowledge. One of the most striking features of education and learning in the union is the reliance on face-to-face, oral forms of communication, including distinct speech genres such as code-switching (changing the language or speech genre in use often mid-sentence), as well as story-telling, humour and a variety of forms of oral performativity (expressive and dramatic use of the body when making arguments, or singing and dancing). These distinctive forms of language use and performance cannot be understood apart from the unions organisational culture:

its democratic values and emphasis on building unity: for example, code-switching plays an important role in acknowledging the multiple, cultural identities of workers in the union, helping to build an inclusive organisational culture; the shared nature of pedagogic authority in this context : in a context where levels of literacy are low, the use of oral forms of communication means that almost anyone can step into the role of educator at different times and in different spaces, and ordinary workers are seen as having knowledge of value to other workers; the powerful identity-construction role of union pedagogy and its ideological directiveness: for example, the frequent use of humour and forms of oral performativity express a passionate attachment to particular political values and visions of the future; the critical and transformative orientation of union education: for example, story telling is frequently not simply anecdotal but often has a critical, ideological point to make. (For more detail, see Cooper 2006). While a rich range of textual forms are prevalent, and written text is highly respected and valued, union members do not seem to read or use written text much. The preferred use of predominantly oral, culturally-embedded tools of mediation affords ordinary workers a voice and the opportunity to give expression to their experiential knowledge. I now turn to consider the trade union engagement with RPL in the post-apartheid period where the unions began to promote the recognition and accreditation of their members workplace skills and knowledge for the purposes of career advancement of workers. In doing so, a very different picture emerges to that of RPL as adult pedagogy within the unions own educational work. Trade unions and RPL in the workplace Since 1994, education and training in South Africa has undergone significant transformation, and extensive new policies and legislation have been introduced. A new National Qualifications Framework (NQF) was introduced in the mid-1990s with the aim of
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integrating a historically fragmented and raciallydivided system, redressing historical inequities in provision of education and training, improving quality, and developing the skills base of the country. This was followed in the late 1990s by a range of skills development legislation aimed at expanding delivery of and access to workplace training, and ensuring that such training would enjoy an adequate financial base. The trade union movement played a leading role in shaping the nature of education reform in the post-apartheid era. It proposed that workers should have access to opportunities for lifelong education and training that emphasised a broad education foundation, the acquisition of flexible, transferable skills, and horizontal and vertical occupational mobility for all workers. This would be linked to the development of broad bands of skills categories and access by workers to career paths, and would lead to greater job security and job satisfaction (COSATU, 1992). The union movements policy proposals placed key emphasis on RPL. In South Africa, the transformational promises of RPL carry greater significance than in many other parts of the world. Against the background of the history of apartheid, RPL is viewed as a central mechanism with which to address past discrimination and disadvantage, and to bring about greater equity and redress. RPL is seen as not only providing access to educational opportunities for those previously excluded, but as having a more radical purpose: it should also act as a vehicle for the recognition of knowledge from below. It was the trade union movements belief that RPL in the workplace and in post-schooling could achieve the same kind of recognition of workers experiential knowledge as had been achieved in trade union education. However, it is arguable that a significant tension exists between the older, radical discourse of RPL that emerged historically in the South African union movement, and the unions new, emergent discourse on RPL. The latter as part of a broader discourse on multiskilling, competencybased learning and lifelong, flexible learning are associated with the processes of globalisation and
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restructuring of the world economy in the 1990s, and signal the pragmatic acceptance by the South African labour movement that it would have to accept some of the consequences of the countrys re-insertion into the global economy. The outcome of such a tension between the unions earlier, radical discourse on RPL and their more recent, human capital- influenced approach to RPL can be illustrated through some of the unions own research into the implementation of RPL in the workplace. In order to do this, I draw on a research report tabled at a National Policy Workshop of Cosatu in the late 1990s (Cosatu, 1997). Although dated, the findings of this research are echoed in later research (see Ballim, 2000 cited in Breir, 2011; and Cooper & Nkomo, 2009) and help to surface some general issues and problems. The report focused on two pilot RPL projects in which unions were actively involved. The first involved NUMSA (National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa) and employers in the auto industry. In 1993, NUMSA negotiated a new industry-wide, skills-based grading system and won agreement that unit standards would be used to describe the skills and knowledge against which workers would be assessed and for which they could be trained and recognised. In 1995 auto industry employers and the union agreed to a once-off process of RPL in which workers would be assessed in terms of their current competence. NUMSA hoped that the project would prove their members skills, identify those eligible for grade and wage increases, and help to further the unions demand for training. The second project involved the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), which participated in a pilot RPL process implemented on a mass scale within one mining house. The project aimed to assess basic language and maths skills of mineworkers as part of managements goal of achieving a target of 100% literacy and numeracy amongst workers in this company by the year 2000. NUM agreed to participate in the process because it felt it provided an opportunity for its members to gain recognition and accreditation for their skills, and because it hoped it

could strengthen the union in its negotiations for a longer-term training agreement within the company. Both unions believed strongly in the promises of RPL; they stated in their research report that: RPL is located within the movement for social and economic justice, and as such is seen as a process through which different forms of knowledge and skill can be given equal value by society. This provides a strategy against discrimination and enables greater access into the structures of society (Cosatu, 1997: 30). However, the outcome of both projects was a source of disappointment and frustration for the unions. The key issues and problems identified were all related to questions of power, and were expressed through the following kinds of questions: Whose assessment criteria? In the NUMSA case, autoworkers were assessed against adapted Australian unit standards and South African auto workers failed to achieve competence in areas of work in which they had been performing for many years because these standards bore little resemblance to their own work practices. Whose assessment tools? Again in the case of NUMSA, the feeling was that workers were prejudiced who had poor command of English or of formal, technical language, or who could perform better than they could talk about (theorise) their performance. In the case of NUM, many workers felt that the tests were loaded against them because the exam paper advantaged formal school-based literacy and numeracy skills. Whose assessors? In the case of NUMSA, in all but one case, assessors were selected by management. They were not technical experts in the areas which they assessed, and this left workers with little confidence in them. Attempts by shop stewards to be present during assessments were unsuccessful. In only one company where shop stewards acted as RPL monitors did workers get promoted as result of the RPL project. Who should the RPL process belong to? Although these were intended to be joint union/employer-run projects, the unions felt that management played the dominant role. To some extent this was a function of shop stewards being overextended and unable
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to participate effectively, but it also reflects the outcome of unequal power relations on the shopfloor which allowed management to drive the RPL process forward on its own terms. NUMSA concluded: It appears that management and the union entered this process with very different primary purposes, and have different meanings for the results workers obtained. Management claim they wanted a skills audit (indeed one company was under pressure from Japan to produce this profile) and are satisfied that they have an accurate snap shot of the workforce skills profile. The trade union officially accepted the results as a strategy to ensure access to training for their members. However, the vast majority of workers interviewed have seen no benefit from this process. The results they have are meaningless, demoralising and seen to be wrong. There have been no grade increases as a result of this process none of the failed workers had been given access to training to help make up the skills that they apparently lacked. (Cosatu, 1997: 22) Not only did few workers benefit from the RPL process, but the NUM argued that the RPL process was actually beginning to create new divisions amongst their members: the ways in which RPL is currently being used in the workplace is not to achieve more equitable forms of work organisation or practice, (but) to open access for a few and to continue to exclude the majority. only those forms (of knowledge and skill) that fit with hegemonic constructions of knowledge were recognised RPL has been used to prove and maintain the exclusion of those who were disadvantaged by the education and training systems of the past. RPL is the new word for screening people out, for identifying those who will be retrenched, for advantaging the few who have the versions of knowledge and skill (and attitude) that the employers are prepared to recognise. (Cosatu, 1997: 39). Conclusions The research described here suggests that the unions

RPL practices and the forms of knowledge that it values and recognises within its own teaching and learning practices cannot easily be relocated to the workplace or to formal education contexts where a very different set of imperatives, values and power relations operate. The unions earlier traditions of RPL as adult pedagogy stressed inclusivity and equality: all workers - because of their common experiences of exploitation, organisation and struggle - were viewed as having knowledge of value to offer. Union approaches to education placed strong value on oral-based, context-embedded and common-sense forms of knowledge and foregrounded workers experience in the process of knowledge production. Workers experience and knowledge were regarded as a shared resource which could be drawn upon in order to advance collective interests. RPL in the workplace or in formal education privileges different forms knowledge to that valued within the union context - knowledge which is often encoded in specialised languages and mediated primarily through text-based tools of mediation. In the workplace context, power differentials are far greater than in the union, and RPL will be used for a different purpose: to raise skills levels in order to raise productivity, achieve international competitiveness or to comply with the qualifications requirements of professional or industry bodies. Workers experience assumes a different meaning in the workplace to that in the union: it becomes a commodity which is individually owned and can be exchanged for a qualification in order to compete more successfully against other workers. This raises a number of important questions for trade unions anywhere. These include: how can they ensure that RPL does not become a new barrier rather than a system of access; that it does not lead to new forms of differentiation and stratification - new forms of inclusion and exclusion - amongst workers? The question could also be raised as to what RPL will mean for the many workers in a country like South Africa who have not succeeded in entering
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the corporate, post-industrial global economy and who remain casual workers, semi-employed,selfemployed or unemployed. Possible implications for RPL practitioners It is not possible for RPL practitioners in postschooling institutions or in the workplace to replicate the conditions that allowed RPL to be deeply embedded in and almost synonymous with the radical forms of adult pedagogy within the South African trade unions historically. However, I would argue that we can draw some pointers for RPL best practice from the research on the use of experiential learning in the union context. In order to afford workers the opportunity to have their knowledge and skills recognised in the workplace, and to progress in their formal education, as RPL practitioners, we need to recognise the distinctive ways in which knowledge is acquired and transmitted in particular contexts. In other words, history, local context and culture shape not only what we know, but also how we learn, and how we are able to express what we know. As I have noted elsewhere (Cooper, 2006), this means taking a historicalcultural approach to RPL - acknowledging not only that there are different kinds of knowledge and that some enjoy greater power than others, but also that some forms of knowledge may be unrecognisable in the workplace or in post-schooling institutions because this knowledge is expressed and shared through cultural forms different to those of formal education. The RPL process needs to find ways to enable those who share such knowledge to draw on familiar, cultural and historical resources to mediate what they know. In South Africa for example, this means that RPL practitioners need to take account of the potentially silencing effects of written text, and to privilege faceto-face forms of communication that are participatory and dialogical in character. It means that we have to look carefully for the cultural markers that signal more conceptual and analytic forms of knowledge that may have been experientially acquired in

informal ways. We have to be careful of simply dismissing descriptive accounts as anecdotal storytelling, and look for the principled understandings and knowledge that may be embedded in these accounts. We have to accept that the forms of collective action that are an important part of the experience of trade union members could embody tacit knowledge which is not easily able to be made explicit but which nevertheless hold the capacity for social analysis and social critique. The findings of this research also have implications for the role of trade unions in RPL in the workplace. It is important that union representatives in the workplace are well trained to understand and promote the above perspectives on RPL, so that they can play an active and productive role in the design and implementation of RPL, and provide support and guidance to their members through the RPL process. References Breier, M. (2011). South Africa: Research reflecting critically on Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) research and practice. In J. Harris, M. Breier & C. Wihak (eds) Researching the Recognition of Prior Learning: International Perspectives. Leicester: NIACE Publishers. Cooper, L. (1998) From Rolling Mass Action to RPL: the changing discourse of experience and learning in the South African labour movement, Studies in Continuing Education, Vol 20, No. 2: 143157. Cooper, L. (2005). Theorising pedagogy, learning and knowledge in the everyday: A case study of a South African trade union. Unpublished PhD Thesis. University of Cape Town. Cooper, L. (2006). Tools of mediation: an historicalcultural approach to RPL. In P. Andersson & J. Harris (Eds.), Re-theorising the Recognition of Prior Learning (pp. 221-240). Leicester: NIACE.

Cooper, L. & Nkomo, Z. (2009). Where has all the training gone? A critical review of trade union involvement in workplace learning in one South African city. Paper presented to 7th International conference on Researching Work & Learning (RWL7), Roskilde University, June. COSATU (1992). The case for a National Integrated Education and Training System for membership, leadership and staff of the Federation; presented to the National Educators Forum, 20 May. COSATU (1997). Draft Report on COSATU RPL Project, Presented at COSATU PRU National Policy Workshop, 19-21 November, Johannesburg. London, S.H., Tarr E.R. & Wilson J.F. (eds) (1990). The re-education of the American working class. Greenwood Press, Westport. Phillips, A. & Putnam, T. (1980). Education for emancipation: the movement for independent working class education, 1908 - 1928, Capital and Class, 10. Vygotsky, L.S. 1978. Mind in society. The development of higher psychological processes. Cole, M., John-Steiner, V., Scribner, S. & Souberman, E. (Eds.) Cambridge and London: Harvard University Press. Welton, M. (1987). Dangerous knowledge: Canadian workers education in the decades of discord. In Knowledge for the people: the struggle for adult learning in English-speaking Canada, 1828-1973, OISE Press, Toronto.

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June 24, 2013 Hello CAPLA Members,

CAPLA

Canadian Associ

...supporting the

Association canadi

...oeuvrant la

This letter is a formal notice that CAPLA will be holding elections for its Board of Directors on November 18th, 2013. You are invited to consider either joining our Board or nominating a colleague. The elections will be held in conjunction with our Annual General Meeting at 5:30 p.m. during the Fall Focus Workshop in Toronto, Ontario at the One King West Hotel. Founded in 1994, CAPLA was officially incorporated in June of 1997 as a non-profit corporation for the advancement of PLAR in Canada. Its mission is to work toward the development of human resource and educational services which are more flexible and responsive to changing needs and circumstances of adults. CAPLA advocates for continuous learning opportunities and formal acknowledgement of previous learning experiences. The By-Laws of CAPLA, Article III, Section V, provide that the Board will be not less than seven (7) nor more than thirteen (13) members; Article III, Section III, provides that the term of a Board member is two (2) years except as otherwise provided by the By-Laws. The current slate of returning board members fits within these parameters. There will be at least two vacancies. The following criteria have been established to provide clear guidelines for those considering becoming or nominating Board members. Board member must: be an advocate for learning with a commitment to learner access and equity; possess a sound knowledge of prior learning assessment and adult learning principles; demonstrate interest in the advancement of prior learning assessment at the local, provincial, federal, and international level; be able to give time to help build this organization and underwrite some expenses to help; be committed to positive change and educational reform. Nominators and nominees must be CAPLA members in good standing. A member in good standing has paid his/her memberships fees in full by 12:00 noon of the day of the Annual General Meeting. Those members in good standing are eligible to vote at the AGM. Institutional members are entitled to one vote. Attached is the two part CAPLA Board of Directors NOMINATION FORM, which consists of a nomination statement and an acceptance of nomination statement. We would greatly appreciate it if you could take a moment to consider nominations and submit them before November 4th, 2013 (approximately 2 weeks before the election date) to the Nominations and Elections Committee (address below). In addition to his/her acceptance of the nomination, a brief profile of each nominee is required. Nominations may also be submitted up to 12:00 noon the day of the Annual General Meeting, but in the interests of planning and to ensure all nominations are received, we would suggest sending them by the November 4th deadline. For those who choose to nominate a person for the CAPLA Board of Directors on site at the Fall Focus Workshop, the appropriate form should be picked up at the Registration desk. This method of nomination requires the printed name, organization and signature of the twenty members in good standing who are supporting the nomination. A brief profile of the nominee is also required.
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You are reminded that members in good standing are those who have paid membership dues prior to the AGM. If an individual purchases a membership after 12:00 noon on November 18th, 2013, he/she will be granted voting privileges only and cannot be nominated as a potential board member in the same year. Also attached is a PROXY FORM for voting at the Annual General Meeting. If you are not able to attend the meeting please complete the form, selecting one of the existing Board members listed or another CAPLA member of your choice, who you know will be attending the Annual General Meeting, to vote on your behalf. Please send the completed forms to the Nominations and Elections Committee. This step will give you a voice in the decisions that are made and will help us to achieve quorum. Please fax Proxy and/or Nominations forms to 866-598-6712 on or before November 4th, 2013 to: Guy Fortier Directeur gnral Comptences Montral 3205 boul. St-Joseph Est Montral, QC H1Y 2B6 Telephone: 514-789-0067 poste 205 Fax: 866-598-6712 Email: guy.fortier@competencesmontreal.qc.ca Please note that if you have not received acknowledgement of your faxed Proxy or Nomination form within 48 hours, or have additional questions, you should contact me (Guy Fortier) by email or phone.

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CAPLA

Canadian Association for Prior Learning Assessment


...supporting the recognition of prior learning since 1997

Association canadienne pour la reconnaissance des acquis


...oeuvrant la reconnaissance des acquis depuis 1997

TO THE NOMINATIONS AND ELECTIONS COMMITTEE

CAPLA NOMINATION FORM (2013)

I __________________________ being a member of CAPLA in good standing, do hereby nominate __________________________________ a member of CAPLA in good standing, for election to the Board of Directors. Attached is a brief profile of the background of my nominee.

Date ___________________________

Signed ___________________________

Fax form to Guy Fortier at 866-598-6712

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CAPLA

Canadian Association for Prior Learning Assessment


...supporting the recognition of prior learning since 1997

Association canadienne pour la reconnaissance des acquis


...oeuvrant la reconnaissance des acquis depuis 1997

TO THE NOMINATIONS AND ELECTIONS COMMITTEE

CAPLA NOMINATION FORM (2013)


ACCEPTANCE OF NOMINATION

I accept my nomination by ________________________ and am prepared to allow my name to stand for election to the Board of Directors.

Date ___________________________

Signed ___________________________

Fax form to Guy Fortier at 866-598-6712

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CAPLA

Canadian Association for Prior Learning Assessment


...supporting the recognition of prior learning since 1997

Association canadienne pour la reconnaissance des acquis


...oeuvrant la reconnaissance des acquis depuis 1997

TO THE NOMINATIONS AND ELECTIONS COMMITTEE

CAPLA PROXY VOTING FORM (2013)


As a member of CAPLA, I hereby appoint ____________________________ of CAPLA as my proxy to attend and act at the Annual General Meeting of the members of the said Corporation to be held on November 18th, 2013 and at any adjournment or adjournments thereof in the same manner, to the same extent and with the same power as if I were present at the Annual General Meeting or such adjournment or adjournments thereof. Dated the ______ day of _______________, 2013

_______________________ Signature of Voting Member Note: Proxies sent by e-mail will be accepted. Please e-mail this completed form to:
Guy Fortier Directeur gnral Comptences Montral 3205 boul. St-Joseph Est Montral, QC H1Y 2B6 Telephone: 514-789-0067 poste 205 Fax: 866-598-6712 Email: guy.fortier@competencesmontreal.qc.ca

Current CAPLA Board Members T.A. Chip Dickison Deb Blower Gaelyne MacAulay Greg Sowak Frank Vandenburg Guy Fortier Eileen Kelly Freake Patrick Donahoe Diane Gordon Amanda Roberts Philip Mondor

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Le 24 juin 2013 Chers membres CAPLA,

CAPLA

Canadian As

...supportin

Association ca

...oeuvra

La prsente constitue lavis officiel que des lections seront tenues le 18 novembre 2013 pour combler les postes au conseil dadministration de CAPLA. Vous tes invits poser votre candidature ou proposer celle dun ou dune collgue. Les lections se drouleront au cours de lassemble gnrale annuelle de CAPLA, 17 h 30, dans le cadre de lAtelier de discussion dautomne qui aura lieu lhtel One King West, Toronto, en Ontario. Fonde en 1994, CAPLA a t officiellement constitue en socit sans but lucratif en juin 1997, pour promouvoir lRA au Canada. Sa mission est de favoriser le perfectionnement des ressources humaines et la mise en place de services denseignement souples et adapts aux situations et aux besoins changeants des adultes. CAPLA plaide en faveur des possibilits dacquisition continue du savoir et de la reconnaissance formelle des expriences dapprentissage. Le rglement de CAPLA (art. III, alina V), stipule que le conseil dadministration doit compter au moins sept (7) et au plus treize (13) membres, lalina III prvoit que les membres du conseil sont lus pour un mandat de deux (2) ans, sauf stipulation leffet contraire. La liste actuelle des membres du conseil dadministration correspond ces critres. Il y aura au moins deux postes pourvoir. Les critres suivants ont t tablis titre de lignes directrices claires pour quiconque envisage poser sa candidature ou soumettre celle dun autre membre. Un membre du conseil doit : plaider en faveur des apprenants et prendre lengagement de favoriser lquit et laccs pour les apprenants; connatre en profondeur lvaluation des acquis et les principes de lapprentissage des adultes; dmontrer de lintrt pour faire avancer lvaluation des acquis aux niveaux local, provincial, fdral et international; tre capable de consacrer du temps au dveloppement de lorganisation et de prendre sa charge certaines dpenses pour aider; tre dtermin apporter des changements positifs et prconiser la rforme de lenseignement. Les auteurs de propositions et les personnes mises en candidature doivent tre membres en rgle de CAPLA. Pour tre en rgle, les membres doivent avoir pay en entier leur cotisation avant midi le jour de lassemble gnrale annuelle (AGA). Les membres en rgle peuvent exercer leur droit de vote lAGA. Les membres institutionnels ont droit une voix. Deux formulaires de MISES EN CANDIDATURE pour des postes au conseil dadministration de CAPLA sont joints, soit : une mise en candidature et une acceptation de mise en candidature. Nous vous saurons gr de prendre quelques instants pour rflchir des mises en candidature et pour les soumettre avant le 4 novembre 2013 (environ deux semaines avant les lections) au comit des mises en candidature et des lections [adresse ci-dessous]. En plus de lacceptation de mise en candidature, une courte notice biographique de chaque personne propose est requise. Il est possible de dposer les mises en candidature jusqu midi le jour de lAGA, mais des fins de planification et pour tre srs que toutes les mises en candidature sont reues temps, les membres sont pris de les faire parvenir dici le 4 novembre. Les participants qui prfrent proposer la candidature dune personne un poste au conseil dadministration de CAPLA aprs leur arrive sur les lieux o se tiendra lAtelier de discussion dautomne, pourront

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se procurer le formulaire ncessaire au bureau dinscription. Le formulaire doit porter le nom (en caractres dimprimerie) ET la signature de vingt membres en rgle de CAPLA qui appuient la mise en candidature. Une courte notice biographique du candidat est galement requise. Les membres actuels sont ceux qui ont pay leur cotisation avant lAGA. Une personne qui paiera sa cotisation aprs midi le 18 novembre 2013, pourra uniquement exercer son droit de vote; elle ne peut tre mise en candidature comme membre du Conseil au cours de la mme anne. Nous joignons galement un FORMULAIRE DE PROCURATION pour voter lassemble gnrale annuelle. Sil vous est impossible dassister lassemble, veuillez remplir le formulaire et y inscrire le nom dun membre du conseil dadministration ou dun autre membre CAPLA de votre choix qui assistera lassemble gnrale annuelle pour quil vote en votre nom. Veuillez retourner les formulaires remplis au comit des mises en candidature et des lections. Vous serez ainsi assur que votre voix sera entendue lorsque des dcisions seront prises; cela nous aidera aussi atteindre le quorum. Veuillez retourner les formulaires de procuration et les mises en candidature par fax au 866-598-6712 pour quils parviennent avant le 4 novembre 2013 : Guy Fortier Directeur gnral Comptences Montral 3205, boul. St-Joseph Est Montral, QC H1Y 2B6 Tlphone : 514-789-0067, poste 205 Tlcopieur : 866-598-6712 Courriel : guy.fortier@competencesmontreal.qc.ca Veuillez noter : si vous navez pas reu un accus de rception dans les 48 heures suivant lenvoi du formulaire de procuration et les mises en candidature par tlcopieur, ou si vous avez des questions, SVP communiquer avec moi (Guy Fortier) soit par tlphone ou par courriel.

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CAPLA

Canadian Association for Prior Learning Assessment


...supporting the recognition of prior learning since 1997

Association canadienne pour la reconnaissance des acquis


...oeuvrant la reconnaissance des acquis depuis 1997

COMIT DES MISES EN CANDIDATURE ET DES LECTIONS

FORMULAIRE DE MISE EN CANDIDATURE, CAPLA (2013)

Je, soussign(e) __________________________, membre en rgle de CAPLA, propose par la prsente la candidature dun membre en rgle de CAPLA un poste au conseil dadministration : ________________________ . Je joins une brve notice biographique de la personne dont je propose la candidature.

Date _______________________

Signature_________________________

Envoyer le formulaire par fax Guy Fortier au 866-598-6712.

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CAPLA

Canadian Association for Prior Learning Assessment


...supporting the recognition of prior learning since 1997

Association canadienne pour la reconnaissance des acquis


...oeuvrant la reconnaissance des acquis depuis 1997

COMIT DE MISES EN CANDIDATURE ET DES LECTIONS

FORMULAIRE DE MISE EN CANDIDATURE, CAPLA (2013)


ACCEPTATION DUNE MISE EN CANDIDATURE

Jaccepte ma mise en candidature par ________________________ et jaccepte que mon nom apparaisse sur la liste des candidats des postes au conseil dadministration.

Date _______________________

Signature ___________________________

Envoyer le formulaire par fax Guy Fortier au 866-598-6712.

25

CAPLA

Canadian Association for Prior Learning Assessment


...supporting the recognition of prior learning since 1997

Association canadienne pour la reconnaissance des acquis


...oeuvrant la reconnaissance des acquis depuis 1997

COMIT DES MISES EN CANDIDATURE ET DES LECTIONS

FORMULAIRE DE VOTE PAR PROCURATION (2013)


titre de membre de CAPLA, je nomme par la prsente _____________________, membre de CAPLA, en tant que mon fond de pouvoir pour assister et agir en mon nom lors de lassemble gnrale annuelle des membres qui doit se tenir le 18 novembre 2013, et tout ajournement de ladite assemble, de la mme manire, dans la mme mesure et avec les mmes pouvoirs que si jtais prsent(e) lassemble gnrale annuelle ou tout ajournement de ladite assemble. Dat du ______ jour de _______________ 2013

_______________________ Signature du membre avec droit de vote Nota : Les procurations envoyes par courrier lectronique sont acceptes. Prire de transmettre ce formulaire dment rempli par courrier lectronique : Guy Fortier Directeur gnral Comptences Montral 3205, boul. St-Joseph Est Montral, QC H1Y 2B6 Tlphone : 514-789-0067, poste 205 Tlcopieur : 866-598-6712 Courriel : guy.fortier@competencesmontreal.qc.ca Membres actuels du conseil dadministration de CAPLA T.A. Chip Dickison Deb Blower Gaelyne MacAulay Greg Sowak Frank Vandenburg Guy Fortier Eileen Kelly Freake Patrick Donahoe Diane Gordon Amanda Roberts Philip Mondor

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CAPLA Board Members 2012-2013


Chair Patrick J. Donahoe Executive Director, Student Affairs Vancouver Island University Building 200, Room 223 900 Fifth Street Nanaimo, BC V9R 5S5 Office: 250-740-6570 Past Chair Gaelyne MacAulay 536 Augustine Cove Borden-Carleton, PE C0B 1X0 Telephone: 902-437-2476 Email: jfrankmacaulay@pei.sympatico.ca Vice Chair Guy Fortier Directeur gnral Comptences Montral 3205 boul. St-Joseph Est Montral, QC H1Y 2B6 Telephone: 514-789-0067 Fax: 866-598-6712 Email: guy.fortier@competencesmontreal.qc.ca Treasurer Philip Mondor Senior Vice President Canadian Tourism Human Resource Council Suite 608, 151 Slater Street, Ottawa ON K1P 5H3 Telephone: 613-231-6949 Ext. 228 Fax: 613-231-6853 Email: pmondor@cthrc.ca Secretary Diane Gordon Manager, RPL & Labour Mobility Government of Nova Scotia 2021 Brunswick Street, PO Box 578 Halifax, NS B3J 2S9 Telephone: 902-424-8786 Email: gordoncd@gov.ns.ca Executive Director Bonnie Kennedy PO Box 56001 RPO Minto Place Ottawa, ON K1R 7Z1 Telephone: 613-860-1747 Fax: 705-878-5018 Email: b.kennedy@quicklinks.on.ca

Board Members Deb Blower RPL Facilitator Red River College 2055 Notre Dame Avenue, C519 Winnipeg, MB R3H 0J9 Telephone: 204-632-2065 Fax: 204-632-8675 Email: dblower@rrc.ca T.A. Chip Dickison Training Coordinator Nova Scotia Boatbuilders Association 57 Crane Lake Drive Suite 1 Halifax, NS B3S 1B5 Telephone: 902-423-2378 Email: nsbatc@eastlink.ca Eileen Kelly-Freake Director of Employment Programs & Career Services Association for New Canadians-AXIS Career Services PO Box 2031, Stn. C, 144 Military Rd. St. Johns, NL A1C 5R6 Telephone: 709-579-1780 Email: ekf@nfld.net Amanda Roberts PLAR Coordinator SAIT Polytechnic 1301 - 16th Avenue NW, MC221 Calgary, AB T1P 1M3 Telephone: 403-284-7025 Fax: 403-284-7345 Email: amanda.roberts@sait.ca Greg Sowak Associate Registrar, Admissions NAIT 11762 106 Street NW Edmonton, AB T5G 2R1 Telephone: 780 471-7427 Email: gsowak@nait.ca Frank Vandenburg Innovateur Stratgique CCNB/PETL PO Box 25139 Moncton, NB E1C 9M9 Telephone: 506-856-2933 Email: frank.vandenburg@gnb.ca

CAPLA

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