SOLIDAR+ welcomes the Skills Portability Initiative (SPI) as a decisive step toward making people’s skills visible, trusted, and usable across borders. We advocate a comprehensive approach that recognises competences acquired through formal, non-formal, and informal learning, supporting both labour mobility and lifelong learning pathways. SOLIDAR+ participated in the SPI’s Open Public Consultation and will continue to follow further developments. Below, you can find some highlights and policy recommendations from our Input Paper along with the full version of the SOLIDAR+ Input Paper on the Skills Portability Initiative.

Input Paper Highlights:

1. Capture Competences Adequately: We highlight a key gap in current EU tools: while qualification frameworks improve transparency of credentials, they do not adequately capture concrete skills or competence levels. Through the SPI, we call for clear, quality-assured descriptors that link learning outcomes directly to demonstrable skills, strengthening trust for learners, workers, and employers. 

2. Recognition of prior learning as a cornerstone: SOLIDAR+ urges the EU to prioritise accessible validation of prior learning. Recognising competences gained through work, volunteering, and community engagement empowers individuals, particularly those with limited formal qualifications, to access education, employment, and career progression across Member States.

3. Inclusive digitalisation for all learners: SOLIDAR+ stresses that digitalisation must remain inclusive. Interoperable, user-friendly digital systems can improve portability, but they must not exclude individuals with limited digital skills.

4. Building a coherent European skills ecosystem: By strengthening cooperation with civil society, improving policy coherence, and investing in guidance and awareness, we see the SPI as a strategic opportunity to build a more transparent, inclusive, and learner-centred European skills ecosystem

Policy Recommendations:

1. Promote a comprehensive understanding of skills recognition that includes competences acquired through formal, non-formal, and informal learning.
2. The SPI should make levels, learning outcomes, and their connection to skills transparent for all learners, workers, and stakeholders.
3. Develop a European framework supporting accessible, inclusive, and coordinated validation of prior learning across Member States.
4. Strengthen cooperation with civil society organisations and non-formal learning providers as essential partners in mapping and providing recognition processes.
5. Improve policy coherence by aligning European and national frameworks, tools, and databases.
6. Ensure digital portability systems are interoperable, user-friendly, and inclusive for individuals with limited digital skills.
7. Enhance awareness, guidance, and capacity building for professionals and end-users.
8. Improve data collection and monitoring to support evidence-based policymaking and measurable progress.