Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL/PLAR) is Opening Doors for Many

One of the most common misconceptions I often hear about Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) or Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition (PLAR) is that it's a shortcut. That it's the easy way out that lowers the standards.

But it's not.

Ask RPL Advisors and Mentors about the kind of investment that's required to help applicants understand the competency standards and collect and document evidence that maps meaningfully to those standards.

Ask successful RPL/PLAR graduates about the kind of time and effort (and emotions) it takes to prepare for a structured RPL Assessment.

Ask Assessors how much training and mindset-shifting it takes to move from checking boxes to 'assuming competence first', and then doing assessments with fairness and intention.

And ask the RPL experts and consultants, like me, who work behind the scenes and and build the competency frameworks and assessment tools, develop RPL requirements and procedures, and ensure that the process and tools are valid and defensible. It takes months of consultation, alignment, and consensus-building across industry to make sure the bar is high, transparent, and trusted.

None of it is easy. In fact, sometimes "RPL-ing" a requirement can take longer and it often demands more reflection than attending a formal education program.

RPL doesn’t lower the standards bar, it simply focuses on various ways that people can demonstrate that they meet the standards.

Instead of forcing everyone through the same gates in the same sequence, RPL opens multiple doors by recognizing that learning happens in diverse and deeply valuable ways on the job, in life, through community, through life challenges. None of the doors are shortcuts but they do offer diversity, inclusion, fairness, relevance, and rigour.

Image by Arek Socha from Pixabay

RPL/PLAR is all about creating pathways that meet people where they are, not where the system expects them to start. The bar stays high. The route and assessment becomes more human-centred.

------

Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) is known by many names in different countries. See: Wikipedia.

For more information on RPL/PLAR in Canada: CAPLA - https://capla.ca/

The Canadian Association for Prior Learning Assessment (CAPLA) is the national
voice for the recognition of prior learning (RPL) in Canada. CAPLA is a
Membership-based Association that offers learning and professional development
resources for RPL/PLAR practitioners.

#RPL #PLAR #VPL #CPL #RecognitionFirst #HumanPotential #LearningAndDevelopment #LifelongLearning #WorkplaceLearning #AlternatePathways

Reclaiming the 'Learning' in RPL/PLAR

Thank you to the Canadian Association for Prior Learning Assessment (CAPLA), the Community of Learning (CoL) team and CanCred.ca 🇨🇦 for the kind recognition following my recent session:

"Reclaiming the 'L' in RPL/PLAR – Why Experience Alone Isn’t Enough."

https://passport.cancred.ca/app/badge/info/33457

It was meaningful to revisit the core principles and foundations of RPL/PLAR and focus on what lies at its heart: the recognition of real, reflective learning, not just accumulated experience. 

I set out to peel back the layers of RPL and my session covered: 

- The key differences between experience and learning

- Three common “experience traps” we fall into

- The consequences of mistaking experience for learning for equity, quality, and growth

- And my practical, best practices for surfacing learning that is often hidden, informal, or unspoken

It was especially rewarding to see meaningful conversations unfold in the breakout rooms from experienced practitioners and those just entering the field. Everyone shared generously and reminded me how powerful any community can be when we stay grounded in principles that matter.

hashtag#RPL hashtag#PLAR hashtag#VPL hashtag#Recognition hashtag#PriorLearningAndAssessment hashtag#RecognitionOfPriorLearning hashtag#LearningOverExperience hashtag#ReclaimingLearning hashtag#CAPLA hashtag#CAPLACOL hashtag#Community hashtag#RPLPractice

You can find the event content including my Presentation deck and the session recording in the Badge details. https://passport.cancred.ca/app/badge/info/33457

Recognition Before Reskilling

There’s a theory, "tabula rasa", which says that we are born as blank slates. That knowledge is only gained through experience and that we start from nothing and build up from there.

But is that really true?

As newborns, we instinctively root, grasp, and respond to voices. We are born with reflexes, rhythms and preferences. There is knowledge already encoded in our bodies that is passed through our DNA. New research also suggests that the knowledge of our culture, survival, pain and trauma is perhaps also stored in our cells.

And yet… in most of our learning and talent development systems, we still treat people as if they are starting from scratch. Before we acknowledge their expertise, we create plans to train, reskill, upskill, and make people 'fit' for the job.

- What if we stopped assuming blank slates and asking people to start from zero and, instead, recognized the wealth of learning and skills they bring to the table, from day one? What if Bootcamp Day 1 is all about recognition of learning and validation of skills?

- What kind of conversations can we have in our teams, organizations and industry sectors, that can allow us to acknowledge, recognize and validate this prior learning and skills and meet people where they are?

- How can we use a strength-based lens and recognition-first mindset? What can help us reframe our thinking and our work?

The answers? I hope you will find some in the following podcast! 

"Recognition before reskilling." - I hope that's the message you will get from listening to the latest episode of the TIDES Podcast. I am so grateful to Shveta Malhan for inviting me as a guest, for asking such thoughtful and pragmatic questions and for creating the space for such an important conversation.

I have been working in the areas of learning and recognition for over 25 years. But what I have found is that we often rush to retrain, reskill, or retool without pausing to ask, what do our people already know. What do we value and recognize and therefore, what are we failing to see, name, and value?

In a world chasing efficiency and automation, I am all about scaling our humanity :) So, if you're curious about how we can use recognition of prior learning as a mindset to center human fingerprints in AI-powered workplaces, give this episode a listen.

Listen to the episode here https://lnkd.in/gudtsw83

I'd love to hear your thoughts on how a recognition-first mindset has helped surface skills in your work and how recognizing lived learning can change lives.

----

Shveta's Original Posting on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/shvetamalhan_tidespodcast-recognitionofpriorlearning-humanizingai

Canadian Association for Prior Learning Assessment

hashtag#RecognitionOfPriorLearning hashtag#RPL hashtag#PLAR hashtag#PLA hashtag#APL hashtag#RCC hashtag#PriorLearningAsssessmentandRecognition hashtag#HumanizingLearning hashtag#RecognitionBeforeReskilling hashtag#WorkBasedRecognition hashtag#WorkFingerprints hashtag#VPL hashtag#AI hashtag#SkillsRecognition hashtag#WorkplaceLearning hashtag#HumanCenteredDesign