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| Photo by Taruna Goel |
One of the most significant learning experiences of my life has never appeared on my résumé, even though it demanded problem-solving, cultural fluency, resilience, adaptability, and continuous learning. When I immigrated to Canada in 2011, I gained no formal credentials for what I learned along the way. My informal learning became visible and transferable only through reflection and dialogue. Once I recognized my learning, it found expression through volunteer work with immigrant-serving organizations, where I supported others navigating similar transitions.
After more than 25 years in Learning & Development, one consistent lesson from my practice is that our systems rarely capture the many ways adults learn.
Learning is neither linear nor tidy. We learn by solving problems, navigating new spaces, making mistakes, and receiving feedback. This learning is real and tied to identity and contribution, yet it’s often invisible. Much adult learning can be tacit and embodied, and it doesn’t come with a transcript. Adults also struggle to name their learning because it doesn’t feel legitimate unless it occurs in a formal course. Surfacing this internalized learning requires agency, confidence, and guided reflection.
Competencies help make this learning visible and translate it into something observable and measurable by capturing the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and context. Through my work across sectors including career development, early childhood education, digital and IT, automotive, and construction, I have designed and applied competency frameworks to support clearer articulation of learning and performance standards.
When engaging in the RPL process, it is important to note that experience alone does not guarantee learning. Neither do the years working in a role nor the job titles. What matters is how we engage with and reflect on the experience to surface the learning.
This is why RPL is called recognition of prior learning, and not recognition of prior experience, because it is the learning that counts, not merely having had the experience. And this intersection of learning and experience is where my practice is grounded, supporting individuals to translate lived experience into articulated, valued learning.
This article was originally published as a Spotlight feature in the Nova Scotia Career Development Association (NSCDA) members-only newsletter, Issue 2, January 2026.
(I was recently invited to write a feature article for the Nova Scotia Career Development Association's (NSCDA) RPL newsletter, RPL in Nova Scotia: Here to Stay (Issue 2, January 2026). Using my own immigration journey as a starting point, this article looks at how adult learning often remains invisible within formal systems. It highlights the role of Recognition of Prior Learning in bridging learning, lived experience, and credible recognition. Sharing it here for colleagues working in RPL, PLAR, workforce development, and skills recognition.)
