VARE project – Assessor Requirements in Europe

The project "Vocational Assessor Requirements in Europe" (VARE) aimed to identify the requirements for assessment and assessors in vocational training programmes across the European Union to support the development of partnerships working for the purposes of mobility in vocational education and training (VET).

Focusing on initial VET qualifications at EQF levels 3 and 4, the project (2015 – 2017) sought to address the following questions:

• Who carries out assessments and how?
• To what extent are assessors required to hold specific qualifications, be members of a recognised profession, and be subject to regulation and meet specific standards of professional conduct?
• What (occupational) standards, qualifications and learning outcomes exist for those who carry out assessments?
• Are the requirements for assessors comparable between countries, and between parts of the vocational system within the same country?
• Are there differences based on the type of system, the sector, or the country setting the requirements?

The project outcomes include a comparative analysis of current requirements, as well as an online catalogue of the different member states’ requirements with specific case studies highlighted to give examples of good practice (available at http://www.vareproject.eu). The online catalogue is complemented by an online comparison tool, which allows to compare the requirements of assessors for the three countries simultaneously.  VARE thus aimed to support an enhanced understanding of assessor training and requirements in order to support increased mutual trust between VET systems.

The project was led by UK NARIC, in partnership with:

• 3s research laboratory, Austria
• Cooperation fund Foundation, Poland
• CPI, Slovenia
• VTCT, UK

Contact: Monika Auzinger – auzinger[at]3s.co.at

This project was funded with support from the European Commission.