Public consultations on Accreditation of Prior Learning system (FR0072)

What is the public problem that the commitment will address? APL is a valid avenue for all French citizens to access qualifications. APL, behind school education and inservice training, is the third avenue for access to certifications. Centred on recognising professional experience acquired over a lifetime, the system is a real opportunity for entry into lasting employment, as well as being an effective driver for career development and transition. Anyone who has worked, subject to conditions, is eligible for APL. Thanks to this system, their experience entitles them to a certificate, paving the way for career development. This certificate must be recorded in the National Register of Vocational Qualifications: - Excessively low take-up of APL - Excessively complex and long procedure with insufficient support provided - Many disparate certification systems - Professionalisation of panel members required Public authorities and APL stakeholders have both noted that this avenue for access to qualifications is under-utilised, despite it being suitable for people who have spells of employment and unemployment, and those with little or no qualifications. For example, only 0.25% of jobseekers made use of APL (IGAS APL assessment report, October 2016), while nearly 75% of those who obtained certificates through the APL in 91 2017 found a job within the following six months (Ministry for Labour, 2017 review of professional qualifications). More generally, these difficulties, considered to be real barriers to accessing APL, have a significant impact on this avenue for access to qualifications: In 2019, 55,500 people filed an application for eligibility, a steep year-on-year drop of 11%, and 36,000 presented their case to an APL panel, a 7% decrease on 2018. Following the panel presentations, 22,000 applicants received their desired certificate (a 61% success rate, albeit with a 9% decrease in number versus 2018), 9,500 received partial accreditation, and 4,500 were unsuccessful.

What is the commitment? Involve citizens in discussions on courses of action to improve the APL system, with a view to testing them and, if necessary, to identifying other opportunities for improvement:  Streamline and expedite the APL procedure, particularly the eligibility stage, so as to enhance its appeal and improve the chances of success  Align and step up the applicant support practices  Professionalise and highlight the attributes of panel members  Modernise the procedure by developing effective digital tools to be used by applicants and certifiers

How will the commitment contribute to solving the public problem? While the government has already identified courses of action to improve the system with long-standing institutional stakeholders, it is through the involvement of civil society that the viability of these actions can be tested, and others can be identified as well, from the standpoint of users or other experts in the field, particularly in relation to the development of new tools. By involving civil society, the barriers – particularly psychological ones – that may impede access or the 92 progress of the APL procedure can be more closely targeted. Several open workshops have been scheduled to take place from autumn 2021 to spring 2022. Outlets for this work may include, but are not limited to, regulatory texts, instructions that do not affect existing legislation, simplification of forms and procedures, action plans and communication campaigns.

Why is this commitment relevant to OGP values? This commitment will result in: - greater transparency thanks to a clearer picture of the APL procedure given to users - a better consideration of the user experience and expectations in devising public policies relating to this avenue for access to qualifications - civic participation in government decisionmaking, with open workshops giving citizens the opportunity to have their say and submit concrete proposals

Milestone activity with a verifiable deliverable Start date End date At least one open workshop, split into a maximum of two depending on the number of people involved (as one workshop must have no more than 10 or 12 participants) October 2021 November 2021 At least one online consultation to allow far more stakeholders to have their say on the matter (civil society, non-profit organisations, social partners, various institutions, think tanks and other researchers) November 2021 December 2021 Potentially one or more additional qualitative flash surveys to test the viability of these solutions and the proposed implementation methods, the product of the open workshops and online consultation organised December 2021 January 2022 93 Potentially one last open workshop to exchange views on the proposed solutions prior to approving and plotting an operational road map for their implementation January 2022 February 2022

Action Plan Review

Commitment 22. Renewal of Accreditation of Prior Learning system

● Verifiable: Yes

● Does it have an open government lens? Yes

● Potential for results: Unclear