Diploma for professionals: what does the EVC process look like?
Source: Gawalo.nl
As an installer, do you have the knowledge and skills, but not the diploma? Then use the so-called Recognition of Acquired Competencies certificate. Obtain a recognized EVC certificate for a specific function at MBO or HBO level within a few weeks. The Experience Certificate is equivalent to a school diploma.
EVC is a formal instrument. Employers' and employees' organisations support it one hundred percent. As do the ministries of Social Affairs, Economic Affairs and Education. In fact: EVC – short for Recognition of Acquired Competencies – is a European initiative. It is intended for professionals from all professions who have learned a lot in practice. And who now want or need to 'cash in' their knowledge and skills in an official recognition: the Experience Certificate.
EVC Experience Certificate
The experience certificate is a report that shows that someone partially or fully meets the requirements of a 'school' mbo and hbo education. Or specific requirements of, for example, a trade organization, such as InstallQ. EVC is therefore widely supported, and employers formally raise the level of their employees in a simple way.
“EVC is not new in the installation sector”, says Wil van Ophem, Director of Technical Affairs at InstallQ. “Based on the Kenteq method, we have developed three new EVC sector standards: Work Responsible for Tap Water Installations, Work Responsible for Gas Installation Pipes, and Work Responsible for Low-Voltage Electrotechnical Installations. Anyone who meets one of these standards can apply for recognition as a Certified Installer and, for example, become a member of Techniek Nederland. It is not so much a question of how an installer has acquired knowledge and skills: what counts is being able to demonstrate professional competence. Then you don't have to go back to school. The Experience Certificate is equivalent to a school diploma. With EVC, you have proven that you are experienced in your profession.”
No training or exam stress
An EVC trajectory works differently from a school education in important ways. To start with, it is not an education. The participants do not have to go to the books or the school desks. EVC is a test, but not like a traditional exam. No hours of studying above the books, no struggling with exam questions in a classroom. And no tension about whether you have 'passed' it.
EVC process
1) Registration and intake interview
Employers or individual employees register with a provider of EVC courses. These can be found on the website Ervaringscertificaat.nl. In an intake interview, it is determined which MBO, HBO or industry standard is desired per participant.
2) Collecting practical evidence
Then he starts collecting practical evidence: videos and photos of work in progress. Work orders, delivery documents, meeting minutes. Statements from bosses and clients. And of course diplomas and certificates from previously completed school education, training and courses. Almost everything counts. This is bundled into a portfolio.
3) Assessor on a visit
After this, an assessor will come to observe the work. He will also ask quite a few questions.
4) Experience Certificate
Then everything is recorded in a so-called Experience Certificate. Failing is not possible. It can happen that someone has not yet sufficiently proven all components. In that case, an official Experience Certificate is also issued, which is included in the Register of Experience Certificates. Because those employees can also be deployed for everything for which they are recognized.
5) Continue learning for a higher level
In addition, it is then transparent what is still lacking in expertise, so that the participant can continue to learn on the work floor for those tasks that he or she has not yet mastered. At a later time, the last skills can still be demonstrated for a full Experience Certificate. And then the participant has a paper in his or her hands with which he or she can easily rise from, for example, MBO level 3 to 4. Good for employers, because the employee can be deployed more broadly and at a higher billable hourly rate.
Quick payback
Employees who officially demonstrate their level via an EVC trajectory usually earn themselves back in no time. This goes even faster with a subsidy from the Wij Techniek foundation, which fully supports EVC. A maximum of € 1,400 is available per employee. Because, as Wij Techniek states, “With an EVC, your skills are officially recognized. That can help you if you have the experience, but not the diploma. And what is very important: it gives you more self-confidence and appreciation.”
Nederlands