Abstract
The role of the Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) in relation to
workforce development is an area of increasing interest in national
human capital policies. Unlike RPL in educational contexts, this is a
particularly under-researched area but one that is showing pockets of increased interest and activity as many developed nations experience ageing populations and workforces, declining birth rates, deepening skill shortages and competitive global labour markets. These factors, together with increased labour mobility and the rapidly changing nature of work, provide a complex backdrop to the use of RPL in human resource
management policy and practice within workplaces.
It is argued that the focus for RPL is slowly shifting away from formal systems of education, perhaps with the exception of the United States (Thomas, 2000; Travers, 2011). Policy makers are now turning towards the labour market, workforce development and the workplace where RPL interventions are providing some effective solutions to sustainable human resource management. The result is the beginning of a focal shift for RPL – into the more economically influential spaces of the labour market, workplace and human capital imperatives.
workforce development is an area of increasing interest in national
human capital policies. Unlike RPL in educational contexts, this is a
particularly under-researched area but one that is showing pockets of increased interest and activity as many developed nations experience ageing populations and workforces, declining birth rates, deepening skill shortages and competitive global labour markets. These factors, together with increased labour mobility and the rapidly changing nature of work, provide a complex backdrop to the use of RPL in human resource
management policy and practice within workplaces.
It is argued that the focus for RPL is slowly shifting away from formal systems of education, perhaps with the exception of the United States (Thomas, 2000; Travers, 2011). Policy makers are now turning towards the labour market, workforce development and the workplace where RPL interventions are providing some effective solutions to sustainable human resource management. The result is the beginning of a focal shift for RPL – into the more economically influential spaces of the labour market, workplace and human capital imperatives.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Handbook of the Recognition of Prior Learning: Research into Practice |
| Editors | J Harris, C Wihak, J Van Kleef |
| Place of Publication | London, UK |
| Publisher | National Institute of Adult Continuing Education (England and Wales) |
| Chapter | 11 |
| Pages | 113-147 |
| ISBN (Electronic) | 9781862018624 |
| Publication status | Published - 2014 |
| Externally published | Yes |