Making informally acquired competences visible – VALIKOM

In times of a cross-industry shortage of skilled workers, companies cannot currently choose from a pool of perfectly suited applicants whom they would most like to have in the company. Jobs often remain unfilled for a long period of time because the person with the required qualifications and competencies cannot be found. Applicants who do not have formal proof of any qualifications will quickly receive a rejection. But can companies afford that at the moment?

What if a person does not have a formally acquired (recognized) degree, but nevertheless, through years of work experience or vocational training acquired abroad but not recognized in Germany, has exactly the competencies that are required for the job? Why should this person not be able to fill the position just as well as someone who has completed vocational training in Germany?

The difficulty of proving competencies remains the biggest problem. Extensive work samples in the company cost a lot of resources and the risk that the applicant does not have the required skills is too high for many companies.

This is exactly the problem that the project “
Valikom
” project. Within the project, a procedure was developed to assess and certify job-relevant competencies. This would make it easier for people without formal vocational qualifications to be integrated into the world of work and for companies to obtain suitable personnel more quickly.

The assessment of competencies is carried out by professional experts in the respective occupational field and certified by a Chamber of Crafts, Chamber of Industry and Commerce or a Chamber of Agriculture. The professions include motor vehicle mechatronics technician, vehicle painter and machine and plant operator. These are precisely the occupational fields in which there is also a high demand in the municipal vehicle sector.

For more information, feel free to visit https://www.validierungsverfahren.de/startseite.