Assessment and accreditation of work-based knowledge in Brazil

Recent initiatives for recognizing non-formal or informal learning as credit toward

vocational qualification in Brazil have been implemented to harness the knowledge
acquired by individuals throughout their lives, especially work-based knowledge, in
the service of governmental policies that seek to contribute to reducing
unemployment and increasing social inclusivity. Beginning in 2010, the responsibility
for assessment and accreditation of work-based knowledge was assigned to the
National Network of Professional Certification and Training, known as the
CERTIFIC, which establishes what types of achievements can be recognised and sets
evaluation parameters. According to the legislation, the CERTIFIC is a public policy
for vocational education of workers, both young people and adults, who seek
accreditation of their lifelong learning experiences, regardless of where and when the
learning took place, and to those who want to enter or return to formal academic
schooling.
This paper presents and analyses the conceptions that guide the process of recognition
of work-based knowledge in Brazilian legislation and in the CERTIFIC, with the goal
of providing elements to consider how the debate on lifelong learning has been
developing in Brazil. To address this question, this paper examines Brazilian laws that
deal with the recognition of knowledge for vocational certification purposes.
The results indicate the existence of a controversy around the policies and programs
relating to recognition of work-based learning, since for some people, what is sought
from the development of this type of program is to meet the demands of the labour
market, while for others, the goal is realizing the historical demands of social
movements for the recognition of lifelong learning.
Additionally, the monitoring of the implementation of the CERTIFIC indicates that
these programs aim to increase emphasis on the (re)insertion of the worker into the
school setting to advance their schooling, as opposed to the recognition of work-based
learning. Thus, the analysis of assessment methods conducted here show that the
knowledge required for vocational qualification is still tied to educational content and
to standards that guide the organization of work, leaving in the background the
recognition of the knowledge constructed in and by the work experience.