European Masters of Skilled Craft (EUROMASC) is a consultancy with experience and competence from long time cooperation with national and international organisations within vocational education and training (VET). EUROMASC is tracing its origins back to 1995 and operates as a 2008 spinoff from the Norwegian operation of the EU programme Leonardo da Vinci at the National Institute of Technology. They provide experience in implementing competence mapping, qualification and occupational profile descriptions as well as validation and recognition of prior learning (VNIL/RPL) in this project.

Several projects where EUROMASC has contributed on the EQF/ECVET developments with descriptions of Learning Outcome based profiles for use in transnational environments could serve as a basis for transfer of experience and innovation. An early example is the Know-In project (SSA in the transport sector) where the multilingual qualification definitions were developed in BG, EN, ES, FR, IT and NO. The development of competence matrixes was linked to validation of prior learning procedures as well as to parallel curricula and training programs as integrated elements in Skillsbank. The VNIL/RPL perspective is an enrichment to Learning Outcome oriented projects, partly because of the nature of competence development with a focus on non- and informally acquired skills and competences, partly also because of their transferable potential. For the development of multilingual qualification matrixes and the corresponding VNIL/RPL procedures the Skillsbank system was used to secure a complete EQF/ECVET compatibility with Learning Outcomes organised in logical units covering the respective knowledge, skills and competence elements. Skillsbank has a multilingual functionality and with already established links to the ESCO terminology bank for the indexation of qualifications and occupational profiles, it could also be modified with special functions adapted directly to meet specific project needs. Recent project activities with RefuSkills and RefuNEET are targeting the refugee situation in Europe, using Skillsbank for documentation of their basic skills and key competences as well as for the first steps of VNIL/RPL.

In the Sector Skills Alliance projects EGREEN and Painting Skills Academy transnational qualification descriptions are made comparable with Learning Outcomes as the “common currency” and a bridging tool. Recently, in the STEMSOFT project this has been broadened with focus on soft and transferable skills. Skillstube is an extension of Skillsbank which aims at collecting and storing the individual learner’s performance as a collection of video clips related to clearly identified Learning Outcomes (LOs). These will in turn serve as electronic attachments to certificates, CVs or an individual’s promotional material documenting their level of performance. For learning mobility, the experience from the YOMTOOL project will also be addressed and brought in where relevant.