Abstract

The paper aims to contribute to the debate on the issue of formal, non-formal and informal learning recognition and skill certification. In the frame of highly differentiated systems, the markets require flexibility and adaptability to workers, which have to able to understand changing needs and to adapt themselves to different contexts. Therefore, Employers seek for autonomy in the management of the informal features of workers professional roles, which tend to overlap more with personal attitudes and less with the formal learnings. The paper examines the political guidelines and practices concerning the skills certification, taking into account the real needs of stakeholders and, in particular, asking/ wondering whether the certification systems represents an opportunity or a constraint for the career paths, consistently with the logic of lifelong learning.