Systematically promoting learning outcomes is a key principle in the EU policy agenda for education, training and employment. It is at the heart of European tools developed in this area in the last decades – notably within the European Qualification Framework (EQF). The 2017 EQF Recommendation defines learning outcomes as ‘statements regarding what a learner knows, understands and is able to do on completion of a learning process, which are defined in terms of knowledge, skills and responsibility and autonomy’. 

Focusing on learning outcomes is crucial to successfully identify and address skill gaps of both individuals and wider populations. The provision of clear descriptions of learning outcomes can allow for better comparability of qualifications and learning opportunities. They can also serve as the basis for compiling an individual portfolio of knowledge and skills acquired over a lifetime. This can positively impact cooperation between education and training providers and employers and increase job seekers’ mobility on the labour market. Additionally, in combination, these two applications can serve as the basis for skills intelligence tools seeking to identify and address skills gaps in the labour market. 

Learning Outcomes in the European Learning Model (ELM)

The ELM, the European Commission’s multilingual data model, provides a single vocabulary for the description of learning in Europe, by integrating existing definitions and standards from a variety of policy documents and recommendations linked to learning and employment in Europe. This includes learning outcomes as defined in the EQF Recommendation. Another integration which is highly relevant from the learning outcomes’ point of view, is the referencing of multilingual ESCO knowledge and skill concepts directly in the learning outcomes data. 

The ELM helps promote the visibility of learning outcomes and encourages their use through two of its key applications: Learning Opportunities & Qualifications and European Digital Credentials for Learning (EDC). 

Qualifications and Learning Opportunities

The ELM provides a standard and a structured approach for publishing qualification data, aiding the transparency and recognition of qualifications across Europe. Any entity can make use of the Learning Opportunities & Qualifications application. The European Commission also provides a central repository, the Qualification Dataset Register (QDR), to gather all datasets in Learning Opportunities & Qualifications format published at a national level. The QDR allows national authorities to make their data more accessible both for stakeholders and citizens. Data published in QDR will soon be available as open data – and can already be accessed to help the comparison and transparency of qualifications and learning opportunities. In addition, data published through the QDR is also available on Europass in an easily navigable format for citizens to access and search.

To encourage the uptake of learning outcomes, their inclusion is mandatory when publishing qualifications and learning opportunities (i.e. concrete courses and educational programmes) data. As a result, this can help improve the cross-border comparison and recognition of qualifications included in the QDR. For learning opportunities, this provides individuals with data-rich resources to assist them in making informed choices for their learning.

This compulsory inclusion of learning outcome details in qualification and learning opportunity data allows for them to be analysed with a more precise focus on the skills and knowledge offered by education and training programmes. This can then form the basis for skills gap analysis tools, if larger datasets are being put to use. 

European Digital Credentials for Learning 

When the ELM is applied in the context of EDC, the inclusion of learning outcomes is not mandatory. However, including them helps individuals showcase their skills and knowledge to prospective employers in a verifiable manner. This option is valued, and frequently used, by EDC implementers. 

Learning outcomes can be directly linked to ‘related skills’ in frameworks such as ESCO. This means that individuals can showcase, in a transparent and unambiguous manner, the specific skills they have acquired through a learning experience. Using taxonomies like ESCO for this purpose also allows for automatable matching of a job applicant’s skills to the ones required by the position. 

Alternatively, credential issuers can include learning outcome summaries in their credential data. This allows the provision of longer, free text descriptions of learning outcomes, that often serve as a first step towards the inclusion of specific learning outcomes with linked skills. 

How to get started with Learning Outcomes

Having the possibility to include learning outcomes in EDC is only the first step – it is key that this option is utilised for data rich credentials. While Cedefop states that learning outcomes are increasingly ‘influencing the definition and writing of qualifications and curricula as well as the orientation of assessment and teaching and training’ - they are still not always included within published qualifications nor learning opportunities, or in issued European Digital Credentials for Learning. 

Writing meaningful learning outcomes can be a strenuous process. Cedefop has, however, recently published European guidelines for the development and writing of short, learning-outcomes-based descriptions of qualifications. These guidelines, aim to support the formulation of learning outcomes, promoting their inclusion in qualification description, or in other contexts. These guidelines provide an excellent starting point to explore the inclusion of learning outcomes in your learning related data. 

To see where learning outcomes are positioned in the ELM, we encourage you to visit the ELM data model browser. Alternatively, our Qualification Dataset Register online manual can provide you with information on how to include learning outcomes in your qualification or learning opportunity data. To learn how you can include them in your digital credentials, we invite you to refer to our EDC how-to pages where you can find a detailed explanation. 

Still have questions? Contact our support team at EMPL-ELM-SUPPORT@ec.europa.eu.