Exploiting semantics for constructing and comparing occupational and educational-driven qualifications: the TIPTOE project

In recent years, mobility of students and workers started to be considered as a way for answering skill shortages in the European labor world. However, in order to implement effective mobility practices, suitable instruments supporting transparency and readability of the outcomes of learning processes as well as of the needs of companies and employers in general have to be developed. In fact, though some instruments have been introduced (like, for instance, the European Qualification Framework, EQF, the European Credit system for Vocational Education and Training, ECVET, etc.), they are often seen as theoretical tools rather than a practical help for involved stakeholders. In this work, the results of the TIPTOE project, a transnational initiative funded by the European Commission under the Lifelong Learning Programme are illustrated. In particular, the semantic-based methodology for the construction of a European-wide profile mixing education and labor worlds perspectives in the trade sector is discussed. Furthermore, a number of tools allowing end-users to compare owned qualifications to the reference one and supporting stakeholders in the reading of national educational and occupational profiles in the EQF dimension are presented.