Digital Transformation of the National System for the Validation of Non-Formal Knowledge
- CLIENT
-
- Center of the Republic of Slovenia for Vocational Education
- Ljubljana
- Slovenia
- YEAR OF IMPLEMENTATION
-
- 2018
Project in Numbers
Following the system redesign, the number of users has doubled. These include contractors, consultants, committee members, and administrators, who have their own profile in the application and access to all relevant data.
Users generate and edit all key documents for NPK (National Vocational Qualifications) via a centralized editor, including applications, notices, certificates, and minutes. This streamlines administration and reduces the time required to prepare documentation.
There are currently 597 valid occupational standards and catalogues in the National Vocational Qualifications system, covering various professional fields and ensuring transparency and alignment of qualifications in Slovenia.
Challenge
The existing system was slow and confusing for users. The competence validation and certificate issuance processes involved a lot of manual work, sending documents by email, and manual validity checks. This led to duplication, delays, and higher maintenance costs. The objective of the redesign was to simplify the processes and move them into a modern digital environment:
establish comprehensive digital support for all processes and eliminate manual sending of documents and validity checks,
reduce the time to issue certificates,
provide support for all documents and their independent editing,
improve the clarity of functionality for individual user groups,
ensure up-to-date data and automated user notifications,
reduce maintenance costs through greater editorial autonomy.
Our solutions
The NRP System’s Digital Leap
The overhaul of the NRP system delivered a comprehensive digital leap forward. We simplified processes that were previously carried out largely manually, while at the same time enabling digital support for all key processes. We established interoperability across all systems, which ensured that data is always accurate and up to date, thereby also increasing key user satisfaction.
Integrating key building blocks into a unified platform
The NRP platform integrates the key building blocks of the national occupational qualifications system: occupational standards and catalogues, providers, certificates, and licences. This enables transparent and efficient management of the skills validation process and helps standardise processes from submission of the application to issuance of the certificate. With the system’s digital design, procedures are more harmonised, traceable, and compliant with standards, which reduces administrative workload and increases the quality and transparency of services.
- A NRP Platform
- B Providers
- C Certificates
- D Licenses
- E PS and KAT
- F Unified processes for candidates and providers
Key solutions
each user has their own profile and access to relevant data (certificates, roles, records of providers, committees, advisors …),
the entire process is based on predefined document templates that are automatically populated and generated through a central editor,
the processes of completing, reviewing, and approving or rejecting documentation are automated, including automatic verification of document validity, status assignment, and notifications of expiry or changes,
an editorial workflow is defined for each process,
full traceability of all activities and changes is ensured, including changes to personal data, while ensuring GDPR compliance,
an advanced search enables fast search across databases of occupational standards, knowledge catalogs, providers and committees,
various statistics and reports support performance monitoring and decision-making.
Faster execution - less waiting
Digitalization of processes has accelerated NPK procedures, shortened wait times, and reduced administrative work for all stakeholders. Providers can manage the entire verification and certification process more smoothly, more transparently, and in less time, while candidates obtain results and certificates faster.
Results
The digital transformation of the NRP system enables centralized and transparent access to all key data on national vocational qualifications, including occupational standards, catalogues, certificates, and public calls. Harmonized user profiles, automated processes, and advanced search tools shorten document processing times, increase transparency, and ensure GDPR compliance. The system supports 597 standards and catalogues currently in force and thus effectively supports the Institute of the Republic of Slovenia for Vocational Education and Training in fulfilling its mission, namely to ensure a high-quality, transparent, and accessible system of vocational and professional education and lifelong learning.
