Recent initiatives for recognizing non-formal or informal learning as credit toward vocational

qualification in Brazil have been implemented to harness the knowledge acquired by

individuals throughout their lives, especially work-based knowledge, in the service of
governmental policies that seek to contribute to reducing unemployment and increasing social
inclusivity. Beginning in 2!, the responsibility for assessment and accreditation of work-
based knowledge was assigned to the "ational "etwork of #rofessional $ertification and
%raining, known as the $&R%'('$, which establishes what types of achievements can be
recognised and sets evaluation parameters. )ccording to the legislation, the $&R%'('$ is a
public policy for vocational education of workers, both young people and adults, who seek
accreditation of their lifelong learning e*periences, regardless of where and when the learning
took place, and to those who want to enter or return to school.
%his paper presents and analyses the conceptions that guide the process of recognition of
work-based knowledge in Brazilian legislation and in the $&R%'('$, with the goal of
providing elements to consider how the debate on lifelong learning has been developing in
Brazil. %o address this question, this paper e*amines Brazilian laws that deal with the
recognition of knowledge for vocational certification purposes.
%he results indicate the e*istence of a controversy around the policies and programs relating
to recognition of work-based learning, since for some people, what is sought from the
development of this type of program is to meet the demands of the labour market, while for
others, the goal is realizing the historical demands of social movements for the recognition of
lifelong learning.
)dditionally, the monitoring of the implementation of the $&R%'('$ indicates that these
programs aim to increase emphasis on the +re,insertion of the worker into the school setting to
advance their schooling, as opposed to the recognition of work-based learning. %hus, the
analysis of assessment methods conducted here show that the knowledge required for
vocational qualification is still tied to educational content and to standards that guide the
organization of work, leaving in the background the recognition of the knowledge constructed
in and by the work e*perience.