Recognising skills to maximise the benefits of mobility
[Translation : EPALE France]
On 1 and 2 July 2025, I had the pleasure of taking part in a round table discussion as part of the Erasmus+ Higher Education Days, organised in Bordeaux by Erasmus+ France / Education Formation. This meeting brought together stakeholders from the mobility, higher education and training sectors, and provided an opportunity to reflect collectively on the challenges of recognising skills acquired during mobility. I took part as national coordinator of the Europass scheme, with the firm belief that European mobility can only be fully beneficial if it is accompanied by clear, understandable and transferable recognition of learning outcomes. For nearly 40 years, Erasmus+ has offered millions of Europeans the opportunity to experience mobility. But this experience alone is not enough to guarantee a lasting impact on people’s career paths. It is not mobility that creates opportunity: it is what people learn through mobility and how that learning is recognised that determines its impact. It is therefore essential to ensure that these skills are recognised, translated and understood, both in higher education and in the professional sphere.
A European framework promoting mobility pathways
This is precisely what the Bologna Process, launched in 1999, enables us to do, with the aim of building a more coherent, clearer and more attractive European higher education area. This process introduced profound structural changes: the three-cycle system (bachelor’s-master’s-doctorate), the ECTS system, and above all common tools to make degrees comparable and facilitate the recognition of skills. Among these tools, the Diploma Supplement has become a key instrument for transparency and understanding of qualifications throughout Europe.
I have been working on this subject for many years and consider the Diploma Supplement to be an essential lever for enhancing the value of people’s pathways. It is not just another administrative document, but a structured and harmonised tool that acts as a genuine identity card for skills. It explains what the graduate has learned, in what context, with what results and what skills they have acquired, including beyond the strictly academic framework. It enables recruiters, universities and training organisations to understand the real value of a qualification, regardless of its origin.
Tools supporting the recognition of mobility
Today, this tool is fully integrated into the Europass environment, which celebrates its 20th anniversary in 2025. Europass has undergone major changes since its creation: it is now a free, multilingual, European digital platform that enables all citizens to manage their learning pathways and career development. Users can create a skills profile, a CV and cover letter, assess themselves and access job and training opportunities throughout Europe.
The Diploma Supplement is a fundamental building block in this process. It enables individuals to describe their background, explain their skills and map out their career path in a coherent and meaningful way. Combined with other Europass documents (the Europass Certificate Supplement, Europass Mobility), it becomes a lever for employability and mobility, supporting lifelong learning.
In France, the Diploma Supplement has been compulsory since 2002 for national higher education degrees. However, its implementation remains inconsistent. Not all institutions issue it systematically, and it is still often underused by the recipients themselves. This is a major challenge: raising its profile, making it easier to access and, above all, helping people to see it as a high added-value tool.
Digitising the document, integrating it into IT systems and linking it with other European Europass tools means that some very tangible new prospects are beginning to open up.
I believe that the Diploma Supplement remains a modern tool because it conveys a vision that is more relevant than ever: that of a European area where skills, regardless of where they are acquired, must be recognised, understood and valued. It helps to make career paths clearer, plans more coherent and mobility more useful and inclusive.
Taking part in this round table was a valuable opportunity to reaffirm that if mobility is a right, then the recognition of skills must be a real guarantee of it. And this recognition must be supported by tools such as the Diploma Supplement, which serve individuals and a European education area that is open and values all forms of learning.
