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The ILO's recent report on lifelong learning runs to 236 pages. It covers the evolution of the concept since the 1990s, the policy challenges governments face in building more flexible education systems, and the growing pressure on workers and employers alike to keep pace with an accelerating economy. It is a serious, thorough piece of work. Lifelong learning has a blind spot In those 236 pages, the phrase "Recognition of Prior Learning" appears nine times. That number reflec

Where AI-enhanced accreditation (currently) sits. A few weeks ago I was presenting ten days of work to a university client – a detailed accreditation methodology built from the ground up. The report was substantial. The analysis was deep. And on the front page, as we always do, there was a disclosure that the deliverable had been produced in part using AI. The client paused. Looked up, and asked: "So why should I pay you for something I could produce myself using Co-Pilot?" I

Think about the day you qualified. How capable did you actually feel? How much did you really know? Were you confident? Or were you like me, a little terrified, when you walked out with that designation in your hand? And how much of what makes you genuinely valuable today did you learn in the years that followed? The clients you couldn't have handled then. The decisions you now make without thinking. The judgement that only comes from being tested, failing quietly, and findin

The FT ran a sharp analysis this week on what's happening to software engineers under agentic AI. Job vacancies are up. But only for seniors. Entry-level roles remain flat and the pay gap between top and bottom appears to be widening. The conclusion many people are drawing is that the future will belong to those who can delegate and direct, not those who can code. The ability to critique and critically review over technical depth. I understand the conclusion but I think it i

The real bottleneck in accreditation assessment Accreditation is infrastructure. That’s not a metaphor – it’s the World Bank’s conclusion. Its flagship World Development Report, published in December 2025, is the first comprehensive global analysis of what quality standards really do for economies. It names accreditation as one of four pillars of quality infrastructure globally, alongside metrology, conformity assessment, and standardisation. Countries with stronger accredita

If competence is a spectrum, why do we work with systems that still treat it like a checkbox? Migration assessment bodies know this challenge better than most. This article extends on Dr. Peter Beven (FAITD) thoughts on “The university skilling challenge” and unpacks how we can build fair, consistent recognition systems that reflect reality. Professional competence isn’t a checkbox. It’s a Spectrum. Why the competence gap is widening – and what it means for migration assess

Accreditation is economic infrastructure. It’s foundational to development as roads or power grids. The World Bank’s 2025 World Development Report makes this striking claim. The UNESCO 2026 roadmap for transforming higher education points in the same direction. Taken together, the case is clear. So, that leaves us with the question: Who holds the infrastructure accountable? Accreditation bodies operate with significant delegated authority. They set the standards that deter