On 7 May the Europass project team met with a representative from SME United, Association of crafts and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Europe. They discussed on better collaboration and closer involvement in the development of the new Europass platform. The meeting was part of broader stakeholder engagement to gain insights into the specific challenges of SMEs in Europe and how the new Europass can address these to be of the added value to them.

The organisation is positive about the new developments and many of their stakeholders already use Europass documents for apprenticeships and skills development of employees, notably the Europass Mobility. SME United expressed support for including personal guidance in the new platform, rather than guidance based on AI only, to support individuals in completing their e-portfolio. This could ensure that Europass is user-friendly for individuals with low to high levels of digital and cognitive skills.

The representative pointed to the challenge of modularisation of qualifications that the concept of digitally-signed credentials in Europass may encourage. The team clarified that the aim of Europass supporting digitally-signed credentials is to develop a framework for issuing and receiving any kind of recognition of learning in a digital format. This will allow individuals to store various credentials in a single virtual place - called a 'wallet' and reduce administrative work and associated costs to issue and verify credentials for educational institutions, credentials evaluators and employers.

SME united was positive about mobilising their stakeholder base to participate in the user testing to provide more specific and targeted input and feedback on the ongoing development of the new platform.