Ricerc@Sapienza

For a long time, Informal learning suffered a mechanical and simplified defi-
nition, as a category opposed to formal learning: it was in fact intended at a
space-time level, as a complex of outdoor activities, carried out outside school
walls, and outside a certifiable path.
If in the field of vocational training validation systems have been arranged at
European level by CEDEFOP (2017) to test and to certificate skills and abilities
acquired through individual experience, however, many third sector initiatives,

Italy seems unable to recover the historic gap compared to European education standards; the delay is relevant especially for the tertiary cycle, and it might worsen our system weakness in a strong innovation phase, marked by the rising convergence of all activities in a global digital ecosystem, by the radical transformation of work towards flexibility, and by the 'Creative Industry' and '4.0 Industry' emergence. The dropout in the first years of university paths - added to the other dropout components - is partly resulting from the lack in basic skills.