The Ministry of Education has developed a method of validating and certificating professional skills for those who have obtained them outside a professional school or any other educational institution. “You don’t necessarily have to attend a regular or vocational school to become a good carpenter or a good hairdresser”, said Deputy Education Minister Loreta Handrabura in an interview for Radio Moldova. “If someone learned a trade from their parents of somebody else, or if they are self-taught, conditions should exist to prove and certify their professional competence. There will be opened competence centers, where these persons will undergo some tests to confirm their knowledge and skill, following which they will receive certificates, without attending a secondary, professional or any other school for 3 whole years”, said Loretta Handrabura. The deputy minister voiced her hope that the migrants that return home with certain abilities and knowledge but no certificates to be hired, will also profit from these new conditions. Loretta Handrabura said that Moldova is the first member-country of the East Partnership that has developed a concept of certifying and recognizing informal education. Presently, progress is being made on the mechanism that will implement this idea. “The concept derives from the idea promoted within the EU that, people; employees need to learn throughout their lifetime, to retrain, to be flexible if the economic development calls for it. But for this it isn’t necessary to further invest for 2 or 3 years to prove that someone is, say, a good tailor. The person, employee or potential employee is obliged to always learn to become competitive in a free-market economy”, said Loretta Handrabura. The head of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Moldova (CCI), Sergiu Harea, thinks that this concept of validation and certification of skills and knowledge obtained outside a school environment is being very beneficial. “It matters a lot that the work of the professional competence centers is on par, that morally upright and highly-qualified certification specialists are brought into this process. CCI is ready to contribute to implementing this project, joined by the Ministry of Education, the Agency of Employment and all other relevant public authorities”, said Harea.