The CLFDB, which has ceased to operate, was made up of representatives from business, organized labour, the four designated equity groups (women, visible minorities, aboriginal peoples, and persons with disabilities), the education and training community, and provincial and federal governments (ex officio). The CLFDB believed that the application of national standards to PLAR processes would ensure that individuals receive a fair assessment of their skills and knowledge. The development of national standards and of national standards of practice of PLAR are being advocated for by CAPLA (the Canadian Association of Prior Learning Assessment).
In 1997, the Canadian Labour Force Development Board recommended the following national PLAR Standards that describe the minimum requirements for adequacy in Prior Learning.
- PLAR must be accessible and relevant to people as individuals
- Assessment and recognition must be of learning (knowledge, skills and judgment acquired through study or experience), not of experience
- The PLAR process must be equitable
- The PLAR process must be efficient
- The PLAR process must be effective
- The PLAR process must be transparent
- The assessment must be reliable, i.e. it must be against criteria that are recognized and respected by all the labour market partners
- The assessment tools and their PLAR application must be valid
- Individuals assessing prior learning must be trained to perform this task
- The assessing organization must provide assessment options, and the opportunity and assistance for individuals to make choices
- Recognition awarded through PLAR should not be differentiated from that awarded in the traditional manner
- Recognition resulting from PLAR should be transferable and portable within and between organizations and jurisdictions
- PLAR must be an option or opportunity, and not a mandatory process
- An appeal procedure must be available