The creation of a flexible education system, including procedures for the validation of previous education and other forms of knowledge should be one of the objectives of higher education institutions as well as other institutions that are engaged in adult education. To be effective, the system must be developed and implemented in partnership with employers, individuals and educational institutions. This article describes the situation with respect to the recognition of prior learning in EU countries and the Slovenian reactions to them. Moreover, it presents the results of empirical research which investigated the motivation of educational institutions to co-operate in the system established to validate non-formal and informal learning. (Contains 1 footnote and 5 tables.)