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The setting up of Accreditation of Prior Experiential Learning (VAE in France) in 2002 has since led to the appearance of a new face in adult education: the APEL counsellor. His or her role is to guide the candidate in the validation process from the choice of an appropriate level of certification to the presentation of a report defended in front of a jury. If accreditation is partial, another function of the counsellor is to suggest further training. By means of a questionnaire and interviews, we have tried to ascertain whether APEL counselling might represent a new profession in the field of adult education.