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This article presents an empirical example of what a process of mobilisation and disciplination could mean in practice. The example is taken from a 'validation' initiative (recognition of prior learning) among a small group of unemployed people in Sweden. An ethnographic approach means that data were collected, mainly through observations and interviews, to provide a detailed description of the process studied. The analysis applies an eclectic perspective, inspired by the Foucauldian concept of genealogy, where the idea of validation is traced in ethnography, the discursive practice of validation. The results show, among other things, how mobilising and disciplining are intertwined, i.e., mobilisation is a prerequisite of disciplination and vice versa. Furthermore, mobilising and disciplining can be seen as a process of sorting people. There was a high dropout rate in the small group, and the question of how the system could be changed to better meet the needs of these persons is asked.