2021
Loans for adult trainings
There are student loans available for adults (18-55) at the Student Loan Centre to finance their trainings so that they have the opportunity to participate in vocational education or in adult learning against their financial difficulties. The stakeholders can choose from Training Loan 1 and 2. The amount of the loan 1 varies between 15 and 150 thousand per month. The training loan 2 can be taken for only training fees in the case of feepaying programmes. In this case the loan is transferred directly to the institution. The loan is open only for trainings of at least 3 months by both types of loans, and it is re-payable even throughout 10 years.
Calls for funding
172 billion HUF out of 1509 billion HUF (allocated for calls for funding for HE) will be dedicated to the trans-sectoral development of vocational education, adult training and higher education programmes organized in a coordinated manner.
2020
Free online learning material for micro and SMEs
Free online learning material (the „Be a smart entrepreneur” online training module) helps the development of micro and SMEs. The material was developed by the Budapest Institute of Banking (BIB). The training includes the most relevant topics such as business innovation, digitalization, change of generation, HR opportunities and communication.
The administrative burden of private organizations providing adult training reduces
The time spent for administration has reduced by 90 per cent for the organizations providing adult training due to the new Act On Adult Training. The decrease is due to the fact that the responsible public body requires less data, operates one joint online data requesting system instead of the previous two according to the survey conducted by the Association of Organizations providing Adult Training.
New vocational education institutions
As of 1 September 2020, there is a new vocational programme called technical in the first grade of technicums -previously named as upper secondary vocational grammar schools. The name of vocational schools has been changed from “szakközépiskola” to “szakképző iskola”. Previous programmes will be phasing out in the newly named institutions.
New Catch-up programmes
As of September 2020 the previous catch up programmes called “Híd” will be replaced by “Dobbantó”/“Springboard Class” and “Műhelyiskola”/”School Workshop”. These programmes together help students obtain basic education and partial vocational qualification.
Teachers’ status and pay rise
The salaries of teachers in vocational education and training institutions will be significantly increased from 1 July 2020. The 35 billion HUF additional funding provided by the state budget will allow for an average 30 % increase, the exact amount of the pay rise will be determined on an individual basis.
An employee of a vocational education and training institution no longer has a civil servant status, as his/her legal status is now regulated by the Labour Code.
2019
New Act on Vocational Education and Training
The new Act on Vocational Education and Training (Act LXXX of 2019) was adopted by the Parliament on November 19, 2019. The main objectives are:
- to assist informed career choices and
- to provide high quality vocational education adjusted to the challenges of the 21st century.
The purpose of the act therefore is to create a vocational training system that
- provides both knowledge and practical skills,
- enhances digital competences,
- encourages creative and broad-minded thinking,
- improves flexibility to respond to changes
- promotes cooperation between vocational education and the economic sector,
- equips students with qualifications that broaden market opportunities and secure livelihoods,
Under the new regulation, a vocational training institution may be either a „technikum” (former „szakgimnázium”) or a „szakképző iskola” (former „szakközépiskola”). A new element of the law is the one-time career entry support, to which the student is entitled after that he/she successfully completes the training and gains a vocational qualification. The exact amount is specified in a governmental decree, it depends upon the results of the final examination and it varies between the 80-180 per cent of the minimum wage.
Preparatory Year in Vocational Grammar Schools
The vocational training years can be preceeded with a preparatory year in schools with vocational orientation.
Technicum may provide foreign language preparation, while vocational schools can launch career orientation year or a catch up year called “Springboard Class”.