European, Global and Intercultural Dimension in Curriculum Development

The review of the content of National Vocational Qualifications Register started in 2006. The aim of the structural and content review of vocational education and training was to develop a programme that responds better to labour market needs. One of the steps towards achieving this was to make teaching professions modular and to define the content requirements of the programmes in learning outcomes, which was executed in the definition of the professional and exam requirements.

In 2012 a National Vocational Qualifications Register with a new structure was introduced. From the systemic elements of vocational and adult education, the followings were developed: the vocational examination system, the curriculum and the measuring system, the evaluation tool system and the development of modular curricula.

In 2009, the ECVET Recommendation formulated the need to establish a European Credit System for Vocational Education and Training that is based on harmonised principles. The ECVET Recommendation is closely linked to the European Qualifications Framework; the learning outcomes, the description of (vocational) training programmes in learning outcomes – but the ECVET Recommendation is focussed on the aspects of transfer between contexts and recognition.

The establishment of the European Credit System for Vocational Education and Training results in a more flexible and transferable educational path, which is a long and heavily-debated process. These debates primarily take place within the national ECVET Expert Network. The network was established in 2012 in Hungary and in another 24 European countries with the objective of mapping the preconditions for the application of the European Credit System for Vocational Education and Training, focusing on two aspects: life-long learning and mobility. The expert network is working in several fields:

• the development of mobility programmes, the definition and recognition of the learning outcome acquired by pupils participating in international projects
• opinion forming of Hungarian policy makers and experts, the interpretation of the ECVET recommendation in the Hungarian context in order to make vocational education and training more flexible.

The EQUAVET is an expert community with the objective of providing quality assurance in vocational education and improving quality by applying the European Quality Assurance Reference Framework in Vocational Education and Training. The main activity of the expert community is the work carried out within the working groups, the organisation of seminars, annual forums and the drafting of online reports. Hungary is also a member of this community; the Hungarian activities within the network primarily focus on the standardised approach to quality, quality awareness, and establishing a standardised quality management system in vocational and adult education institutions, as well as on the learning outcome-based approach and the formulation of mobility programmes in learning outcomes.

Partnerships and Networks

The strategic partnership measure of the Erasmus+ programme is for:

• supporting quality vocational training development, containing strong work-based learning elements,
• improving the adaptability of VET to labour market needs,
• sensible and consistent implementation of the ECVET and EQAVET recommendations at national level,
• supporting the promotion of easy-to-access, career oriented trainings especially for people who are least likely to participate in these kinds of opportunities,
• promoting the skill and competence development of teachers and lecturers with special emphasis on the educational methods, collaboration between school teachers and company educators as well as on training of practical educators/mentors within companies.

Project applicants tended to implement more complex, high-volume innovation transfer type activities that generated innovative intellectual products. Among the priorities, the most popular were to improve cooperation between education, training and the world of work, and to reduce the number of low-skilled adults.

The strategic partnership measure of the Erasmus+ programme vocational training sector provides opportunities to implement policy developments and strategic objectives or to explore the innovative elements formulated in the strategic objectives (e.g. promoting flexible training systems, informal and non-formal learning methods).

19 institutions submitted applications under the strategic partnerships application type in the field of VET in 2019, and 9 of them received grants. Of the winner applications, 6 implement innovation development and 3 exchange experiences. For the Erasmus+ strategic partnership for adult learning, a total of 38 applications were received, of which 16 had been granted. At national level, two priorities in the field of adult education fit well with the EU policy. Most of the supported projects are aimed at developing the competences of adult educators, providing effective information to those involved in adult learning and providing motivation strategies.