14.3 NATIONAL REFORMS IN VET AND ADULT EDUCATION

•2021

Dual Education Concept in Vocational Education and Training

In the school year 2021/2022, vocational education is conducted in 97 classes in 44 schools with 1.384 students. Contracts were signed with over 200 companies and the cooperation between business sector and the schools is strenghtened. New law on VET is under preparation.

EU Twinning Project “Further support to the implementation of the National Qualifications Framework”

The EU Twinning Project “Further support to the implementation of the National Qualifications Framework” (MK IPA 17 SO 01 21) started in October 2021. This project is financed by the European Union and will be implemented within 27 months. The budget of the project is worth 1.500.000,00 euros.

The Beneficiary of the Project is the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of North Macedonia. A Consortium of three Member States – Lithuania, France and Slovenia with the expertise of other relevant authorities is responsible for the implementation of the Project.

The overall objective of the Project is further strengthening and operationalization of the National Qualifications Framework (NQF) aiming to increase the employability, mobility and social integration of workers and learners in the Republic of North Macedonia.

This twinning project is expected to support the effectiveness of the NQF with special focus on:

• Development and implementation of quality assurance (QA) process/procedures;
• Transparency and governance of skills and qualifications in a lifelong learning perspective of general, Vocational Education and Training (VET) and Higher education;
• Improving quality and better adaptability of education and training in line with the requirements from labor market needs;
• Linking formal, non-formal and informal learning; and
• Support the validation of learning outcomes acquired in different settings.

The project consists of the following 4 components:

Component 1 – Quality assurance of education and training in a LLL perspective strengthened.

Component 2 – Support to the further implementation and enhanced capacities of the National Qualifications Framework in accordance with the QA framework.

Component 3 – Operational and administrative capacities of NQF Administration for management NQF communication and awareness raising practices improved.

Component 4 – NQF Digital register interconnection and compatibility on National and EU level improved.

•2020

VET skills in focus of the Revised operational employment plan for 2020

The 2020 Revised Operational Plan for Active Labor Market Employment and Services Programs and Measuresis a framework of the employment policies of the Republic of North Macedonia, created by the Government, embedded in a series of other national strategic policy documents, and in line with international strategic agendas. It aims at supporting the creation of new workplaces, increasing employability and labor market competitiveness of the unemployed individuals, with a special emphasis on the young and socially disadvantaged, long-term unemployed and beneficiaries of social cash benefit assistance (hereinafter: guaranteed minimum assistance). The main carrier of the Operational Plan is the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy, while its implementation is under the competence of the Employment Service Agency of the Republic of North Macedonia, in partnership with other responsible institutions.

Considering the education and training in context of increasing the level of employability, the Operational Plan offers following opportunities: on-the-job training for a known employer, training for vocational qualifications in line with employer’s requirements, vocational training in line with employer’s requirements and occupations-in-demand training.

•2019

Regional centers for vocational education and training introduced with the new amendments to the Law on VET

The amendments of the Law on VET^[1] set up a legal basis for the establishment of Regional centers for vocational education and training.

Three Regional VET centers are to be established to provide high-quality VET education, streamline innovations in the education process and enable young people enter the labour market with relevant for the market qualification. They are expected to have the capacity to multiply their positive experience in the VET country system and serve as a driver in VET sector. An ongoing IPA 2017 intervention provides technical assistance to the country in the field of VET, namely capacity building of education institutions and relevant municipalities, development of a rationalisation plan for VET schools, and alignment of VET and Adult Education systems with European Quality Assurance in Vocational, Education and Training standards. Further on, the selected VET centres need to be refurnished and equipped. The training programmes, tools and methods will be upgraded to provide for a range of qualifications relevant to the demand of the 21st century business, to ensure a flexible approach and modularization, as well as a mix of core skills, technical skills and capabilities needed at each critical life and employment stage. The vocational education offered in the Centres should serve all levels (vocational training, three-year vocational education for occupation, technical education, post-secondary education, trainings) and various participants such as students in the regular formal secondary education, adults and persons with special educational needs. The process will be accompanied by implementation of activities for validation of non-formal and informal learning. Based on the revised VET Curricula, specific VET curricula for students with special needs will be developed. Sectors/programmes for professional career and orientation support to graduates will be established. The relations between the Regional VET Centres and the private sector will be extended ensuring better compliance of the teaching programmes and process with the needs of the relevant business in terms of skills and capacities.

The Regional VET centres were selected with the support of the European Training Foundation (ETF) mapping out the potential in the VET sector and on the grounds of criteria such as current reasonably high performance level, private sector engagement and local support. They will be located in: for Polog region is the Vocational High School "Mosa Pijade" – Tetovo; for North-Eastern region is the Vocational High School "Kiro Burnaz" - Kumanovo, and for South – Western region is the Municipal Catering and Tourism School "Vanco Pitosevski" – Ohrid.

Dual Education Concept in Vocational Education and Training

Three-year dual vocational education project was piloted starting from 2017/18, based to the German example. The project helped companies working in the industry to obtain professional staff, having in mind that students will be preparing for work in a particular company during their secondary education. The Government pursued the implementation of the dual education in secondary vocational education. Companies are able to provide scholarships for high school students who will be obliged to work in those companies for a certain period of time after their graduation. In the school year 2019/2020, vocational education is conducted in seven vocational education schools (in Kavadarci, Ohrid, Prilep, Bitola, Veles, Skopje, Gostivar), for three educational profiles: technician for industrial mechatronics; technician for manufacturing machinery and electrician - electric motor on power grids.

Financial Expert Group – FEG to deal with VET financing established

In December 2019, the Ministry of Education and Science in North Macedonia established a working group (Financial Expert Group - FEG), with representatives of the Cabinet of the Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of North Macedonia in charge of economic affairs, key ministries (education and science, labor and social policy, finance, economy, local government), institutions (Center for vocational education and training) and employers (Chamber of Craftsmen, Economic Chamber of Macedonia and the Council of Foreign Investors, as well as Economic Chamber of Northwest Macedonia). FEG, supported by E4E@mk and ETF has a mandate to propose to the Government of North Macedonia models for improving and innovating the current VET financing, with greater involvement of the business sector.