Title: Reform of Vocational Education and Training in Serbia
Commissioned by: German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development
Partners: Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development of the Republic of Serbia
and Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH
Project duration: 2013-2019
Global economic crisis and transition process have led to high unemployment rate in Serbia, with young people being especially affected. In the second quarter of 2015, for the age group 15-24, the unemployment rate was 43.1%, whereas inactivity rate was 72.4%. Despite this situation, there are many vacancies in vocational and technical occupations because employers cannot find qualified staff.
The three-year technical vocational profiles currently on offer are overburdened with theory, insufficiently appealing to young people, and do not meet industrial demand for qualified, skilled labour. The acquisition of students’ practical skills is not conducted in a sufficiently systematic and effective way. While companies criticize the lack of practical knowledge of school leavers, they are still insufficiently involved in the design and implementation of vocational education.
Due to that reason, technical vocational education needs to be reformed in line with actual requirements, with the involvement of all stakeholders, primarily the companies which require assistance in building their own capacities to implement work-based learning.
Although the offer is supposed to be available to all population groups, access to vocational education and training is often more difficult for young people from disadvantaged groups and additional support measures are needed for their inclusion.
The objective of the project is to improve the offer of inclusive, demand-oriented cooperative vocational education in technical profiles, as part of the formal VET system, by introducing elements of dual education.
The project focuses on introducing the cooperative education model that draws on elements of the dual education adjusted to conditions in Serbia. The model is being tested by implementation of modernized three-year technical profiles with employment potential. The aim is to improve vocational competences of school leavers thus enhancing their employment prospects, as well as to give employers direct access to qualified staff.
Curricula of the selected educational profiles have been updated and modernized to enable acquisition of professional competences of students and increase the share of practical training phases primarily in companies. To implement the updated teaching and learning content, comprehensive capacity development is being provided for headmasters, teachers and instructors in companies.
The project is providing support to all relevant stakeholders participating in the implementation and management of the cooperative education model. Special emphasis is put on strengthening capacities of partner institutions to improve the legal framework conditions. This will create the foundations for successfully and sustainably implementing vocational education based on elements of the dual system.
Career guidance and counselling, marketing measures and development of partnerships with the private sector aim to raise awareness of the cooperative model and stimulate interest among students and their parents, as well as companies to actively participate in this model of education.
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