Support for competence centres in the context of vocational education and training reforms in Kosovo

Context

Kosovo’s vocational education and training system has been subject to a reform process for some time, the purpose of which is to bring qualitative and quantitative improvements to the training provided by vocational schools. In the long run, this should increase the competitiveness of businesses and reduce unemployment, particularly among young people.

One of the main objectives is to produce s system that offers training tailored to the needs of the business sector. By making training compatible with the European Qualifications Framework, the aim is also to make Kosovo more attractive to investors while increasing the mobility of the labour-force.

Objective

The training offered at competence centres and other selected vocational schools has improved.

Approach

The project supports the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MEST) in implementing the reforms to the vocational education and training system. The Government of Kosovo attaches particular importance to developing competence centres in sectors that promise particular business development potential, and to the creation of a new Agency for Vocational Education and Training and Adult Education (AVETAE). Through this agency, the project will support the further development of the competence centres. In cooperation with the private sector, it is striving to establish demand-driven vocational education and training programmes, both in the competence centres and in the schools aspiring to become competence centres.

The project is advising the Ministry on establishing the AVETAE. Through training measures for the agency’s staff, for the management and teachers of the schools and for representatives of the private sector, the project is building up its partners’ capacities to take over management tasks and to bring sustained improvements to the services on offer. The project is also assisting the competence centres and other effective vocational schools in various regions of Kosovo to develop demand-oriented and sector-specific training courses, as well as other labour market services.

The project cooperates closely with other donors supporting the development of Kosovo’s vocational training system. MEST and the Hamburg Institute of Vocational Training (HIBB) have concluded a formal agreement for their direct cooperation.

The consulting firm GFA supports the implementation of the project.

Results achieved so far

The project provided advice on the vocational education and training law, and on an executive order regulating the creation of the AVETAE. These steps have established the legal basis for the focused management of the vocational training system and, at the same time, for the increased of autonomy of individual schools.

Quality assurance criteria and a candidate process for schools hoping to attain competence centre status have been developed jointly with the partners. For the first time, the private business sector in Kosovo is also showing greater interest in contributing financially to further education measures in a number of sectors, such as automobiles, green technologies and construction. In this way, it will directly support the improvement of the vocational education system in Kosovo.