On 1 October 2007, the project “VET System Reform III – Copenhagen Process in BiH” held its first meeting. The European Union has supported reform of the Vocational Education and Training (VET) system since 1998, having invested 11 million Euro. A modern and continuous VET system, as promoted by the Copenhagen Declaration, provides for the vertical and horizontal mobility of students.
Participants in the meeting included representatives of key stakeholders in the education and labour market sectors: entity Ministries of Education and social partners.
BiH has committed itself to improve the quality of education in line with the Bologna and Lisbon Declarations. The Copenhagen Declaration provides policy guidance on the strengthening of the European dimension of VET and the promotion of mobility of the VET graduate labour force. About 70% of students in secondary education enrol into VET programmes.
Issues to be addressed by this two-year project include the classification of occupations teacher training, the upgrading of equipment and the establishment of better linkages between the VET system, post-secondary education, higher education, adult education and labour market actors. The project deals with the development of a National Qualification Framework.
The VET reform that started in 1998 and progressed since then has achieved significant results, including: Modernized curricula for general subjects have been developed and are in use in approx. 60 % of all vocational schools. The VET Council has been established for BiH, comprised of representatives of educational authorities, trade union, companies, schools and employment offices. A new nomenclature of occupations was developed and agreed between the education ministries, which reduced the number of occupations from the former 500 to 100 broader occupations. Out off 13 occupational families, 8 have been included in the reform of curricula. Reformed curricula for all occupations have been developed for 5 out of 8 of those occupational families. A strategy for development of the VET system in BiH until 2013 has been submitted for approval to the Council of Ministers. A strategy for adult education in VET is under preparation. The VET Law is in approval procedure in the BiH Parliament. A VET database has been established on students, teachers, curricula etc.
It is expected that new VET project will have positive impact on the overall social and economical development. A modern initial and continuous VET system, as promoted by the Copenhagen Declaration, provides pathway for the vertical and horizontal mobility of students and tools for a quick and efficient training and retraining of adults, thus directly contributing to poverty reduction. Such a flexible system provides students and graduates with wider choice in their career development and enhances the employability of the labour force.
