Reforms at two levels
Dual vocational education and training (dVET) is still unable to close the gap between the skills provided by training and those required by the job market. Current vocational education and training does not correspond to the needs of the job market. The SDC’s project known as ‘From Education to Employment’ (E2E) aims to improve job opportunities for young people, thereby offering alternatives to emigration. Switzerland is supporting reforms aimed at training a skilled workforce and encouraging more involvement by the private sector in creating jobs. The programme plans to offer assistance in the following two ways:
Reforms within the framework of the ‘Economic and Social Reform Program’ and the unified ‘National Qualification Framework’ (NQF);
Aligning supply (job seekers) and demand (employers) through developing private-public partnerships (PPPs) in the VET system.
In the first area, the reforms must enable education policy to better reflect economic needs. For example, non-formal training for adults guided and tested within the twin-track system has been integrated into the formal system through the NQF.
In the second area, five cities (Novi Pazar, Knjaževac, Pirot, Kruševac and Kragujevac) will benefit from the programme. They have unemployment rates (of 60%) even higher than the national average but have dynamic private sectors and local governments that show a strong interest in the programme. The 17,000 unemployed young people (43% of the 15-29 age group in these five municipalities) and the companies ready to invest are to be supported and young people informed about the career opportunities open to them. Between January and June 2016, 10 PPPs were set up and the procedures for cooperation between employers, job seekers, civil society, employment agencies and educational establishments are being developed.