The deficit of occupations and the mismatch of the necessary skills with the education system are problems that all the countries of the Danube region have, said the head of the delegation of participants in the "Learning By Doing" project Željka Kelkedi from the Chamber of Commerce of Slovenia during her visit to Montenegro.
She pointed out that the "Learning by doing" project was approved as part of the first call of the Danube Program. It is financed by the European Fund for Regional Development. The project holder is the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Budapest, and as partners, chambers of commerce and other institutions that are in any way connected with vocational education from Austria, Germany, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Bulgaria, Romania, Moldova, Ukraine participate. , the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The Chamber of Commerce of Montenegro has the status of an associated partner in this project.
"The main goal of the project is to improve the capacities of participants in vocational education through the strengthening of national and international partnerships in the Danube region for the purpose of more efficiently renewing the vocational education system, which would reduce the gap between knowledge and the needs of the labor market," explained Kelkedi.
Project activities are a critical analysis of existing professional education programs in partner countries, analysis of strategies on the reform of the apprenticeship system, preparation of recommendations on how to integrate experiences from the dual professional education program into the national training system, preparation of guides, study visits, staff exchange and interactive workshops.
The Chamber of Commerce of Montenegro announced that the result of this project is the development of a strategy at the level of the Danube region related to the modernization of the professional education system. The result is the establishment of an observatory of professional training and education that will connect project partners so that even after its completion, they will support each other and exchange examples of good practice.
Kelkedi believes that Montenegro can keep pace in this field through cooperation with European countries and the exchange of good practices.
"Similar occupations are included in the dual system in Slovenia and Montenegro. In Slovenia, the second generation of students began their education under the dual system this year. Unlike Montenegro, students in Slovenia are less interested in this system, while companies are more interested. We will bring useful experiences from Montenegro that we will apply to our system, and they relate to the fact that students who participate in dual education promote its values and motivate others to get involved in this project," she said.
The delegation of the participants of the "Learning By Doing" project, which is related to the improvement of professional education, visited prominent actors of Montenegrin professional and dual education - the Chamber of Commerce, the Center for Vocational Education, the Vocational High School "Spasoje Raspopović", the Hilton hotel, the Inpek bakery and a hair salon. "Zoran".
The Director of the Education and Quality Sector of PKCG Mladen Perazić reminded that this oldest business association in Montenegro initiated the introduction of the dual education system that began in 2004.
He explained that it was done according to the German model, but that, after several years of application, the need was established for the legislation regulating dual education to be more flexible. After the adoption of new legislation, the implementation of this type of education continued last year.
"In countries where the dual education system is implemented, youth unemployment is the lowest. At the meetings it organizes, the Chamber of Commerce always emphasizes the advantages of the dual education system and especially the benefits for employers who are involved in that process. Our association is advocating that companies participating in dual education be given tax incentives, because these businessmen work for the development of Montenegro, in accordance with the principles of social responsibility", said Perazić.
He pointed out that the Chamber makes an important contribution to the informal education of its members' representatives through the organization of seminars, workshops, round tables, and conferences.
The director of the Center for Vocational Education, Duško Rajković, said that the focus of this institution is on cooperation with the economy and educational institutions in order to realize the highest quality of all types of education. Presenting the Center, he said that it was founded in 2003 by the Government, the Chamber of Commerce, the Employment Agency and the Union of Trade Unions as an umbrella institution for professional education.
"As far as dual education is concerned, the 2017/18 school year included 270 students and 101 employers. This year, the participation of 169 new employers has been announced, that is, in addition to the existing 101, 270 of them will be involved in dual education, and we would not be surprised if that number were even higher. Almost all of them are from the private sector. Dual education is implemented by 27 schools in 19 municipalities, and employers are from 21 municipalities," said Rajković.
Speaking about the number of schools and employers per municipality that are in this system, Rajković pointed to the problem of insufficient involvement of restaurateurs from Budva in dual education for the occupations of cook and waiter.
"In Budva, I believe that we should have at least 30 employers who would train future chefs and waiters through this system, and at the moment we only have one and that is the Splendid hotel," emphasized Rajković.
During the visit to the Vocational High School "Spasoje Raspopović", the delegation got acquainted with the conditions for conducting practical classes in its laboratories, workshops, dairy, bakery, hair salon...
"The school strives to complement the students' knowledge acquired in practical classes with cooperation with employers, which we can boast about. It takes place, among other things, through the implementation of a dual education system for hairdresser, baker, precious metal worker, fashion tailor and food product manufacturer programs," said school director Ljeposava Vuksanović.
She said that in 2018/2019 implement the dual education system at the school through cooperation with 24 employers for five educational programs. In the previous year, the school concluded 24 individual contracts for three educational programs, with eight employers.
"Already in the first year of implementation of the dual system, we had third-grade students who were with employers. After completing their education, all of them established a working relationship with them", pointed out Vuksanović.
At the Hilton Hotel, the delegation met the students of the "Sergije Stanić" Secondary Vocational School, who are successfully studying under the dual system at this employer.
Slađana Šoć, who previously graduated from this school, is now in charge of students trained by Hilton.
"We have been in this project for a year and we are very satisfied both with its implementation and with the cooperation with the Vocational School "Sergije Stanić". The students will be trained for three years with us and at the end they will get the opportunity of employment. We have already employed two former students in our pastry shop," Šoć said.
The delegation visited the production facilities of the Inpek company, which is among the leaders in the production of bakery products in Montenegro and in the region. It has an automated, modernly equipped plant for the production of bread, pastries and fine bakery products.
Director Radivoje Bakić said that Inpek invested a lot in the development of technology and professional staff. He thinks that the dual education project is welcome and they supported it because that way they can educate the staff they need. Previously, until there was no system of dual education, in order to provide the necessary staff, they had to carry out internal training themselves.
"Inpek is open to cooperation and ready to support young people to acquire new knowledge in the field of the bakery industry," said Bakić.
The technical director of Inpek, Milko Beljkaš, assessed that the revival and encouragement of the dual system of education represents an exceptional step forward from the Ministry of Education and Vocational Secondary Schools. He believes that experts in the bakery industry have an exceptional perspective.
Hairdresser and stylist Zoran Vukčević, recognized for his academy for the training of masters of this trade and numerous awards from world competitions, pointed out during the meeting with the delegation of the "Learning By Doing" project that he has been involved in the reform of the education system from the beginning, and that through practical teaching, cooperates with its other actors. He said that this year, as in previous years, he will train students of secondary vocational schools. In the 2018/2019 school year. with him, five future hairdressers will acquire knowledge according to this education system.
During the second working day of the study visit, the delegation met at the Ministry of Education with the Director of the Directorate for General Secondary and Vocational Education Veljko Tomić, after which they summarized the results of the activities at the Chamber of Commerce.
Tomić spoke about the Ministry's activities to improve vocational education, which resulted in greater interest of students in enrolling in vocational schools, especially for third-level occupations.
"This year, we enrolled one hundred percent more students in craft occupations than last year. We are pleased with the fact that we have succeeded in this and that we have revived certain professions for which until recently there were no students interested," Tomić said.
During 2017, the Ministry awarded 125 scholarships for deficient qualifications, while this year 300 students were awarded scholarships, and part of them was determined by the Chamber of Commerce.
"In this field, we continuously have good cooperation with the Chamber of Commerce. I believe that secondary vocational education cannot survive in any country without cooperation with the economy", said Tomić.
He added that the intention of the Ministry is to modularize all programs. This year, 16 new educational programs were designed, in which the economy had a major contribution, defining what it is that a student should know after completing schooling.
"Our plan is to modularize all programs based on learning outcomes by the 2021/22 school year," Tomić said.
He said that the interest of all businessmen is the training of students through this system.
"The employer gets a young man whom you train and thus creates a staff that meets his needs. The state is trying to make it easier for the economy by paying scholarships for deficit occupations, but also fees for students in dual education. It is an attempt to lighten their burden in the medium term, until we reach the stage where employers assume the obligation to pay students, as is the practice in Austria or Germany," said Tomić.
In the Danube region, it is necessary to solve the issue of financial support
At the final meeting in the Chamber, the delegation expressed positive impressions about the progress of professional and dual education in Montenegro. They pointed out that they bring positive experiences from our country that they will try to apply in their homelands, and they were particularly impressed by the state's participation in financing students who are in the dual education program.
They assess that in the Danube region it is necessary to solve the issue of financial support for this education system, but also to improve the cooperation of the bearers of these activities with the local community. An example of good practice in Romania, which developed a software application with all the necessary information for the dual education process and connects all its stakeholders, is given. The importance of quality mentoring in this process and the role of chambers of commerce in connecting actors of dual education are highlighted. The members of the delegation pointed out that it is necessary to continue mutual communication and share knowledge in order to further develop professional education in this region.
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