Šehović: Vocational schools must not have a pejorative meaning

Minister of Education Damir Šehović said today that the Ministry of Education, guided by the needs of employers, and the fact that Montenegro has been employing thousands of foreigners for years, namely those staff that our country can produce with quality, decided to start a system of dual education.

"This is a priority of the Ministry of Education, but also a national issue, which solves a multi-decade structural problem, so that we do not constantly end up in a situation where we produce personnel that the market does not need, or that we look for personnel that we do need outside of Montenegro," he said. Šehović at today's round table on dual education, which was opened by the president of the Union of Employers of Montenegro (UPCG), Svetlana Vuksanović and Šehović.

Šehović said that the number of students and employers who are in the dual system will be doubled from September, i.e. there will be between 150 and 200 employers and about 500 children.

He also pointed out that, if Montenegro replaces the imported workforce with domestic staff for only a third, 5.000 jobs will be created for staff from Montenegro.

"Vocational schools must not have a pejorative meaning," concluded Šehović, noting that children who graduate from secondary vocational schools also have access to related faculties, if they decide to continue their education.

As announced by the UPCG, the round table was another opportunity for the Ministry of Education to meet with the Montenegrin economy as part of the campaign "Professional is key! Get a job, earn and build yourself - dual education", and to hear the opinions of businessmen about the previous year application of this system, but also plans for the future.

Vuksanović spoke about the fact that the Union in its earlier reports constantly emphasized that it is necessary for education to cooperate much more with employers in the realization of practical classes, and that stimulating measures are needed for both children and employers in order to focus more on secondary vocational education schools, and concluded her presentation by stating that dual education is a huge step forward in that direction.

Slobodan Mikavica, vice-president of the Union of Employers of Montenegro, said that since last year, when it began to be implemented, the dual system was only an upward issue, because it was a project that "was not imposed from above", but came about precisely as an articulation of needs and requirements of the economy and the market itself.

He pointed out that "both children and employers were constantly "under scrutiny"" and that so far he has not heard of any major problems, which also indicates that it is really a quality initiative".

The director of the Vocational Education Center, Duško Rajković, said that between 40 and 60 people work on the development of vocational school programs, and their key part is precisely the so-called Occupational standard.

"It is done almost exclusively by employers, with the coordination of the Center for Vocational Education," Rajković said.

The director of the Directorate in the Ministry of Education, Veljko Tomić, also addressed the audience, who pointed out the example of the ambassadors of the European Union member states whose education came from secondary vocational schools.