A trend towards apprenticeshipin EU neighbouring countries ?

Helmut Zelloth, ETFINAP Conference ‘Assuring the Acquisition of Expertise:

Apprenticeship in the Modern Economy’Beijing, 27 May 2011

A quick overview …

(1) The wider project(2) Context for apprenticeship

(3) Preliminary results of a mapping(4) Country examples (innovations)

The wider project

Innovation and learning (ILP)

project

A three-year project, focus on work-based learning (incl. apprenticeship), aiming

- to raise awareness and policy sensitivity for WBL and apprenticeship in 30 partner countries(through enhancing the knowledge-base, networking of teachers/ trainers and policymakers)

- to develop methodologies and tools for WBL and AP (Multiple toolbox, eg. methodology to assess feasibility of WBL and apprenticeship, handbook for policymakers, concept and guidelines for TT and education-business cooperation, policy briefs, drawing lessons for practical learning in school workshops)

ILP – Year 1

Case studies on formal/informal apprenticeship (factors, systemic drivers)

Focus Group on TT (VET policy makers and social partners from four countries)

WBL analysis and tools - Literature review (on benefits,

obstacles and potentials of WBL)

- Compendium of interesting policy and practice examples (EU and internationally)

- International Expert Panel (meeting, papers on priority themes commissioned)

- Mapping and analysis of WBL in 30 partner countries

EU Member States

Countries to be reviewed (30)

Eastern Europe and Central Asia (12)Ukraine, Russian Federation, Belarus, Georgia, Armenia, Moldova, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan

South Eastern Europe (5)Albania, Serbia, Montenegro, Kosovo, Bosna and Herzegovina

EU candidate countries (4)Croatia, Iceland, Turkey, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia

Mediterranean region (9)Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Occupied Palestinian Territory, Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria

Context for apprenticeship

CONTEXT FOR APPRENTICESHIP

EU neighbouring

countries

Weak education/business

cooperation

VET systems mainlysmall- or medium-sized

and school-based

External and internal challenges in reforming

VET

Academic drift in education and society

Low attractivenessand relevance of VET

CONTEXTFOR

APPRENTICESHIP

Scope and Potential for apprenticeship and WBL seems to be huge (despite the manifold challenges and obstacles) – major reasons:

(A) School-based VET has structural limits in preparing sound human capital

(B) Growing bottlenecks of public funding of VET coupled with high population growth

(C) Stipulated ‘knowledge economy’ requires new forms of learning (situated/contextualised, integrating work and learning)

Preliminary results

of a mapping

Sure is … … that apprenticeship is an issue and present in most EU neighbouring countries (as confirmed by different reports)

… and that …

… some EU neighbouring countries have well established apprenticehip systems (i.e. Turkey, Ukraine, Croatia, Algeria, Morocco, Jordan)

… other countries have long-established apprenticeship programmes (i.e. Egypt, Israel)

… a number of countries have recent pilots on apprenticeship (Syria, Lebanon, OPT, former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Albania, Kazakhstan)

… there are also countries which do not have at all apprenticeship (Serbia, Moldova, Taijkistan, Turkmenistan)

A trend for apprenticeship ?

7 (Tunisia, Jordan, Syria, OPT, former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo

Upward – stagnation

↑→

1 MontenegroDOWNWARD trend↓

8 (Israel, Croatia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan)

Stagnation – downward

→↓

10 (Turkey, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Albania, Morocco, Lebanon, Algeria, Egypt)

UWARD trend↑

Upward – DownwardTrend by countries

Future Perspectivesof Apprenticeship

Key Questions are …

If apprenticeship is there, is it relevant and quality-based in EU neighbouring countries ? How can it be improved? How to ensure ‘Learnership’? Which lessons can be learned from research/from other countries?

If apprenticeship is not there, why it is not - and can it be established as response to a labour market demand ? What are the impeding factors and which preconditions/key ingredients need to be in place?

Country examples(innovations)

ALBANIAPost-secondary Dual

Study Program ‘FASTIP’

Post-secondary (tertiary) VET level – three-year managment program in three branches (banking, torism and SME management, pilot project 2008-2012)- alternating mode (cycles of 3 month classroom learning followed by learning in the workplace) - 180 credits (ECTS), awarded ‘Bachelor’- companies involved highly satisfied, job prospects for students promising- some teething problems, initiative still an ‘Alien’ in the VET scene

New Initial VET pathway piloted by EU project (‘Cooperative VET’) - very recent initiative with enterprise involvement, training centres in enterprises

- 50-60% practice orientation (both school and enterprise), out of which up to 70% in enterprises in technical VET fields, up to 40% in economy and administration, 25-30% in humanitarian VET areas

- amendments to Education Law planned for 2011 which will include ‘Cooperative VET’ as a new VET pathway

KAZAKHSTAN ‘Cooperative VET’

Other country examples

LEBANON ’Dual system’ introduced in 1990-s, became popular, latest initiative ‘Meister’ Further Training providing higher qualification and opening path for higher positios in labour market, recognised certificate at technician level (industrial mechanics, car mechatronics), 2 years course, 2-5 years experience required, evidence of successful graduates)

SYRIA pilot apprenticeship introduced in 2002 as the first ‘demand oriented’ VET in the country, two occupations at secondary level (mechanical handling and ready-made garment) and two specialisations at intermediate level (mould making and automatic control)

MOLDOVA draft Education Code (2010) mentions for the first time the opening up to internships and initial forms of apprenticeship

Thank you for your attention !

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