First EQET SEE VET component project management meeting
The first Enhancements in the quality of education and training in SEE – EQET SEE project management meeting within the VET component was organised by the ERI SEE Secretariat on 14 December 2021 in Belgrade. The meeting gathered 27 participants, VET and qualification agencies and chambers of commerce representatives, from six partner economies: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo*, the Republic of North Macedonia, Serbia as well as a representative of the EQET SEE project strategic partner – the OeAD and the ERI SEE Secretariat project team.
The main objective of the meeting was to provide a detailed presentation of the project objectives and activities, their implementation timeline and open the floor for the discussion of the future steps and procedures.
The meeting was opened by welcome addressees from Mr Gojko Banović, SEE VET Net Chair, Ms Monika Mott of the OeAD and Ms Tina Šarić, director of the ERI SEE Secretariat and the EQET SEE project manager.
Ms Ivana Živadinović, the regional project coordinator, provided the overview of the project outputs and activities. The EQET SEE project will be implemented in the period 01 October 2021 and 30 September 2024 by the ERI SEE Secretariat as the lead partner and VET agencies and chambers of commerce from six participating economies as implementing parntners. The project is funded by the Austrian Development Agency with funds of Austrian Development Cooperation and co-funded by the ERI SEE.
With the total budget of 2027399€ it will aim at contributing to the reduction of youth unemployment in SEE by supporting the development of labour-market oriented, socially inclusive and high quality education. The project will focus on increasing the labour market relevance of VET provision and enhancing quality assurance (aspects of external evaluation of institutions) in pre-tertiary education. The first, VET strand of the project, will aim at reaching the following objectives:
- Improved national curricula that integrates work-based learning elements and are based on regionally agreed occupational standards and qualification standards, relying on labour market relevant skills and learning outcomes through:
- Improving cooperation between business and education sector in VET at regional and national level
- Developing and adopting labour-market oriented, regionally based occupational standards
- Developing and adopting regionally based, equitable inclusive and sustainable qualification standards with labour-market relevant learning outcomes
- Developing and adopting curricula incorporating WBL, equality and sustainability relevant attitudes
- Increased competences of teachers, mentors and company instructors for the implementation of national curricula integrating work-based learning elements through:
- Developing teaching and learning material
- Developing regional guidelines for implementation of the WBL components in the curricula
- Developing quality assurance recommendations for the implementation of curricula with work-based learning equality and sustainability elements
- Developing and implemented training modules for trainers for teachers, company instructors and school coordinators.
The first steps within the project will be organising the project Kick-off meting to introduce the project to the wider audience and to finalise the activities related to establishing project consortium and signing cooperation agreements.
* This designation is without prejudice to positions on status and is in line with UNCSCR 1244 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo declaration of independence.