Increasing the quality and attractiveness of vocational education and training in Western Balkan countries
Not only in Austria increasing shortage of skilled workers is a fundamental challenge for companies and economic growth in general. Due to demographic developments as well as brain drain the demand for skilled workers is also increasing in the countries of the Western Balkans. Increasing the labour market relevance of vocational education and training has therefore been a high priority in all Western Balkan countries for many years. The aim is to make a significant contribution to employment and economic growth with attractive vocational education and training relevant to the labour market. In this respect the Western Balkan countries are very interested in exchanging ideas with Austria, especially with regard to the introduction of dual training and other formats of in-company learning.
At the invitation of the President of the National Council, Wolfgang Sobotka, and Jakob Calice, Managing Director of the OeAD, Austria’s Agency for Education and Internationalisation, an exchange of experiences and ideas on vocational education and training took place among parliamentarians from education committees of the Western Balkan countries and Austria in Vienna on 10 October 2022.
The President of the National Council, Wolfgang Sobotka, emphasises the role of parliamentary cooperation in the Western Balkan countries: “Austria supports the aspired EU membership of the Western Balkan countries. The parliamentary education committees play a key role in creating an effective legal framework, which is why the exchange of experiences and ideas is of paramount importance in the development of their vocational education and training systems, and investment in the training of young people is central in this context. Regional cooperation between the Western Balkan countries and Austria – not only in education – plays a central part and, with the establishment of the Democracy Workshop, the Austrian Parliament implements a flagship project of the Austrian Parliament in the region!”
Jakob Calice, the OeAD’s managing director, emphasises: “Vocational education and training systems must therefore respond in a flexible way to the changing requirements of the labour market and offer attractive learning paths for young people. To achieve this goal effective partnerships with the private sector and legal framework conditions that ensure both flexibility and quality of vocational education and training are needed. The OeAD supports the exchange of experience with its decades of experience in educational cooperation in pre-university education in Eastern and South-eastern Europe. Our regional OeAD cooperation offices in Sarajevo and Tirana are an essential key to fostering sustainable educational cooperation.”
This discussion round between parliamentarians was embedded in a broad exchange of experience between some 60 experts from ministries of education, vocational training agencies, and chambers of commerce from Austria and the Western Balkan countries within the framework of the “Western Balkan Alliance for Work-Based Learning”.
Since 2016 significant steps have been taken in all Western Balkan countries to strengthen cooperation with the private sector and to introduce dual elements and other forms of in-companylearning into the vocational education and training systems. The creation of the appropriate legal framework is a key success factor in this regard. The Austrian Chamber of Commerce (WKO), OeAD and ADA have supported the exchange of experience with Austria in this process in all Western Balkan countries by means of projects and activities.
In 2016, as part of the Berlin Process, Austria initiated a dialogue between representatives of the vocational education and training systems and the private sector of the Western Balkan countries within the framework of the conference “Building a Western Balkan Alliance for Work-based Learning” to increase the quality of vocational education and training. This conference gave rise to the “Western Balkan Alliance for Work-based Learning”.
The organisational basis is ERI SEE (Education Reform Initiative of SEE) as a platform of the ministries of education and CIF (Western Balkan Chambers Investment Forum).
This year’s meeting in Vienna was organised by Austria’s Agency for Education and Internationalisation – OeAD together with the Parliament and ERI SEE and in cooperation with the Austrian Chamber of Commerce (WKO) and the Western Balkans 6 Chambers Investment Forum.
Further information: www.oead.at/educoop
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