30 years, 30+ stories: the ETF in South Eastern Europe, a multifaceted journey in education reforming

In the previous two episodes, we focused on the ETF activities in countries that either experienced direct Soviet occupation (the Baltic States) or were effectively dependent on Moscow's political and economic system until the 1990s (Central and Eastern Europe).

In this final episode of the mini campaign on former ETF partners that are now full European Union member states, we focus on a more heterogeneous group of countries. 

Although under communist rule, especially after Stalinism, Bulgaria and Romania were somewhat different from other communist countries, also due to their geographical distance from Moscow. 

Croatia and Slovenia were the northernmost federal republics of Yugoslavia and the first to declare their sovereignty when the Federation broke up. Today, they are the only two ex-Yugoslav countries in the EU, although their neighbours have accelerated their accession negotiations, and Slovenia and Croatia themselves are strong supporters of Western Balkans enlargement.

Cyprus and Malta, surrounded by the Mediterranean Sea, are obviously exceptional cases: they didn't experience communist rule after the World War II, but their geographical peculiarities also inevitably affected their educational and employment needs. 

These countries also joined the EU at different times: Cyprus, Malta and Slovenia joined in the big enlargement of 2004, Bulgaria and Romania followed in 2007, while Croatia's accession in 2013 has shaped the EU-27 structure to date. 

Given these particularities, the ETF's approach in these countries has, where possible, been even more country-specific and flexible than in other accession countries, bringing a different set of projects, methodologies and targeted advice to their governments and stakeholders in the education and labour market systems.

Vocational training as a hook for EU membership: is it all about employment?

As seen in the previous two episodes, pre-accession assistance had an inevitable impact on the ETF's work in the candidate countries. The 'redirection' of Phare in 1997 brought a new buzzword familiar to everyone involved in EU projects: the Acquis Communautaire, formulated at the Copenhagen Council in 1993. However, the Commission made no explicit demands for VET reform in the candidate countries, and concern among ETF partners exploded. "If VET reform isn't a priority for Phare, there is a risk that it won't be a priority for our governments," stakeholders in accession countries worried at the end of the 1990s.

These fears turned out to be unfounded: perhaps training was not really a priority at the time, but employment was the priority in the European Union. 

"For most policymakers, training issues are not very exciting. But link them to employment and unemployment and you'll get a lot more interest," the ETF's first director, Peter de Rooij, once remarked.

The picture was also different in many of these countries. In contrast to other Phare countries, Slovenia had already developed a White Paper on Education in the early 1990s and had started VET reforms before the start of the Phare programme, which made it easier to implement reforms and keep them on track even after the end of the programmes. Romania, on the other hand, received the largest share of Phare VET programmes, € 25 million (almost a third of the total), and took significant steps to modernise training programmes and vocational education system. 

Cedefop's country-specific approach after different transitions

Cyprus, Malta and Slovenia were part of the 2004 ‘Big Bang’ enlargement and were among the ten countries that moved from the ETF to Cedefop in terms of support for VET reform. 

"The initiatives taken in these countries underline attractiveness, flexibility and labour market relevance as key characteristics of their VET systems," Anthie Kyriakopoulou, Expert on VET policies and systems at Cedefop, underlined.

The Cypriot Qualification Framework (CQF), established in 2012 and aligned with the European Qualification Framework (EQF) in 2017, includes vocational qualifications awarded through non-formal learning. “National reforms in Cyprus aimed at increasing quality and attractiveness of VET for youth. Efforts are focusing also at supporting participation of adults in lifelong learning and strengthen VET for the youth and adults to tackle youth unemployment and labour shortages and bottlenecks,” said Mara Brugia, Deputy Director at Cedefop.

Malta’s eight-level qualifications framework (MQF) was referenced to the EQF in 2009, while in the 2014 a reform on apprenticeships in VET. A remarkable reform in the Maltese VET system “was the introduction of the project ‘MyJourney: achieving through different paths’, which started being implemented in 2015 following a pilot in 2011. The project involved the introduction of VET subjects into lower secondary compulsory education,” told Mara Brugia.

Slovenia increased the share of work-based learning in IVET programmes between 2005 and 2010. More recently, "with the strategy for the development of higher education adopted in 2019, the Ministry of Education has given new impetus to the development of higher vocational education. Short-cycle higher vocational programmes are well integrated into the economic environment and respond to its needs," Mara Brugia continues.

In 2007 it was Bulgaria and Romania's turn. Romania adopted its National Qualifications Framework (ROQF) in 2013, aligning with the EQF in 2018. Covering all learning contexts, ROQF also supports the validation of non-formal and informal learning, coordinated by the National Qualifications Authority. 

"Since 2007, the country has been continuously adapting its diverse VET system with vocational, occupational and technological pathways to reduce early school leaving, increase participation in adult learning and better match VET with labour market needs," told Mara Brugia.

Bulgaria’s eight-level qualifications framework (BQF) was referenced to the EQF in 2013. Since 2007, Bulgaria’s major reform for the VET system was the introduction of dual training (or dual VET). The principle of dual training was introduced by VET Act in July 2014. Dual VET  from 2015 to 2018 and started being fully implemented as of 2019.

The EU's newest member, Croatia, "has focused on developing both work-based learning and lifelong learning over the last 10 years," Anthie Kyriakopoulou said.

"In 2019, the first WorldSkills Croatia competition was held, demonstrating the reformed model of VET learner competitions. It is now the leading national event for the promotion of VET. In 2018, twenty-five VET schools were designated as regional centres of competences, aimed at promoting the successful transition of VET graduates to the labour market," Mara Brugia added. 

In 2023, Cedefop and the Croatian Ministry of Education and Science launched a joint project on upskilling pathways, which aims to identify specific needs and recommend policy reforms to improve upskilling in the country. 

As the last country to join the European single market, Croatia is potentially a model for future accession countries in the Western Balkans, and not only, for a fast yet high-quality reform path in VET. The joint and complementary work of the ETF and Cedefop in newer Member States is a guarantee for the future of VET system in today's candidate countries.