2023
Key takeaways
The 2023 Torino Process system report for North Macedonia provides insight into the performance of the vocational education and training (VET) system. While learners often find alternatives to VET more appealing, efficient systemic management and a strong legal framework showcase the country's commitment to improving VET for better adaptation to the changing work environment. Targeted actions appear to be strengthening the attractiveness of VET and contributing to a steady increase in the rates of VET enrolment.
Where North Macedonia’s VET system performs particularly well is the success with which graduates move into the labour market. The establishment of three Regional VET Centres, increases in practical education hours, and initiatives to strengthen links between VET and employers all contribute to this notable performance. While the consistent pursuit of excellence and innovation is yet to be achieved, there is a focused commitment to enhancing the quality and relevance of learning and training outcomes which could help to increase the performance and therefore the appeal of VET in North Macedonia in the coming years.
In spite of this positive progress, there are areas in need of development. Strengthening the professional capacity of staff in leadership positions should be a priority to ensure more effective management of VET institutions. The quality of material resources is an area of concern and improvements are needed to ensure the creation of conducive learning environments and the provision of effective teaching and training materials. However, the steps being taken to address these deficiencies should start to bolster these areas of VET system performance in the near future.
Access to learning
Access and participation to learning is the area of monitoring that helps countries capture the extent to which initial VET, continuing VET and other learning opportunities are accessible and attractive for learners, irrespective of who they are and why they wish to participate in learning. It also indicates the success with which learners progress through, and graduate from, the VET system.
The Torino Process monitoring results for North Macedonia reveal that despite a robust legal framework, young and adult learners in North Macedonia often find alternatives to initial and continuing VET more attractive.
The vast majority of VET learners in North Macedonia are likely to progress and graduate successfully, showcasing a strength of North Macedonia’s VET system. Supportive measures put in place include mentoring and programmes aimed at ensuring course completion. This means the VET system effectively aids learners and responds to different learner needs.
In North Macedonia, VET offers strong support for the transition from VET to higher levels of general education. Nonetheless, enhancing the flexibility for learners to switch between consecutive VET and general education pathways could further improve educational choices and prospects for students.
The Torino Process is a biennial review of vocational education and training systems (VET), designed to analyse the ways in which national VET systems address the challenges of human capital development. It was established by the European Training Foundation (ETF) in 2010 and has been carried out in partner countries in South Eastern Europe, Turkey, Eastern Europe, Central Asia and the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean ever since.
Evaluating performance against a selection of national and international indicators, the Torino Process covers three major areas of lifelong learning: Access to Learning, Quality of Learning and System Organisation.
Quality of learning
Quality and relevance of learning is the area of monitoring that identifies the extent to which the VET system succeeds in providing basic skills and key competences to young and adult learners. It highlights the relevance of VET programmes to the world of work and the success with which VET graduates enter the labour market. Also monitored is the extent to which excellence is pursued in relation to programme content, delivery and social inclusion, as well as systemic innovation which helps the VET system to respond to the evolving needs of learners and labour markets.
VET in North Macedonia delivers a higher level of basic skills and competences to young learners compared to adult learners. This suggests a disparity in the effectiveness of the system in delivering quality education and training that targets the needs of different learner age groups.
At odds with this positive performance is an apparent limited connection of VET to the world of work, with educational programmes displaying a disconnect between the practical demands of the labour market. North Macedonia, responding to this system weakness, has updated curricula to increase practical teaching hours and taken steps to nurture closer involvement of companies in the VET system.
In addition, the establishment of three Regional VET Centres should help increase the relevance of VET to regional labour market needs, enhancing the successful transition from education to employment.
While the VET system appears less open to innovation, decision-makers and practitioners are prioritising efforts to improve the quality of learning and training outcomes.
Although the appeal of VET in North Macedonia still faces challenges, much progress is being made to increase the rates of enrolment, participation and successful graduation. Initiatives to enhance programme relevance, increase dual education classes and actively support learners on their learning journey appear to be strengthening the attractiveness of VET. Attention to address obstacles impeding entry to the system will help to improve participation from a broader spectrum of learners.
System organisation
System organisation is the area of monitoring that captures performance in various domains of systems management and administration. It looks into whether practitioners and leaders can access data and evidence to support informed decision-making, the level of stakeholder involvement in the governance of VET, the quality and capacity of staff in leadership positions, and the degree of internationalisation Additionally, monitoring the human and financial resources allocated to the VET system helps assess if these resources support effective teaching, training, and learning.
North Macedonia is working to improve the accessibility and use of data in VET to enhance its ability to monitor and evaluate the system. A notable strength of the system is its openness to the active involvement of external stakeholders. This has positively impacted the development of the country’s VET strategy and is likely to be a contributor to the system’s strong performance in the areas of public accountability and quality assurance.
The VET system shows a promising degree of internationalisation, and the involvement in Erasmus + projects and the Regional Challenge Fund should help North Macedonia significantly target these fundamental infrastructure issues and teacher training challenges.
The strength of North Macedonia’s VET system lies in its openness to external stakeholders, positively impacting the development of the VET strategy and contributing to strong public accountability. This could help to boost the awareness and appeal of VET as an attractive educational option. While the level of financial and human resources underscores a commitment to invest in and efficiently manage the system, significant challenges in the quality of material resources are evident. However, North Macedonia is proactively addressing these deficiencies, and participation in Erasmus+ projects and the Regional Challenge Fund signal potential solutions to overcoming these resourcing hurdles.
Promoting access and participation in opportunities for lifelong learning
Supporting quality and relevance of lifelong learning
Index of system performance
System performance
International comparability of performance results
Evidence for this monitoring was collected and analysed from September 2022 until April 2023. In addition to the internationally comparable indicators covered by the Torino Process monitoring framework, a supplementary questionnaire for national authorities and stakeholders in North Macedonia was used to gather additional information.
In addition to messages about system performance, the monitoring delivers information about the international comparability of results of each country, the extent to which these results might be susceptible to bias, and how self-critical a country is when it reports about its policy and system performance for external monitoring purposes.
The monitoring results of North Macedonia are more internationally comparable than those of other countries. On a scale from 0 (least internationally comparable) to 100 (fully internationally comparable), the overall comparability of monitoring results for Bosnia and Herzegovina is 51 out of 100. North Macedonia has a lower risk of bias than the international average, and it also tends to self-assess the performance of its VET system somewhat more critically than other countries, on average.