North Macedonia 2024

Key takeaways

Although not yet the first choice for many young or adult learners, VET in North Macedonia is gradually becoming more attractive. The continued expansion of dual education and a steady rise in enrolment point to a system that is becoming more responsive to learner and labour market needs. In continuing VET, the government has broadened access through a growing number of accredited and non-accredited programmes, including those supported by the Ministry of Economy and aligned with industry demand. Still, limited awareness, socio-economic barriers, and concerns about programme relevance remain obstacles to broader participation.

Learners who enrol in VET benefit from a supportive environment. Most progress well and complete their studies, thanks in part to structured mentoring and support measures for those at risk of dropping out. The system also enables progression to higher levels of education with few formal barriers. However, transitions between general and vocational education remain less flexible. Improving these horizontal pathways would give learners greater freedom to adapt their educational choices as their interests or circumstances change.

Efforts to improve public accountability and quality assurance have been reinforced by long-standing stakeholder engagement and alignment with EU quality standards. These developments contribute to a more transparent and credible VET system. At the same time, material conditions such as school infrastructure and teaching resources continue to present difficulties. Leadership capacity is another area in need of attention, particularly in terms of ongoing professional development. Participation in regional and international initiatives, including Erasmus+ and the Regional Challenge Fund, is helping address some of these structural issues and could support further progress in the years ahead.

Access to learning

Monitoring in the area of access to and participation to learning helps countries assess the extent to which initial VET, continuing VET and other learning opportunities are accessible and attractive to all learners, regardless of their individual backgrounds or reasons for participating. The data also reflects how well learners can expect to progress through and graduate from these learning opportunities.

Opportunities for lifelong learning: access and participation

The Torino Process monitoring results for North Macedonia indicate that, despite a supportive legal framework, VET is still not the preferred educational choice for many young or adult learners. Both initial and continuing VET remain less attractive than other learning options. Factors such as limited awareness of VET, socio-economic barriers, and doubts about the relevance of programmes contribute to this trend. Nevertheless, the system has seen gradual improvements. Notably, authorities have expanded the dual education model, which is helping to boost enrolment in initial VET. In continuing VET, the government has increased the availability of accredited and non-accredited programmes, including some aligned with the Ministry of Economy’s yearly initiatives responding to industry needs.

The vast majority of VET learners in North Macedonia progress and graduate successfully, which is a clear area of strength. This reflects the country's targeted efforts to support learners, such as providing mentors, tutoring, and programmes for those at risk of dropping out. As a result, the VET system shows strong performance in helping students complete their studies, especially those who stay within the VET track.

In addition, North Macedonia supports vertical progression from VET to higher education, where learners face relatively few formal barriers. However, moving between general and vocational pathways remains more difficult. Improving this horizontal flexibility would give learners more choice and make it easier to adapt their educational paths as their goals evolve.

VET in North Macedonia is showing signs of gradual improvement, especially in enrolment and completion rates. Measures such as the expansion of dual education and targeted learner support are making a difference. However, the system still struggles with broader attractiveness and accessibility—particularly in continuing VET. Enhancing flexibility between pathways and addressing non-formal barriers such as awareness, cost, and programme relevance will be important next steps in strengthening the VET offer for all learners.

The Torino Process is a regular review of national systems of vocational education and training as well as adult education. It is designed to analyse the ways in which national VET systems (including adult education) address the challenges of human capital development in a lifelong learning perspective. It was established by the European Training Foundation (ETF) in 2010 and has been carried out in partner countries in Southeastern Europe, Turkey, Eastern Europe, Central Asia and the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean ever since.

Monitoring in the context of the Torino Process describes the extent to which countries deliver on their commitments to learners in support of their learning through life (lifelong learning - LLL) in three major areas of policy and system performance: access to learning, quality of learning, and system organisation.

Quality of learning

Quality and relevance of learning is the area of monitoring that identifies how successfully the VET system provides basic skills and key competences to both young and adult learners. It highlights the relevance of VET programmes to the world of work and how effectively VET graduates transition into the labour market. Additionally, it monitors efforts to promote excellence across key domains, including pedagogy, professional development, programme content, governance, and social inclusion, as well as the openness of the VET system to innovation in response to the evolving needs of learners and labour markets.

Lifelong learning outcomes: quality and relevance, excellence and innovation

In North Macedonia, VET helps younger learners build basic skills more effectively than it does for adults, which suggests that adult learners may not be getting the same quality of education and support. Still, many graduates from both groups are able to find jobs, showing that employers recognise and value the skills gained through VET.

At the same time, the link between VET and the workplace is not as strong as it could be. Training programmes do not always reflect what employers need in practice. To address this, authorities have revised the curriculum to include more hours of practical training and are working to involve companies more closely in the system. New Regional VET Centres have also been set up to improve how well VET meets the needs of local labour markets and to help students move into jobs more easily.

There is also a strong focus on improving quality and introducing new ideas into the system. While progress is clear in how VET is managed and in areas like inclusion, there is still room to improve how teachers are trained and how programmes are delivered. The system is not yet fully open to innovation, but efforts are being made to make learning more relevant and up to date.

The VET system in North Macedonia is making good progress in expanding access and helping learners succeed. More students are enrolling, and many are finding jobs after graduation. Reforms such as dual education and better learner support are making VET more attractive. Looking ahead, strengthening practical training, improving links with employers, and ensuring adult learners receive the same level of quality will be important steps for continuing to improve the system.

System organisation

System organisation is the area of monitoring that captures performance across various domains of management and administration. It examines whether practitioners and leaders have access to data and evidence to support informed decision-making, the level of stakeholder involvement in VET governance, the quality and capacity of staff in leadership positions, and the degree of internationalisation. Additionally, monitoring the allocation of human and financial resources to the VET system helps assess whether these resources effectively support teaching, training, and learning.

System organisation: management and resourcing

North Macedonia is making steady progress in improving the use of data in its VET system. While challenges remain—particularly in accessing reliable and internationally comparable data—the availability and use of national-level data are gradually improving. This data is increasingly used to support policy planning and implementation, even though further efforts are needed to enhance its utility for broader system monitoring and international benchmarking.

A key strength of the system lies in its openness to external stakeholders. National authorities actively involve social partners in shaping VET strategies and reforms, and stakeholder dialogue has become a consistent feature of policy development. This inclusive approach has contributed to a relatively strong performance in public accountability and has helped improve the transparency and credibility of the VET system.

Although the system benefits from adequate financial and human resources, the quality of material resources—such as teaching materials, school infrastructure, and training equipment—remains a challenge. Many VET schools struggle to provide up-to-date and effective learning environments, limiting the practical relevance and appeal of their programmes. These limitations affect both learners and teachers and pose an obstacle to improving learning outcomes across the system.

Another area in need of attention is leadership capacity. While the recruitment process for school directors is fairly structured, many leaders lack access to professional development opportunities that would help them strengthen school management and instructional leadership. This gap may be limiting the ability of institutions to implement reforms consistently and to improve quality in areas such as curricula, assessment, and teacher support.

VET in North Macedonia benefits from a high level of engagement with external stakeholders and from steady financial and human resource allocations. These factors contribute to stronger public accountability and help drive improvements. However, better infrastructure, improved teaching materials, and stronger support for school leadership are still needed. Participation in regional and international programmes provides meaningful support for addressing these issues.

Promoting access and participation in opportunities for lifelong learning

Supporting quality and relevance of lifelong learning

Index of system performance

International comparability of performance results

In addition to evaluating how well vocational education and training (VET) systems perform, the Torino Process also looks at how internationally comparable a country’s results are, how much they may be affected by bias, and how critically a country assesses its own performance. This applies to North Macedonia as well. The methodology behind the monitoring ensures that all results are supported by transparent evidence on data sources, how the data were gathered, and the basis for the national self-assessment.

The availability of internationally comparable data on VET and adult education has improved in North Macedonia since 2023, and now more of the monitoring results are internationally comparable. They are also less affected by a risk of bias. Still, compared to other countries in the Torino Process sample, North Macedonia tends to be somewhat more self-critical in the evaluation of performance of its VET system.