R.4

Strengthen the capacity of autonomous VET providers

  • Training centre managers and their partners could be entrusted to participate in key decisions relating to the choice of their training offers; the recruitment and (extra) remuneration of staff; the management of the training centre (including marketing its own courses, enrolments, the development of curricula, integrating WBL, and the design of teaching and learning resources); career guidance activities; the signing of agreements with companies; the signing of other contracts (such as for renting out premises or producing products or delivering services for the local community); and the generation and use of budget. Social partners, students and family representatives can make useful contributions to the management and development of training centres.

R.3

Introduce a monitoring and evaluation system to assess progress and inform policy design

  • VET providers would need to report regularly against a nationally agreed set of indicators, for which specific management tools and guidelines would be used. This includes a comprehensive VET management information system that could help monitor processes and outcomes of autonomous VET providers and plan VET enrolments, investments in staff and facilities, etc.

R.2

Introduce new and coherent multi-level and multi-stakeholder governance arrangements at central, sectoral, regional and local levels

  • There is an issue of operationalising the provisions of the Social Pact and fostering all kinds of public–private partnerships. Bipartite sector skills councils could help identify relevant skills and qualifications. The role of the ministry responsible for VET for overall strategy design, system planning and management, monitoring and evaluation would need to be strengthened. All national or regional training agencies and VET centres would have to operate under common national frameworks for qualifications, quality assurance, and accountability (reporting). More responsibilities shall be devolved to regional and local levels and the autonomy of VET providers be strengthened, in cooperation with their local partners.

R.1

Improve skills anticipation and career guidance for better labour market outcomes

  • Demographic, social, labour market and skills data needs to be gathered more systematically at national, sectoral and regional levels. This data could inform a national plan for the restructuring of the network of public VET providers and programmes. Opportunities for career information, including online options, as well as counselling and guidance in and outside schools would help young people determine their future education and professional careers.

R.7

Enhancing support services to improve access to and completion of skills development programmes

  • Enhance support services for both students and their families to support access and prevent dropping out.
  • Implement a financial support scheme for poor families to increase school and VET attendance.
  • Review the funding system for the training of the unemployed and increase funding for active labour market measures.
  • Improve data collection and monitoring on the participation of vulnerable groups in skills development.

R.6

Strengthening the skills development dimension in rural development

  • Engage in the systematic integration and strengthening of the skills dimension in rural and regional development initiatives and funds.
  • Test a flexible, modular and distance learning approach for secondary education and VET in rural areas.
  • Broaden the range of VET programmes and incentivise practical training.

R.5

Building a National Training Alliance to foster lifelong learning

  • Create a National Training Alliance for reskilling and upskilling.
  • Promote a culture of lifelong learning and create a lifelong learning week.
  • Review and strengthen private training provision for adults.

R.4

Focusing on the quality of skills development

  • Engage in coordinated efforts across education subsectors; develop existing Competence and Dissemination Centres into Centres of Vocational Excellence that span subsectors.
  • Complete and fully apply the quality assurance system
  • Enhance teacher training in the skills most in need.
  • Develop a standard for the quality of learning infrastructure, including connectivity aspects.

R.3

Systematic and coordinated action for skills anticipation

  • Develop a mechanism for inter-ministerial operational leadership and coordination.
  • Devise a unified method and decision-making on the set of tools.
  • Create a master plan for regular implementation and capacity building of the institutions involved; leverage the capacity of the higher education sector and existing organisations with expertise to support the sustainability of new tools; allocate national resources.