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.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.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.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.5
Improve the Continuous Professional Development (CPD) of VET teachers and trainers
The ministry in charge of VET and different stakeholders should work together to agree on a CPD strategy, to improve the normative framework for VET teachers and trainers, to set objectives in the 2025 National Strategy for Vocational Education and to define a feasible action plan. The Centre National de Formation de Formateurs et d'Ingénierie de Formation (CENAFFIF), perhaps through collaboration with industry and other professional CPD providers, may review their programmes and introduce modern and varied methodologies. Tools need to be developed to identify needs and funding mechanisms for the technical training of teachers. Better coordination between regional structures and training centres and their partners is key to providing the required materials and human resources. Training centres have an important role in analysing their training requirements, and need to share and use this information for the planning and coordination of CPD.
R.6
Extend and improve Work-Based Learning (WBL) arrangements
Learning under the F0 apprenticeship scheme needs to be complemented with training at a centre. Employers may also make close ties with private training centres who offer complementary theoretical and soft skills training. The success of such an approach requires a flexible funding mechanism that ensures the activities of private operators.
Training cheques might be granted only when a company is ready to take care of the intern during the training. The participation of private sector professionals in the management of training centres, reduced teaching loads and the reimbursement of travel expenses for school coordinators are essential for enabling WBL. Company training periods need to be carefully planned, ideally as an integral part of the VET curriculum. Trained tutors are encouraged to continue to instruct trainees in companies. The workplace training support units could be remunerated for the continuing training activities that they organise.
