Ensuring employers stay on board

Estonia is rethinking it qualifications system to make it even more labour market focused.

Estonia with a running Qualifications framework in place, in which employers and practitioners play a very important role, is the envy of many post-Soviet countries that are developing a NQF for lifelong learning, and the country continues to innovate this system further

One of the main benefits of the qualifications system reforms in partner countries is that it has given an impulse in strengthening the participation of social partners, and in particular employers in defining the results of education and training systems in terms of skills and qualifications. Many partner countries are initiating sector skill councils to define the needs of economic sectors. It remains difficult to mobilise employers and workers representatives to articulate the skills needs. And even if they are willing to engage it is difficult to get the kind of detailed information that is needed to anticipate the skill needs, and to develop occupational standards, qualifications and curricula. This requires capacity building and experience that can only be obtained if there is some degree of continuity in the participation of labour market representatives.

Estonia is in many ways an exceptional country. It has followed a radically different route than most of the other former Soviet Countries. It was the first country to develop a new qualification system, making a radical break with the tariff based qualifications system of the former Soviet Union, with its list of occupations and classifier of specialisations.  Where other countries are still struggling to develop structural links with labour market actors, Estonia started in the nineties to mobilise professional bodies to develop occupational standards, which has been at the basis of the professional qualifications system that serves as a mechanism to certify professionals on the labour market.  Professionals not only develop the occupational qualifications standards, 76 professionally oriented awarding bodies are also in charge of the certification. So far 84.200 people have been certified (12% of the labour force) and they are all included in a national register, the Estonian qualifications authority Kutsekoda is supporting the professional bodies and sector councils that define what kind of occupational qualification standards are needed and check and approve proposed standards before they become part of the register. There are 800 occupational qualifications standards.

In the beginning this professional qualification system was completely parallel to the formal education system. Over the years the cooperation between public institutions and the private entities that are behind the professional qualification system have improved. The education system is using the occupational standards to develop curricula. In vocational education this is compulsory, while higher education is urged to consider the existing standards. In Engineering, Architecture and Health (which include mainly regulated professions) the standards are being used.

Qualifications and skills are important to meet labour market needs and to make transitions on the labour market and between the labour market and the education and training system. Making sure people have the right skills (and qualifications) can support economic growth and diminish the mismatch on the labour market. Estonia is a small country and has limited human resources. Moreover, many young people have gone abroad where salaries are higher and the population is aging. With already a sizeable Russian speaking minority in the country, migration from neighbouring countries is not seen as a viable option.

In December I was invited to speak at the conference organised by the Estonian Qualifications Authority Kutsekoda, focusing on how to better meet employer demand with the title “What you ask is what you get?”  The bulk of the participants in the meeting came from the private sector and civil society, although there were also representatives from education and research institutions, from the President’s office, and the Ministries of Education and Social Affairs. While my speech focused more on international qualifications systems developments beyond Estonia and Europe, the focus of the event was very much about ensuring that Estonia will have the skills it needs for its development up to 2020.

Although I could not fully engage with the event, given the language barrier, I tried to capture as much as possible. It was fascinating to witness the sophisticated level of the debate in which employers paid an important role.  I was told that in spite of active employer engagement with the education and training system, and well above OECD average performance in the PISA and PIAAC surveys, Estonian employers continue to complain about the skills of graduates. 

A new strategy for lifelong learning 2020 had been elaborated by a committee of private and public stakeholders that should address the skills mismatch. It was presented by Ants Silds the CEO of an Estonian IT company. It started from the assumption that the Estonian labour market has too many low skilled jobs (37% of jobs) that are likely to disappear. This means that many people will need upgrading of their skills. Another key message was that there needs to be more emphasis on competence in education rather than knowledge, particularly in HE. In PIAAC adults with a VET and general education background did well, but performance of HE graduates was below the OECD average. What I understood is that sector strategies are needed to create new pathways in the labour market, supporting the upskilling and adaptation of the labour force. This requires further changes to the qualifications systems building stronger bridges between the professional and education pillars. In its current structures professional councils are not enough challenged to think outside the box about the needs of their sectors and focus too much on individual occupations. By the middle of next year new amendments to the professions act are expected with and amended mandate for Kutsekoda. Hopefully our Estonian colleagues will keep us up to date on the changes.