Post added by Michael Graham, ETF
In ETF’s view, an NQF is ultimately a tool to make a qualifications system work better and deliver quality and relevant qualifications. One ETF partner country I work closely with is Kosovo. (I’m there now, in fact, so this story is filed “on the road)”.
The country has many characteristics of other transition countries (transition defined as moving from planned to free-market economies). These include high unemployment, an outdated VET sector, poor links between education and training and the labour market, an economy dependent on SMEs, with few surviving big enterprises, and a heavy industry sector in decline. Under the old Yugoslav system, VET schools fed graduates to linked state enterprises, so there was at least some relevance of curricula. The wars and economic upheaval broke up this old system. Today, qualifications are but one aspect of a VET reform programme, which is desperately needed.
So it is representative of transition countries in some respects.
The pace of reform of its qualifications system has recently accelerated. Its National Qualifications Authority (NQA) has recently announced verification of new occupational standards and approval of new qualifications. The new standards represent something of a breakthrough after a long blockage in the system. 14 occupational standards were verified by the Authority in October to December 2012. These include standards for auto-mechanic, retail seller, baker, electrician, for example. Most have been developed by external donors (e.g. the German GIZ, Luxembourg or Swisscontact, which support Kosovo’s VET system though money and advice) and the local Chambers of Commerce.
Some of the 14 had been developed earlier but had been blocked by administrative procedures (the Council for VET had not approved them because of internal disagreements over wider matters). There are now 26 standards in total for Kosovo.
6 new qualifications have also been validated recently. These include qualifications in welding, administration, IT, and electrician qualifications. Usually in Kosovo, either a provider or a group of providers develops a qualification and applies for it to be validated (approved by the NQA), the schools also have to be accredited by the Authority as providers. Some schools fail the criteria, e.g. on capacity grounds such as inadequate equipment to support a practical course, or because the qualifications are not convincingly based on learning outcomes.
The next task is to ensure these qualifications appear in the register then NQF itself for national use and that the occupational standards are also disseminated.
I mentioned Kosovo as typical in some respects in the challenges it faces. However, no 2 countries are the same, and no policy can be off the shelf. One local dynamic is the very heavy donor, or aid organisation, presence. Another - closely related – factor is that Kosovo’s entire political and economic development is driven by its EU ambitions. It is a potential candidate country.
The country relies on external aid money for “Europeanization”. These funds are necessary to get Kosovo closer the entry door to the EU. At the same time, national institutions such as the NQA have to be independent and stand on their own two feet. As is often the case, the framework was kick-started by an external, in this case, EU, project. But it has really been implementing on its own, with limited donor support for short-term expert support. The pace of implementation has been quite rapid so far.
I put this down to the fact that it has a clear mandate, to reform the country’s qualifications system, especially in VET. It acts as a coordinating body, imposing cohesion (at least some of the time) on ministries and other bodies which often are barely on speaking terms. It is also perceived as neutral between ministries of education, labour and other departments with a VET remit.
Another observation is that much depends on the calibre, capacity and dedication of staff. These are markedly high in the NQA, as I have witnessed, but variable in other elements of the education and training system, to be candid. The NQA is a small but cohesive team.
Of course, the NQA can only go so far alone. It has accredited to date only adult training centres and private/NGO providers. The main public VET upper secondary schools are off limits for now – they cannot be assessed individually, only when they are deemed by the Education Ministry to be collectively ready. Assessment of individual schools by NQA might be perceived to lead to winners and losers. And the Government has said the sector is not ready for the rigours of accreditation yet. This limits the number of new qualifications that can be approved.
What now? Gaps in provision remain at post-secondary VET level (level 5 in the EQF). Again, a common feature of many transition countries, in which HE is overloaded with young people deferring entry into the job market. PS VET would provide some young people with an alternative path and the training for intermediate skills so badly needed in the labour market in many countries. The Authority has its sights on supporting development of occupational standards and then qualifications in this sector. RPL is also part of the 2013 agenda.
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