Duration: 2022 – 2026 (phase II)
Implementers: Helvetas Swiss Intercooperation, Macedonian Civic Education Center (MCEC), and Economic Chamber of North Macedonia
Partners: Ministry of Education and Science, Ministry of Labor and Social Policy as well as other relevant ministries, state institutions and schools for vocational education and training, municipalities, private sector companies, vocational skills development providers and civil society organizations.
Target Group: Under and unemployed youth aged 15-29 including vocational education and training students, as well as reaching out to women, Roma and persons with disabilities.
Overall goal: Young women and men gain decent employment due to market-oriented skills.
Objectives: The project addresses the mismatch of the skills provided by the education with those required by the economy. This gap leads to high unemployment among youth and hinders the competitiveness of the economy. Building on achieved results and lessons learnt in the first phase, the Phase 2 will tighten its focus on the implementation of dual vocational education and training (VET). The project will continue its work at the national level established during phase 1, but will also have interventions at the local level, supporting the implementation of the VET reforms.
National level: The project will support the Ministry of Education and Science and the VET Center in cooperation with the economic chambers to develop the necessary secondary legislation related to dual VET, such as bylaws and guidelines for implementation of dual VET. On the level of the private sector, the project will strengthen the capacities of the business support organizations to serve as a link between their member companies and VET schools. While the interventions will be implemented at the national level, as most of the business support organizations have nationwide coverage, the impact will also have positive effects at the local level. Local level: Stronger engagement at the local level will be an important extension in Phase 2. The Ministry of Education and Science, which led an intense dialogue with the companies interested in engaging in dual VET, will make efforts to progressively transfer this dialogue to the local level.
Expected results:
• Outcome 1: Improved vocational education and training system effectively and efficiently capacitates youth for the labour market.
• Outcome 2: Companies and business support organisations co-create and ensure the market-relevance of vocational education and training.
For more information, visit the website: www.e4e.mk
