Kramarić: There is a systemic mismatch in the needs of the economy and the education system in the country

The relevant ministry, the agency of directors, teachers, and others involved in the system need to jointly create better conditions for vocational schools, and the necessary changes in vocational education dictated by the labor market, emphasized Vlado Prskalo, assistant to the Minister of Science and Education, at the opening of the national professional conference of secondary vocational school directors in Opatija on Wednesday.

The two-day conference titled ‘The Role of Directors in Modernizing Vocational Education’ was organized by the Agency for Education and gathered around 200 directors from across Croatia.

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Strengthening teaching through work, i.e., apprenticeships, introducing a quality system in schools, formal and informal education, and opening up more space for schools to create and implement their own curricula are necessary changes that Prskalo spoke about.

– To achieve this, the Vocational Education Act has been submitted to parliamentary procedure, which is in its second reading, and will enable the implementation of the national curriculum for vocational schools, he reminded.

He added that a network of regional competence centers will be established, where student dormitories with larger accommodation capacities for students coming from remote areas are planned to be opened. Prskalo reported that a draft national curriculum for vocational education is also being prepared, which will be reviewed and then implemented, and which, he assessed, will give significantly greater autonomy to schools and teachers.

– Directors are expected to be leaders and strong points that will implement reforms, and the Ministry of Science and Education will support them through continuous professional development, concluded Vlado Prskalo, assistant to the Minister of Science and Education.

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The director of the Agency for Education and Training, Jadranka Žarković-Pečenković, said that the goal of this conference is to inform directors about changes in the system, strengthen awareness of the importance of vocational education, and the necessity of connecting with the economy.

– We are facing a great challenge of curricular reform, at the center of which is vocational education, so it is not enough for directors to just show goodwill, but also to act professionally and motivated, emphasized Žarković-Pečenković.

Systemic mismatch

The Vice President of the Croatian Chamber of Economy (HGK), Želimir Kramarić, stated that there is a systemic mismatch in the needs of the economy and the education system in the country. He supported this with official data that there are 160,000 unemployed in Croatia, 250,000 people have left Croatia in recent years, mostly for economic reasons, while at the same time, the employment of 30,000 workers from abroad is approved.

– This problem exists because it was not addressed in previous periods, and HGK is now ready to help as much as possible, especially through its county chambers on the ground, emphasized Kramarić.

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A guest from Slovenia, the director of the local Center for Vocational Education, Elido Bandelj, presented the Slovenian model where the Center is established as an independent institution, and its founders are the relevant ministries and the craft and economic chamber.

– This has established a strong social partnership from the beginning, making it easier to determine which professions the economy needs and what knowledge and skills a vocational school student must acquire. Part of the teaching is mandatory at employers, and the learning outcomes are then jointly verified, explained Bandelj.