2024

Vocational education and training, mainly dual, focused on students’ needs and in line with the developments in the labour market, which brings in economic added value and social cohesion.

Related projects and programmes

• Establishing partnership agreements with economic operators for the vocational training of students in technological education, including those in dual education.
• Implementation of 29 projects that have been accepted for funding under the call A pilot programme to develop regional consortia for dual education; the projects are spread across the eight development regions. In the North-West Region, the first dual campus has already been constructed.
• Promoting technological education with the platform Choose Your Path! and participating in partnership networks with economic agents in relevant training fields.

2023

The National implementation plan for initial and in-service vocational education and training (PNI – VET) defines measures for fulfilling the objectives set at European level and it ensures a correlation between the EU’s objectives for VET and the objectives of national policies. The measures provided for in PNI-VET will be implemented in the period 2021-2027. The general objective of PNI-VET is to improve the relevance, accessibility, flexibility, attractiveness and quality of initial and in-service VET programmes, which should sustain economic and social cohesion; support competitiveness, growth and smart, inclusive and sustainable development; and facilitate individuals’ professional and personal development. 

Dual education

Complete vocational route for technical higher education

The establishment of a complete vocational route for technical higher education – with the entry into force of the legislation concerning the methodology for the organisation of the complete dual route and of the new qualifications resulting from this route – will facilitate the development of dual education with a focus on students’ needs and in line with the needs of the labour market, both by an increased number of fields, qualifications and graduates and by ensuring a complete educational path for the students enrolled in dual school education, so that they are able to enter dual tertiary education programmes. 

For the development of dual education, there are plans to develop 10 regional consortia and to develop and equip 10 integrated occupational campuses. The occupational campuses will be built by 30 September 2025, while the dual education consortia will operate at full capacity by 31 March 2026. All 29 grant applications were approved.

Consolidation of the professional and technical education, and especially the on-the-job-training component

VET programmes are adapted to the needs for competences and the trends in the labour market so that they respond to the national priorities for economic and social development.

Traineeships for school students and university students in the agriculture-food sector, industry and services

Under the call for proposals Traineeships for school students and university students in the agriculture-food sector, industry and services, which supports workplace learning programmes for university students and students in lower secondary education, high-school education (upper secondary) and post-secondary education, including the foremen schools, 85 projects have been completed and other three projects are in course of implementation. There are 21 471 individuals targeted for support and the intention is to qualify 8 102 learners through these projects. 

Traineeships for school students, the ITI Danube Delta region

Under the call for proposals Traineeships for school students, the ITI Danube Delta region, grant agreements have been signed for nine projects. In the framework of these agreements, 980 individuals (school students / apprentices) should be supported to participate in VET programmes.

Traineeships for school students from less developed regions

Under the call for proposals Traineeships for school students from less developed regions, grant contracts have been signed for 154 projects. In the contracts that have been signed, the assumed target is 28 663 people (school students/apprentices) who should receive support to participate in vocational education/vocational training programmes. 

Increasing the accessibility, the attractiveness and the quality of technical and vocational education and training (TVET)

Under the call for proposals Increasing the accessibility, the attractiveness and the quality of technical and vocational education and training (TVET), priority will be given to measures intended to facilitate access to and retention in vocational training programmes, streamline the mechanisms for monitoring and assessing vocational training public policies and for anticipating the needs for competences, as well as to measures related to quality assurance of workplace learning and the certification of learning outcomes in initial VET. The Education and Employment programme (EEP) 2021-2027 will support the adaptation of educational services for learners and teaching staff in TVET and the development of schools so as to support excellence in TVET, with a focus on digitalisation and sustainable development. Moreover, EEP will provide funding for Erasmus+ cross-border mobility opportunities for TVET, as well as for support measures for disadvantaged school students to help them participate in TVET and prevent school dropout.

2022

The Ministry of Education (ME) continues the reforms in the field of education and training, in order to ensure an education adapted to the labour market requirements and focused on personal and social development.

The dual education

The Ministry of Education has launched the call for proposals, funded under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP): A pilot programme for the development of regional consortia for dual education (I.6 “Development of at least 10 regional consortia and the development and equipment of at least 10 integrated vocational campuses”- R 4. Creation of a complete vocational route for technical higher education).

The objective of the call is to develop and equip vocational consortia and integrated campuses which contribute to the development of vocational education, both by increasing the number of qualifications and graduates and by ensuring a complete educational course for those students enrolled in dual education. 

Within the consortia, school students and higher education students may acquire qualifications at levels 3 – 8 in accordance with the National Qualifications Framework.

An expertise centre consortium for the implementation of national reforms in vocational education and training through dual education, composed of accredited public/private higher education institutions, accredited public/private schools, administrative–territorial units (ATU) and economic operators. 

The integrated vocational campus will be built and organised as an educational complex, including constructions and equipment and furnishing for carrying out activities like education, research, accommodation, recreational and reading areas, so as to ensure all necessary facilities in terms of access, participation, functionality and students’ safety. 

The beneficiaries of this call for proposals are the regional consortia for dual education, established in accordance with the methodology approved by an order of the education minister.

Consolidation of the professional and technical education, and especially the on-the-job-training component

The vocational education and training programmes are adapted to the needs for competences and the trends in the labour market, so as to respond to the priorities of national economic and social development. 

• The counselling and information platform Choose your way! is a friendly environment for informing students, parents and companies, a means for career guidance and for a closer link with the labour market.
• To develop students’ entrepreneurial skills and correlate their theoretical training with their practical training, the following activities have been carried out:
  • The school competition Quality Brand, for which 45 practice companies enrolled, out of which 39 gained a Quality Brand certificate.
  • ROCT Platform, where 1 455 practice companies/simulated enterprises are activated, out of which 689 new companies, 355 continued companies and 411 companies that were taken over; they carried out the current activity provided for in the curriculum and extracurricular activities.
• Some important support in the student guidance and counselling actions was assured with the Career Guidance Guide. The guide includes information about 200 vocational qualifications - 132 qualifications at level 4 (NQF) and 68 qualifications at level 3(NQF), and a short description of each qualification, the main benefits and professions which students may choose from.
• The project ReCONECT – Adaptation to change – An integrated mechanism for anticipation, monitoring, evaluation of labour market and education aims to establish three mechanisms:
  1. an integrated mechanism to monitor the insertion of graduates of VET programmes,
  2. an interconnected mechanism to anticipate the need for qualifications and competences in the labour market, and
  3. an interconnected mechanism to evaluate and monitor public policies on active measures and vocational training measures, and also to evaluate and monitor a training course and an IT platform with an integrating role for the 3 mechanisms and a support role for evidence-based public policy decisions concerning vocational training and employment.

So far, activities were conducted to analyse the capacity of relevant actors in the area of education, training and employment to synchronise and provide real and relevant data for the development of mechanisms. A methodology developed in the project described the structure, the data flow and the interoperability of the integrated mechanism for anticipation, monitoring and evaluation of labour market and education. 

• The projects funded under the call for proposals Traineeships for school students and higher education students in the agricultural-food sector, industry and services, funded under the Priority axis 6 Education and competences, support work-based learning programmes for higher education students and for students in lower secondary education, high-school education (upper secondary education) and post-secondary education, including foremen schools. The target group is composed of school students (ISCED 2 – 3, qualification levels 3 – 4), school students (ISCED 4, qualification level 5, students enrolled in post-secondary schools/foremen schools organised in school education establishments) and higher education students (ISCED 5 – 7). Under this call for proposals, from 88 grant applications approved and contracted, 87 have been completed.