Trainees/apprentices assessment

Vocational training institutes

Trainees/apprentices assessment

Higher Vocational Training Schools

Αssessment of learners is divided into two phases:

1. Assessment during training and
2. Post-training assessment.

According to regulation, during traineeship the assessment of the knowledge, skills and competences of trainees per course is based on the Study Guide and includes:

• Mid-term exams
• Ιndividual/Group Project and
• Final exams 

Mid-term exams

• During each training semester, all courses include at least one mid-term exam.  Tests are prepared and marked by the educator. 
• The mid-term exam is compulsory for all trainees.  In cases of justifiable absence the management of the respective SAEK, in collaboration with the educator, can decide to postpone the exam, that will take place in a later time, provided that the students submits the required documents justifying the absence before the end of the semester in question.
•  The management of the SAEK is responsible for informing trainees on their progress and grades received; it also sees to the handling of any potential grade dispute with.
• The duration of each mid-term exam may be up to one hour.

Group and individual projects

The topics of the projects are set by the trainer and are approved by the Director or Deputy Director of the SAEK.The project may be individual or collaborative/teamwork. Instructions on the content of the project are given either in the Study Guide or by the educator. 

Final semester exams

Final exams are conducted at the end of each semester, in each course. The study guide determines the rules for the exam and the educator sets and marks the questions of the final exams.The duration of each final exam is two hours, apart from laboratories or as otherwise indicated in the study guide. The examination includes a minimum of four development topics questions and / or a minimum of twenty-five short questions, such as multiple choice, “correct/ wrong”, matching, gap filling questions, unless otherwise specified by the Training Guide specialty. 

A trainee who is absent from a final exam for justifiable reasons, can submit an application to the management of SAEK together with the relevant supporting documents, but in any case prior to the release of the results of the semester. The management of  SAEK decides  when and where the exam will take place. 

 Trainees are informed of their grades under the responsibility of the management of SAEK. Trainees that  do not take final exams, will get a failing grade.

Trainees can request an oral examination, in case they cannot undergo a written examination for one of the following reasons:

• They are blind or have a vision impairment of at least 67%.
• They have a physical disability of at least 67%, permanent or temporary, associated with the upper limbs.
• They suffer from upper limb spasticity.
• They suffer from a fracture or other temporary impairment of the upper limbs, thus making writing impossible.
• Their performance cannot be tested solely by written exams because of a specific learning difficulty (e.g. dyslexia).
  
  These trainees are required to sit for the same exams as all others and within the same amount of time.  The examination is oral and conducted by the teacher of the course in the presence of the Director.

Marks

The general performance of trainees in individual/group projects as well as progress in mid-term projects constitutes the progress mark for the semester in the course.

The performance of the trainees in the final exams constitutes the final exam mark for the course of the semester in question.

 The final mark of the subject is formed by 60% from the final exam mark, 30% from the average of the mid-terms mark and 10% from individual/group project , rounded to the nearest whole number.

When several trainers teach a laboratory subject,  separate marks are given. The average of such marks is the mark of the exam, whether mid-term or final.

The mark of the examination of a mixed course, whether progress or final, is the average of the individual marks in the examination of the theoretical and the laboratory part of the course. No final grade is given in a subject for trainees whose attendance has been classified as deficient due to absences.

The sum of the final mark of all training courses, including, in the case of classification (from one specialty to another), those whose mark has been ensured, is divided by the number of courses and provides the general average grade of the trainee for that semester.

In cases of exemptions from particular subjects for students with special needs, the total number of these subjects is not included in calculating the general average grade.

The grading scale ranges from 1 (minimal grade) to 10.

 Attendance/insufficient attendance of studies

 Estimation of sufficient or insuffcicient attendance of studies for trainees takes place after the end of the semester and before final exams.

Attendance is mandatory for all subjects.

 Attendance in each subject is classified as adequate when the trainee’s hourly absences are equal to or less than 15% of the total number of teaching hours provided for the semester, rounded to the nearest whole number.

In any other case, attendance is classified as inadequate.

The trainee is not entitled to attend the final exam at the end of the training semester for the subject in which his/her attendance was classified as inadequate.  He/she is ought to repeat the attendance of such subjects, without having the right to enrol in the next semester.

In cases where attendance in all the courses of the first semester is classified as inadequate for a trainee, to en-roll, the trainee in question will have to undergo a process of re-selection as described above.

Post-secondary year – apprenticeship class

The trainees are assessed during and after training according to the Regulation for the Operation of the Post-Secondary Apprenticeship Class (Ministerial Decision13530/Κ5/10-10-23) 

Assessment of students in the apprenticeship class program, tests learning outcomes and takes place:

1. In the school unit by the instructor(s), taking into account the assessment received in the laboratory subject of the specialisation.  The grading scale is 1-20.The final assessment accounts for 50% of the student’s final assessment.  
2.  At the workplace by the competent trainer of the company, taking into account the assessment of the educational program at the workplace – apprenticeship at the workplace.  The grading scale is 1-20. The final assessment accounts for 50% of the student’s final assessment.   It is conducted according to:
   1. The daily schedule of the program.
   2. The amount of research that took place and progress of project implementation as reflected in brief in the daily schedule and defined in the apprenticeship agreement.

The final exam, presentations of skills and projects in physical and digital form.

Progression of trainees

 Higher Vocational Training School (SAEK),

The trainee is enrolled in the next training semester, provided they are not required to retake a course or courses, and one of the following conditions is met:

• Their final grade in each course is at least 5 out of 10.
• The trainee has underperformed in only one course out of the total courses for the current semester. In this case, the trainee is required to retake the exam for the course in which they were deficient in subsequent exam periods. The grade from this retake, if it is equal to or greater than five (5), becomes the new final grade for that course.
  1. Join a specialty department where the course(s) they need to attend are taught, or
  2. Transfer to another  SAEK where the course(s) they need to attend are offered.

In any other case, the trainees are required to repeat the attendance/training of the courses of the semester in which they underperformed or classified as inadequate due to absences.

If a specialty department and respective semester are not available at the SAEK  for a course in which the trainee was deficient in grading or had insufficient attendance, by submitting an application to the particular SAEK administration the trainee may:

a. join a specialty department where the subject/course needed is taught, or

b. be transferred to another  SAEK where the course(s) in question is offered.

Internship

The supervision, coordination, quality assurance and assessment of internship are the responsibility of the director of the SAEK or the assigned coordinator for internship.  They are responsible for:

• Monitoring trainees’ attendance
• Assuring quality at the workplace
• On-site inspection of the company
• Maintenance of individual portfolio of internship with the relevant progression reports.

 SAEK students who have completed at least 120 daily working days in the specialisation in which they are enrolled, are exempt, should they wish, from the requirement to undergo one semester of internship, by means of submitting a declaration of honour under l. 1599/1986. In any case they must complete 4 semesters of theoretical and laboratory training, in order to receive the vocational training certificate.

Trainees' internship  may be paid or subsidized.

Post-secondary year – apprenticeship class

The final assessment of the post-secondary year – apprenticeship class is graded from 1 to 20. 

Attendance of post-secondary year – apprenticeship class is considered successful, when the final grade robtained is at least 10, provided that the trainees do not have less than 10 in a scale of 10 to 20 in (a) and (b) parts of the assessment.

A trainee cannot re-sit the exam or repeat the post-secondary year – apprenticeship class.

Certification

 Higher Vocational Training School (SAEK)

Higher vocational training school graduates are awarded the vocational training certificate (VEK). The voctional trainig  certificate  is a prerequisite for their participation in the qualification certifying exams that lead to obtaining the vocational education and training diploma of level five (5). Qualification certifying exams are carried out annually by the National Organisation for the Certification of Qualifications and Vocational Guidance (EOPPEP).

Certification of vocational training for graduates of  SAEK, as defined by Joint Ministerial Decision 2944/17-4-2014, is based on theoretical and practical exams conducted at  national level. The certification exams are the same for both public and private Higher Vocational Training Schools.

The National Organization for the Certification of Qualifications and Vocational Guidance - EOPPEP is responsible for the accreditation of the vocational training of SAEK graduates.  The central examination committee for the accreditation of vocational training (KEEPEK)  operates within EOPPEP.  Candidates that were successful in both sections of the exam, theory and practice, are awarded a Vocational Specialisation Diploma Level 5.

The Diploma of Vocational Specialisation Level 5 is signed by the managing director of EOPPEP.

After the announcement of the results and upon the beneficiaries’ request, EOPPEP grants each student a certificate of initial accreditation of vocational training for SAEK graduates, which serves as a diploma and states the average grade achieved in the theoretical section of the exam.

This certificate of accreditation is issued to successful candidates, who have succeeded in both components of the exams for the certification of the initial vocational training and are entitled to a Vocational Specialisation Diploma of EQF Level 5.

Post-secondary year – apprenticeship class

Post-secondary year – apprenticeship class graduates receive a certificate of attendance of the post-secondary year – apprenticeship class, which only states the designation “successfully”.

Moreover, apprenticeship class graduates may receive a Certificate in Specialisation, Vocational Education and Training Level 5.  Joint Ministerial Decision 90050/Υ2/1-6-2018 defines the validation procedures of their qualifications.

New Training Guides

According to  l. 4763/2020, the new "Training Guides" for each specialisation include, for each specialty of SAEK and of the Post-secondary year - Apprenticeship class,

• the pathways for acquiring qualifications 
• the certification process and
• the certification standard, including a repository of  questions for the certification  of  each qualification, corresponding to the  relevant level of the National Qualifications Framework.

More specifically, according to the Standard Training Guide which is included in  ΦΒ6/24964/Κ3/3-3-2021  of the General Secretary οf Vocational Education, Training, and Lifelong Learning, the “Training Guide” for each specialty will include the details for the assessment of trainees through:

• mid-term exams 
• the final examination and
• the assessment of participation of the trainee in group and individual projects.

 Supervision, coordination, quality assurance and assessment of internship or apprenticeship are carried out by the Office of Professional Development and Career of SAEK, under the responsibility of the Director of SAEK.

Certification Preparatory Program

Graduates of the Post-Secondary Year - Apprenticeship class can attend the optional Preparatory Certification Program, lasting a total of thirty-five (35) hours. TH eprogramme is organised and carried out by vocational upper secondary schools (EPAL). The purpose of the program is to better prepare apprenticeship class students for their participation in the qualification certification procedures and the acquisition of a title of level five (5), or any equivalent title. As mentioned above, the certification procedures are conducted annually by the National Organisation for the Certification of Qualifications and Vocational Guidance (EOPPEP).

The Preparatory Program takes place in Laboratory Centers or in an evening upper secondary vocational school laboratory (EPAL).

Transition period

The Guides or Curricula, used before the enactment of l. 4763/2020, for training trainees and apprentices, continue to apply until students registered prior to the year of enforcement of the law complete their studies. During the certification process by the National Organisation for the Certification of Qualifications and Vocational Guidance (EOPPEP), graduates of  SAEK and Post-Secondary Apprenticeship Year, are examined and certifiedon the basis of the relevant Guides or Curricula.