12.8 GUIDANCE AND COUNSELLING IN A LIFELONG-LEARNING APPROACH
•1 Academic guidance
In the Republic of North Macedonia, the initial steps to introduce Validation of Non-formal and Informal Learning (VNFIL) started from 2014, and continued in accordance to the amendments of the Law on adult education from 2019[1] and the Law on National qualification framework, both materializing the Recommendations from the Council of Europe on introduction of measures for VNFIL from 2012.
The VNIFL is part of all key strategic documents in VET, AE and education in general.
From institutional point of view, the Ministry of education and science manages the implementation of VNFIL, accredits the validation of institutions - providers of validation services and holds a registry of accredited validators.
•2 Psychological counseling
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•3 Career guidance
The career guidance and counseling is strongly supported and prioritized in an all related key national strategic documents, such as Employment and social reform programme 2020 (3.1.2.1. Objective: Improvement of youth employment and promotion of more and better jobs for young persons and 3.1.4 Improving quality of work and services of the public employment service). The Education Strategy for 2018-2025 proposes a number of policy measures such as: career guidance and counseling, graduate’s traces study system, teachers’ and other staffs’ professional development and career advancement, NQF, EMIS etc., even tackling different corresponding pillars their implementation will be strongly coordinated in order to follow an integrated approach and ensure cost efficiency. The Strategy for Development of Vocational Education and Training in a Lifelong Learning Context 2013-2020 recognizes the need to strengthen the collaboration between employment service agencies and centres for career/professional guidance. Employers are encouraged to cooperate, invest and participate in education and training activities. Employed, especially workers in small and medium sized companies and older workers are in focus and the working place needs to develop into an environment for offering services for professional orientation and training, and social partners must give due attention and priority to information, support and professional guidance. The attractiveness of VET has to be strengthened, building diverse and flexible pathways for learning and professional guidance in a lifelong learning context. The Operational Plan for the active programmes and measures in employment and labour market services of the Ministry of labor and social policy MLSP anticipated services for professional orientation and career guidance for unemployed persons, enabling them to develop skills for better positioning on the labor market, managing their career development and support in choosing profession, training and/or employment.
The Employment Service Agency of the Republic of North Macedonia (ESA) is one of the key players on the labor market, with particularly important role in the design and the efficient implementation of employment policies. It is organized into one central and 30 local Centers for employment. ESA performs all functions that are being realized by the modern public employment agencies, including the gathering of relevant labor market information, registering job seekers, performing employment counseling and career guidance, employment mediation, administering and implementing the active and passive labor market measures, monitoring and evaluation of the implemented measures etc. The main target groups are mostly unemployed people, but also pupils, students and those how want to change their career paths.
The ESA provides career counseling as part of their measure 4 of the Operational Plan- Professional Counseling and Career Guidance. The activities range from providing unemployed persons with skills for exploring their career opportunities, job searching skills and personal career plan. The career counseling is provided individually or in groups tailored to the needs of the participant/s by providing information about for specific occupations, self-support and self-assessment tools that guide the unemployed in making decisions about development of their career action plans. The preparation of high-quality individual plans is a very important precondition for providing appropriate and relevant services for the unemployed persons, based on the performed profiling and categorization of unemployed persons, The Plans consist of and present the planned activities jointly agreed between the unemployed person and the ESA counselor, with the ultimate goal of finding suitable employment within certain period of time.
Several EU donor-funded projects supported ESA in developing counseling services closer to EU standards. A “New Service Model” of ESA was prepared within the project “Technical Assistance for Support of the National Employment Policy – Phase 3”, ensuring that a larger number of participants receive services of higher quality in line with their needs. A new methodology was developed for the work of Employment Service Centres titled “Professional Orientation and Career Counseling” (project: Together with the EU funded project “Further Modernization of the ESA”). The EU Twinning Project MK/10/IB/SO/02 “Support to the ESA for Implementation of Active Labour Market Measures and Services” supported ESA in developing methodology and tools for assessment of the relevancy, efficiency and results.
In the Republic of North Macedonia, the initial steps to introduce Validation of Non-formal and Informal Learning (VNFIL) started from 2014, and continued in accordance to the amendments of the Law on adult education from 2019 and the Law on National qualification framework, both materializing the Recommendations from the Council of Europe on introduction of measures for VNFIL from 2012.
The VNIFL is part of all key strategic documents in VET, AE and education in general. The Strategy for Development of Vocational Education and Training in a Lifelong Learning Context 2013-2020 recognizes VNIFL in two of its 4 priorities (1. Under the first priority (VET in the function of strengthening social cohesion and social inclusion): objective A7 focuses on “Establishing a system for VNFIL”. 2. Under the second priority (Attractive VET), the Strategy emphasizes the importance of VNFIL, in particular in objective B2 – “Building diversified and flexible pathways for learning and professional guidance”). The Strategy for development of education 2018-2025 highlights the need and operationalizes the introduction of VNIFL.
From institutional point of view, the Ministry of education and sciencе manages the implementation of VNFIL, accredits the validation of institutions - providers of validation services and holds a registry of accredited validators. The Adult Education Centre (AEC) provides technical support, monitors the accredited institutions, organizes trainings for validation councilors and assessors. A diversified network of informational points (accredited validation institutions, institutions offering employment services, employers’ associations, chambers of commerce, syndical organizations, open civic universities, local government units, NGOs, youth clubs etc.) provide relevant info to interested candidates.
Several reference documents were prepared: „Roadmap for implementing a system VNFIL in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia“, based on recommendation of the Concept paper for development of non-formal education of adults”, A Guide through VNFL processes and Manual for assessment in the context of VNFIL.
Within VNFIL, the counselling process is represented in all phases: identification, documentation, assessment and certification. In the first two initial phases, the trained validation counsellor offers support, relevant information, advice and guidance to the potential candidate and ensures that the knowledge, skills and competences become visible. Then, the evidence of the achievements of the learning outcomes is being collected in the form of Portfolio to be assessed. The validation counsellor is trained and licensed, and is part of the official registry of Validation Counsellors in AEC. In the next two phases (assessment and certification), the validation assessors evaluate the Portfolio and confirm (or not) that the candidate has achieved certain standard for qualification in compliance with the National Qualification framework. Validation assessors are trained and licensed, and are part of the official registry of Validation Assessors in AEC.
With the support from Erasmus+ centralized actions, in the initial phase of establishing VNFIL, qualification standard and training programme for validation counselors was drafted. With the support of Lifelong Learning Center, in the frames of the project financed by DVV International, a training programme for and a standard for assessors were developed and a training for validation assessors was held.
Several other initiatives are relevant in this manner;
In 2014 and 2015, certain activities in reference to this service were developed within the USAID project “Youth Employability Skills (YES) Network”. A manual was developed and training for career counselors was conducted. In addition, there were trainings held for the employees in assessment tools and use of BIPO (“Battery of Instruments for Professional Orientation”), a toolset developed as part of the project.
The MLSP, together with the ILO launched the Occupational Outlook website to provide offers insight into occupations that have positive job prospects in the medium term, with the potential the list to be widened in the following years. For each profession, the Outlook provides a job description, conditions of work (pay, work schedule, work environment, work risk); education, training and work experience requirements, and job prospects.
Euroguidance Center has been established in the frames of National Agency for European Educational programs and mobility. It is part of 34 national resource and information centres for guidance in 34 European countries. Its’ main target group consists of guidance practitioners in education and employment, among them professionals who provide information and guidance on international learning mobility to end-users seeking studying and training opportunities abroad.