Page 54 - Ekonomija i Biznis_noemvri 2015.indd

In the focus
ing well-structured formal work-
place training arrangements,
such as apprenticeships, where
training needs are connected to
the overall curriculum and qual-
ity standards.
However, employers cannot do
it by themselves. It is the role of needed on both sides in order to
education authorities to create
legal and institutional frame-
works for employers to get in-
volved in education delivery. Ed-
ucation authorities have a clear
role in ensuring integration of
workplace learning into curric-
ula. Moreover, the stronger per-
forming countries are aware of
the need for setting up sufficient
incentive schemes for employ-
ers to offer training placements
for students. All private sector
employers, as profit-oriented
entities, will weigh their costs
against benefits of such training
arrangements and would likely
respond better if the systems are
offering meaningful incentives,
whether financial or not.
All pArTies on A sTeep
leArning curve
Awareness raising and build-
ing mutual trust between em-
ployers and education authori-
ties should be the first step. The
54 November 2015
changes in the overall context,
including the economic crisis,
the accelerated pace of techno-
logical change, higher productiv-
ity and new skills demands are
all equally new to both employ-
ers and educators. Continuous
learning and interaction will be
build sustainable mechanisms
that would support learning of
students in schools as well as
the upgrade of skills among the
adult learners. Identification and benefits of their involvement
promotion of good local practic-
es in partnerhsips between edu-
cation and businesses should be
made a high priority. Learning
from other countries’ best prac-
tice examples should be on the
agenda as well. For example, the
countries with well developed
cooperation models between in-
dustry and schools demonstrated
that employers can contribute a
lot. In fact, in some of the EU
member states, such as the UK,
Sector Skills Councils are per-
forming public service as man-
dated bodies which are leading
the processes of the preparation
of national occupational stand-
ards and are ensuring that pub-
lic funds are directed towards
those sector qualifications that
are needed by businesses.
Although the Western Balkan
governments have made a deci-
sion to set up nation-wide secto-
ral bodies with functions similar
to SSCs, they still lack technical
knowledge and skills, as well as
legal and institutional frame-
works for acting on those deci-
sions. Private sector employers
in the Western Balkans need to
get acquainted with longer-term
with education authorities in
implementing the national quali-
fication frameworks as well as
with their role as training pro-
viders. By mandating roles and
clarifying responsibilities, by
setting up the necessary legal
and institutional frameworks
and allocating resources based
on agreed results, all parties in-
volved will have clarity about the
process and expected outcomes
and could be held accountable
for delivery.
The above should be the key
ingredients in what could be a
future social contract between
employers, on the one side, and
education authorities, on the
other. This is a matter of urgency
for the Western Balkan coun-
tries today.