Exploring VET policy and its influence on unemployment rate

2013–2014

ERSTE Foundation Fellowship for Social Research Labour Market and Employment in Central and Eastern Europe

Exploring VET policy and its influence on unemployment rate in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Republic of Croatia Nina Brankovic

ERSTE FOUNDATION FELLOWSHIP

Exploring VET policy and its influence on unemployment rate in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Republic of Croatia

A Case Study Analysis of VET policy and practice in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Republic of Croatia

Mr Nina BRANKOVIC PhD candidate, University of Zagreb E-mail: nina.brankovic@gmail.com

Exploring*VET*policy*and*its*influence*on*unemployment*rate*Bosnia*and*Herzegovina*and*Republic*of*Croatia!

A*Case*Study*Analysis*of*VET*policy*and*practice*in*Bosnia*&*Herzegovina*and*Republic*of*Croatia* Nina*Brankovic*!

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Exploring*VET*policy*and*its*influence*on*unemployment*rate*Bosnia*and*Republic*of*Croatia!

A*Case*Study*Analysis*of*VET*policy*and*practice*in*Bosnia*&*Herzegovina*and*Republic*of*Croatia* Nina*Brankovic*!

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Exploring*VET*policy*and*its*influence*on*unemployment*rate*Bosnia*and*Republic*of*Croatia!

A*Case*Study*Analysis*of*VET*policy*and*practice*in*Bosnia*&*Herzegovina*and*Republic*of*Croatia* Nina*Brankovic*!

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CONTENTS

Abstract ........................................................................................................................................................4!

Introduction..................................................................................................................................................5!

Situation!analysis..........................................................................................................................................5!

Theoretical!framework.................................................................................................................................7!

Methodology ................................................................................................................................................8!

The!institutional!framework!for!vocational!education...............................................................................10!

School!communities ...................................................................................................................................13!

Research!findings .......................................................................................................................................15!

Educational!mobility!and!streaming.......................................................................................................15!

Dropout ..................................................................................................................................................17!

Practical!training!and!apprenticeship.....................................................................................................20!

Conclusions!and!policy!recommendations.................................................................................................23!

References..................................................................................................................................................25!

Acronyms....................................................................................................................................................27!

Annexes ......................................................................................................................................................27!

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Exploring*VET*policy*and*its*influence*on*unemployment*rate*Bosnia*and*Republic*of*Croatia!

A*Case*Study*Analysis*of*VET*policy*and*practice*in*Bosnia*&*Herzegovina*and*Republic*of*Croatia* Nina*Brankovic*!

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Abstract( After the 2008 crisis the focus of the European Union education policy on the Vocational education and training measures erupted. It is understood that the structural changes associated with transition have been unfavourable for unskilled workers who have lost employment disproportionately as the skill content of blue collar work has increased due to skill-biased technological change (Commander and Kollo, 2004).

In the light of these developments, this paper explores the VET systems of two countries: Republic of Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. The paper examine institutional framework for vocational education at the national level and on local level and points at the deficits of the VET systems at place and their historical heritage in the Ex Yugoslav educational system. The paper will explore how countries address drop out rate problems, organise selection and mobility into the vocational schools and provide practical training and apprenticeships and their connection to employability. Finally, the paper provides recommendations for each of stakeholder groups for improvement of the VET system and its role in improvement of connection between VET education and labour market in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

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Exploring*VET*policy*and*its*influence*on*unemployment*rate*Bosnia*and*Republic*of*Croatia!

A*Case*Study*Analysis*of*VET*policy*and*practice*in*Bosnia*&*Herzegovina*and*Republic*of*Croatia* Nina*Brankovic*!

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Introduction( The experience of transition in Western Balkan countries, coupled with changes brought by armed conflicts and creation of new states, has led to more intense labour market change than in other parts of Europe (Bartlett, 2007). As a result of changes during the last two decades many industrial developments declined and many industrial plants have disappeared altogether in Western Balkan countries. The fast structural change which has occurred during transition has led to high rates of structural unemployment, compounded by mismatch between the skills required in the declining industrial sectors and the new skills required by the emerging services sectors. As a result the unemployment rates reached extremely high level in all Western Balkan countries which, additionally influenced by economic crises and despite several conducted reforms in sectors policies remained today. The majority of unemployed population has vocational education which places significant challenges to VET reforms in these countries. Bosnia and Herzegovina and Republic of Croatia as part of Western Balkan countries faces similar challenges in development and implementation of VET. Following the EU agenda these countries became part of Torino, a possible ways forward in VET policy and system development in order to achieve Bruges CommuniquĂŠ goals in these countries.

In the light of these developments, this paper will explore the VET systems of two countries (Republic of Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina) and examine institutional framework for vocational education at the national level and on local level. The paper will explore how countries address drop out rate problems, organise selection and mobility into the vocational schools and provide practical training and apprenticeships and their connection to employability. Finally, the paper provides recommendations for each of stakeholder groups for improvement of the VET system and its role in improvement of connection between VET education and labor market in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Situation(analysis(( Republic of Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, both faces similar and significant challenges in employability of their VET graduates. According to Labour Force Surveys in Bosnia and Herzegovina , 63% of employees and 71% of the unemployed have vocational secondary education (see Figure 1 in an Appendix). Accordingly, the role of secondary education is of great significance, particularly if it is borne in mind that those who are unemployed over 12 months, i.e. long term unemployed, account for 82.4 % of total unemployment (BIHAS, 2012a). VET is closely related to this, as VET students are substantial cohorts of young people in secondary education of 70-75 %. Consequently, VET graduates are disproportionately represented in unemployment1 as more than 80% of unemployed population in Bosnia and Herzegovina has only three years of high school or less2. At the beginning of the 2011-2012 school years in BiH, 163,417 students were enrolled in 312 secondary schools. Approximately three quarters of them attend VET schools. About 25,000 of them completed their education in June 2012 and mostly applied to employment bureaus. Education outcomes in BiH are well below expectations. VET programmes in BiH are not aimed at increasing practical training and reducing skill gaps in order to meet market needs (Brankovic, Oruc and Jaksic 2013).

Education in general, particularly secondary education has undergone little reform and is thought to be too broad and insufficiently practical to equip graduates with the types of skills needed to be employable at the workplace (WB, 2009). BiH had strong but jobless economic growth before 2009, insufficient to make a dent into continued high unemployment. What is most worrisome is that about half of the unemployed are first time job-seekers, mostly graduates of secondary or vocational programs. The !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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According to the preliminary results of LFS for 2012, unemployment rate is 28 % (BIHAS, 2012a).

Agency for statistics of Bosnia and Herzegovina 2011

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Exploring*VET*policy*and*its*influence*on*unemployment*rate*Bosnia*and*Republic*of*Croatia!

A*Case*Study*Analysis*of*VET*policy*and*practice*in*Bosnia*&*Herzegovina*and*Republic*of*Croatia* Nina*Brankovic*!

______________________________________________________________________ unemployment rate among 15-24 year olds is a staggering 63.1% (32.6% for male and 64.0% for female) (BIHAS, 2012a) with a large increase from 47.5% in September 20113.

In Croatia the share of workers with three year vocational education remained relatively high and stable during the recent period of growth (32.8% in 2004; 32.7% in 2008). However, the changes in this share have been visible during and after the economic crisis. While economic growth was strong in 2004 the number of unemployed with three years VET declined from 124 000 to 81 000 (Croatian Employment Service). However, this group was influenced particularly hard during the recession as its share in total employment fell to 27.9% by 2011(Dr Matković, et al. 2013) while in 2012 the number of unemployed people with three-year vocational education has increased by 36%, reaching 111 000 (Dr Matković, et al.

2013). This was consistent with the general increase in registered unemployment (averaging 324 000 in 2012) and the share of this group in total unemployment remained unchanged. Research indicates that the decrease in labour market entry dynamics during the crisis period was worse for graduates from threeyear vocational courses than from other levels of education(ASOO, 2011; Matković, 2012).

Enrolment in three-year vocational programmes in Republic of Croatia has seen a steady decline over the past 15 years. As Matkovic et al. explained (Dr Matković, et al. 2013) the number of students completing the final year of such programmes declined from 21 000 in 1998 to 16 000in 2004, less than 13 000 in 2008 and about 11 000 in2011 – effectively halving in just 13 years and declining as a share of upper secondary education graduates from40% to 26%.

The decline in cohort size (from 58 000 in1998 to 46 400 in 2008) translated into a reduction in the number of entrants only in the three-year vocational programmes. The number of placements in more popular technical and grammar schools remained steady over the years due to an unchanging bottom-up system of setting entry quotas (see Section 2.2.2; and ASO, 2006). As Matković et al stressed if vocational programme (regardless of type) in a particular school was filled to capacity in a specific year, it would commonly propose having the same entry quotas for the following year(Dr Matković, et al.

2013). This is partly caused by an entire demographic decline, however, affecting exclusively three-year vocational programmes, in particular the least popular sectors within it (Dr Matković, et al. 2013). If this trend continues, this principle could soon leave three-year VET in ruin (Dr Matković, et al. 2013).A sharp demographic decline of 9 500 is expected in the coming years (between 2011 and 2016). A continuation of the enrolment patterns and principles applied for the past 20 years will result in only about 4 000 students in three-year VET by 2016. This will represent about 10% of the cohort with the poorest grades, leading to a perfect storm of social exclusion, hard-to-teach students and a small pool of vocationallytrained workers ready to enter the labour market(Dr Matković, et al. 2013).

It can be concluded that in both countries there is a substantial cohort of VET graduates in overall secondary education system. It can be also noted that a significant number of VET graduates are unemployed representing the major unemployed educational group. Moreover, majority of them could be found under the label Discouraged, as a subcategory of the inactive population i.e. among those who are not classified as persons in employment or as unemployed persons. The main obstacle to vocational school graduates’ entry into employment is the lack of labour demand with a particular lack of jobs of kinds that fit the educational attainment of the population. There is indication that communication between labour market and VET providers is insufficient which results in inadequate connection between training, employment and competitiveness.

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Agency for statistics of Bosnia and Herzegovina, September 2011

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Exploring*VET*policy*and*its*influence*on*unemployment*rate*Bosnia*and*Republic*of*Croatia!

A*Case*Study*Analysis*of*VET*policy*and*practice*in*Bosnia*&*Herzegovina*and*Republic*of*Croatia* Nina*Brankovic*!

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Theoretical(framework( The relationship between training, employment and competitiveness has been at the centre of European social policy debates for the past three decades. Vocational education and training has had even more attention in EU in last few years. The EU has established the Copenhagen process which aims to promote collaboration between countries in developing their VET education systems to support labor mobility in the single market. VET has come increasingly into the spotlight in the EU following the global economic crisis and its recessionary impact on the EU economies. In December 2010 participants of the Copenhagen process met in Belgium to agree on common objectives in vocational training for 2011-2020 as well as to agree on an action plan for the first years with concrete measures at national level and support at European level. The package of objectives and actions is known as the Bruges Communiqué. It emphasizes the dual role of VET in contributing to employability and economic growth on the one hand, and in promoting social cohesion on the other. The document also sets out 11 strategic objectives for VET in the period 2011-2020. In parallel to Bruges Communiqué the Torino process has been started in Western Balkan countries with an aim to build consensus on possible ways forward in VET policy and system development in order to achieve Bruges Communiqué goals in these countries.

From the Torino Process and Bruges Reports, issues that emerged as the key areas of policy influence stressed that governments, social partners and VET providers should make the necessary arrangements to maximise work-based learning, including apprenticeships, in order to contribute to increasing the number of apprentices in Europe by 2012. Moreover, the dropout rate of VET students should be decreased, additional attention should be put on selection and tracking of students in VET while government should create opportunities for enhanced cooperation between VET institutions and enterprises (profit and nonprofit) and ensure that achieved skills are market relevant (Heyes 2012).

As practice from other countries showed good apprenticeships are valuable as much for the general skills and employment of any sort and has value for people’s later careers and chances (Wolf 2011 March).

Moreover, as Alison Wolf stressed work experiences still offer an alternative progression route, while many formal qualifications are not worth having at all (Wolf 2011 March). The EU countries are playing with occupation-oriented systems - ‘corporatist’ (e.g. Germany, Austria, and the Netherlands) and those which are focused on general, school-based education - ‘market-led’ (e.g. the UK and France) and the various types of training measures (school based training, apprenticeships) follow the systems differences (Heyes 2012). A number of studies have sought to account for differences in the extent of training activity. Comparative studies (for example, Ashton and Green, 1996; Brown et al., 2001; Whitley, 1999) have analysed linkages between national skill formation and production systems and examined the extent to which decisions relating to training are discussed, negotiated or co-determined by employers and worker representatives. The apprenticeship is becoming more important, it must involve a real job (Richard 2012) and it should not simply be a package of mainly classroom-based vocational study, as has sometimes previously been the case (UK 2013). Recent studies are focusing on introduction of effective apprenticeships showed that obtaining a vocational qualification (as opposed to an academic one) on an employer-provided course provides a higher return than obtaining a qualification on a non- employerprovided course. (K. Ananidaou et al. 300). K. Ananidaou et al. showed that training and apprenticeship also had an impact in reducing the likelihood of experiencing unemployment, with company training again having the longest lasting effects, of some 13 years, whereas regular school sources of training effects disappeared within seven years. (K. Ananidaou et al. 302).

Moreover, Bruges Communiqué and the Torino process assert the role of VET in achieving the Europe 2020 headline target of reducing the rate of early leavers from education to less than 10%. Similarly, recently prepared Europe 2020 Strategy for South East Europe highlights the priority of the prevention of

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Exploring*VET*policy*and*its*influence*on*unemployment*rate*Bosnia*and*Republic*of*Croatia!

A*Case*Study*Analysis*of*VET*policy*and*practice*in*Bosnia*&*Herzegovina*and*Republic*of*Croatia* Nina*Brankovic*!

______________________________________________________________________ early school leavers (RCC August 2013) and decrease of the drop out. One of the major resosn for drop out is truancy as statistics show that truancy or school absence in the EU countries occurs amongst 1020% of the school population (UNDP 2011). The drop out has been stressed as one of the major issues that indirectly influence employment rates between students that are in VET. Different policies are developed to tackle the problem of drop out and the reserach shows that they have to be adapted to the local context (Brankovic, Oruc and Jaksic 2013).

Furthermore, one of the significant challenges of VET education that influences the finalisation of VET and employability of VET graduates is selection and tracking. Significant differences are happening between countries in the degree of selection and tracking in secondary education. It is more-less practice that countries select more able students into academic pathways, and less able students into vocational pathways. As a result some OECD countries have introduced comprehensive education up to about the age fifteen and do not allow tracking before then. However it is not fully up to policies as individual choice significantly regulate this selection as given the same choice opportunities, individuals with a lower socio-economic background tend to opt for vocational training instead of academic education, because they perceive university education as involving higher costs in the form of deferred income, a higher risk of failure and lower benefits, because completion of higher education is less necessary to maintain their class position relative to that of their parents (Breen and Goldthorpe, 1997). Over the years, the Breen–Goldthorpe model and its extensions have found significant empirical support (Becker, 2003; Becker and Hecken, 2009; Jaeger, 2007; StockÊ, 2007).

In order to respond to VET policy reform with a focus on work-based learning, including apprenticeships, reducing the dropout rate and approach to selection and tracking in VET the EU countries and Western Balkan countries developed different strategies. Moreover, a number of scholars addressed these topics and provided in depth insight into the best potentials that could be taken into account when similar policies are introduced in countries of our interest. The paper will provide insight into the VET policies and practice in BIH and Croatia and would try to provide more lights into the recent development in this area in these countries.

Methodology( This research uses the case studies from Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia to illustrate recent trends in development and implementation of VET in these countries. Bosnia and Herzegovina and Republic of Croatia are part of Western Balkan region while both countries were part of the same country for more than 50 years and share the same education development heritage. While European influence could be also traced in the way the VET system were organized as Republic of Croatia is the EU member from July 2013 and Bosnia and Herzegovina follow the path to become EU member , there is significant influence of the socialist philosophy and planning economy of the ex-Yugoslav federation. This heritage makes educational systems in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Republic of Croatia still challenged by same issues that are relatively connected to educational systems of the ex-Yugoslav countries (Miroljub Ignjatović October 2003 ). Moreover, both countries share very similar language and there is a copying policies tendency from Republic of Croatia to Bosnia and Herzegovina following the European accession path. In addition, the recent research showed that more than 40% of population of Republic of Croatia has some family connections (or either is born) in Bosnia and Herzegovina (Skoko 2012) while the influence from Republic of Croatia on Bosnia and Herzegovina education development parts is still very present4. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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This claim is referred to two schools under one roof policy and policies in Herzegovina part where Croatian language and history

are part of regular education.

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Exploring*VET*policy*and*its*influence*on*unemployment*rate*Bosnia*and*Republic*of*Croatia!

A*Case*Study*Analysis*of*VET*policy*and*practice*in*Bosnia*&*Herzegovina*and*Republic*of*Croatia* Nina*Brankovic*!

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At the beginning of the research the desk analysis of statistical data, legal and policy framework that regulate vocational education and labour market in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Republic of Croatia was conducted. The major focus of the literature review was on assessment of available reports, journals and other materials pertinent to vocational education and training. The following phase included interviews with national policy makers, policy advisors and stakeholders to identify key issues relating VET in each country. The available statistical data on vocational education were collected. However, due to highly fragmented education system in Bosnia and Herzegovina there is lack of relevant data on national level while numbers of indicators are not followed.

These research questions that have emerged at the first stage of the research and were basis for further research activities: 1. What is the influence of selection and tracking on further employment, if any, in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Republic of Croatia?

2. What is the extent of drop-out from vocational education in the Bosnia and Herzegovina and Republic of Croatia and influence of drop-out on further employment if any?

3. What are patterns of school-based vocational education and apprenticeship systems and what is their influence on further employment in the Bosnia and Herzegovina and Republic of Croatia ?

The majority of data that have been used for the research were collected as part of the vocation education research focused on inclusion and cohesion within the study “Mapping of VET educational policies and practices for social inclusion and social cohesion in the Western Balkans, Turkey and Israel”, completed

by London School of Economics and Political Science supported by European Training Foundation from Turin in 2013. Moreover, the same author of this research, Brankovic Nina conducted research for Bosnia and Herzegovina case study as part of the LSE ETF project and the research team from Republic of Croatia generously provided data from Republic of Croatia that they have collected. All those data together with additional data conducted through this research were used and analysed from angle of transition to labour market framework without the social inclusion and cohesion dimension.

The research process consisted of an analysis of relevant policy documents and semi-structured interviews with stakeholders in pertinent national agencies and organisations. In-depth data (quantitative and qualitative) were used from three locations in Bosnia and Herzegovina: Sarajevo, Mostar and Foca and in Republic of Croatia: Čakovec, Karlovac and Rijeka.

At these locations, in-depth semi-structured interviews have been conducted with school directors, teachers, employers from small and big companies in local communities, ministry of education at the cantonal level, employment association at the cantonal level with a following distribution: In Bosnia and Herzegovina 33 interviews and 25 in Republic of Croatia.

With the permission of ETF the data from teacher and student questionnaires were analysed through additional and different cross data analyses for the purposes of this study to get information about the VET and labour market dynamics. The criteria for schools selections for this study were in line with criteria for location selection in ETF report and were included the following factors: (i) Consideration of diversity (accounting for economic, socio, cultural, religious, and linguistic differences, urban/rural) (ii) Instrumental learning (academic attainment and practical learning) (iii) Dialogic and/or cooperative learning (iv) Family/community/employers collaborative involvement in the school Considering the political context of Bosnia and Herzegovina additional criterions for school selection were included: inclusion of schools from two entities and inclusion of schools from communities with one

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Exploring*VET*policy*and*its*influence*on*unemployment*rate*Bosnia*and*Republic*of*Croatia!

A*Case*Study*Analysis*of*VET*policy*and*practice*in*Bosnia*&*Herzegovina*and*Republic*of*Croatia* Nina*Brankovic*!

______________________________________________________________________ ethical group dominant. Data from the sample of 271students questionnaires in Bosnia and Herzegovina and 363 responses from Republic of were used from the “Mapping of VET educational policies and practices for social inclusion and social cohesion in the Western Balkans, Turkey and Israel”. A sample of 71 teachers questionnaires from Bosnia and Herzegovina and 60 respondents in total from from Republic of Croatia were used from the same research.

Parts of pupil’s questionnaires that were used for this study addressed selection of school, experience in school, practical training, quality of schooling, transition school to work and future plans while teachers’ questionnaires included experience in teaching process, practical training and transition from school to work for children from the particular school.

The(institutional(framework(for(vocational(education( While the number of VET students is similar in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Republic of Croatia the institutional setup is different. VET accounts for 75 % of enrolment in upper secondary education in Bosnia and Herzegovina in Republic of Croatia the number of education students enrolled in VET is 70,7% (in 2011). VET is in Bosnia and Herzegovina(World Bank, 2009; Corradini et al., 2012) and in Republic of Croatia offered in two forms: • Through four-year technical profiles, leading to employment, enrolment in non-university postsecondary vocational education or to higher education. In Republic of Croatia such ‘technician’ programmes, although nominally vocational, enable access to the state matriculation exam. This puts the four-year graduates on track to tertiary education with no formal restrictions – a path way that most of them pursue (ASO, 2006; and ASOO, 2011).

• Through three-year vocational profiles leading to specific profession including crafts, and employment. Three-year vocational programmes in Republic of Croatia (which accounted for 26% of enrolments in 2011) focus exclusively on preparing graduates for labour market entry.

There are two main sub-types: (i) predominantly school-based programmes for industrial and trade occupations; and (ii) an integrated educational model (jedinstveni model obrazovanja, JMO) deliver in training for craft occupations through apprenticeship arrangements. These programmes do not enable access to the matriculation exam. Nor do they provide a path way to tertiary education – students need to complete the fourth year and take the matriculation exam to qualify for tertiary level entry. Graduates from craft programmes can proceed to sit a ‘master’s’ exam, enabling them to start their own businesses, employ workers and train apprentices. About 1 000 people per year pass this exam. In order to qualify, however, the candidate must have two years of prior employment experience within the occupation. In the current climate, this condition can prove quite challenging for young people, as labour demand is weak and many craft businesses are struggling due to the crisis. In BIH students are allowed to continue their studies to the next educational level by passing the fourth year and taking additional exams in high school (Dr Matković, et al. 2013).

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Exploring*VET*policy*and*its*influence*on*unemployment*rate*Bosnia*and*Republic*of*Croatia!

A*Case*Study*Analysis*of*VET*policy*and*practice*in*Bosnia*&*Herzegovina*and*Republic*of*Croatia* Nina*Brankovic*!

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Chart: Vocational education in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Republic of Croatia These forms of VET are having its roots in education system of Ex Yugoslavia. The major difference is matriculation exam which is established in Republic of Croatia while in BIH this exam is still a policy discussions topic. The standardised state matriculation exam, which was introduced in 2010 in Republic of Croatia general secondary education, the evaluation of education outcomes for three-year programmes is organised at school level with the support of employers. Two master crafts people, selected by the county branch of the Croatian Chamber of Trades and Crafts are involved.

However, research showed that the matriculation exam in Republic of Croatia created certain barrier for students completing VET in their vertical mobility to further studies. Technical school students face no formal barriers in taking the state matriculation exam (and most do take it, albeit in general with weaker outcomes than grammar school students). Students completing industrial and craft programmes, on the other hand, face significant barriers on their potential pathways to tertiary education. Those aspiring to continue education require a great deal of determination and have to acquire a lot of new skills and knowledge (Crnković-Pozaić, 2009, p. 14). Consequently, according to the Euro student 2010 survey (Farnell et al., 2011, p. 38), only about 9% of students in professional higher education and no university students have previously completed three-year vocational education. Legislative changes in 2012 obliged all schools with three-year programmes to organise an additional (tuition-free) fourth year for students aiming to continue to tertiary education5.However, data indicate that this provision has had little effect in practice so far, as most schools fail to organize his additional year due to a lack of material and human resources and a lack of interest in the scheme (Dr Matković, et al. 2013).

The institutional setup for VET in BIH and Republic of Croatia is very different and reflect the political system of both countries. While there are 13 ministries of education at different levels in Bosnia and !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

5 !Such!a!route!was!previously!an!opportunity!within!the!paidLfor!adult!education!sector,!and!one!which!about!1%!of!tertiary!education!students! in!2010!pursued!(Farnell!et!al.,!2011).!

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Exploring*VET*policy*and*its*influence*on*unemployment*rate*Bosnia*and*Republic*of*Croatia!

A*Case*Study*Analysis*of*VET*policy*and*practice*in*Bosnia*&*Herzegovina*and*Republic*of*Croatia* Nina*Brankovic*!

______________________________________________________________________ Herzegovina6 there is a central ministry of education in Republic of Croatia (details provided in Annex).

One of the significant difference in VET organisation is the better coordination of VET providers and employers in Republic of Croatia compared to BiH. The Croatian Chamber of Trades and Crafts is heavily involved in craft programmes with respect to their curricula, apprenticeships and practical exam evaluation. Following legislative reforms in 2009, the national Council for VET has become a key body within the institutional framework of VET in Republic of Croatia. It acts as a high-level forum for discussion and coordination between competent stakeholders.

The 17-member body includes representatives from the education system and related agencies. It also includes representatives of the Croatian Employers’ Association, the Croatian Chamber of Trades and Crafts, the Croatian Chamber of Economy, trade unions, academia and civil society organisations (organizacije civilnog društva) working with people with disabilities. Despite its mostly advisory role, the Council for VET has the necessary competence to propose education sectors to the Ministry of Education, Science and Sports provided it has received a positive opinion on the proposal from the Agency for Vocational Education and Training and Adult Education. Vocational education is currently divided into 30 specific vocational fields, grouped in 13 broad education sectors, each having a sectorial council7.

Most sectors include both technical and vocational courses. Although a large number of programmes are available, only a few are attended by more than handful students. While the curriculum is established at national level, the schools are run and managed by school boards. Three members of the board are elected from the ranks of teachers (one through the works council),one by parents and three by the founder .Since 2001, the school principal has been elected by the board. Wages are paid from the state budget, but running and investment expenses are financed from the county budget. This accounts for the importance of the county education department, which is also the primary source of scholarship grants for students.

The establishment of VET Councils in BIH as advisory bodies is stated in the state Framework Law on VET as a crucial step in enabling labour market stakeholders to influence VET policy. The Conference of Education Ministers advocated the establishment of VETAC but the VETAC at the county-wide level has not been established and no efforts have been made to do so. It is not clear for most of policy makers how to establish the VETAC: just one of them or 13 of them for each family of occupations. However, the establishment of 13 councils should be organised in each of cantons /entity which could create an additional confusion. Nevertheless, the establishment of VET Advisory Councils should be promoted.

When it comes to the school autonomy there is some differences between BIH and Republic of Croatia.

Schools in Republic of Croatia have some leeway to adapt the teaching plan and programme; according to the provisions of the Act on Vocational Education they may amend up to 15% of the vocational curricula.

The schools in Bosnia and Herzegovina are allowed to change 10% of its curriculum independently, while the rest is established by the responsible ministry through extensive bureaucracy. Moreover, in Republic of Croatia some autonomy is granted when it comes to adhering to pedagogical standards in line with the resources available to the school. The schools also have freedom with regard to the choice of teaching approach and literature outlined in the study plan. When it comes to hiring and firing, school autonomy is !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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!Dayton!peace!agreement!in!BIH!defined!institutional!setup!of!the!country!and!all!jurisdictions!in!Bosnia!and!Herzegovina!including!VET!so!the! main!institutions!that!deal!with!education!and!VET!are:!

• At!the!countryLwide!level:!(i)!Ministry!of!Civil!Affairs!(MoCA)!with!its!sector!for!Education!and!(ii)!Agency!for!PreLprimary,!Primary! and!Secondary!Education!in!BiH!with!its!VET!Department!

• At!the!entity/district!level:!(i)!Ministry!for!Education!of!FBiH,!(ii)!Ministry!for!Education!of!RS!and!(iii)!Department!for!Education!in!

Brcko!District!

• At!the!level!of!FBiH:!10!Cantonal!ministries!of!education!

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! Sectoral councils are composed of representatives of key stakeholders within specific education sectors. They are tasked with providing advice to the ASOO regarding issues such as defining necessary levels of vocational qualifications and their content; analysing competency requirements within the respective sector; promoting employment; and developing educational profiles.! !

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Exploring*VET*policy*and*its*influence*on*unemployment*rate*Bosnia*and*Republic*of*Croatia!

A*Case*Study*Analysis*of*VET*policy*and*practice*in*Bosnia*&*Herzegovina*and*Republic*of*Croatia* Nina*Brankovic*!

______________________________________________________________________ limited in both countries: while decisions are made at the school level, each actions subject to the approval of the corresponding ministry.

In BIH schools have formal autonomy but the practice is different. The major decision making jurisdiction is on cantonal level, Republic of Srpska and Brcko District levels respectively. According to the Framework Law on Primary and Secondary Education in BiH, schools are permitted to design and carry out activities in accordance with the needs of the local market. Schools are also allowed to associate and merge to realize common interests. In addition, they may conduct commercial activities, particularly if related to vocational training, and use revenues in accordance with regulations. However, according to some views, schools have limited interest in commercial activities because of the centralized financial system (Brankovic, Oruc and Jaksic 2013). More precisely, central collection of income generated by schools, in accordance with the way the treasury operates, is a complex administrative process that provides no opportunities for financial incentives and upgrading of equipment8. Under the current rules, schools must obtain approval from the pedagogical institutes and education ministries for each activity they wish to undertake9 (Corradini et al., 2012). School does not have its own account, so the funds it generates go to the treasury of the Ministry, and only after a time consuming and complicated bureaucratic process the school can utilize some percentage of these funds.

It can be noted that the development of the VET policies and implementation differ between Republic of Croatia and BiH. The major differences are in institutional setup where Republic of Croatia is more centrally organised while BIH jurisdiction is more decentralised. Moreover, the communication with employers is formally established in Republic of Croatia while BiH still lack this cooperation on the country level and putting VET Councils into the practice is of major importance for BiH. Finally countries differ in autonomy left to schools when it comes to implementation and organisation of VET.

School(communities( The three locations of schools selected for this study are Sarajevo, Mostar and Foča in Bosnia and Cakovac, Karlovac and Rijeka in Republic of Croatia.

The first school of Bosnia and Herzegovina case is situated in Sarajevo which is the capital city of the country, with approximately 350,000 inhabitants, while the Sarajevo canton that includes surrounding towns has around 420,000 inhabitants. Sarajevo is placed well above the national average according to different economic and social indicators. Its GDP per capita is twice the country’s average, while the poverty rate is only 5.2%, well below the national average of 18.6%. Also, the unemployment rate is lowest in the country.

Mostar is the largest city in the southern part of the country (Herzegovina). It was traditionally the location of large manufacturing industries, including production of military aircrafts. However, the manufacturing in the region was severely affected by the war in 1992-1995 and the transition processes, where the output of the manufacturing industry was reduced considerably, and the share of services increases. Such a change that was not followed by the changes in the educational system resulted in large skills mismatches in this region. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

8

An example of the negative impact of the treasury system can be seen with the agricultural school that made EUR 156,000 from incomegenerating activities only to see the entire amount blocked within the system where they were unable to access it (Corradini et al., 2012).

9 According to Mr. Hajrudin Hadžimehanović, Assistant Minister of Federation of BiH, the school could turn to the Ministry with its request and the issue of sub-account could be resolved. In other words, the problem of sub-account could be handled without difficulties. However, Mr. Perkan Pervan, a principal of Hotel and Tourism School in Mostar, which is famous for having its students employed even before certificates are issued to them, has also complained about this sub-account. Mr. Miljenko Miloš, Principal of Electro-Technical School in Mostar, complains about the allocation of revenues: 60 % goes to the Cantonal Budget and 40 % to the School. According to Corradini et al., (2012), the funds obtained through income-generating activities are treated in Herzegovina-Neretva Canton are allocated at this way: 35% of funds obtained through income-generating activities are deposited in the central budget while the remaining 65% are used to pay teachers and taxes leaving very little if anything for investment in school infrastructure or equipment.

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Exploring*VET*policy*and*its*influence*on*unemployment*rate*Bosnia*and*Republic*of*Croatia!

A*Case*Study*Analysis*of*VET*policy*and*practice*in*Bosnia*&*Herzegovina*and*Republic*of*Croatia* Nina*Brankovic*!

______________________________________________________________________ Foča is a town located in the south-eastern part of Bosnia-Herzegovina, and is the centre of the least developed region of the country. The town has around 25,000 inhabitants. Most of its industry is based on wood processing and the selected school provide wood processing VET. Its GDP per capita is below the BiH average and poverty rate is twice larger that the country’s average.

Table 5: Selected economic indicators for regions where schools are located

Region/Canton Foča Neretva Sarajevo BiH

GDP per capita 5667 7592 13024 6,371

Population 57,269 226,632 421,289 3,843,126

Poverty rate 37 9.9 5.2 18.6

No. of students per 1000 inhabitants 116 174 186 160

No. of schools per 1000 inhabitants 0.7 0.7 0.3 0.6

Employme nt rate 17.9 22.5 33.7 33.2

Unemplo yment rate 42.2 40.9 34.5 43.3

Source: UNDP (2011) and annual reports of statistical offices in BiH The first school from Republic of Croatia is situated in the moderately large city of Karlovac (population: 56 000), located half an hour’s drive from Zagreb. The city is in the centre of a county of the same name which had a total population of 129 000 in 2011 (Dr Matković, et al. 2013). Within the last decade the decline happened in three-year vocational programmes, where the graduate cohort fell from 503 to 331 (a drop of 34%). The chosen school, with 440 students, is one of eight upper secondary schools in Karlovac.

The school runs courses in the vocational sectors of construction, food production and personal services.

Most of these are three-year apprenticeship based programmes. Some courses (for non-craft vocations) are run as traditional, school-based, three year vocational programmes.

Another school is situated in the medium-sized town of Čakovec (population: 27 000), located in the county of Međimurje, close to the Slovenian, Hungarian and Austrian borders. Within the last decade the decline happened in three year vocational programmes, where the graduate cohort fell from 595 to 426 (a drop of 28%), but still comprised respectable share of about 35% of upper secondary education graduates in Međimurje (Dr Matković, et al. 2013). The chosen school is one of five in the county that provides craft and industrial vocational courses. About 660 students attend the school. The school population is mostly female, as the school offers 12 regular vocational courses in the fields of agriculture and food production, transport, textile and leather, and personal services (two of them are four-year technical courses). The school dropout rate is quite low, but the incidence of teenage pregnancies is quite high (Dr Matković, et al. 2013).

The third school chosen in Republic of Croatia is situated in Rijeka on the northern. The 15-19 cohort is quite small (13 792 in2011). Due to the long-standing low fertility rate in the region, the annual number of upper secondary education graduates declined significantly between 2001 and 2011, from 3 381 to 2 635 where most of this decline was reflected in three-year craft and industrial VET(Dr Matković, et al.

2013). Consequently, only 20% of the upper secondary education graduates cohort in the Primorskogoranska county currently enter the labour market with three year VET credentials (the figure for Rijeka is 15%) (Dr Matković, et al. 2013). The chosen school is one of eight providing three-year vocational courses in Rijeka. It is quite small (four classes per year) and runs three-year vocational programmes in the fields of agriculture, construction and personal services.

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Exploring*VET*policy*and*its*influence*on*unemployment*rate*Bosnia*and*Republic*of*Croatia!

A*Case*Study*Analysis*of*VET*policy*and*practice*in*Bosnia*&*Herzegovina*and*Republic*of*Croatia* Nina*Brankovic*!

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Research(findings( Educational(mobility(and(streaming( Countries in South East Europe tend to have retained the distinction between vocational and academic schools. In Ex Yugoslavia, after 1981 a unified school!based system of education and training of youth and adults was introduced. Education and training programmes in high school were designed so as to provide a double qualification, either for the labour market or for continuation of education at the tertiary level (Ivančič 2008) where children were asked to specialize for their desired profession as early as at the age of 15 and where specialization was even narrower in the third and fourth years.

This previous system influenced current systems in Republic of Croatia and Bosnia, where vocational education subject-specific specialization takes place too early, while the curriculum is too narrowly focused on subject specific skills, competencies, and attitudes (Bejaković 2004) which negatively influence the flexicurity, the concept which has come to dominate the EU employment policy prescriptions (European Commission, 2007: 10) and relates to ‘integrated strategy to enhance, at the same time, flexibility and security in the labour market’ (Heyes 2012).

When it comes to school selection by parents or students the data from the research showed some interesting correlations. In school selection there is strong correlation of parent’s education in both countries which confirmed international research where preferences for different kinds of education are strongly influenced by the individual’s educational background (Busemeyer, Cattaneo i Wolter 2011, Papadakis, 1993). Therefore, children in both countries whose parents (mother and father separately measured) have VET education would have more chances to select VET education as well.

With regards to the choice of vocational instead of other type of school, the most important reasons for such a choice are of economic nature (to earn more money in the future, or to increase chances to get a job).The data indicates that majority of students in BIH choose school based on potential for further study while in Republic of Croatia the main reason is further employment10. It is somewhat surprising that students in BIH expect their job prospects increased after completing VET education, given the fact that VET graduates are disproportionately represented in the unemployed and that they generally find extremely difficult to find a job in a country. This might be explained with a lack of information available to these students in regard to their opportunities to find a job upon school completion which could be partly caused by lack of career counselling in BIH while this system exist in Republic of Croatia.

In order to support student’s selection of the high school based on their abilities, the system of professional orientation (career counselling) has been organized in Ex Yugoslavia and some characteristics of the system are still present in both countries. The professional orientation in Republic of Croatia is organized by employment services and combines on line tools and specific counselling only for most vulnerable groups. In Bosnia the system of professional orientation is not introduced in country while some cantons organise it on an ad hoc basis. According to the data 62% of students in Republic of Croatia and 86% in BIH think that better job counselling in school could improve their job prospects.

Beside individual selection of school some formal regulations provide the entrance from primary to secondary education. Both countries don’t have matura exam at the end of the primary school so the selection policy into secondary schools in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Republic of Croatia is solely based on the students’ performance in primary school but the applied policies in BIH differ from canton !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

10

The score for further study opportunities might be positively biased due to the selection of schools with mainly four-year studies; it should be lower among students in three-year studies, since students are not allowed to enrol in postsecondary studies before completing year four, according to the current legislation on secondary education.

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Exploring*VET*policy*and*its*influence*on*unemployment*rate*Bosnia*and*Republic*of*Croatia!

A*Case*Study*Analysis*of*VET*policy*and*practice*in*Bosnia*&*Herzegovina*and*Republic*of*Croatia* Nina*Brankovic*!

______________________________________________________________________ to canton. The number of years over which performance is measured before enrolment varies across cantons/entity in BIH. In Foča, the last four years are considered with a special focus placed on certain classes relevant for the secondary education direction chosen. In addition, in Foča there are two deadlines for enrolment so that all students can enrol, and if a student does not qualify to enrol into four-year programs, he or she can enrol into three-year programs. The electro-technical school in Mostar considers the marks from the last two years of primary school, also placing higher significance on relevant courses.

Further, the official from the Ministry for Education and Science explained that they are planning to introduce the primary school exit exam, which will nonetheless increases the chances for students to enrol into secondary education institutions of their choice by providing them an additional opportunity to improve their academic standing. Also, in the Sarajevo Canton, first two years of secondary school are compulsory and the government should secure financial and additional teaching support during these two years but, since the policy implementation is left to school preferences it is not present in practice. In conclusion, apart from academic performance there are no other criteria for the selection of students into any of the target schools, on the basis of social and economic standing, gender, origin, nationality, race, religion or place of residence.

The vertical and horizontal mobility among students and teachers leads to the conclusion that streaming in VET has a temporal and spatial dimension due to lack of flexibility in VET curricula. When it comes to selection of schools by students it can be noted that spatial dimension of streaming in high schools in BIH and Republic of Croatia is important as well. The students in Republic of Croatia are more interested for distance to school while students in Bosnia are more interested for travel cost. Interestingly, distance of the school from home is more important in urban areas than in rural areas in BIH. In Republic of Croatia, students travelling from rural areas or living in student dormitories sometimes decide to change school, making a new educational choice based on spatial proximity to reduce the financial burden. A few streaming patterns can be identified among VET students that are characteristic for BiH. In BIH it is also common that many Bosnian Serb parents living in Sarajevo send their children across the inter-entity boundary to Republika Srpska so that they can attend a school following the curriculum in Serbian, even if the quality of education is lower and the distance greater, and even if children have to walk considerable distances along main roads (Swimelar 2012).

When it comes to horizontal as well as vertical mobility, changing courses or streams between three-year and four-year programmes is usually allowed and encouraged at the start of the secondary education programme. Changing streams usually happens in BIH and Republic of Croatia between similar courses or programmes (e.g. from an adapted gardening programme to a regular gardening programme) since there are fewer exams that need to be passed in order to make up for the difference between programmes or required hours of practical training. Ideally, if students wish to change, they should do so in the first semester after they enrol in secondary school. As time passes, entering a different stream or course becomes more demanding for students, as the number of exams they have to pass in order to make up for the difference between programmes and the amount of catch-up required in terms of firm-based training mount. There is therefore a greater risk of failing an academic year11 when entering a new stream.

Horizontal mobility in Republic of Croatia may increase the chance of grade retention for some students who were unable to find an apprenticeship in time or to make up for practical training. It is important to state that horizontal mobility between popular and unpopular vocational courses is limited due to a lack of vacancies in the former. At the same time in BiH, due to strong decentralisation (where inter !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

11 !Croatia and BIH have a practice and policy of ‘grade retention’, meaning that a student who does not make satisfactory progress

by the end of the school year can be retained in the same academic year as a remedial measure to help overcome his/her educational difficulties.!

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Exploring*VET*policy*and*its*influence*on*unemployment*rate*Bosnia*and*Republic*of*Croatia!

A*Case*Study*Analysis*of*VET*policy*and*practice*in*Bosnia*&*Herzegovina*and*Republic*of*Croatia* Nina*Brankovic*!

______________________________________________________________________ cantonal/entity mobility is not properly monitored) the horizontal mobility is not properly followed and is sometimes even referred as dropout.

When it comes to vertical mobility, academic achievement is relevant. Students who underachieve and risk dropping out after they enter four-year programmes often take a chance and enter less demanding three year programmes. Mobility from three-year to four-year programmes is more difficult. It is mostly merit-based as students need to have good grades in order for the teachers’ council to allow them to transfer between programmes.

Moreover, some other context, economic and social including family conditions, have been noted as influential in VET streaming and even though they haven’t been researched in detail they have to be mentioned. It is noted that certain demographic and socio-economic trends can be observed in each of the targeted schools, with regards to the region they are located in and the type of education they offer. In BIH, Mostar, even though the school places no preference in the selection process on social backgrounds, trends show that four-year students come mainly from the middle class while three-year students come from rural areas. It is indicative that children without parental care in almost all cases attend vocational schools. In communication with children without parental care they explained that their guardians strictly advised them to select VET and not grammar school. Moreover, it can be noted that students from BIH choose schools mainly as to potential of further study while in Republic of Croatia the dominant factor is further employment.

Dropout( The policies for monitoring and prevention of drop out differ between BIH and Republic of Croatia and even between the countries itself. There is no structured system for tracking dropout rates in any of the target schools in BIH12 while in Republic of Croatia some system exists. There are no statistics on truancy, even though experience has shown that this problem is present in BiH. This is related to the issue of poor statistics in general and to the poor VET statistics in particular. Moreover, it is influenced by highly divided cantonal/entity jurisdiction where the communication about children moving from one to other schools is not properly monitored. However, the school staffs of all three schools in BIH claim that they have information, through informal data, that the number of dropouts is very low. This is especially particular for the case of Foča, which is a small community so the school staff is informed through personal relationships with the students and contacts with people in the community. The employment bureaus in the cities of the three target schools do not track dropout rates either. However, in Foča, an idea about the number of students dropping out each year could be found from the Employment Bureau of the Republic of Srpska which has records on the education level and employment of all individuals registered, and delivers a report to the school regularly. The practice is similar in Republic of Croatia where teachers and principals claim that school dropout tends to be rare13. They maintain that the decision to drop out is usually voluntary, made by the student and his or her parents, and not as a result of a disciplinary action or a decision by the school. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

12 ! According to the “Action Plan for Enrolment in Schools and Attendance of Classes” developed by national experts with the support of the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina and UNICEF (signed by all ministers of education and published in May 2006), all deficiencies of the then system of education were planned to be remedied. One of the tasks was regular coordination of activities amongst competent bodies, namely the municipalities, centres for social work, the ministries of education and the statistics bureaus, with comprehensive data collection and exchange. To date, such regular coordination appears not to have been set up since schools do not have adequate records that would allow them to monitor dropouts and thus find better solutions to this problem.

(UNDP 2011) 13 No reliable indicator on upper secondary education dropout currently exists at national level. The LFS-based share of early school-leavers has remained stable at about 5% over the last decade. Using this information, it is possible to estimate the share of people who fail to complete three-year VET programmes by comparing the number of students completing the final year and the number of entrants three years prior to this. Dropout estimates ranging between 13% and 17% can be deduced for the period between 2003 and 2011 (see ASO, 2006).

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Exploring*VET*policy*and*its*influence*on*unemployment*rate*Bosnia*and*Republic*of*Croatia!

A*Case*Study*Analysis*of*VET*policy*and*practice*in*Bosnia*&*Herzegovina*and*Republic*of*Croatia* Nina*Brankovic*!

______________________________________________________________________ However, in both countries it is important to note that from the perspective of school staff, a high dropout rate carries with it the risk of being labeled as a ‘problematic school’, while, as well, there is an institutionalized practice of staff doing everything they can to keep students in school. Therefore, when students drop out, participants cite reasons such as Roma cultural habits (marrying young); a lack of motivation for VET among students; juvenile delinquency; and the cost of school attendance (especially travel costs for those coming from remote areas) (Dr Matković, et al. 2013). These elements pose a risk for students from already vulnerable groups to become multiply disadvantaged – because of their social profile and exclusion from education.

Due to lack of monitoring system for dropping out of school a major discussion has been raised in all schools in Bosnia and Herzegovina about school non-attendance. Schools monitor students’ academic performance and absences, which are the main reasons for dropouts, and they are very responsive to negative trends in this sense. In relation to school attendance parents are obligated to ensure regular attendance of their children in school during the period of compulsory education (Brankovic, Oruc and Jaksic 2013). In case of negligence and irresponsible behaviour, parents are subject to legal sanctions.

Parents also have the right and obligation to, according to the circumstances and their possibilities, urge further education of their children14.

The amount of unexcused absences a student is allowed in BIH to have before being expelled varies from school to school ranging from 25 to 45. In Sarajevo, the system recently changed and further contributed to the reduction in the expulsion of students. As of 2012, a student is allowed to have 45 unexcused absences, which is an increase from 35 as it was previously. Also, there is the statutory obligation for a student to not miss more than 25% of a class. This is a very liberal number because it does not include excused absences and officials in the Ministry of education of Canton Sarajevo explained that they increased the number to facilitate students finalisation of high schools. In contrast, in Mostar, there was a trend of unexcused absences, so the head teacher recently lowered the limit of allowed unexcused absences to 25, with the purpose of improving attendance. While in Foča, according to the school’s attendance policy, a student cannot have more than 29 unexcused absences.

All of the schools have defined internal procedures for dealing with these issues, which involve communication with parents, students and doctors.

Moreover, there is significant support to students in both countries in order to prevent their exclusion from school. These policies refer to measures to reduce non attendance and to provide support to pass exams. There are several informal practices the schools in BIH use, providing opportunities for students, to prevent them from dropping out. In all three BIH target schools, the trend was present of students transferring to other schools prior to being expelled or dropping out. All three schools have the problem of excuses being easy to falsified and readily available on the black market. Further, all three school had the problem of parents condoning their children’ absences and providing excuses, to help the child get a good grade by avoiding exams they are not ready for, or even only because the child does not wish to attend class. This puts students at risk of harmful social factors! which direct to a need for increase education of parents about the consequences as well. Another cause of dropping out or behaviour leading to expulsion was the lack of monitoring of practical education in companies, which leaves kids unsupervised and susceptible to negative influences.

Students in Republic of Croatia, who fail a year, attend classes irregularly or skip practical training face the risk of disciplinary measures escalating in exclusion from school. However, if disciplinary or academic problems arise, students are more likely to be streamed into an ‘easier route’ (Dr Matković, et al. 2013). This is common practice. Students who do face some kind of disciplinary measure usually do not end up being excluded. This kind of practice is in accordance with a pedagogical educational measure, !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

14Article 27 of the Framework law on primary and secondary education in Bosnia and Herzegovina

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Exploring*VET*policy*and*its*influence*on*unemployment*rate*Bosnia*and*Republic*of*Croatia!

A*Case*Study*Analysis*of*VET*policy*and*practice*in*Bosnia*&*Herzegovina*and*Republic*of*Croatia* Nina*Brankovic*!

______________________________________________________________________ known in Croatian as mjera produženog stručnog postupka: a grace period of three months before a decision on exclusion from the school is finalized. (Dr Matković, et al. 2013). In both countries policies aim to ensure that exclusion from the school is justified and the only option left. As a precaution against grade retention or repeating individual classes, teachers usually set lower criteria, provide additional instructions and repeat exams in order to assist students to pass. Such practices are likely to decrease the incidence of dropping out.

However, when it comes to children that for some reason drop out of school in Republic of Croatia there are several possible routes are open to those who drop out but in BIH it is extremely difficult to return students to the system. While in Republic of Croatia if a decision is made within a prescribed time frame, early dropouts are allowed to return to school or enrol in a different school programme, those children who drop out from the school system in BIH have an option to complete secondary education only if they pay for external completion of the high school. The amount needed for irregular completion of high school is usually too high for children to continue education and policy in different cantons/entity/Brcko District are different. For example, the Ministry of Education Sport and Youth in Canton Sarajevo will only support two students and provide them with an opportunity to complete high school irregularly.

In Republic of Croatia VET students in craft courses have the opportunity to gain a qualification by passing a specific exam known as pomoćnički ispit in the final year (Dr Matković, et al. 2013). With this exam they are not obliged to pass the final school examination (required to gain a high school diploma).

They therefore have a qualification that is required in the job market but is not a secondary education diploma. According to the Croatian Chamber of Trades and Crafts, this option is not being used in practice (Dr Matković, et al. 2013).

Moreover, if they drop out, they can apply to the Croatian Employment Service and use one of the available active labour market measures. Some of these measures lead to further training that enables early leavers to gain a qualification. Another option is to enrol in adult education programmes, usually offered in vocational schools (for which tuition fees must be paid) or in adult education institutions. It can be an important remedy to correct for early dropout and support second-chance opportunities.

Unfortunately, the adult education is still not regulated as the level of BIH and there is no policies in all cantons that would provide this opportunity for students in BIH. All of the above indicates that better guidance and counselling is needed to make sure that students follow the most appropriate route. Better links with employers may be important in preventing dropout as well as improving apprenticeship training and assisting integration into the labour force.

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Exploring*VET*policy*and*its*influence*on*unemployment*rate*Bosnia*and*Republic*of*Croatia!

A*Case*Study*Analysis*of*VET*policy*and*practice*in*Bosnia*&*Herzegovina*and*Republic*of*Croatia* Nina*Brankovic*!

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Practical(training(and(apprenticeship( In BIH and Republic of Croatia apprenticeship still does not have needed attention from policy makers.

Practical classes are organised in all schools in BIH and Republic of Croatia as practical class in school (if it is technologically equipped school, students have the opportunity to work on various data bases, operational systems and hardware), individual apprenticeship or group visits to companies. However, Republic of Croatia is on more advanced level, where the JMO (Integrated education model) introduced the apprenticeship-based system in which firm-based training is supposed to comprise about half of the total student’s workload. Some school staff complain about overwhelming paperwork for students; the difficulties involved in combining a large number of practical hours with the school programme; and the Case studies: School policies response to decrease drop out In Sarajevo the school contacts the parent if the student has five or more negative grades or misses several classes in a row. A meeting is held with the parents and students, and issues are discussed openly. Furthermore, with regards to improving students’ academic performance, additional, extracurricular, classes are organized, with no additional compensation, but they have not yielded the expected results because the students who they were intended for did not attend. In order to prevent students from skipping classes uncontrollably, and spending their time on the street where they are at risk of behaviours and influences, the school instituted the practice of conducting verification of excuse notes. If a student has more than two notes, it is the teachers’ responsibility to contact the parents and doctors and determine whether the absences were in fact justified.

In Mostar, the school contacts the parents if they notice negative behaviour from the student, so to act on time and keep him or her from crime. Also, if a student fails to attend school for the second day in a row, the councillor contacts the parent. Further, there is a limit as to how many days in a given time period a parent can justify before a doctor’s note is required. If absences become too high the councillor contacts the pedagogue who then takes action. Another trend is that children enrolled in VET more often miss classes while those in high school have more negative marks for behaviour.

In Foča, if trends of constant absences are observed, the health centre is contacted to verify if the student has a chronic condition. Next, the parents are contacted and asked to sign an agreement declaring that they will pay special attention to their children’s academic performance and absences. The biggest trend in absences occurs amongst students in their third year of secondary education. The school also involves the pedagogue, psychologist, the school board, and the teachers’ council, the Centre for Social Services, the Red Cross and the Ministry of Internal Affairs, thus creating cohesion. Students are also given the possibility to transfer into a lower degree if the one they are currently in is too challenging. Another problem noted in Foča was the trend of parents not taking care of the students, due to life circumstances, long hours spent at work, health or social problems, not paying attention to their academic performance, absences, health condition and hygiene. Thus the school tries to identify such occurrences and takes measures to change this, from contacting the parent to contacting the centre for social services.

! VET model in three-year vocational education (Dr coexistence of the classical (school-based) and JMO Matković, et al. 2013). However, as Matkovic explained (Dr Matković, et al. 2013) crafts people argue that more practical work for students and more cooperation between schools and employers is an advantage. Literature showed that the relevance of the training and flexibility of delivery are more important to employers than who provides it and whether or not it is accredited (Cully 2005) so the craft people in Republic of Croatia consider practical training to be an improvement on the previous system. !

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Exploring*VET*policy*and*its*influence*on*unemployment*rate*Bosnia*and*Republic*of*Croatia!

A*Case*Study*Analysis*of*VET*policy*and*practice*in*Bosnia*&*Herzegovina*and*Republic*of*Croatia* Nina*Brankovic*!

______________________________________________________________________ The Wolf Report stressed that the key relations in VET should be between regulated (i.e. recognised) Awarding Bodies, employers and schools and colleges. Employers would be the key arbiters of quality rather than ministries of education or schools and the model would help recreate and strengthen a genuine relationship between vocational education and the labour market (Wolf 2011 March).

The quality is exactly the problem in BIH and Republic of Croatia even the school based practical training is formally organised in both countries. 88% of students in BIH and 60% in Republic of Croatia believe that improvements of the curriculum that they follow in school would contribute to their future job prospects with 43% of BIH students and 21% of students from the Republic of Croatia that think that the improvements would very much contribute. Some schools in BIH were able to equip several smart class rooms, like the school in Sarajevo, which contain the most up to date computer technology. In the schools in the case study in Republic of Croatia, some programmes were run as ‘classical’ school-based programmes (in the case of florists, gardeners, motor vehicle drivers and several construction-related occupations). However, little information was provided on the patterns of school-based practices there, apart from school owned garden-plots and cooperatives (Dr Matković, et al. 2013). The Sarajevo school has independently created several smart classrooms equipped with modern technology so its students can acquire practical experience and be competitive in the labour market once they graduate which students consider very useful. This plays a great role in school-based vocational education and apprenticeship systems, as the student can conduct extensive practical work and develop skills which will enable them future employment.

At an institutional level, several barriers to inclusive apprenticeship were identified in both countries.

While the literature showed that there is a need to a robust means of testing whether the apprentice has reached the desired level of competency (Richard 2012) there is a lack of quality assurance in firm-based training in both countries. According to both school and community in Republic of Croatia, the students’ experiences with firm-based apprenticeships can vary from their being used as free labour to gaining high-quality training that enables them to integrate well into the world of work and develop a work ethic (Dr Matković, et al. 2013). As literature showed apprenticeships require a new job role, a role that is new to the individual and requires them to learn a substantial amount before they can do that job effectively (Richard 2012). So there should be ensured that apprenticeships are training people for real and specific skilled occupations, they also must ensure that an apprenticeship is broad enough to equip someone with genuinely transferable skills: skills which they will need and use in any job, and skills which enable them to be competent and confident beyond the confines of their current job, both in their sector as a whole, and beyond it (Wolf 2011 March). This is hardly achievable if the monitoring and quality assurance is not organized. Students in BIH and Republic of Croatia sometimes accept firm-based training wherever it is available (regardless of quality) due to the shortage of accredited workshops. The end result is that sometimes training delivery turns out to be sub-standard and schools have no effective instruments to intervene. The varied experiences of students indicate that there is no adequate quality assurance, which can affect students’ development of professional skills and identity (Dr Matković, et al. 2013). The data show that 88% of Croatian students believe that skills they have learnt at school will be useful to some extend in their first job after they leave school while only 15% students from Republic of Croatia believe that skills will be very much relevant.

The situation in BIH is similar. 78 % of BIH students believe that skills they have learnt at school will be useful to some extend in their first job after they leave school while only 17 % students from BIH believe that these skills will be very much relevant. According to schools in BIH out of 900 classes 250 consist of practical work and in addition, every subject has a practical component. But formally, the number of subjects per week that are practical increasing during the schooling (with up to three days per week in the

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Exploring*VET*policy*and*its*influence*on*unemployment*rate*Bosnia*and*Republic*of*Croatia!

A*Case*Study*Analysis*of*VET*policy*and*practice*in*Bosnia*&*Herzegovina*and*Republic*of*Croatia* Nina*Brankovic*!

______________________________________________________________________ last grade) and according to data from students in three schools 27% of students had practical classes but more than 50% of teachers in three schools in BIH spend less than 3 hours per week on practical training using equipment in a workshop.

Since there is no formal policy for establishment of the apprenticeship system between companies and schools, as the exchange is based on the individual contacts between school staff and employers and their good will, the establishment of practical classes mainly depends on school director. Before practical education can be conducted, the school has to sign an agreement on the practical education with the organizations, and only then can it send students there to obtain a practical education grade. Such vague regulation results lack of successful cooperation and while research showed that intermediary groups, like industry associations, play an important role in demystifying the system (Cully 2005) those institutions are excluded in BIH and not sufficiently included in the whole process in Republic of Croatia.

In addition there is no formal manner of monitoring the progress of the students; it is determined by the director’s judgment upon consultation with their apprenticeship mentor. Even though students attend an apprenticeship as part of their practical education grade, there is no structured methodology for determining which students will get the opportunity to complete it. There is an inadequate tracking of the students by the school as the practical education teacher from the school does not have an obligation for regularly visit the students on site during their apprenticeship in order to assess their progress in relation to the school’s programs. Students, ones they complete apprenticeship, receive a written confirmation from the company which they bring to schools. It is similar practice in Republic of Croatia where workplace training provision and scheduled tasks (work diaries) are just formally monitored. However, the prescribed provision of a firm having the equipment capacity to carry out 70% of the apprenticeship programme autonomously is rarely observed. This has little effect, as there is a lack of enforcement on the part of school representatives. Just 38% of vocational teachers in case studies from Republic of Croatia are in contact with employers while 43% of teachers in case studies in BIH had experience in private sector and a minority of teachers in both countries believe that it is up to them to build connections with employers. The research from UK showed that key source of quality assurance is the employer (Wolf 2011 March, pp 61) who should provide direct input and feedback to teachers and trainers.

However, the common theme in both countries is that students prefer apprenticeship placements to training but there is a lack of coordination between theoretical and practical classes. The majority of respondents in Republic of Croatia (57%) and even more in BIH (74%) rate firm-based training as more useful than school based training while only 9.7% of teachers in researched schools in BIH and 19% in Republic of Croatia believe that their school very much link the vocational curriculum to local labor market needs. However, from the teachers’ perspective, employers lack pedagogical skills and they do not adhere to the school plan and programme and are not trained to work with students. Practical training is often not connected to the curriculum (Dr Matković, et al. 2013). The schools recognise the reluctance of employers to follow the curriculum for practical training, while employers and students claim that much of the prescribed curriculum does not match the patterns or scope of real work practices15 From the employers’ perspective, there is significant difference compared to perception of School case study: Apprenticeships monitoring The case study from Foca presents how they solve the problem of apprenticeships monitoring. The school employs professors who are practical education coordinators and who visit the organizations where students conduct practical education, evaluate their performance, keep contact with the persons !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !

15within the organization who are responsible for practical education, advise students as to which form of !For example, the curriculum for practical training for a florist in Croatia requires the student to spend a specific practical education would best suit flowers them, arrange the ceremonies. transfer of However, students between if number of hours learning how to arrange for wedding since mostapprenticeships weddings are held on Saturdays and students train during the week, they miss out on that part of the curriculum (Dr Matković, et al. needed, file progress reports and determine the students’ practical education grade. As a result, 2013).! employers from Foča note that students upon their own initiative often stay longer hours than their practical education component stipulates in order to learn more. Majority of students remain in the ! same companies after they graduate.

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Exploring*VET*policy*and*its*influence*on*unemployment*rate*Bosnia*and*Republic*of*Croatia!

A*Case*Study*Analysis*of*VET*policy*and*practice*in*Bosnia*&*Herzegovina*and*Republic*of*Croatia* Nina*Brankovic*!

______________________________________________________________________ apprenticeships benefits of small, medium and big employers. Reserach found that employers are especially interested in evidence on the returns to investment of particular kinds of training (Connection i KPA 2005) and clear information about costs, including incentive payments and wage subsidies, is also critical to employers (Cully 2005).

While more craftspeople in Republic of Croatia describe students as unmotivated and lacking the appropriate skills for work, especially social and entrepreneurial skills in BIH they stressed that they are keener to work with young people if they are motivated. They claimed that most of students who attend apprenticeships have been offered a job after they graduate. In both countries they consider that the cost of having an apprentice in the current climate is high, with few advantages. Some of them perceive taking on an apprentice as ‘doing a good’ for students, not as an investment in a potential employee or in the development of the firm.

Medium and large employers take a slightly different view on providing apprenticeship placements in both countries. They perceive apprenticeships as an opportunity to train and select a good worker and this is particularly common for big companies. The medium and large employers support the idea of on-thejob training and put more effort into improving the integration of an apprentice in the workplace.

Conclusions(and(policy(recommendations(( While!policy!development!in!Republic!of!Croatia!is!on!more!structured!and!at!the!advanced!level,!the! complete!absence!or!low!level!of!cooperation!between!different!stakeholders!in!the!education!system!in!

BiH!can!be!observed.!VET!schools!in!Bosnia!and!Republic!of!Croatia!are!still!too!narrow!in!specialisation! in! desired! profession! which! negatively! influence! the! EU! concept! of! flexicurity.! The! educational! background!of!parents!influences!the!children!school!selection!in!both!countries!while!student!expect! their! job! prospects! increased! after! completing! VET! education! which! indicates! insufficient! ! systematic! information! flow! provided! to! students! through! career! counselling! and! to! public! through! information! campaign.!The!entry!regulations!for!VET!differ!within!the!countries.!There!is!no!matura!exam!in!any!of! two!countries,!as!an!entry!exam!from!primary!schools!which!could!increases!the!chances!for!students!to! enrol!into!secondary!education!institutions!of!their!choice!by!providing!them!an!additional!opportunity! to! improve! their! academic! standing.! Compared! to! experience! in! introduction! of! matura! exam! in! secondary! education! (in! Republic! of! Croatia! and! Republic! of! Slovenia)! where! this! exam! decreases! chances!for!those!student!coming!from!VET!since!the!exam!favours!subjects!from!grammar!school!the! matura! in! primary! school! should! not! have! this! problem.! The! vertical! and! horizontal! mobility! among! students! and! teachers! leads! to! the! conclusion! that! streaming! in! VET! has! a! temporal! and! spatial! dimension! due! to! lack! of! flexibility! in! VET! curricula.! Moreover,! the! horizontal! and! vertical! mobility! between! streams! and! programs! is! not! facilitated.! While! changing! is! more! allowed! at! the! start! of! the! schooling!entering!a!different!stream!or!course!is!not!supported!after!the!first!semester!as!it!becomes! more!difficult!to!catchLup!courses!and!exams!required!new!stream.!When!it!comes!to!vertical!mobility,! academic! achievement! is! relevant! and! mobility! from! threeLyear! to! fourLyear! programmes! is! more! difficult!than!vice!versa.!Moreover,!demographic!and!socioLeconomic!trends!additionally!influence!VET! streaming.!!!

The!policies!for!monitoring!and!prevention!of!drop!out!differ!between!BIH!and!Republic!of!Croatia!and! even! between! countries! itself.! The! difference! is! mostly! caused! by! centralised/decentralised! data! collection! and! monitoring! system! of! the! drop! out! where! in! BIH! the! communication! about! children! moving!from!one!to!other!schools!is!not!properly!monitored.!These!policies!refer!to!measures!to!reduce! non!attendance!and!to!provide!support!to!pass!exams.!A!question!of!school!non!attendance!is!closely! linked! to! dropping! out! and! schools! developed! various! local! informal! policies! to! tackle! this! problem! which!involve!communication!with!employers,!parents,!students!and!doctors.!One!of!the!major!problem! is!parents!condoning!their!children’!absences!and!providing!excuses,!to!help!the!child!get!a!good!grade! !

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Exploring*VET*policy*and*its*influence*on*unemployment*rate*Bosnia*and*Republic*of*Croatia!

A*Case*Study*Analysis*of*VET*policy*and*practice*in*Bosnia*&*Herzegovina*and*Republic*of*Croatia* Nina*Brankovic*!

______________________________________________________________________ by!avoiding!exams!they!are!not!ready!for,!or!even!only!because!the!child!does!not!wish!to!attend!class! which! direct! to! a! need! for! increase! education! of! parents! about! the! consequences! as! well.! ! Moreover,! there!is!significant!educational!support!to!students!in!both!countries!in!order!to!prevent!their!exclusion! from! school! including! set! lower! criteria,! provide! additional! instructions! and! repeat! exams! in! order! to! assist! students! to! pass.! However,! if! the! student! drop! out! of! school! the! policy! responses! are! more! developed!in!Republic!of!Croatia.!While!in!Republic!of!Croatia!student!is!offered!to!continue!within!the! prescribed!time!frame!or!the!pass!qualification!exam!to!enter!the!labour!market!!in!BIH!is!quite!difficult! to!return!students!to!the!system.!Moreover,!while!in!Republic!of!Croatia!there!is!adult!education!policy! in!BIH!this!policy!is!still!insufficiently!addressed.!!

When! it! comes! to! practical! training! and! apprenticeship,! Republic! of! Croatia! addresses! these! issues! on! more! advanced! policy! level! with! Integrated! education! model! where! the! craft! people! in! Republic! of!

Croatia!consider!practical!training!to!be!an!improvement!on!the!previous!system!while!in!BIH!this!policy! is!still!ambiguous!and!the!coordination!with!employers!and!the!establishment!of!practical!classes!mainly! depends! on! school! director! interest.! Moreover,! neither! students! nor! professors! are! satisfied! with! curriculum!or!skills!adaptation!to!labour!market.!There!is!significant!lack!of!quality!assurance!of!training! in! school! and! the! training! in! firms! is! insufficiently! monitored! in! both! countries.! From! the! employers’! perspective,!there!is!significant!difference!compared!to!perception!of!apprenticeships!benefits!of!small,! medium! and! big! employers! but! adequate! policies! that! would! address! needs! of! employers! and! attract! them!to!be!part!of!the!VET!are!still!to!be!developed.!!

Based! on! analysis! of! data! from! the! report,! including! information! and! best! practices! from! different! countries,!through!communication!with!stakeholders!and!taking!the!Wolf!Report!recommendations!!into! account!the!following!recommendations!have!been!developed:!!

Tracking*and*drop*out** Introduction! of! systematic! career! counselling! in! Bosnia! and! Herzegovina! and! improvement! of! current! system! in! Republic! of! Croatia! for! students! that! would! involve! all! stakeholders! in! the! process! would! contribute! to! decrease! of! the! drop! out.! Consider! establishment! of! the! monitoring! system! for! VET! attendance!where!!schools!will!cooperate!between!cantons/entities/Brcko!Distrikt!in!order!to!monitor! and!prevent!drop!out.!The!intensive!communication!with!parents!about!consequences!for!children!not! attending! classes! should! be! introduced.! Performance! management! indicators! and! systems! should! be! developed!so!not!to!give!schools!incentives!to!divert!lowLattaining!pupils!onto!courses!and!qualifications! which!are!not!recognized!by!employers!or!accepted!by!colleges!for!progression!purposes.!Make!explicit! the! legal! right! of! colleges! to! enrol! students! under! 16! and! ensure! that! funding! procedures! make! this! practically! possible.! Consider! development! of! the! funding! for! fullLtime! students! age! 16L18! on! a! programme!basis,!with!a!given!level!of!funding!per!student!where!this!can!and!should!be!adjusted!for! differences! in! the! contentLrelated! cost! of! courses,! and! for! particular! groups! of! highLneed! student! and! where!some!support!could!be!directed!to!professions!needed!at!the!labour!market.!A!development!of! adult! policies! in! Bosnia! and! Herzegovina! that! would! reflect! situation! in! practice! including! providing! additional!choices!for!those!students!that!drop!out!of!school!in!needed.!

Cooperation*with*employers** Consider! introduction! of! different! policy! measures! to! make! VET! apprenticeship! more! attractive! to! employers! and! where! employers! increase! responsibility! toward! students! apprenticeship! practice.!!

Following!the!experience!of!countries!with!strong!apprenticeship!tradition,!such!as!Austria!and!Denmark! the!involvement!of!trade!unions!may!be!the!answer.!In!Republic!of!Croatia!where!the!system!exist!the!

Ministry! of! Labour! and! Pension! System! and! the! Ministry! of! Entrepreneurship! and! Crafts,! need! to! incentivize!schools!and!employers!to!make!full!use!of!the!possibilities!offered!by!the!firmLbased!training! and! apprenticeship! systems.! Employers! who! take! on! 16L18! year! old! apprentices! should! be! eligible! for! payments! (direct! or! indirect),! because! and! when! they! bear! some! of! the! cost! of! education! for! an! ageL group!with!a!right!to!free!fullL!time!participation.!Such!payments!should!be!made!only!where!16L18!year!

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Exploring*VET*policy*and*its*influence*on*unemployment*rate*Bosnia*and*Republic*of*Croatia!

A*Case*Study*Analysis*of*VET*policy*and*practice*in*Bosnia*&*Herzegovina*and*Republic*of*Croatia* Nina*Brankovic*!

______________________________________________________________________ old! apprentices! receive! clearly! identified! offLtheLjob! training! and! education,! with! broad! transferable! elements.!!

VET*and*apprenticeship*system*quality** Consider!introduction!of!quality!assurance!system!!in!VET!apprenticeship!system!with!schools!enhanced! cooperation! with! local! employers! and! where! qualified! professionals! who! are! not! primarily! teachers! would! evaluate! and! teach! the! vocational! content! which! would! contribute! to! delivering! that! industries! actually! require.! Consider! introduction! of! VET! Councils! in! Bosnia! and! Herzegovina! for! each! industry! cluster! with! one! canton! as! the! representative! of! one! cluster! depending! on! cantonal! major! industry! developments.!The!VET!council!should!include!representatives!from!trade!unions,!parents,!schools!and! might!include!representatives!from!different!cantons.!!

Horizontal/vertical*mobility** National!policy!makers!should!urgently!address!issues!of!both!horizontal!and!vertical!mobility!when!it! comes! to! threeLyear! vocational! programmes.! ! Both! countries! should! consider! introduction! of! entry! exam! as! an! entrance! from! primary! to! secondary! education! in! order! to! enable! students! qualified! for! certain! subject! to! enrol.! ! In! Republic! of! Croatia! the! first! step,! in! regard! to! horizontal! mobility,! is! to! address! its! incomplete! legal! definition.! In! both! countries! the! mobility! after! three! years! of! VET! to! finalization!of!the!fourth!year!should!be!facilitated!to!enable!students!continue!education.!In!Republic!of!

Croatia! additional! attention! should! be! put! on! improving! the! matriculation! exam! ! while! in! BIH! before! introduction! of! this! exam! which! is! planed! should! experiences! from! countries! in! the! region! should! be! taken!into!account.!!! !

References( Brankovic,!Nina,!Nermin!Oruc,!and!Zlatko!Jaksic.!“Mapping(of(VET(educational(policies(and(practices(for( social(inclusion(and(social(cohesion(in(the(Western(Balkans,(Turkey(and(Israel”,(Case(study(Bosnia(and( Herzegovina.!LSEE!and!ETF,!2013.!

Branković N., Arapović A, (2010)Obavezno srednje obrazovanje u BiH: Ambijent i perspektive, Center for Civil Initiatives, Bosnia and Herzegovina, pp.142-147 Busemeyer,!Marius!R.,!Maria!Alejandra!Cattaneo,!i!Stefan!C.!Wolter.!“Individual!policy!preferences!for! vocational!versus!academic!education:!Microlevel!evidence!for!the!case!of!Switzerland.”!Journal(of( European(Social(Policy,!2011.!

Connection,!Quay,!i!&!Phillips!KPA.!Information(needs(of(VET(clients.!unpublished!paper,!ANTA,!

Brisbane.,!2005.!

Canton Western Herzegovina, „Strategy for development of education sector 2009-2015“, Centre for Civil Initiatives B&H, December 2008 Corradini, M. et al., (2012)Bosnia And Herzegovina - Impact Assessment of Vocational Education and Training Reform. Turin: European Training Foundation Council of Europe (2008)Commentary on the Effective Participation of Persons Belonging to National Minorities in Cultural, Social and Economic Life and in Public Affairs, Adopted on 27 February 2008, www.coe.int/minorities

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A*Case*Study*Analysis*of*VET*policy*and*practice*in*Bosnia*&*Herzegovina*and*Republic*of*Croatia* Nina*Brankovic*!

______________________________________________________________________ Council of Europe (2008)Diversity and inclusion: Challenges for teacher education, Final conference of the Council of Europeproject Policies and practices for teacher sociocultural diversity (2006-2009), Oslo, 26-28 October 2009Canton Sarajevo „Prijedlog Elaborata o uslovima i obezbjeđenju pretpostavki za uvođenja obaveznog srednjeg obrazovanja u trajanju od dvije godine” , 2008 Cully,!Mark.!EmployerGprovided(training:Findings(from(case(studies.!Australian!Government,!Department! for!education!and!Science!,!2005.!

Domljan, V. (2006) „Revised constitution loses by two votes” [pdf]. Forum of Federations 5(2): 11-12 Available athttp://www.forumfed.org/libdocs/Federations/V5N2-ba-Domljan.pdf !

Dr!Matković,!Teo,!Karin!Dr.!Doolan,!Natalija!Lukic,!and!Nikola!Bukvic.!DESTINATION( UNCERTAIN?TRENDS,(PERSPECTIVES(AND(CHALLENGES(IN(STRENGTHENING(VOCATIONAL(EDUCATION( FOR(SOCIAL(INCLUSION(AND(SOCIAL(COHESION.!European!Training!Foundation,!LSEE,!Luxembourg:!

Publications!Office!of!the!European!Union,!2013,!ISBN:!978L92L9157L609L8,!2013.!

Epstein, J.L. (1995). Perspectives and previews on research and policy for school, family and community partnerships, in: A. Booth and J. Dunn (eds)Family-school links: how do they affect educational outcomes? Hillsdal, N.J.: Erlbaum.

ETF), (2010), Leila Kafedzic, Tamara PribisevBeleslin andSelma Dzemidzic Kristiansen, Mapping Policies and Practices for the Preparation of Teachers for Inclusive Education in Contexts of Social and Cultural Diversity, Country Report for Bosnia and Herzegovina ETF Working document, January 2010 !

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European!Union.”!Economic(and(Industrial(Democracy,(SAGE((University!of!Birmingham,!UK),!2012.!

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Ivančič!,!Angela.!International(comparability(ofthe(outcomes(of(the(Slovenian(education(system(–( national(versus(international(classification(of(education.!ISBN!978L3L00L024388L2,!Mannheim,!MZES,!

2008,!2008.!

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RCC.!SOUTH(EAST(EUROPE(2020:JOBS(AND(PROSPERITY(IN(A(EUROPEAN(PERSPECTIVE,First(draft(of(the( Strategy.!Regional!Cooperational!Council,!supported!by!European!Commision!,!August!2013.!

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A*Case*Study*Analysis*of*VET*policy*and*practice*in*Bosnia*&*Herzegovina*and*Republic*of*Croatia* Nina*Brankovic*!

______________________________________________________________________ Skoko,!Božo.!Imidž(Bosne(i(Hercegovine(I(njezinih(građana(u(Hrvatskoj(i(Srbiji.!Fridrich!Ebert!Stiftung,!

2012.!

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UK.!The(Future(of(Apprenticeships(in(England:(Next(Steps(from(the(Richard(Review.!Department!for!the! education!and!department!for!bussines!innovations!and!skills!UK!,!2013.!

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Acronyms( APOSO ASOO BIH CES EU EUR GDP JMO LFS UN VET VETIS

Agencija za predškolsko, osnovno I srednje obrazovanje u BiH Agencija za strukovno obrazovanje i obrazovanje odraslih Republika Hrvatska (Agency for Vocational Education and Training and Adult Education) Bosnia and Herzegovina Croatian Employment Service (Hrvatski zavod za zapošljavanje) European Union Euro Gross domestic product Jedinstveni model obrazovanja (integrated educational model) Labour Force Survey United Nations Vocational education and training Vocational Education and Training Information System

Annexes( Institutional setup details Dayton peace agreement in BIH defined institutional setup of the country and all jurisdictions in Bosnia and Herzegovina including VET so the main institutions that deal with education and VET are: • At the country-wide level: (i) Ministry of Civil Affairs (MoCA) with its sector for Education and (ii) Agency for Pre-primary, Primary and Secondary Education in BiH with its VET Department • At the entity/district level: (i) Ministry for Education of FBiH, (ii) Ministry for Education of RS and (iii) Department for Education in Brcko District • At the level of FBiH: 10 Cantonal ministries of education

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Exploring*VET*policy*and*its*influence*on*unemployment*rate*Bosnia*and*Republic*of*Croatia!

A*Case*Study*Analysis*of*VET*policy*and*practice*in*Bosnia*&*Herzegovina*and*Republic*of*Croatia* Nina*Brankovic*!

______________________________________________________________________ In addition, there are educational institutes established at the Cantonal level in FBiH and one in RS. The main decision makers are the Ministry of Education in RS, the Department for Education in BD, and 10 cantonal ministries in FBiH. The state-wide institutions, the Ministry of Civil Affairs of BiH (sector for education)16 and the Agency for Pre-primary, Primary and Secondary Education in addition to the Ministry of Education of FBiH have only a coordinating role. For instance, in the case of the breach of the law the Ministry cannot take any legal action. The real decision-making power lies with the 12 education ministries.

Moreover, it is important bear in mind is that all administrative units at entity and canton and levels have insufficient capacity and weak governance structures, since just one or two canton-dependent employees are responsible for the administration of education, including VET (Corradini et. al., 2012). The education system consists of fairly independent units with little coordination as defined by the complex constitutional set-up and multiple layers of government. It requires a degree of coordination that is not currently in place. At the moment, decentralized government structures have been coordinated to a certain degree, by the Conference of Education Ministers, who is supposed to meet twice a year, although this is not sufficient.

The Framework Law on Secondary Vocational Education and Training was adopted in 2008 and transposed into the legal system of RS but not by all cantons in FBIH, where the VET systems are usually regulated by the Law on Secondary Education, which is supposed to be in line with the Framework Law on VET. The Agency for Pre-Primary, Primary and Secondary Education (APOSO, Agencija za predškolsko, osnovno i srednje obrazovanje) started operating on January 1, 2009. In addition to the headquarters of the Agency in Mostar there are two field offices, in Banja Luka and in Sarajevo. The Agency operates as an association of the units, one of them being in Banja Luka dealing with Secondary Vocational Education and Training.

In Republic of Croatia the Ministry of Education, Science and Sports is responsible for the VET while the vocational content within secondary education falls under the auspices of the Agency for Vocational Education and Training and Adult Education (Agencija zastrukovno obrazovanje I obrazovanje odraslih, ASOO). The Education and Teacher Training Agency (Agencija za odgoji obrazovanje) is responsible for the general education content.

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!In!terms!of!the!number!of!employees!the!Sector!is!small,!consisting!of!just!12!employees.!In!terms!of!the!number!of!employees!the!Sector!is! small,!consisting!of!just!12!employees.!

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