Russian Federation: Vocational training and labour market

Project number

MAT08/RF/8/1

Theme

Aansluiting van het beroepsonderwijs op de arbeidsmarkt

Title

Vocational training and the labour market

Executor

CAH Dronten

Nominated partner(s)

Ministerie van Onderwijs, Cultuur en Wetenschap

Counterpart(s)

RF Ministry of Education and Science
Federal Institute for Education Development (FIRO)

Beneficiary(ies)

• RF Ministry of Education and Science;
• Education Department of the Tula Region (oblast);
• 4 VET schools in the Tula Region (oblast).

Budget

EUR 100,000

Project duration

12 months

General

Het project gaat vooral om het nader uitwerken van een nieuwe (outcome-based) benadering in het beroepsonderwijs, die in opdracht van het federaal ministerie zal worden ingevuld in de regio Tula. Deze omwenteling is geformaliseerd middels de nieuwe, competentiegerichte onderwijsstandaarden.
Het Nederlandse onderwijssysteem draait al wat langer op de beginselen van ‘outcome-based’- en ‘learner-centred’-benadering. Nederlandse onderwijsexperts, die verbonden zijn aan onderwijsinstellingen (met name CAH Dronten), zullen de Russische collega’s begeleiden bij het uitproberen en implementeren van deze nieuwe benadering.

Problem analysis

The Russian system of VET (Vocational Educational and Training) is undergoing fundamental changes in the context of the overall modernisation of the education system to ensure that it meets the demands of the growing market economy, civil society and citizens.
To ensure the necessary changes a number of national documents have been adopted by the RF Government in the recent years. Namely, the Strategy of the RF socio-economic development for years 2005-2010 and the Comprehensive Activity Plan for Development of VET for years 2007-2010. The above documents lay special stress on the modernisation of VET to make it address the needs of the labour market and on the transition to the competence-based VET. In line with the above the RF Ministry of Education and Science approved a new approach to VET standards that from now on will be based on learning outcomes and competences. The development of the new VET standards and curricula is under way.
To assist the transition to market-driven VET a Russian-Dutch project “Vocational Education and Training” was implemented. Under the project four VET schools in the Tula region have designed new VET curricula based on leaning outcomes (for cooks – qualification level 3; and in technology of dairy products manufacturing – qualification levels 3,4).

It is vital that the activities to follow-up the accomplished outcomes continue to ensure ownership of the new approaches to teaching and learning by the teachers and instructors of practical training in the course of piloting of the new curricula and ensure dissemination of the achieved outcomes across the region and beyond it.
On top of that, the training firm has to be turned into a centre of excellence and a training place for teachers from all over the region, which requires not only putting it into operation, but also development of a training package, or packages for up skilling teachers and a methodology of setting up training firms that could be disseminated across the region and beyond it.

Project results

• Regional ownership of the methodology of designing competence-based learner-centred curricula among VET schools of the Tula region.
• 2 thematic networks formed.
• Regional companies have adopted structured dialogue with the VET sector via sector skills councils. VET sector can apply this structure to other regions.
• Increased insight for the schools in organising on the job learning based on training firms and insights for the Ministry of Education and Science to disseminate this knowledge.
• Increased insight in the procedures of setting up training firms.

Project activities

Piloting of the innovative curricula will be performed at 4 VET schools
This piloting will aim at testing the developed modules and methodology and teaching and learning materials packages for relevance, coherence and effectiveness.

3 workshops for Tula VET schools
The workshops will focus of developing and adopting techniques that the pilot schools will use to become consulting and training entities. Relevant methodological materials will be prepared and approved during the workshops. One of the workshops will deal specifically with the training firm methodology that will be published and later used to assist other schools across Russia in establishing training firms.

Thematic network workshops
2 inter-regional workshops will be organised to establish 2 thematic networks uniting VET schools delivering training in occupations for the catering and dairy sectors from across central Russia. The workshops will serve as a forum for sharing innovative experience and practices and adopting communication channels that would allow the schools to share and exchange on a continuing basis.
The workshops will provide the Education department of Tula and the Ministry of Education and Science with the tools to disseminate the lessons learned from the project.