The World Bank Bulgaria: Reshaping Vocational Education and Training September 30, 2008 World Bank DPL Education Team

The World Bank 2 2 Introduction Refocusing the objectives and overall purpose of VET VET has played two traditional roles in OECD countries: 1.VET as an instrument to prevent and/or offset the risks of social exclusion that result from high rates of early school leavers and school failure 2.VET as part of active labor market policies to combat youth unemployment and, to a lesser extent, contribute to the re-training of workers A third emerging role in the 21 st Century: 3. VET as an instrument in support of a knowledge-based economy.

The World Bank 3 3 Perennial Issues in VET and Secondary Education  The (im) balance between general and vocational secondary education  High cost and low status?  Vocationalize or de-vocationalize. That continues to be the curriculum question?  VET and secondary school drop-outs (perceptions of education quality)

The World Bank 4 4 Outline  Economic and labor market pressures  Convergence requires increased labor productivity  Employment and education attainment are still far from answering the demand of innovative economies  Demographic pressures and education context  High rate of early school leavers remains an issue  The ageing society  Improving education attainment and participation in Lifelong Learning activities are not yet seen as part of the solution

The World Bank 5 5 Outline  Strong points and major challenges ahead for VET in Bulgaria  Directions for Reform

The World Bank 6 6 Outline  Economic and labor market pressures  Convergence requires increased labor productivity  Employment and education attainment are still far from answering the demand of innovative economies  Demographic pressures and education context

The World Bank 7 7 High productivity growth is a must for Convergence … Marginal measures will not be enough. The stock of skilled labor is positively correlated with innovation efforts, and a more educated labor force is quicker in adopting new technologies. The contribution of VET is crucial

The World Bank 8 8 … but Bulgaria’s labor productivity is very low relative to the EU  Data from Eurostat, 2006

The World Bank 9 9 Employment and education attainment  Youth unemployment in 2005 was 22.3%, 2.2 times more than the adult unemployment rate  Unemployment is strongly associated with low educational attainment

The World Bank 10 The World Bank 10 Outline  Economic and labor market pressures  Convergence is requiring increased labor productivity  Employment and education attainment are still far from answering the demand of innovative economies  Demographic pressures and education context  High rate of early school leavers remains an issue  An ageing society is here to stay  Improving education attainment and participation in Lifelong Learning are not yet seen as part of the solution

The World Bank 11 The World Bank 11 Percentage of the population aged with only lower secondary education or less and not in education or training in 2006 The high rate of early school leavers, 18%, requires immediate action. VET is one of the tools against social exclusion

The World Bank 12 The World Bank 12 Bulgaria’s population will decline by 1.5m people by % Population Change,

The World Bank 13 The World Bank 13 …having a strong effect on Bulgaria’s work force  Bulgaria’s working age population will shrink by 9%, or 750,000 people, by 2020  But if Bulgaria raises its labor force participation to EU 25 average, this reduction will only be 100,000  Dual agenda: raise labor force participation and productivity – get  more workers into the labor market and  raise their skills

The World Bank 14 The World Bank 14 But the percentage of population aged participating in education and training in 2006 is just 1.3% Additional efforts are needed to reach the EU benchmark of a 12.5% participation rate in 2010, and VET should be one of the solutions

The World Bank 15 The World Bank 15 Outline Outline  Strong points and major challenges ahead  Directions for Reform

The World Bank 16 The World Bank 16 Strong points and major challenges ahead  Regulatory basis (e.g. development, validation and certification of professions, professions standards, framework syllabi and curricula, VET Act) and  Institutional framework (e.g. managing tripartite based bodies, as NAVET, IVET and TVET providers, career counseling and information centers)

The World Bank 17 The World Bank 17 Strong points and major challenges ahead (1) Strong centralization and virtual absence of the private sector: Financing comes mainly from the State budget, with some exceptional contributions from municipalities. Public- private partnerships are an exception and not, as in advanced OECD countries, the rule.

The World Bank 18 The World Bank 18 Bulgarian firms are more concerned about skills than many other issues… Source: World Bank Enterprise Surveys

The World Bank 19 The World Bank 19 … but they less likely to provide training than those elsewhere in the EU8 Source: World Bank Enterprise Surveys

The World Bank 20 The World Bank 20 Strong points and major challenges ahead (2) Restricted life-long learning opportunities due to a rigid structure of the VET system and excessively early specialization. VET in Bulgaria is still emphasizing too early specialization in too narrow skills which risks leaving VET graduates without sufficient general skills increasingly seen as the basis for life-long learning and adjusting to accelerating technological change.

The World Bank 21 The World Bank 21 Strong points and major challenges ahead (3) Outdated curricula and teaching methods: Vocational education programs are mainly theoretical, emphasizing the transfer of information rather than the development of skills and experience. Teachers’ readiness to use modular curricula and to instill new competences is limited and their professional development opportunities are still not systematically addressed.

The World Bank 22 The World Bank 22 Strong points and major challenges ahead (4) Insufficient efficiency and effectiveness of invested funds: Bulgaria in 2003 spent 0.6 percent of GDP on VET – a level comparable with other new EU Member States. However, efficiency and effectiveness appear lower than desirable due to an inadequate student/teacher ratio and by a school network with too many small schools with limited relevance to the labor market. Moreover, there is evidence that, in comparison to general education, VET in Bulgaria is more costly per pupil yet provides graduates with lower employment chances.

The World Bank 23 The World Bank 23 Vocational secondary education is less cost- effective than General secondary education Vocational secondary education is less cost- effective than General secondary education

The World Bank 24 The World Bank 24 Strong points and major challenges ahead (5) Lack of articulated VET provision and of diversity of service delivery alternatives. Initial VET and continuing VET qualifications, either delivered through formal education and training or by non-formal courses, should be well articulated to help individuals market their skills. A good Qualification Framework would provide that articulation and define clearly the rules for all providers and users. On the other hand, there are still not many alternatives in terms of VET service delivery.

The World Bank 25 The World Bank 25 Strong points and major challenges ahead (6) Insufficient labor market research and information about skill requirements. There is a lack of systematic research on present labor market needs, as well as of forecasts about future requirements, which result in inconsistencies between the enrolment of young graduates in various occupations and actual economic needs.

The World Bank 26 The World Bank 26 Outline  Strong points and major challenges ahead  Directions for Reform

The World Bank 27 The World Bank 27 Reform direction 1: Renewed VET strategy for Bulgaria 2020  VET supply foresight (2020 perspective), based on identified “new skills for new jobs”  VET system revised structure as documented response to the required profile of human resources defined by the VET supply foresight  Clear measures to improve the attractiveness and responsiveness of VET, addressing governance, funding, quality, and access to quality learning programmes.

The World Bank 28 The World Bank 28 Reform direction 1: Renewed VET strategy for Bulgaria 2020 Immediate actions are required for making the best use of resources and increasing cost- effectiveness by:  Improving territorial relevance of VET provision and the concentration of the invested resources in better clustered VET schools/centers (VET school network)  Improving content relevance of IVET provision and thereby enhancing employability

The World Bank 29 The World Bank 29 Reform direction 2. Establishing the National Authority for Qualifications to Strengthen Life Long Learning Reform direction 2. Establishing the National Authority for Qualifications to Strengthen Life Long Learning The Authority would have three key objectives: A)The establishment and management of a national qualifications framework for the development, recognition and award of qualifications based on standards of knowledge, skills and competences to be acquired by learners

The World Bank 30 The World Bank 30 Reform direction 2. Establishing aNational Authority for Qualifications to Strengthen Life Long Learning Reform direction 2. Establishing aNational Authority for Qualifications to Strengthen Life Long Learning B)The establishment, promotion, maintenance and improvement of the standards of awards of education and training in both the secondary and the new alternative tertiary institutions as well as the older university-level institutions and existing universities. C)The promotion and facilitation of access, transfer and progression through the education and training system.

The World Bank 31 The World Bank 31 Reform direction 3. Establishing Regional Integrated VET resource centers (RegiVET) Aiming at: A) Provide new avenues for students in compulsory education to access educational opportunities at the secondary level and to continue at the tertiary level, in new and exciting occupational areas demanded by the growing knowledge economy.

The World Bank 32 The World Bank 32 Reform direction 3 Establishing Regional Integrated VET resource centers (RegiVET) Aiming at : B) Promote the development of an efficient, multi- purpose modern educational and training system that provides initial and further vocational training for young people and adults while adapting to changes in the labor market. C) Sustain the regional integration of VET and its adaptation to regional labor demands, strengthening its regional scope and creating ties with the labor market through the involvement of key economic stakeholders.

The World Bank 33 The World Bank 33 THANK YOU!