CARDS
PROGRAMME - Vocational Education and Training
The EC CARDS 2001 VET project (Euro 600,000) is the first
intervention in the field of initial VET in Croatia. Its implementation
began in March 2003. Major components include the development
of a VET policy paper as a basis for new VET legislation;
the pilot-testing of new methodologies for wider VET curriculum
reform at a later stage including sector analysis and the
design of both competence based occupational profiles and
framework curricula for selected occupations within 2 pilot
sectors; the conceptualisation of an education information
management system as well as pilot courses for school managers,
local authorities and mentors for vocational schools.
The EC has already agreed to allocate funding to VET reform
also from the CARDS 2002 and the CARDS 2003 budgets. The EC
CARDS 2002 VET-MIB project (Euro 1.5 million) is planned to
start in late 2003 / early 2004 and will aim to further VET
curriculum reform in the same and/or other pilot sectors.
The EC CARDS 2003 VET project (Euro 4 million) will build
directly on the results of the first CARDS VET project. It
will try to take the policy work in VET to a legislative stage,
establish the newly designed education information management
system and widen VET curriculum reform including intensive
teacher training schemes and the procurement of up-to-date
learning equipment.
CARDS PROGRAMME – Labour Market Restructuring
Elements of adult training will be included in all CARDS
allocations envisaged for the Croatian Employment Services
(CES). The EC CARDS 2001 Labour Market Restructuring project
(Euro 3 million) which will start in April 2003 envisages
skills surveys for 4 macro-regions (at NUTS II level) in Croatia,
the design of new career assessment & information instruments,
the continued automation of CES services, the establishment
of 10 Mobility Centres on the premises of companies undergoing
downsizing and restructuring and the establishment of a Euro
1.5 million Labour Fund, from which active labour market measures
will be funded.
An overview of ETF support to Croatia in 2003, including
projects funded from the ETF's own budgetary sources, is available.
Major development projects in Croatia include work on an adult
learning strategy, the conceptualisation of a new National
Qualifications Framework, the design & pilot-testing of
an induction course for new VET teacher graduates and related
activities in the framework of the ETF supported VET Teacher
Training Balkan Network, as well as integrated actions to
support the training for small businesses.
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