At its sixth meeting, held in Mostar on May 24, the Steering Committee (SC) of the Education for Employment in BiH project approved a number of materials developed by project working groups (WG) in recent months. Approved materials will significantly contribute to the further achievement of project objectives.
The SC adopted the Model for the integration of digital and entrepreneurial key competences in teaching and learning in primary and secondary school (ISCED 1,2 and 3), which will be submitted to the relevant ministries for further action. Developed by the project WG for Digital and Entrepreneurship Learning, this document is intended for all primary and secondary school teachers and can be used directly in teaching and learning. The development and application of entrepreneurial and digital competencies at all levels of education in BiH is one of the answers to the challenges that occur in a society of rapid technological change and economic growth.
The SC also approved a Proposal to implement a system for monitoring graduate students in BiH, which will be submitted to the appropriate authorities for further action in the coming period. Typically, studies for monitoring high school graduates and graduate students focus on the process of transitioning graduate students from the education system to the labor market and on the application of acquired competencies in practice. The benefits of monitoring studies have been recognized internationally, while the European Union’s long-standing initiative to introduce a unified student monitoring system has been launched through several dimensions: labor market benefits, anticipating skills and knowledge needs, information on the needs of specific sectors, and the role of institutions in the employment process.
With the adoption of the Third Project Progress Report (October 2021 – March 2022), Proposed implementation of the conclusions adopted at previous SC meetings, and the Minutes of the last meeting, the Steering Committee was acquainted with the Information on the nominations of more than 60 study programs at public universities that educate teachers, whose revision/development the project intends to support. Simultaneously, a preliminary list of university teachers who will be trained to develop these study programs was also approved.
Based on information about the Training Program for employees in ministries of education and pedagogical institutes/agencies, the SC concluded that all interested parties should be able to attend the trainings. After reviewing the Information on requests for working group expansion, the SC approved the newly proposed members, noting that they can monitor and participate in the WGs’ activities, but only on the principle of online presence and without the possibility of voting.
The conclusions of the WG for External Exams Preparation and Implementation will be discussed at the next Steering Committee meeting, when the Committee members will decide on a new detailed plan for external examination of students in BiH schools. Regular external examination of students’ achievements is a standard procedure for monitoring educational outcomes in well-developed education systems throughout the EU and worldwide. These tests allow policymakers to monitor the state of education and develop plans based on valid, reliable, and objective data.
In order to overcome the high unemployment rate and a huge mismatch of the education and training systems with the demands of the labour market, the EU funded project “Education for Employment, BiH” aims to produce human resources in line with the labour market needs in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The project assists BiH authorities in improving capacity and structure for planning the educational process and quality of educational outcomes.
