Cooperative training benefits for learners certainly bear a significant role in their professional future being at the center of the Regional Challenge Fund’s initiative to increase the importance of labour-market relevance and boost the competitiveness of enterprises.
As a work-integrated learning experience, cooperative training offers a structured program that combines classroom-based and work-based learning. It involves cooperation between vocational training institutes and partnering enterprises.
Recently, such cooperation has found its fertile ground in the Western Balkans, as the Regional Challenge Fund supports projects that are jointly implemented by vocational training institutes and partnering enterprises that engage, or plan to engage, in cooperative training activities.
The RCF’s initiative to fund investments in equipment and infrastructure for training providers that engage in cooperative training activities with partnering enterprises has been welcomed across all six Western Balkans economies as means of battling the ever-present issue of youth unemployment.
According to the Regional Cooperation Council’s Study of Youth Employment in the Western Balkans, in 2020 the unemployment rate of young people aged 15-25 was 26% in the WB, while in Kosovo was as high as 50%. Compared to the youth unemployment rate of the 27 members of the European Union, which was just 16.8%, the youth unemployment rate in WB is considered to be fairly high.
Furthermore, the Study of Youth Employment in the Western Balkans states that the unemployment rate in the region has increased in the last quarter of 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, the unemployment rate of young people in Montenegro reached 46.5%, North Macedonia 39.2%, and Serbia 32.4%.
One of the challenges when it comes to youth unemployment in the WB is reflected in the need to improve the quality of the education system and the lack of adequate skills demanded by the labour market.
The Regional Challenge Fund, whose main aim is to strengthen the labour market relevance of vocational education and training, helps overcome the youth unemployment challenges in the WB by supporting the implementation of a change-bearing cooperative training approach that helps learners enhance the chances of a better future career and boost the competitiveness of enterprises.
Therefore, the RCF had its first call for expressions of interest opened from February 1st until April 30th that encouraged applications of consortia of vocational training institutes and enterprises from six Western Balkans economies.
Upon finalizing the first open call, the RCF grant support programme received 205 expressions of interest from 216 vocational education institutions and 633 enterprises, 64 of which were declared eligible for full project proposals.
When it comes to the benefits of cooperative training for learners, they are reflected in the opportunity that allows them to participate in a modernised training programmme that equips them with skills paramount for future work in an organization or company.
Through cooperative training, the learners experience both on-the-spot, work-based learning through mentoring of VET teachers and classroom learning that develop needed skills with the combination of theory and practice. The students get to experience working with machines and using technology crucial for future working positions.
By gaining practical skills in work-centered surroundings, the students acquire working habits and gain perspective on their working domain, making them readier to transition from school to work environment. They get the chance to acquire soft skills essential to successful teamwork and business communication and develop a much-appreciated work ethic.
Moreover, the students not only acquire skills needed for the moment’s needs but the skills that are highly demanded by the labour market, thus making themselves more eligible when it comes to employment.
Equally important, in order to reward the work effort employed during the learning process, the RCF provides occasional remuneration for students immersed in dual education.
In order to ensure a safe working environment, cooperative training implementation adheres to the occupational health and safety standards for both teachers (instructors) and students.
Finally, the overall benefits of cooperative training for learners are to improve preconditions for employment and improve income opportunities in the Western Balkans region.
Considering the available data, it can be concluded that one of the best ways to improve the youth’s position in the labour market is to invest in dual education systems. More about the topic read in the interview of Mrs. Natasha Janevska, VET expert from the Economic Chamber of North Macedonia.
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