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This report belongs to a series of country analyses developed by the European Training Foundation (ETF). It covers: Socioeconomic background; Key policy issues and strategies in human resource development (HRD); EU (European Union) and other donor policies and interventions; Mid-term perspective ETF intervention strategies contributing to added value in national, EU and donor reform-support policies; Work Programme 2007: objectives and indicators. The ETF objectives for Jordan are: To prepare the ground for comprehensive VET (vocational education and training) reform and future sector support for EC (European Commision) intervention in the framework of ENPI (European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument) assistance.

Although considered one of the tools for facilitating HRD in a lifelong learning context in Jordan, TVET (technical and vocational education and training) has a low status in Jordanian society and continues to be perceived as a last-resort educational option; it thus lacks support that is sufficiently effective to enable it to adapt to rapid changes in the economy. Developed in the 1970s, supply-oriented and with a high level of centralisation, the current TVET system is fragmented, with programmes that are designed and implemented in the absence of an overall national strategy. The National Agenda launched by the Jordanian government in 2005 identifies proposals for employment and TVET that go a long way towards establishing a policy for this area, mainly in terms of governance and management. It recommends the establishment of an umbrella Higher Council on Human Resource Development, an Employment and Technical Vocational Education and Training Council, an Employment and Training Fund, and an independent Quality Assurance Agency, and also the remodelling of the Vocational Training Corporation as an autonomous body. Although these reforms are far-reaching and provide an excellent basis for TVET reform, they do not constitute a comprehensive sector policy embracing all training providers. The National Agenda moves in the right direction and provides many elements for a comprehensive national strategy, but more needs to be done to pull the various elements into a coherent national plan.

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The series of reports is indexed from TD/TNC 90.820 to TD/TNC 90.844. Show less

This report belongs to a series of country analyses developed by the European Training Foundation (ETF). It covers: Socioeconomic background; Key policy issues and strategies in human resource development (HRD); EU (European Union) and other donor policies and interventions; Mid-term perspective ETF intervention strategies; Human Resource Development Council (IPA 07-01); Education and Training 2010: NQF (National Qualifications Framework) development; Social inclusion; Entrepreneurship learning; Work Programme 2007: objectives and indicators. The ETF objective for Montenegro in 2007 is: Enhanced EU support for employment and HRD by way of partnership, capacity building and regional cooperation.

Apart from drawing on EU developments in vocational education and training (VET), Montenegro has not yet addressed the issue on how the wider education system, curriculum reforms, teacher training and the contribution of university-based research and development should be shaped to meet the demands of key areas of the economy and of an evolving knowledge and entrepreneurship society. These issues need to be addressed if Montenegro is to participate in mainstream EU developments and benefit from its own human capital potential. ETF assistance to Montenegro will support the EC (European Commission) and a range of Montenegrin partners in implementing labour market reforms consequent to economic transition, focusing particularly on employment concerns and education and training.

Excerpts from publication reprinted by permission of the copyright owner.

The series of reports is indexed from TD/TNC 90.820 to TD/TNC 90.844. Show less

This report belongs to a series of country analyses developed by the European Training Foundation (ETF) at the end of 2005 for all countries in the Mediterranean region, Eastern Europe and Central Asia. It contains an overview of the country's social and economical contexts, an analysis of the educational system and a short review of the main initiatives in education and training carried out by international donors in the country. Assistance in Moldova should be given to strengthening the good results achieved so far in the ongoing reforms in the labour market system, keeping them in line with European standards in order to extend and better promote active labour market policies through active social partnership.

Published excerpts reprinted by permission of the copyright owner.

The series of reports is indexed from TD/TNC 84.362 to TD/TNC 84.375. Show less

This report belongs to a series of country analyses developed by the European Training Foundation (ETF). It covers: Socioeconomic background; Key policy issues and strategies in the human resource development; EU (European Union) and other donor policies and interventions; Mid-term perspective ETF intervention strategies contributing to added value to national, EU and donor reform-support policies; Objectives and indicators for the Work Programme 2007. The ETF objective for 2007 is: European Commission Services are supported in the definition of relevant interventions in the field of education and training. Awareness of the need to address quality enhancement and relevance of holistic approach in education and training provision has increased.

There has been a clear shift from vocational education to general education during recent years. Participation in vocational education over the past 5 years has decreased from 22% to 8% of the population in secondary education, in a continued decline from much higher levels of participation after 1991. As a consequence, half the VET (vocational education and training) schools have already been closed. With hardly any investment in the VET sector, obsolete equipment and rapidly aging teaching staff, the sector is at risk of shrinking further and may even disappear in the coming 5 years. VET is more expensive than general education and often HE (Higher Education), since it requires equipment and consumables for training. Instructors in practical training have often left the schools in search of better employment elsewhere. The government has been trying to turn around the demise of VET schools. It is planning to abolish craft schools and introduce a new type of full-secondary VET, the professional lyceum. A new VET strategy is under discussion, proposing to turn group schools into regional training centres that can respond better to regional needs, starting a decentralisation process of VET, and increasing the role of stakeholders.

Excerpts from publication reprinted by permission of the copyright owner.

The series of reports is indexed from TD/TNC 90.820 to TD/TNC 90.844. Show less

This paper provides a contemporary analysis of human resource development (HRD) in Croatia. The main sections of the paper examine the following areas: main economic developments; current situation and trends in labour market and HRD; analysis of relevant policies and identification of challenges in relation to the main priorities of the employment guidelines; supporting instruments from the European Union (EU) and other donors in the field of employment and HRD; the challenges and recommendations for HRD and labour market related reform/modernisation processes underpinning Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA) objectives; and institutions and capacity for good governance and partnership. Show less

This paper provides a contemporary analysis of human resource development (HRD) in Kosovo. The main sections of the paper examine: (1) the political and socioeconomic background; and (2) key policy issues and strategies in employment, education and training, and social inclusion. The paper concludes with a synthesis of issues and challenges for the HRD sector in Kosovo, followed by a summary of donor interventions into the HRD sector to date. Show less

This report describes a study designed to identify opportunities within Egypt, Lebanon and Jordan, for improving the support available for management and entrepreneurial development in order to stimulate the growth of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). The focus of the study is on the supply or provider side of management development support but also considers the demand for such support from SMEs and the role of intermediaries in assisting enterprises to access this support. The study includes individual entrepreneurs, micro enterprises (those with up to four employees) and SMEs (those employing between five and 49 people). Management development support is defined as any type of intervention used to help SMEs survive and grow, including all forms of management and entrepreneurial training and other types of support such as information, advice and guidance. The report is divided into two sections. The first provides a cross-country analysis of the current situation in Jordan, Lebanon and Egypt and attempts to identify some common trends in management development support for SMEs in these three countries. The second part provides an individual country analysis of the situation in each country. Each country analysis includes the following sections: (1) an overview of the socioeconomic context; (2) a summary of the situation in regard to SMEs, the environment within which they operate and their potential for growth; (3) a critical overview of the training and support currently available to managers and entrepreneurs in SMEs; (4) an overview of the support and the impact created by donors’ interventions; and (5) recommendations on how to improve this training and support. Where relevant, case studies in a box format provide illustrative examples of how concepts have been put into practice. Show less

This report belongs to a series of country analyses developed by the European Training Foundation (ETF) at the end of 2005 for all countries in the Mediterranean region, Eastern Europe and Central Asia. It contains an overview of the country's social and economical contexts, an analysis of the educational system and a short review of the main initiatives in education and training carried out by international donors in the country. Within the overall aim of improving the quality and relevance of vocational education and training in Egypt, the ETF suggests concentrating donor assistance on improving the reform implementation capacity of the main authorities, improving the overall quality and relevance of the training provision, improving the information collection and analysis capacity at policy development level, supporting extension of the financing base of vocational education at secondary and adult level and involving NGOs in training and skills upgrading in the important informal, micro-economy sector.

Published excerpts reprinted by permission of the copyright owner.

The series of reports is indexed from TD/TNC 84.362 to TD/TNC 84.375. Show less

This paper provides a contemporary analysis of human resource development (HRD) in Albania. The main sections of the paper examine: (1) the political and socioeconomic background; and (2) key policy issues and strategies in employment, education and training, and social inclusion. Show less

This report belongs to a series of country analyses developed by the European Training Foundation (ETF). It covers: Socioeconomic background; Key policy issues and strategies in the Human Resource Development sector in the country; EU (European Union) and other donors' policy and interventions in the country; ETF strategy of intervention in a mid-term perspective; Objectives and indicators for the Work Programme 2007. The ETF objectives for 2007 are: To monitor the final Tacis project, to contribute to the programming of the human resource development aspects of the DCI (Development Cooperation Instrument) support of economic development in Uzbekistan, and to assist the VET (vocational education and training) reform by informing the policy development and implementation processes through the ETF policy advice activities.

The overarching policies for education and training are laid out in the National Programme for Personnel Training (NPPT) of 1997. The programme gives strong priority to the introduction of 12 years of compulsory education and the related changes in upper secondary education. Its aim is to delay the entry of young people into the labour market until after 18 years of age and to avoid the social problem of large numbers of 15-18-year-olds leaving school without having obtained a qualification, not being able to find a place in the labour market and without access to higher levels of education. To that end a large number of new vocational colleges are being established across the country. According to NPPT the VET system will serve 90% of the 15 year population cohort and the current number of vocational colleges is planned to double to more than 1600 by 2010. VET is seen as a major tool against youth unemployment vis-a-vis the sustained population growth and as one of the drivers of economic development. This policy brought huge investments in vocational colleges’ infrastructure but a policy development which would make VET programmes and qualifications more responsive to its environment received attention only recently. Authorities have retained centralised control over the VET system. With ETF support, gradually policy thinking is moving towards key principles of a national qualification framework in which learning outcomes, employers input and a balanced structure of qualifications levels are being considered. There has been a growing mismatch between VET supply and developing labour market needs. New and emerging occupations, small business development, informal labour market and needs of impoverished population have so far not been appropriately reflected by the VET system. Many graduates face unemployment and college capacities are not sufficiently used for retraining and adult learning in general. Improving quality by modernising teaching methods and content can make VET more attractive and contribute to improving its image.

Excerpts from publication reprinted by permission of the copyright owner.

The series of reports is indexed from TD/TNC 90.820 to TD/TNC 90.844. Show less