Requirements

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INAP-ETF, INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE-Turin, Italy
INOVATIVE APPRENTICESHIPS Promoting Successful
School-to-work Transition 17-18 September 2009
Career Education and Orientation Year effectife
transition tools from general schooling to
vocational education The case of Kosovo LUMNIE
MEHMETAJ Freelance Consultant on Career
Guidance Prishtina, Kosova E-mail
lumemeh_at_yahoo.com
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• Kosovo
• Kosovo declared its independence on 17 February
  2008.
• The total population is estimated about 2.5
  million.
• Ethnic Albanians account 88, ethnic Serbs -7
  and other ethnic groups -5.
• 50 of the population is under the age of 25 and
  40 -under 18.
• According to the WB Poverty Assessment report,
  more than 37 of the population live below the
  poverty line 1.42 Euro, and 15 - in extreme
  poverty, below 0.92 Euro.
• The unemployment rate is about 40 around 70
  of them under 40 years.
• The vocational education system in Kosovo is
  almost entirely school-based.

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• Vocational Education
• Vocational education is school-based with around
  55 of the students from upper secondary
  education.
• Mostly vocational schools are considered as a
  second choice for students
• Vocational programmes in Kosovo are still mainly
  targeted toward narrow specializations.
• Practice is constrained by poor facilities,
  equipment and learning materials.
• Schools have no formal institutional links with
  local business.
• VET law envisages a combination of school-based
  education with in-company training.

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• Orientation Year
• The curriculum reform in 2001 emphasizes the
  importance of the orientation year-grade nine.
• Ministry of Education, Science and Technology
  (MEST) in 2003 introduced the achievement test
  for 9th grade students.
• New initiatives have been introduced in May 2009
  as a part of Career Guidance Week
• Career Information Day
• Open Doors Day

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• Career education
• Initially, in 2008, MEST with support of
  EU-KOSVET project introduced piloting of career
  education as an elective subject for ninth grade
  in 34 schools.
• 16 teaching hours were delivered per class in a
  semester.
• Evaluation has shown positive results and high
  satisfaction of the teachers and students.
• MEST decided to continue and extend the piloting
  in 80 schools.
• The EU-KOSVET project has trained eighty
  teachers. Six of them have had further training
  to train their colleagues in the future.

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• Career education impacts (1)
• Ms Sebahate Reqica, one of these trained
  teachers, states
• Personally I enjoy teaching career education
  because it is an attractive subject for students
  they also like tests about skills and personal
  qualities and characteristics. This subject helps
  them to make a decision about choosing a
  profession in time. The role of the career
  education teacher is very important because
  during the visits to different companies or
  institutions the students become aware which
  professions are demanded on the labour market and
  which profession would be suitable for them. The
  implementation of the pilot was not easy, but the
  enthusiasm of us ,career education teachers, and
  our ositive energy to help students helped to
  overcome many problems.

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• Career education impacts (2)
• Aulona Sylejmani, one of students interviewed,
  states
• Career education subject helped me to decide
  which career to choose between three that I
  already had in mind. I always liked agriculture
  but also I had thoughts of another two
  professions forestry and economics. Our career
  teacher took us to visit a local agricultural
  school and it helped me to definitely decide on
  my career. I want to enroll in this school even
  though I know my friends will joke with me
  because I have chosen agriculture, as I am an
  excellent student and vocational schools have a
  lower prestige.

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• Career education impacts (3)
• Another student Hekuran Hoxha states
• I have always liked computers since I was a
  child but I was not sure which qualifications I
  would need and what my employment prospects would
  be. My career teacher explained to us about
  vocational schools and the labour market so I got
  my answers. I have decided to become an IT
  specialist and I will enroll in technical school.
  The teacher explained to me that IT is in high
  demand in the labour market in Kosovo.

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• Job shadowing Girls Day
• The Girls' Day opened up wide future prospects to
  a generation of qualified young women.
• Ms Vlera Tahiri student who participated on
  Girls day states I have never thought about
  the possibility of working in a profession that
  is rather untypical for women, but now I would
  like to be a taxi driver. I believe that these
  kinds of professions are interesting and woman
  that work in these professions prove that they
  can achieve everything that a man could as well.

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• Conclusions (1)
• The orientation year- 9th grade needs to be
  taken more seriously and literally by providing
  to students real opportunities for orientation.
• The Open Doors Day and Career Information Day
  should be regular activities every year and
  extended to all schools throughout Kosovo.
• The inclusion of mandatory career education
  subject in all 9th grades after the third time of
  piloting (2010/2011) and it should be embedded in
  upper secondary education including vocational
  and general/gymnasia education in Kosovo.

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• Conclusions (2)
• Girls Day should be an annual activity and
  extended to all municipalities.
• Vocational schools should deliver competence
  based programmes which combine vocational and
  employability skills.
• Vocational schools and employers through a
  ministerial order should establish formal and
  regulated agreements for work placements.
• Student tracking system should be put in place to
  look at the school-to work transition problem and
  to have a proper skills forecasting. mechanism.