Bulgaria SABER Country Report WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT 2014 85987 Dimensions Status 1. Strategic Framework Bulgaria’s institutional framework for setting workforce development (WfD) strategic policies is grounded in legislation that creates clear roles for government ministries, industry and other stakeholders. There is sustained recognition of the importance of skills and WfD by the country’s leaders. This has been reflected in several important strategic documents. However, these statutory provisions have not yet translated into a shared policy agenda and sustained commitment to achieve forward-looking priorities for preparing the workforce for the economic opportunities of the future. The lack of broad and relevant data on skills gaps continues to hinder the design and implementation of policy interventions with high potential to improve the WfD framework. 2. System Oversight Bulgaria has a robust normative framework that includes occupational competency standards and a national qualifications framework for the assessment and certification of individuals’ skills. However, many of these standards have not yet been integrated into the curricula for technical and vocational education. Students are tracked into vocational education too early, thus preventing full formation of basic competencies, which can be an obstacle to acquiring the more specialized knowledge and skills demanded by employers. Budget resources tend to prioritize the creation of low-skilled jobs for quick mitigation of unemployment at the expense of investment in innovation in vocational education and training (VET) that could underpin longer-term competitiveness. VET and skills training system performance are not routinely analyzed and there is no system for quality assurance and accountability that informs and supports evidence-based WfD policymaking. 3. Service Delivery The Bulgarian system permits a diversity of state and non-state providers to offer training services. Partnerships between employers and public training institutions are limited, despite private sector engagement at the strategy level. VET providers are given few incentives for setting and achieving learning outcome targets, and the relevant ministries impose few requirements to facilitate evaluation. At the system level, while administrative data are collected, they are not intensively used for identifying opportunities for resource optimization or measuring the impact of programs on learning and employability. THE WORLD BANK BULGARIA ǀ WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT SABER COUNTRY REPORT |2014 Table of Contents Executive Summary ...............................................................................................................................3 1. Introduction .......................................................................................................................................7 2. Country Context ................................................................................................................................9 3. Overview of the Results ...................................................................................................................11 4. Aligning Workforce Development to Key Economic and Social Priorities ....................................12 Socioeconomic Aspirations, Priorities and Reforms ...................................................................... 12 SABER-WfD Ratings on the Strategic Framework ........................................................................ 13 Policy Goal 1: Articulating a Strategic Direction .......................................................................13 Policy Goal 2: Fostering a Demand-led Approach to WfD .........................................................15 Policy Goal 3: Strengthening Critical Coordination for Implementation ...................................16 Directions for Policy Development .............................................................................................17 5. Governing the system for Workforce Development ........................................................................18 Overall Institutional Landscape ....................................................................................................... 18 SABER-WfD Ratings on System Oversight ................................................................................... 18 Policy Goal 4: Ensuring Efficiency and Equity in Funding .......................................................18 Policy Goal 5: Assuring Relevant and Reliable Standards .........................................................20 Policy Goal 6: Diversifying the Pathways for Skills Acquisition...............................................21 Directions for Policy Development .............................................................................................23 6. Managing Service Delivery .............................................................................................................26 Overview of the Delivery of Training Services ............................................................................... 26 SABER-WfD Ratings on Service Delivery ..................................................................................... 27 Policy Goal 7: Incentivizing Diversity and Excellence in Training Provision ...........................27 Policy Goal 8: Fostering Relevance in Public Training Programs .............................................29 Policy Goal 9: Enhancing Evidence-Based Accountability for Results .....................................30 Directions for Policy Development .............................................................................................32 Annex 1: Acronyms .............................................................................................................................34 Annex 2: The SABER-WfD Analytical Framework ...........................................................................35 Annex 3: Rubrics for Scoring the SABER-WfD Data.........................................................................36 Annex 4: References and Informants ...................................................................................................43 Annex 5: SABER-WfD Scores ............................................................................................................46 Annex 6: Validation Workshop Report ...............................................................................................47 Annex 7: Structure of the Bulgarian Education System ......................................................................49 Annex 8: Authorship and Acknowledgements ....................................................................................50 SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR BETTER EDUCATION RESULTS 2 BULGARIA ǀ WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT SABER COUNTRY REPORT |2014 Executive Summary Framework arrangements, while the System Oversight and the Service Delivery Dimension of the After a decade of sustained growth averaging more system are at an emerging level of development. than 5 percent a year, the Bulgarian economy These ratings reflect the strengths and the areas contracted sharply as the global economic crisis hit requiring further development as detailed below. For the country in 2008. The subsequent recovery Bulgaria to progress to advanced level of remains very modest. The employment rate among development of its WfD system, the Government the working age population (aged 16 to 64) over the may consider a number of immediate priority past three years has been persistently below pre- reforms and actions, including: crisis levels. Unemployment more than doubled from 5.7 percent in 2008 to 12.4 percent in 2012, • Delaying the vocational education track until unleashing job-seeking emigration, especially among after compulsory schooling (i.e., after grade 10); the young Bulgarians. The government has responded with a series of short-term measures • Optimization of the network and improving (e.g., subsidized employment) to restore growth and the quality of public VET, including through employment. In the longer term, however, introduction of performance-based measures; continuously building a skilled workforce will be • Development, institutionalization and fundamental for Bulgaria’s competitiveness and for routine implementation of labor force and employer promoting sustained growth and shared prosperity, surveys for assessment of the demand for skills in especially in light of the country’s projected sharp the workforce, the current and future gaps in order decline in the workforce due to population aging. In to increase the relevance and alignment of VET to light of the above, the government is considering a the present and future market needs. number of reforms of the education sector, including a new underlying law on preschool and school The following paragraphs summarize the status of education and amendments to the law on vocational development by Functional Dimensions and contain and technical training. a more detailed presentation of suggested directions for policy development. At the request of the Government of Bulgaria, to inform the reform process and the national public Strategic Framework debate, the World Bank applied a new standardized tool –Systems Approach for Better Education Bulgaria’s institutional framework for setting WfD Results- Workforce Development (SABER-WfD) – to strategic policies is grounded in legislation that systematically assess Bulgaria’s policies and creates clear roles for government ministries, institutions for workforce development. Through industry and other stakeholders. There is sustained SABER-WfD, system-level data based on existing recognition of the importance of skills and workforce policies and practices in Bulgaria (as reflected in development in several strategic documents.1 laws, policy and operational documents, as well as However, these strengths have not yet translated stakeholder interviews) were collected and analyzed into a shared policy agenda and sustained across three Functional Dimensions of WfD: Strategic commitment to achieve specific priorities, backed by Framework; System Oversight and Service Delivery budget allocations and proposals owned by the and nine related Policy Goals (Figure 1). The resulting government and other stakeholders. The lack of data for each Policy Goal were then scored on a four- point scale corresponding to a latent, emerging, 1 Explicit strategies exist in multiple areas such as the National Program established or advanced level of development. for Development of Education, Science and Youth Policies (2009-2013), the National Strategy for the Development of School and Preschool The SABER-WfD results for Bulgaria reveal that the Education (2006-2015), and the National Strategy for Lifelong Learning country’s workforce development system has (2008-2013), all of which are supported by relevant legislation (e.g., reached an established level in terms of Strategic Public Education Law and Law on Vocational Education and Training). SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR BETTER EDUCATION RESULTS 3 BULGARIA ǀ WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT SABER COUNTRY REPORT |2014 broad and relevant data on skills gaps continues to stronger foundation in basic skills instead of early hinder the design and implementation of policy acquisition of specialized occupational skills. interventions that have the potential to improve the WfD framework in Bulgaria. Analyses of emerging Position the National Council for Tripartite skills needs are rarely initiated, yet such analyses Cooperation as a key player in the workforce need to be conducted on a regular basis in order to development consultations. Given the National identify forward-looking priorities for WfD and Council for Tripartite Cooperation’s mandate for develop appropriate policies. Despite consensus on reviewing and commenting on draft regulations on the importance of non-government stakeholders in employment and vocational training, it appears to be WfD, their effective participation in policy dialogue well-positioned to play a leading role in fostering remains ad-hoc and inadequate. continued consultation, dialogue and collaboration to arrive at consensus and priority action among the Directions for policy development: many WfD stakeholders. Assess the demand for skills in the workforce, as well Expand the coverage of the Bulgarian University as current and future gaps, through regular labor Ranking System. The collection of information on force and employer surveys. Such surveys would graduates’ labor market outcomes by degree focus on learning outcomes and competences, with program and institution could be expanded to cover results being measured in terms of trainee also the graduates of non-tertiary VET institutions. employment outcomes and employer satisfaction. The longitudinal SABER-WfD study for Korea shows System Oversight that back in the 1970s Korea had the same rankings for its WfD system as Bulgaria today. By 2010, Bulgaria boasts a robust normative framework Korea's scores moved up to advanced in terms of related to the assessment and certification of strategic framework and system oversight, and individuals’ skills in the form of occupational established in terms of service delivery. This progress competency standards and a national qualifications is partly explained by the routine collection (since framework (NQF). However, many of these the 1970s) of robust information on the country’s standards have not yet been integrated into the labor market conditions and the demand for skills, curricula for technical and vocational education and generated by government research institutions. labor training, and some occupational competency Bulgaria may consider the development and standards are still to be developed. Further, the institutionalization of its own routine data collection existence of the occupational competency standards mechanism. Alternatively, the OECD’s Program for has not yet led to the prioritization of budget the International Assessment of Adult Competencies allocations so that the capacity for achieving these (PIACC) and the World Bank’s STEPs surveys are now standards can be strengthened. being used by many countries to assess, for the first time, the skills possessed by the entire working age A particular structural issue of the education system population and which of those skills employers most is the early tracking of students (after grades 7 and value. 8) into the vocational education stream. The network of vocational schools has remained unreformed, Build consensus on the strategic actions required to despite the wave of school optimization that best prepare the workforce for the jobs and affected the general schools in Bulgaria following the economic opportunities of the future. This consensus 2008 decentralization and per capita finance needs to be based on international and domestic reforms. As evidenced from all PISA2 rounds, economic and social trends. The strategic vision 2 needs to reflect the rapid aging of the population in ISA - Program for International Student Assessment – a program designed and implemented by OECD for assessment of students at the age of 15. Bulgaria (calling for strong lifelong learning system) Bulgaria participated in all PISA assessments except in 2003. Performance and to refocus the education system to build data are available for the assessment rounds in 2000, 2006, 2009 and 2012. SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR BETTER EDUCATION RESULTS 4 BULGARIA ǀ WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT SABER COUNTRY REPORT |2014 including the most recent assessment in 2012, fast-changing economic and technological Bulgarian vocational schools, with a few exceptions, environment. have become magnets of low student performance. More than half of the 15-year-old students in While the imperatives of a fast aging population vocational schools (53.2 %, PISA 2012) are have been recognized in the national Lifelong functionally innumerate and score below the critical Learning Strategy, measures such as a nationwide threshold of mathematical achievement, compared occupational and career guidance system and a to 28.6 % of innumerate students in the profiled framework for the recognition of prior learning have secondary schools. While non-vocational schools yet to be scaled up. managed to improve their PISA performance over time in all the three tested domains – reading, math, Directions for policy development: and science – vocational school performance deteriorated in reading and science and stayed Consider delaying the tracking of students into unchanged in math (see Table 1). vocational education. In light of the proposed new structure of pre-university education envisioned in Table 1. Performance of vocational and profiled general the draft new Preschool and School Education Act, secondary schools in PISA 2009 and 2012 vocational education may be delayed until after completion of compulsory schooling (i.e., after grade Profiled Secondary Vocational Schools 10). The draft amendments to the VET Law and the School government’s plans to introduce elements of the Subject dual vocational education system present an PISA PISA 2012 PISA PISA 2012 opportunity to reconsider the early vocational 2009 2009 tracking, modernize the curriculum and optimize the network of vocational schools. Taken together, these Math 461 475 415 416 measures may have a strong positive impact on the Reading quality and relevance of education, as evidenced by 475 489 407 403 the strong educational performance of countries Science that have implemented similar reforms in the past 475 488 425 421 (see Box 4 on the 1999 education reforms in Poland). Fully integrate the occupational competency Within the group of vocational schools, there are standards into the curricula for technical and huge internal inequalities, with low student vocational education and labor training. performance concentrated predominantly in vocational schools providing training for the first and Implement regular analyses of the performance of second degree of professional qualification. Schools the VET and skills training system, its cost- providing the third degree of professional effectiveness and labor market impacts. For qualification fared better, but very few achieved instance, regular cost-benefit evaluations of youth scores in the national student assessment and PISA training programs across Latin America have comparable to the results of the profiled schools. revealed significant labor market impacts, more stable funding, and an improved delivery model. Early vocational training prevents vocational students from having full exposure to a complete Service Delivery basic general education curriculum and hampers the acquisition of generic and transferable skills. It also The Bulgarian system permits a diversity of state and reduces the likelihood for progression to tertiary non-state providers to offer training services. This education. This is an issue with serious implications positive feature can help increase access and for the adaptability of the Bulgarian workforce in a encourage competition and excellence in training provision. In the context of limited regulatory SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR BETTER EDUCATION RESULTS 5 BULGARIA ǀ WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT SABER COUNTRY REPORT |2014 capacity, however, it also requires increased efforts Encourage practical cooperation within the triangle to ensure quality assurance and accountability, of schools, businesses and the research and which is the weakest link in Bulgaria’s WfD system. development sectors and create opportunities for teachers to gain exposure to industry. One possible At the institutional level, providers are given few mechanism is to formalize the role of employers and incentives for setting and achieving learning empower them with executive authority on the outcome targets, and the relevant ministries impose boards of training institutions. In Singapore, for few requirements to facilitate evaluation. At the instance, a representative from private industry system level, while the Ministry of Education and chairs the board of the Institute of Technical Science (MES) and the National Agency for Education and the Institute's constituent colleges Vocational Education and Training (NAVET) collect likewise involve private sector representatives on administrative data, it is not intensively used for their boards. identifying opportunities for resource optimization or measuring the impact of programs on learning Include specific provisions in the draft new VET Law and employability. In addition, these data and on quality assurance in TVET. This may include the concomitant reports are not consistently made assignment of specific roles to the proposed new available to the public. National Educational Inspectorate. The system could also benefit from the development and Partnerships between employers and public training implementation of an internal system of quality institutions are limited, despite private sector control for the VET schools. Such a measure needs to engagement at the strategy level. The lack of be complemented by schemes to support the widespread and sustained partnerships poses capacity of VET schools to create and implement challenges for keeping instructional materials, internal quality control systems. facilities and course offerings up to date and limits the resources and opportunities available to Develop a web-based platform for exchange of good students. This also constrains opportunities for practices in VET provision. This platform should have teachers to gain industry exposure. In addition, the nationwide coverage of VET establishments and system for initial and continuing education for should draw from international experience as well. instructors is centralized, which hinders both the diffusion of new techniques and training providers’ Develop a system of quality assurance and ability to introduce new programs in response to accountability of the WfD system in Bulgaria that market needs. informs and supports evidence-based WfD policymaking. By launching the Bulgarian Universities Directions for policy development: Ranking System, Bulgaria has made important strides to gather and publicly disseminate regularly data on Involve the local area economic committees in employment, earnings, and employer satisfaction educational and training planning. This will ensure a with higher education, by field and institution type. closer alignment between skills supply and demand This experience may be expanded further to cover in line with regional economic and social conditions the broader WfD system in Bulgaria, and be used to and prospects. These committees, if well- provide information to guide individuals' decisions represented by leading firms in the area, are a about their training choices. critical source of labor market intelligence and may provide information that is often not captured by surveys. SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR BETTER EDUCATION RESULTS 6 BULGARIA ǀ WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT SABER COUNTRY REPORT |2014 1. Introduction Taken together, these three Dimensions allow for systematic analysis of the functioning of a WfD This report presents a comprehensive diagnostic system as a whole. The focus in the SABER-WfD assessment of Bulgaria’s workforce development framework is on the institutional structures and (WfD) policies and institutions. The results are based practices of public policymaking and what they on a new World Bank tool designed for this purpose, reveal about capacity in the system to conceptualize, SABER-WfD. SABER-WfD is part of the World Bank’s design, coordinate and implement policies in order initiative on Systems Approach for Better Education to achieve results on the ground. Each Dimension is 3 Results (SABER) whose aim is to provide systematic composed of three Policy Goals that correspond to assessment and documentation of the policy and important functional aspects of WfD systems (see institutional factors that influence the performance Figure 1). Policy Goals are further broken down into of key areas of national education and training discrete Policy Actions and Topics that reveal more systems. The SABER-WfD tool encompasses initial, detail about the system.5 continuing and targeted vocational education and training that are offered through multiple channels Figure 1.1: Functional Dimensions and Policy Goals in the SABER-WfD Framework and focuses largely on programs at the secondary and post-secondary levels. Analytical Framework The tool is based on an analytical framework4 that identifies three Functional Dimensions of WfD policies and institutions: • Strategic framework, which refers to the praxis of high-level advocacy, partnership, and coordination, typically across traditional sectoral boundaries, in relation to the objective of aligning WfD in critical areas to priorities for national development; • System Oversight, which refers to the Implementing the Analysis arrangements governing funding, quality assurance and learning pathways that shape the incentives and Information for the analysis is gathered using a information signals affecting the choices of structured SABER-WfD Data Collection Instrument individuals, employers, training providers and other (DCI). The instrument is designed to collect, to the stakeholders; and extent possible, facts rather than opinions about WfD policies and institutions. For each Topic, the DCI • Service Delivery, which refers to the poses a set of multiple-choice questions that are diversity, organization and management of training answered based on documentary evidence and provision, both state and non-state, that deliver interviews with knowledgeable informants. The results on the ground by enabling individuals to answers allow each Topic to be scored on a four- acquire market- and job-relevant skills. point scale against standardized rubrics based on available knowledge on global good practice (See figure 2). Topic scores are averaged to produce Policy Goal scores, which are then aggregated into 3 For details on SABER see http://www.worldbank.org/education/saber 4 5 For an explanation of the SABER-WfD framework, see Tan et al 2013. See Annex 2 for an overview of the structure of the framework. SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR BETTER EDUCATION RESULTS 7 BULGARIA ǀ WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT SABER COUNTRY REPORT |2014 Dimension scores. The results are finalized following validation by the relevant national counterparts, including the informants themselves. The rest of this report summarizes the key findings of the SABER-WfD assessment and also presents the detailed results for each of the three functional dimensions. To put the results into context, the report begins below with a brief profile of the country’s socioeconomic makeup. Figure 2: SABER-WfD Scoring Rubrics SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR BETTER EDUCATION RESULTS 8 BULGARIA ǀ WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT SABER COUNTRY REPORT |2014 2. Country Context ICT industries have all been sources of employment growth. Unemployment has been rising steadily in Bulgaria joined the European Union (EU) in 2007, recent years, reaching 12.4 percent in 2012, more following a turbulent political and economic than twice its 2008 level (5.7 percent). transition in the 1990s. Its per capita GDP of $7,158 Unemployment is concentrated among those with in 20116 qualifies it as an upper-middle income lower levels of education. In terms of skills supply, economy. In the decade prior to the 2008–09 global the majority of Bulgarians have completed secondary financial crisis, Bulgaria enjoyed sustained economic schooling and about 20 percent have a tertiary growth, averaging more than 5 percent a year. After qualification. According to Eurostat data for 2011, a sharp decline in GDP in 2009, growth has resumed, the unemployment rate was 25.5 percent among but only modestly. The crisis has required the those who had not progressed beyond lower government to focus its attention on mitigating secondary education (ISECD levels 0-2), while it was growing unemployment and on maintaining fiscal 9 percent among those with upper secondary and stability. post-secondary non-tertiary education (ISCED levels 3 and 4), and 5 percent among those with tertiary The country has a population of about 7 million education (ISECD levels 5 and 6). Compared to the people, consisting of three large ethnic groups: corresponding unemployment rates in EU countries, Bulgarians (84.8 percent); Turks (8.8 percent); and the rate among the least educated in Bulgaria has Roma (4.9 percent)7. The population is projected to grown significantly since the beginning of the shrink by 18 percent between 2000 and 2025, financial crisis. reflecting the impact of low fertility and emigration. The population is aging rapidly: according to In 2012, Bulgaria was among the 7 EU countries with estimates by the Bulgaria National Statistics Institute the highest level of early school leavers. The school (NSI)8 the ratio of those aged 65 and older to those dropout issue affects the VET schools (4.2 percent between the ages of 15 and 64 will rise from 25 dropout rate)10 much more than the general schools percent in 2011 to 47 percent by 2040. Emigration is (1.6 percent dropout rate). Students from concentrated among those aged 20 to 39 years, disadvantaged backgrounds are more likely to attend accounting for between 60 and 75 percent of the VET gymnasiums and schools; hence the higher annual emigrants between 2007 and 2011. dropout rates have a disproportionate impact on Reflecting negative demographic trends, Bulgaria’s their communities compared with the general labor force is also projected to decline from 3.4 population. Education attainment varies million in 2011 to 3.2 million by 2020.9 considerably by ethnicity: about 70 percent of ethnic Turks and 93 percent of ethnic Roma in Bulgaria At present, the sectors employing the largest have not completed secondary education, compared number of workers are: manufacturing, wholesale to 30 percent for ethnic Bulgarians. According to the and retail industry, education, health and social NSI,11 at the beginning of 2011, 23.2 percent of services, and construction. However, in the Roma children aged 7 to 15 did not attend school, a aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, employment in relatively high proportion in relation to the ethnic the first two sectors and construction has Turkish minority (11.9%) and ethnic Bulgarians significantly declined. In contrast, administrative and (5.6%). Similarly, the illiteracy rate among the Roma support services, financial services, insurance and population (11.8%) is significantly higher than that of ethnic Turks (4.7%) and Bulgarians (0.5%). There are 6 http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.PCAP.CD. also disparities between urban and rural areas: more 7 NSI, 2012, http://censusresults.nsi.bg/Census/ (Data based on than 70 percent of the urban population has information provided by the population that answered the question of completed at least upper secondary education ethnic self-identification – 91 percent of the whole population). 8 NSI, 2012, http://www.nsi.bg/index.php - Population forecast - convergence scenario 9 10 Labour force by gender, Bulgaria, CEDEFOP, Skills forecasts, Bulgaria NSI, 2013 11 2012. NSI, 2011 Population Census – Main Results, NSI, Sofia, 2012, p. 30-31. SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR BETTER EDUCATION RESULTS 9 BULGARIA ǀ WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT SABER COUNTRY REPORT |2014 compared to only 40 percent of those who live in average to low performing general and vocational rural areas.12 schools. In the latter group, the VET schools prevail. Learning outcomes in Bulgaria have been Participation in continuing education and training deteriorating. According to the Program for among Bulgarian adults is the lowest among EU International Student Assessment (PISA) in 2012,13 a countries. According to a 2012 European Centre for high proportion of Bulgarian 15 year-olds scored the Development of Vocational Training (CEDEFOP) below proficiency level 214 in reading, mathematics survey,15 only 1.2 percent of the population aged and science (39.4 percent, 43.8 percent, 36.9 between 25 and 64 years old had participated in percent, respectively, compared to less than 18, 23 education or training activities in the four weeks and 17.8 percent on average, respectively, for their prior to the survey, a rate that is less than a seventh peers in OECD countries). On this indicator, Bulgaria of the EU average. The combination of poor learning scores similarly to Romania and much worse than outcomes among Bulgarian youth and limited some non-EU countries with a similar level of per participation in lifelong learning among adults is a capita GDP, like Serbia and Turkey. Low performance cause for concern. It compromises the quality of the in PISA is concentrated predominantly in VET and future workforce and the country’s ability to move small rural schools. The variation in performance into more lucrative areas of economic activity. At the between schools in Bulgaria is much more prominent same time, it diminishes the capacity of the current than the differences in performance within schools. workforce to adapt to economic restructuring and to This phenomenon is caused by the early test-based take advantage of new job opportunities. selection of students after grades 7 and 8, which tracks students into profiled schools, non-profiled general schools and vocational schools. Profiled schools offer general education with additional focus on a selected subject (e.g., foreign language, mathematics, ICT, etc.). General schools provide education without extra focus on a given subject, while vocational schools accommodate vocational subjects into the curriculum, often at the expense of the time allocated to general curriculum subject. The average PISA 2012 math score of vocational schools was 416 compared 475 of the profiled secondary schools. More than half of the vocational students scored below the critical numeracy threshold in PISA 2012, compared to a 28 percent share of functionally innumerate in the profiled secondary schools. Thus, the school system is divided into high performing public profiled schools (often referred to as “elite� schools) and a majority of 12 Census, 2011, NSI, 2012 - http://www.nsi.bg/census2011/index.php. 13 OECD (2010), PISA 2009 Results: What Students Know and Can Do – Student Performance in Reading, Mathematics and Science, (Volume I), http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264091450-en (Volume I), Results for countries and economies: Annex B1, p. 194, 221, 225. 14 PISA scores students from 1b to 6, with 6 being the highest. Scores 15 below 2 indicate a level of achievement below the threshold for CEDEFOP, 2012, http://www.cedefop.europa.eu/EN/statistics-and- functional proficiency. indicators/continuing-vocational-training-and-adult-learning.aspx SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR BETTER EDUCATION RESULTS 10 BULGARIA ǀ WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT SABER COUNTRY REPORT |2014 3. Overview of the Results The findings suggest that Bulgaria’s policies and institutions for WfD are currently most developed at This section presents the findings from the the strategy level, with systems for governance and assessment of Bulgaria’s WfD system based on the service delivery relatively less strong. Relative SABER-WfD analytical framework and tool. The focus system strength with respect to strategy holds is on policies, institutions and practices in the three promise for future improvement in the other Functional Dimensions of policymaking and Dimensions, as it indicates that there is a strong implementation—strategic framework, system foundation on which measures to address existing oversight and service delivery. Because these aspects issues with policy implementation may be based. collectively create the operational environment in which individuals, firms and training providers make Figure 3: Bulgaria’s Dimension-Level Scores decisions with regard to training, they exert an important influence on observed outcomes in skills Dimension Policy Goal development. Strong systems of WfD have institutionalized processes and practices for reaching 1. Direction Framework Strategic agreement on priorities, for collaboration and coordination, and for generating routine feedback 2. Demand-led 2.8 that sustain continuous innovation and improvement. By contrast, weak systems are 3. Coordination characterized by fragmentation, duplication of effort and limited learning from experience. 4. Funding Oversight System The SABER-WfD assessment results presented in the 5. Standards 2.4 following sections provide a baseline for understanding the current status of the WfD system 6. Pathways in the country as well as a basis for discussing ideas on how best to strengthen it in the coming years. 7. Excellence Delivery Service Figure 3 shows the overall results for the three Functional Dimensions in the SABER-WfD 8. Relevance 2.2 framework. For Strategic Framework Bulgaria is 9. rated at the Established level (2.8 out of a possible Accountability 4.016); and for System Oversight and Service Delivery, 1 2 3 4 the score falls at the Emerging level of development (2.4 and 2.2, respectively). 16 For a given composite score, X, the conversion to the categorical rating shown on the cover is based on the following rule: 1.00 ≤ X ≤ 1.75 converts to “Latent�; 1.75 < X ≤ 2.50, to “Emerging;� 2.50 < X ≤ 3.25, to “Established;� and 3.25 < X ≤ 4.00, to “Advanced.� SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR BETTER EDUCATION RESULTS 11 BULGARIA ǀ WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT SABER COUNTRY REPORT |2014 4. Aligning Workforce Development to The National Program for the Development of School and Preschool Education 2006–2015 adopted by the Key Economic and Social Priorities National Parliament laid down the goals for overall improvement in access to and quality of school Socioeconomic Aspirations, Priorities education as a major element of national workforce and Reforms development. WfD is not an end in itself but an input toward Priority areas for promoting lifelong learning, set out broader objectives – of boosting employability and in the National Lifelong Learning Strategy, include: productivity; of relieving skills constraints on improving opportunities for lifelong learning and business growth and development; and of advancing provision of high quality and effective continuing and overall economic growth and social wellbeing. adult education, improving curricula and VET, developing job training, career guidance, and Bulgaria’s key socio-economic objectives are laid out validation and recognition of skills and competences. in the Europe 2020: National Reform Program,17 which sets goals for updating infrastructure, In addition, the National Employment Strategy increasing the competitiveness of Bulgaria’s labor (2008–2015) is focused on (i) improving the match force, creating a pro-business environment, and between education and training, on the one hand, fostering trust in public institutions. This document and the changing needs of the labor market on the frames WfD as an important tool to achieve both other, and (ii) encouraging participation in lifelong economic competiveness and social protection for learning, the activation of inactive and discouraged the most vulnerable segments of society. Specifically, people, and the effective integration of vulnerable it includes the goal of achieving 76 percent groups in the labor market. employment of the population aged 20 to 64 (compared to 63 employment rate in 2012), a Two major laws define the legal framework for WfD 260,000 person reduction by 2020 in the number of (see Box 1): the Law on Public Education and the Law people living in poverty and a reduction in on Vocational Education and Training, which are unemployment among vulnerable groups. currently under review. Both laws are meant to develop the skills for handling complex and Although strategic documents recognize that a long- constantly changing learning methods (including term strategy for building a skilled workforce is information technology), build key competencies, fundamental for Bulgaria’s prospects of create attitudes and skills for lifelong learning, and competitiveness, sustained growth and shared improve access to education (including early prosperity, reforms of the education sector are still childhood development). The envisioned legislative to be developed. One reason for delayed reforms is changes in education provide for the development of that slow growth and high unemployment as result a set of state educational standards and improve the of the 2008 financial crisis have led to a focus on opportunities for diversified learning pathways and short-term subsidized employment programs that validation of skills and competences. A new internal protect primarily low-skilled jobs at the expense of system of quality management in kindergartens and investments in long-run competitiveness. Current schools is envisioned in the draft new Preschool and major strategic documents related to WfD include: School Education Law to improve the quality of National Program for the Development of School and educational services and organizational development Preschool Education 2006–2015 and the National of the educational institutions. Lifelong Learning Strategy. 17 Adopted by the Council for Development in 2011; Updated from the National Reform Programme (2011-2015) SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR BETTER EDUCATION RESULTS 12 BULGARIA ǀ WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT SABER COUNTRY REPORT |2014 Box 1: Legislative Framework for WfD Law Function The Law on Vocational Sets the legal environment and institutional framework for initial Education and Training vocational education and continuing vocational education Provides the legal foundation for the overall education system and The Law on Public Education establishes the right of citizens to continuously enhance their education and qualifications The Law on the Degree of Regulates the state educational requirements for awarding degrees, the Education, the General legal minimum general education attainment and the public education Education Minimum and the curriculum Curriculum Makes provision for opportunities for vocational education and training The Labor Code and re-qualification for employed individuals The Law on Employment Defines the institutions and actors involved in promoting training among Promotion employed and unemployed individuals and disadvantaged groups Sets the rules and requirements for training in designated (traditional) The Law on Crafts crafts SABER-WfD Ratings on the Strategic Policy Goal 1: Articulating a Strategic Framework Direction Leaders play an important role in crystallizing a Based on data collected by the SABER-WfD strategic vision for WfD appropriate to the country’s questionnaire, Bulgaria receives an overall rating of unique circumstances and opportunities. Their 2.8 (Established) on the Strategic Framework advocacy and commitment attract partnership with Dimension (see figure 4). This score is the average of stakeholders for the common good, build public the ratings for the underlying Policy Goals relating support for key priorities in WfD, and ensure that to: (1) Setting a Direction for WfD (3.0); (2) Fostering critical issues receive due attention in policy a Demand-led Approach to WfD (2.4); and (3) dialogue. Taking these ideas into account, Policy Strengthening Critical Coordination for WfD (3.0). Goal 1 assesses the extent to which apex-level The explanation for these ratings on the Policy Goals leaders in government and in the private sector and their implications follow below. provide sustained advocacy for WfD priorities through institutionalized processes. Figure 4: SABER-WfD Ratings of the Strategic Framework Dimension Bulgaria scores at the Established level for Policy Goal 1. The government has put in place an Overall 2.8 institutional framework for setting strategic WfD Strategic Framework priorities in partnership with non-government 1. Direction 3.0 stakeholders. However, WfD leaders have not articulated a clear set of specific priorities or provided the sustained momentum necessary to 2. Demand-led 2.4 drive home results. At the policy level, leaders’ efforts have not always been able to establish 3. Coordination 3.0 coherence between Bulgaria’s economic development objectives and WfD policy. Further, coordination between the line ministries appears to 1 2 3 4 SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR BETTER EDUCATION RESULTS 13 BULGARIA ǀ WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT SABER COUNTRY REPORT |2014 focus on operational concerns and lacks the A limited number of non-government actors take direction from leadership at the strategy level. leadership roles with regard to WfD policy. Such players include representatives of trade unions Workforce development in Bulgaria is the (Podkrepa and the Confederation of the responsibility of three main institutions: (1) MES; (2) Independent Trade Unions) and business the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy (MLSP); and associations (Vazrazhdane and the Bulgarian (3) NAVET. MES is concerned with ensuring Industrial Association (BIA)), among others. The BIA, coherence between education policies and national for example, is currently developing an information and European priorities and strategies, and system that evaluates workforce competencies to curriculum design, assessment systems and record the stock of various skills in the labor market. professional qualifications. MLSP is involved in the BIA’s experts also submit proposals for legislative provision of both IVET and targeted training changes. Other stakeholders also engage in policy programs, and is the primary body responsible for dialogue with the government on an ad-hoc basis, conducting labor market analyses. NAVET is in but, in general, inter-institutional cooperation is charge of licensing and occupational standards. sporadic and needs improvement. Box 2: “Development of Workforce Competence Assessment System by Sectors and Regions� Implemented by the BIA in partnership with national trade unions, this effort aims to create a digital database – the Workforce Competence Assessment System (CASSY) – that will enable the identification and measurement of technical and non-cognitive competencies, occupations and qualifications by sector. This project is still in its initial stages, but it is envisaged that it will comprise the following components and sub-components: Sector Competence Model Sector Model of Occupation  List of Key Occupations Development Resources in the Sector  Description of Business  Occupational definition Processes  Training and education  Education level required (links to  Catalogue of Core (socio-  Certification NQF) and list of institutions emotional and non-cognitive),  Assessment where education can be acquired technical and leadership competencies Source: BIA (2012) SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR BETTER EDUCATION RESULTS 14 BULGARIA ǀ WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT SABER COUNTRY REPORT |2014 Policy Goal 2: Fostering a Demand-led of skills constraints are generally limited in scope and Approach to WfD tied to specific projects. Effective advocacy for WfD requires credible There are few incentives for employers to assess assessments of the demand for skills, engagement of future skills needs and develop and upgrade employers in shaping the country’s WfD agenda and employees’ skills. The lack of opportunities for incentives for employers to support skills business representatives to exercise a leadership development. Policy Goal 2 incorporates these ideas role in setting WfD strategic priorities in partnership and benchmarks the system according to the extent with government is a deterrent to their active to which policies and institutional arrangements are participation. There are also few initiatives to in place to: (i) establish clarity on the demand for encourage employers to become more active skills and areas of critical constraint; and (ii) engage participants in the WfD system by providing training employers in setting WfD priorities and in enhancing to workers. While the Law on Employment skills-upgrading for workers. Promotion states that employers in the formal sector can apply for grants to support training of employees Bulgaria scores at the Emerging level for Policy Goal (including purchasing training services, on-the-job 2. Despite some surveys (albeit of limited scope) to training and mentorships), this option is not widely assess skills constraints and promising private sector used because of ambiguity about the requirements initiatives, the information base available to leaders and procedures for obtaining such grants. to ensure that WfD policies are aligned to the Furthermore, interaction and cooperation among demand for emerging skills is not robust. businesses and training institutions is rare, either Furthermore, the government provides few through national level committees or direct incentives to employers to develop and upgrade engagement. The government provides few formal their employees’ skills or participate in creating a incentives for employers to engage in the training demand-driven system. system to support curriculum development, training delivery and quality assurance. As a result, Although numerous ad-hoc, occasional surveys to vocational courses tend not to meet businesses’ measure skills demand and supply have been requirements, leading to poor employment conducted by the government in the past three outcomes and wasted public and private resources. years, the data collected have not been used systematically to generate reliable information on It is important to note that Bulgaria’s informal sector skills gaps. There has been a push from a limited is estimated to contribute to a third of the country’s number of private sector players for such practices, GDP and employ 22 percent19 of the labor force. best exemplified by the BIA’s project "Development However, programs for upgrading of informal sector of Workforce Competence Assessment System by employees’ skills are extremely scarce. Sectors and Regions,"18 which is designed to identify and measure the stock of technical and soft skills Those programs that exist to encourage employer across regions and economic sectors (see box 2). participation in policymaking are not regularly Despite this ambitious project, current assessments reviewed. In advanced systems, routine reviews of such initiatives are used both to improve programs and to inform new policies. In Bulgaria, 18 19 The project has been implemented by the Bulgarian Industrial Monitoring Report "Limitation and prevention of the informal Association – Union of the Bulgarian Business in the period 2009-2013, in economy – 2012", Association of Industrial Capital in Bulgaria, p . 51, accordance with Agreement № BG 051PO 001-2.1.06/23.10.2009 under funded by the Operational Programme "Human Resources measure BG 051PO 001-2.1.06 "Enhancing Labour Market Flexibility and Development" 2007-2013, contract BG051PO001-2.1.05. The data Effectiveness through Active Actions by the Social Partners� within the indicate the share of employers’ answers for existing practices of “often 2007-2013 Human Resource Development Operational Programme, and very often employment without a contract.� The quoted data are for partly financed by the European Social Fund. September-October 2012 (the figure for 2010 is 28.4 percent). SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR BETTER EDUCATION RESULTS 15 BULGARIA ǀ WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT SABER COUNTRY REPORT |2014 recommendations from those analyses that are done There are several formal bodies that coordinate are not consistently incorporated into the process of input from non-government stakeholders. developing policies and determining the allocation of Employers, industry associations and trade unions programmatic funding. One reason for this is that participate in two advisory bodies under the MLSP. public institutions do not have sufficient resources The National Council for Promotion of Employment for policy analysis, in part due to the fact that these decides priority areas for training and selects the activities compete for limited funds and manpower programs to be funded, while the National with other ministry functions. Consultative Council for Vocational Qualification of the Labor Force, on which the government, Policy Goal 3: Strengthening Critical employers and trade unions are equally represented, Coordination for Implementation is an advisory body in charge of coordination of national policies for lifelong learning. While these Ensuring that the efforts of multiple stakeholders bodies provide platforms for non-government involved in WfD are aligned with the country’s key stakeholder input into the operations of the MLSP, socioeconomic priorities is an important goal of regular reports of their activities and achievements strategic coordination. Such coordination typically are not publicly disclosed, nor is there clear evidence requires leadership at a sufficiently high level to that these bodies have had an impact on the overcome barriers to cross-sector or cross- mainstreaming of good practices into the formal ministerial cooperation. Policy Goal 3 examines the WfD system. extent to which policies and institutional arrangements are in place to formalize roles and Non-government stakeholders also hold seats on the responsibilities for coordinated action on strategic NAVET management board and on the Monitoring priorities. Committee of the "Human Resources Development Operational Program� (HRD-OP) 2007–2013. At Bulgaria scores at the Established level for Policy NAVET, stakeholders establish Expert Commissions Goal 3. There are clearly defined legal roles for both for setting vocational standards, decide on licensing government and non-government stakeholders. procedures for private training providers, and offer However, while formal and ad-hoc mechanisms for proposals to MES for the development and non-government stakeholder input exist, these improvement of the VET system. The Monitoring mechanisms do not consistently fulfill their potential Committee of HRD-OP convenes twice a year to for generating effective coordination in support of design programs and monitor the effectiveness and improving WfD strategies and policies quality of programs currently under implementation. While the Committee is composed primarily of The Law on Employment Promotion defines the roles government agencies, representatives of national of WfD stakeholders with respect to their industry associations, labor unions and NGOs also participation in formal bodies for collaboration on participate. strategy and policy. The functions of government agencies are clearly defined and there are few areas Various ad-hoc mechanisms have also been of overlap in mandate. There are some areas of established to ensure coordination. For example, policy, such as occupational standards, coordination businesses are consulted in the process of legislative of the state admission plan20 and organization of reform. NAVET has also established close vocational guidance, where significant inter- cooperation with different business associations in ministerial collaboration occurs. sectors such as construction, chemistry, wood industry and furniture, cosmetics, tourism, welding, and the meat, fruit and vegetable processing 20 The “state admission plan� reflects the number of the students in the industries. state and municipal schools� (Art. 49, para. 2 of the Regulations for Implementation of the Public Education Law). SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR BETTER EDUCATION RESULTS 16 BULGARIA ǀ WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT SABER COUNTRY REPORT |2014 There is little research on the impact of non- to arrive at consensus and priority action among the government stakeholders’ participation in decision- many WfD stakeholders. making in Bulgaria, however anecdotal evidence suggests that these groups have not been able to Engaging in regular assessments of the demand effectively articulate and advocate for their for skills in the workforce to identify current and collective interests. Therefore, their practical future gaps influence on the decision-making process in the country is still limited. In addition, it has been An essential part of forging broader social and observed that the government tends to treat political consensus for investing effectively in WfD coordination mechanisms as a formality. This fact, should be the assessment of the demand for skills in combined with rather weak advocacy for WfD as a the workforce and of current and future gaps. This tool to achieve broader development objectives and can be done through regular labor force and the lack of commitment to clear, monitorable and employer surveys that focus on learning outcomes achievable WfD goals on the part of the government, and competences, with results being measured in has meant that Bulgaria’s numerous mechanisms for terms of trainee employment outcomes and coordination have not consistently generated employer satisfaction. The longitudinal SABER-WfD meaningful results. study for Korea shows that back in the 1970s Korea had the same rankings for its WfD system as Bulgaria Directions for Policy Development today. By 2010, Korea's scores moved up to advanced in terms of strategic framework and Strengthening the leadership and the strategic system oversight, and established in terms of service steering of Bulgaria’s WfD system delivery. This progress is partly explained by the routine collection (since the 1970s) of robust The country’s leadership – in government, business information on the country’s labor market conditions and society at large – needs to foster active and and the demand for skills, generated by government broad-based public debate on strategic, forward- research institutions. In Ireland, the advisory Expert looking actions on how to best prepare the Group on Future Skill Needs, set up in 1997 to workforce for the jobs and economic opportunities ensure coherence in the identification of skill needs of the future. There is a need to balance short-term and economic trends, has made a valuable demands with longer-term demands related to contribution to informed policy decisions. growth, diversification and economic competitiveness. As an example, Korea’s Bulgaria may consider the development and government has a long-standing practice of institutionalization of its own routine data collection convening various bodies for debate and discussion mechanism. Alternatively, the OECD’s Program for on strategic WfD goals and approaches. The latest the International Assessment of Adult Competencies example is the Korean President's decision in 2010 to (PIACC) and the World Bank’s STEPs surveys are now create the National Employment Strategy Council, being used by many countries to assess, for the first bringing together nine ministries and five industry time, the skills possessed by the entire working age federations to address the pressing challenge of skills population and which of those skills employers most mismatch, job scarcity and high youth value. unemployment. Bulgaria has already gained data collection and Given the National Council for Tripartite analysis experience through the Bulgarian University Cooperation’s mandate for reviewing and Ranking System. This initiative could be expanded in commenting on draft regulations on employment coverage. The collection of information on and vocational training, it appears to be well- graduates’ labor market outcomes by degree positioned to play a leading role in fostering program and institution could cover also the continued consultation, dialogue and collaboration graduates of non-tertiary VET institutions. SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR BETTER EDUCATION RESULTS 17 BULGARIA ǀ WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT SABER COUNTRY REPORT |2014 5. Governing the system for Workforce years. Provisions for a broader range of suppliers of vocational training and for broader competencies Development were laid out in the 2009 Law on Vocational Education and Training. In addition, Decision № 96, Overall Institutional Landscape which was adopted in February 2012 by the Council An important function of WfD authorities is to foster of Ministers, set the stage for the creation of a efficient and equitable funding of investments in national qualifications framework aligned to the workforce development, to facilitate effective skills European qualifications framework. acquisition by individuals and to enable employers to In the last decade, the national total public meet their demand for skilled workers in a timely expenditure for all levels of education has been manner. The objective is to minimize systemic steadily decreasing. In 2012 total public education impediments to skills acquisition and mismatches in expenditures reached 3.6 percent of the GDP, skills supply and demand. This section begins with a compared to an EU average of 5.2 percent. However, brief description of how the WfD system is organized with 0.6 percent of GDP expenditure on public and and governed before presenting the detailed SABER- private vocational and prevocational educational WfD findings on System Oversight and their policy programs at secondary and post-secondary non- implications. tertiary levels of education (ISCED 3-4) in 2010, TVET in Bulgaria is delivered through multiple Bulgaria is among the top 10 EU-27 countries for this pathways: IVET, CVET and targeted programs. IVET indicator.21 comes under the purview of the MES, while CVET and targeted programs are managed by the MLSP. SABER-WfD Ratings on System However, the development of draft state Oversight educational requirements and the drafting of a list of occupations, as well as the licensing and quality Based on data collected by the SABER-WfD assurance of CVET, are the responsibility of the questionnaire, Bulgaria receives an overall rating of National Agency for Vocational Education and 2.4 (Emerging) for system oversight (see figure 5 Training (NAVET), a specialized body created under below). This score is the average of the ratings for the 2000 Law on Vocational Education and Training. the underlying policy goals: ensuring efficiency and Secondary VET is financed primarily from the state equity of funding (2.0); assuring relevant and reliable budget, while post-secondary IVET and CVET rely standards (2.9); and diversifying pathways for skills largely on funds from individuals and the EU. acquisition (2.3). The explanation for these ratings Bulgaria does not use special mechanisms such as a and their implications follow below. levy scheme to mobilize resources directly from employers. Policy Goal 4: Ensuring Efficiency and Equity in Funding Bulgarian students are streamed into general or vocational tracks following 6 or 7 years of basic WfD requires a significant investment of resources education (see graph in Annex 7). The focus of the by the government, households and employers. To vocational track is to provide students with ensure that these resources are effectively used it is opportunities to acquire professional and technical important to examine the extent to which policies qualifications in accordance with state requirements. and institutional arrangements are in place to: (i) All students that successfully complete secondary ensure stable funding for effective programs in education are eligible to apply for academic or initial, continuing and targeted VET; (ii) monitor and technical courses at the post-secondary level. 21 Issues relating to skills acquisition have received CEDEFEP, 2012 - Expenditure on general and vocational programs (data available for 16 EU-27 countries). increased attention from the government in recent SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR BETTER EDUCATION RESULTS 18 BULGARIA ǀ WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT SABER COUNTRY REPORT |2014 assess equity in funding; and (iii) foster partnerships improve efficiency, such as allocating funding on the with employers for funding WfD. basis of achievement against selected outcome indicators, program alignment with WfD priorities, Figure 5: SABER-WfD Ratings of the System Oversight and innovation in service delivery, are not explicitly Dimension considered. Government funding for CVET and targeted training programs is channeled through MLSP. Since 2008, the Council of Ministers, as part of the government’s Overall 2.4 response to the financial crisis, has authorized additional funds for programs under the National Employment Action Plan. Programs under this Action System Oversight 4. Funding 2.0 Plan, such as “I Can� and “Razvitie (Development),� aim to provide training and other services to individuals who have lost their jobs or were required 5. Standards 2.9 to move from full time to part time employment. In 2010, a positive evaluation of the “I Can� program, 6. Pathways which involves the use of training vouchers, 2.3 prompted the decision to scale up the program to reach a projected 60,000 new beneficiaries. In general, however, assessments to determine the 1 2 3 4 impact of programs and funding mechanisms on promoting equity are limited. In Bulgaria, government funding of VET is Bulgaria scores at the Emerging level on Policy Goal supplemented by EU funds and by household 4. The rating reflects strengths with respect to spending. Although employers are a potential source procedures for allocating funds for targeted of funding and other resources, their contribution is programs under the National Employment Action not formalized through public-private partnerships Plan, and for monitoring the effect of such or mechanisms for mandatory contributions to allocations on equity in funding. These are dedicated training funds (e.g., levy schemes). counterbalanced by concerns about the stability of Employers are currently given few financial funding for VET related to heavy reliance on EU incentives to collaborate with training providers. The monies and the absence of institutionalized government recognizes the important role of measures to address equity. employers, but its current programs to promote partnerships between training institutions and Government funding for VET flows through annual employers are still in a pilot phase and do not reach budget allocations to MES for IVET. The bulk of all regions, especially remote areas where businesses funding channeled through MES is allocated to state and schools lack the capacity to form viable and municipal secondary schools for salaries and partnerships. Nonetheless, a number of employers maintenance of facilities. Per student allocations for have entered into partnership with training vocational and pre-vocational education at providers to provide workplace training or secondary and post-secondary non-tertiary levels internships for students, one example being the exceed those for general secondary education and relationship between the “Electro mobiles� industrial vary based on the occupation under study. Funds for cluster and the Center for Vocational Training at the secondary schools that supply IVET are provided Auto Motor Corporation. In general, partnerships according to a standard formula based on enrolment between training institutions and employers have and the previous year’s allocations. Measures to been initiated on an ad-hoc basis. SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR BETTER EDUCATION RESULTS 19 BULGARIA ǀ WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT SABER COUNTRY REPORT |2014 In a strong system for WfD, the government’s occupational standards, and measures for the quality funding for training is routinely monitored and control of training providers and programs are not adjusted to enhance the impact on equity. Bulgaria robust. lacks a comprehensive system for monitoring and evaluation. Nonetheless, the relevant government In February 2012, Decision No. 96 of the Council of agencies conduct ad-hoc analysis of most publicly Ministers adopted the NQF in Bulgaria. It is in funded training programs that are targeted to compliance with the European Reference Framework vulnerable groups. Although such data are that provides a common basis to compare the consolidated, they are used mainly for administrative qualification levels of different national qualification purposes rather than for assessing the impact on systems and supports the mobility of learners and equity of government support for training. A more workers within Europe. Two main institutions are fundamental issue is equity of opportunities for skills involved in the development and implementation of acquisition, which depend on a strong foundation in the NQF. The MES is responsible for elaborating and basic literacy and numeracy. For this reason, the updating it, while the development of competency government is considering a new law on pre-school standards has been assigned to NAVET (see Box 3), and school education aimed at fostering inclusion which convenes expert commissions made up of and mainstreaming education for vulnerable children major government and non-government including those with special education needs. stakeholders to define occupations and develop However, implementing the law would require standards. Ultimate approval of standards is done by mobilizing significant financial, organizational and MES, an administrative requirement that can delay human resources beyond what the government their adoption and that some have questioned on currently spends on education and training. the grounds that MES representatives sit on NAVET’s management board and thus already have the Policy Goal 5: Assuring Relevant and opportunity to control the quality of standards. Reliable Standards The WfD system comprises a wide range of training Box 3: The National Agency for Vocational Education and Training (NAVET) providers offering courses at various levels in diverse The National Agency for Vocational Education and fields. An effective system of standards and Training (NAVET), a specialized body of Bulgaria’s accreditation enables students to document what Council of Ministers, was established in 2000 under they have learned and employers to identify workers the Law for Vocational Education and Training. Its with the relevant skills. For Policy Goal 5 it is managing board comprises delegated professionals of therefore important to assess the status of policies nationally representative employers’ and employees’ and institutions to: (i) set reliable competency organizations, state institutions, and organizations standards; (ii) assure the credibility of skills testing from various economic and vocational sectors. NAVET and certification; and (iii) develop and enforce deals with the licensing and monitoring of educational accreditation standards for maintaining the quality institutions that supply training services. NAVET provides organizational, methodological and legislative of training provision. support to the institutions applying for a license and afterwards during the organization of training courses. Bulgaria scores at the Established level for this Policy NAVET coordinates the elaboration of strategies for Goal. The score is consistent with the country’s the development and improvement of vocational progress in introducing a National Qualifications education and training (VET). Its expert commissions Framework (NQF) and putting in place the necessary on professional issues pertaining to VET draft state institutional infrastructure for aligning curricula, educational requirements for acquiring professional testing procedures, and standards for accreditation qualifications and provide a list of occupations. (More and licensing with this framework. However, the information is available at: necessary adjustment of curricula and testing http://www.navet.government.bg/en/nappo) procedures lags behind the development of SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR BETTER EDUCATION RESULTS 20 BULGARIA ǀ WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT SABER COUNTRY REPORT |2014 Bulgaria has identified 234 occupations and has standards and testing. Many larger employers have developed standards for 170. The rapid pace of chosen to build their own training facilities, partly standards development has created challenges in because they prefer to train their employees through terms of assuring the relevance of standards to labor their own programs and according to their own market needs and putting in place procedures for standards. In some cases, this is due to the difficulty their regular review and revision. In line with good of finding appropriately skilled workers and training practices, Bulgaria has begun to develop opportunities. However, it also reflects concerns competency-based curricula that are aligned with about quality of training provided by other occupational standards. However, this process is still educational and training institutions. in an initial stage and has been hindered by the lack of methodological guidelines for translating The government oversees the quality of Bulgaria’s occupational competencies into curricula. In network of public and private VET providers. addition, a system for issuing credits for certifying Standards for the accreditation of programs and competencies and facilitating transfer has not been licensing of training providers are set and reviewed established. by MES and NAVET, respectively. The development of accreditation standards involves input from In principle, certification of competencies currently relevant stakeholders, but their review and revision occurs through state exit exams, which are tailored are conducted internally. In Bulgaria, regardless of to each occupation and test both theory and their status or source of funding, all training practical skills. Because exams are aligned with providers, except schools, must obtain a license occupational standards, examination programs for a issued by NAVET before providing training services if significant number of jobs have not yet been they want to issue state-recognized professional developed, as many occupational standards have qualifications. These requirements for entry are only just been developed. Thus, during this period of broadly enforced. However, licenses and transition, students in many vocational programs are accreditation do not need to be renewed. In still tested according to procedures that are not principle, they could be revoked in cases of non- aligned with the NQF. compliance and, for non-state training providers of CVET, failure to report administrative data. However, This previous testing regime failed to gain the there is no system of regular audits or other confidence of employers as a means for signaling measures for quality control. In addition, less severe skills. While there is hope that the value that forms of censure and procedures for supporting employers place on state certificates as a reliable lagging institutions have not been formalized. signaling mechanism will grow as the NQF expands, at present many employers do not require state Policy Goal 6: Diversifying the Pathways certification as a condition for hiring employees. for Skills Acquisition Given the speed at which standards have been completed, the ability of the testing system to certify In dynamic economic environments workers need to the skills that employers value is still an open acquire new skills and competencies as well as keep question. According to the Law on Vocational their skills up-to-date throughout their working lives. Education and Training, the line ministries and They are best served by a system of initial and employers’ associations are both involved in the continuing education and training that promotes process of developing, coordinating and updating lifelong learning by offering clear and flexible the state educational requirements for vocational pathways for transfers across courses, progression to education. However, little policy dialogue on higher levels of training and access to programs in competency standards is taking place among other fields. For those already in the workforce, professional communities outside the experts’ schemes for recognition of prior learning are committees of the NAVET, something which could essential to allow individuals to efficiently upgrade influence the broad applicability of the system for their skills and learn new ones. Policy Goal 6 SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR BETTER EDUCATION RESULTS 21 BULGARIA ǀ WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT SABER COUNTRY REPORT |2014 therefore evaluates the extent to which policies and Early tracking leads to major practical difficulties in institutions are in place to: (i) enable progression moving to different educational fields of study. through multiple learning pathways, including for Admission to post-secondary educational institutions students in TVET streams; (ii) facilitate the requires passing a standard exam for which students recognition of prior learning; and (iii) provide in the general education track are often better targeted support services, particularly among the prepared. As a result, students in the vocational disadvantaged. track wishing to progress to higher education may have to undertake additional preparation. Bulgaria scores at the Emerging level for Policy Goal 6. While creating open, flexible pathways for The government has recognized the importance of a progression through the education system and system that enables fluid movement in and out of recognition of prior learning are government VET throughout one’s working life. For vocational priorities, the current system has not effectively education, this means being able to accumulate addressed obstacles to lifelong learning related to credits with the possibility of their transfer to higher certification, recognition of informally acquired skills education. Bulgaria has established a national expert and access to career guidance services. group to coordinate activities related to the introduction of the credit system for VET. However, Vocational education tracks start after 6 or 7 years of regulations and pilot projects to introduce and test a general schooling. According to the Law on national system for credit transfer are yet to be Education, it is not intended to be a “dead-end� developed. This inaction increases the importance of track: both secondary vocational schools and post- students’ educational choices early in their secondary technical colleges allow for the schooling, as shifting courses of study may involve continuation of education and the pursuit of formal loss of time and money related to repeating skills acquisition in academically or vocationally- coursework oriented institutions, including at the university level. However, early occupational specialization of Pressures related to Bulgaria’s aging population have students in the Bulgarian education system does not also highlighted the importance of having an allow full formation of basic competencies, which in adaptable workforce able to update skills in line with turn can be an obstacle to acquiring the more changing market demands. The government has specialized knowledge and skills demanded by established a Lifelong Learning Strategy that aims to employers. Along with this, early separation of create a framework for establishing a robust system students into different types of schools has shown to of lifelong learning. This strategy, along with NAVET’s accelerate educational inequalities, mirroring the Annual Plans, identifies recognition of prior learning economic and social gaps in society. This structure of (RPL) as a key priority. However, concrete action to the Bulgarian school system tends to magnify rather set procedures for recognizing the knowledge, skills than reduce social inequalities. All this leads to an and competencies acquired through non-formal increasing concentration of students from vulnerable training and informal learning has not yet been groups in the vocational schools, a growing taken. Thus workers may struggle to gain formal proportion of students at risk of early school leaving recognition for current skills, while employers may in VET, a decreasing level of learning outcomes and struggle to identify workers with the skills they need. student performance, and lower status and One action that some advanced systems have taken attractiveness of VET for students and instructors. to drive progress on RPL is to create a national The higher level of failure and poor quality of organization of stakeholders dedicated to adult education in these schools are leading to an learning issues. In addition to providing guidance on increased mismatch between the demand for and establishing systems for RPL, these agencies play an supply of a labor force with acceptable qualifications. important role in coordinating stakeholders’ actions and elevating the visibility of adult learning issues among the wider public. SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR BETTER EDUCATION RESULTS 22 BULGARIA ǀ WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT SABER COUNTRY REPORT |2014 On-the-job training (OJT) opportunities, another Directions for Policy Development important piece of a lifelong learning society, are not widely available. This is in part related to a lack of Introducing the vocational education track at a incentives to help employers overcome the barriers later stage related to coordination and funding, which keep them from providing such opportunities to workers. Early occupational specialization of students in Although the Law on Employment Promotion Bulgaria does not allow full formation of basic provides for support to employers to train competencies, which in turn can be an obstacle to employees, the practical implementation of these acquiring the more specialized knowledge and skills measures is impeded by the lack of funding, job- demanded by employers. In light of the proposed training modules and programs, mentorship new structure of pre-university education envisioned arrangements (such as capacity building and in the draft new Preschool and School Education Act, incentives for mentors at the workplace), and it is desirable for the vocational education track to systems for certifying the knowledge and skills be delayed until after completion of compulsory acquired during OJT. schooling (i.e., after grade 10). The draft amendments to the VET Law and the Government’s Another important aspect of lifelong learning is the plans to introduce elements of the dual vocational availability of career guidance to allow those in the education system present an opportunity to workforce to identify industries where their skills are reconsider the early vocational tracking, modernize in demand as well as the opportunities to acquire the curriculum and optimize the network of new skills. Limited career guidance services are vocational schools. Taken together, these measures provided in vocational schools, gymnasiums and may have a strong positive impact on the quality and colleges. Bulgaria also provides these services relevance of education, as evidenced by the strong through centers for information and vocational educational performance of countries that have guidance. As of November 2012, 10 centers were in implemented similar reforms in the past (the operation, seven of which were based in Sofia. In an example of Poland22 is presented in Box 4). attempt to increase the accessibility of these services, Bulgaria is opening 28 additional regional centers for career guidance with the financial support of the European Social Fund. While the expanded access is encouraging, the lack of labor information systems for analysis, research, and forecasts of skills demand is an obstacle to the provision of effective guidance that still needs to be addressed. With respect to career guidance services for disadvantaged populations, a number of programs introduced under successive National Employment Action Plans have increased resources available to support labor market access for these groups. Nonetheless, they are currently limited in scope and do not as yet meet the needs of some disadvantaged 22 groups. The impact on student learning outcomes in Poland as a result of delaying the vocation track is discussed in the World Bank’s report “The Impact of the 1999 Education Reform in Poland�, 2010 (Jakubowski, Patrinos, Porta, Wiśniewski). SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR BETTER EDUCATION RESULTS 23 BULGARIA ǀ WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT SABER COUNTRY REPORT |2014 Box 4: Poland’s experience in postponing the Addressing the disconnect with employers vocational education track In 1999, Poland embarked on ambitious education The tendency of large employers to build their own reforms that (i) delayed the vocational education track training facilities and programs, which do not by one year (from grade 8 to grade 9), (ii) revised the articulate with existing public VET systems, is cause curriculum, methods of administration and supervision for a concern. It signals little confidence in a system of schools, (iii) changed the qualification requirements in which 0.6 percent of the GDP is invested. for teachers while introducing a system of Significant attention to this, including stronger remuneration at an adequately high level; (iv) introduced a system for national student assessments; feedback mechanisms between government and and (iv) raised the standards and the expectations for employers and more venues for employer the performance of teachers and students. Since then, participation is urgently needed to better align the the learning outcomes of the Polish 15-year-old system. Measures to improve the quality of VET students have persistently improved, as evidenced by through steps such as continuing to expand and the significant gains in Poland’s performance in all strength competency based curricula in targeted subsequent PISA assessment rounds. The impact of these reforms has been rigorously evaluated and the industries could serve as a basis to increase results, presented in the World Bank’s report “The employer input into training delivery. Impact of the 1999 Education Reform in Poland,� confirm the positive effect of delaying vocational Leveraging funds from and partnerships with tracking on students’ learning outcomes. employers In other systems, employers are a source of Diversifying learning opportunities substantial resources for training providers. The government and WfD stakeholders need to consider Two sets of policy measures are required in order to options for leveraging funds from employers. correct the current deficiencies in the skilled labor Employers can be encouraged to partner with force. The first set should be aimed at mobilizing institutions. The absence of mechanisms to do so in capacity to improve the quality of education and Bulgaria is a missed opportunity. training. However, the quality enhancement of the future labor force in VET will not be sufficient to Bulgaria’s share of public expenditures on education meet the demand for skills (since the size of the expressed as a percentage of GDP (3.6%) is younger generations will continue to shrink in the significantly lower than the EU-27 average (5.4%). As long run). regards the VET system, the share of spending on education is of particular importance for optimizing Therefore, these measures should be complemented the network of VET schools, upgrading the facilities by a second set of measures to significantly increase at vocational schools and creating new training the participation in education and training of the programs, as well as for providing higher financial already economically active and to encourage incentives to attract young, well-trained teachers. economically inactive people to enhance their The current trend of prioritized budgetary allocations professional qualifications and suitability for for creating jobs for people with low skills at the employability, competitiveness, and higher expense of investment in the skills of the labor force productivity. For this purpose, it is necessary to is at odds with the mid-term outlook for the expand the opportunities for access to career economy and the labor market. According to the guidance, develop models for the reintegration of CEDEFOP forecasts, the Bulgarian economy will have early school leavers into the education system fewer opportunities for low-skilled employment and (second chance schooling) and introduce a system an increased demand for a medium and highly for the validation of qualifications and recognition of qualified workforce. prior learning. SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR BETTER EDUCATION RESULTS 24 BULGARIA ǀ WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT SABER COUNTRY REPORT |2014 A clear distinction is necessary between social assistance policy and active labor market measures; the latter need to be carefully assessed, reshaped and focused strategically on innovation and improving the quality of vocational education and training. The government needs to implement regular analyses of the performance of the VET and skills training system, its cost-effectiveness and labor market impacts. Per student allocation for vocational and pre-vocational education at secondary and post- secondary levels exceed those for general secondary schools, and yet the latter score significantly better on PISA and national assessments, which is a cause for concern and requires a thorough review of the VET system. The allocation of funding on the basis of achievements against targets is a better approach than the current per student funding allocations, particularly in the absence of post-licensing quality assurance measures. Equally important, regular measurement of the impact of funding is key for the government to better understand value for money. For instance, regular cost-benefit evaluations of youth training programs across Latin America have led to significant labor market impacts, more stable funding, and an improved delivery model. SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR BETTER EDUCATION RESULTS 25 BULGARIA ǀ WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT SABER COUNTRY REPORT |2014 6. Managing Service Delivery of attracting and retaining high quality instructors, mainly due to the low prestige of the teaching Overview of the Delivery of Training profession and the loss of well-trained staff to other Services professional opportunities. This is compounded by the fact that a large number of teachers are Training providers, both non-state and government, approaching retirement age. These factors might are the main channels through which the country’s contribute to the recent trend of a decrease in the policies in WfD are translated into results on the attractiveness of vocational education, which experts ground. This chapter therefore provides a brief believe could accelerate the decline in enrollment overview of the composition of providers and the rates. types of services available in the system before presenting the detailed SABER-WfD findings on The Law on Vocational Education and Training Service Delivery and their policy implications. authorizes a wide range of state and non-state entities to offer VET. It grants the right to issue By 2013, 142,733 students were enrolled in VET— professional qualifications to vocational schools, art 140,352 in vocational programs at the lower and schools, sports schools, vocational colleges and upper-secondary levels and 2,381 at the post- vocational training centers, all run by the secondary level (table 2). This represents 51 percent government. of total enrollment in upper-secondary education, and 0.83 percent of total post-secondary enrollment. The Law on Vocational Education and Training In addition, in 2011 1,074,196 people (or about 26 authorizes a wide range of state and non-state percent of those aged 25-64) participate in formal entities to offer VET. It grants the right to issue education and training or informal learning. While professional qualifications to vocational schools, art the rate of participation in upper-secondary schools, sports schools, vocational colleges and vocational programs is slightly higher than the EU vocational training centers, all run by the average, participation in CVET is among the lowest in government. EU countries. This, in part, reflects the fact that firm- based training is rare. For example, in 2010 the 22 Non-state providers of VET include private schools, percent of employees (all enterprises) participate in centers for vocational training, employers’ CVET courses. Only 4 other EU Member States organizations, and firms. Both domestic and foreign register worse performance on this indicator for-profit and non-profit providers are allowed to (Eurostat). offer vocational training. Most providers of educational services at the post-secondary level and During the previous decade, enrollment in vocational adult vocational training are private entities, and of or technical education has declined slightly. The these most are for-profit entities. share of students across programs has remained constant over time, something that in the face of The majority of providers of VET at the secondary changes in the structure of the economy could level are public entities, though some public indicate a lack of system responsiveness. This could institutions do provide post-secondary VET as well. reflect both a lack of links between firms and training Both national ministries and municipalities offer VET providers and a lack of information on labor market through operating schools, universities and centers prospects for various occupations available to for vocational training. Among ministries, the MES is students. the primary provider of VET, though relevant line ministries also provide limited training in areas There are several challenges facing VET. The first has related to their mission. These ministries take to do with quality. Data from PISA show that responsibility for the provision and oversight of Bulgarian students perform far below their peers in funding to VET institutions as well as for setting most other EU countries. The second is the challenge admission criteria for the institutions that they SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR BETTER EDUCATION RESULTS 26 BULGARIA ǀ WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT SABER COUNTRY REPORT |2014 manage. However, regardless of the overseeing Figure 6: SABER-WfD Ratings of the Service Delivery Dimension ministry, the approval of applications to offer new programs is the responsibility of MES or Regional Inspectorates of Education, giving these bodies the Overall 2.2 ability to determine the overall supply of public training. Service Delivery 7. Excellence 2.1 Table 2: Students enrolled in vocational education and training in 2012-2013 school year 8. Relevance 2.5 6,450 Art Schools ІІІ level of prof. qualification 9. Accountability 2.0 95,443 Vocational Gymnasiums ІІІ level of prof. qualification 1 2 3 4 Vocational colleges at post-secondary level 2,381 Note: see figure 2 for an explanation of the scale on the horizontal axis. 35,469 Source: based on analysis of the data collected using the Vocational Gymnasiums and Schools SABER-WfD questionnaire. ІІ level of prof. qualification Policy Goal 7: Incentivizing Diversity and 1,979 Excellence in Training Provision Vocational Schools With enrolment after Because the demand for skills is impossible to VI and VII grade predict with precision, having a diversity of providers І level of prof. qualification is a feature of strong WfD systems. Among non- 1,011 state providers the challenge is to temper the profit Vocational Schools motive or other program agendas with appropriate With enrolment after regulation to assure quality and relevance. Among VIII grade state providers a key concern is their responsiveness Source: NSI, 2013 to the demand for skills from employers and students. Striking the right balance between institutional autonomy and accountability is one SABER-WfD Ratings on Service Delivery approach to address this concern. Policy Goal 7 takes these ideas into account and benchmarks the system Based on data collected by the SABER-WfD according to the extent to which policies and questionnaire, Bulgaria receives an overall rating of institutional arrangements are in place to: (i) 2.2 (Emerging) for the Service Delivery Dimension encourage and regulate non-state provision of see figure 6. This score is the average of the ratings training and (ii) foster excellence in public training for the underlying Policy Goals: (i) enabling diversity provision by combining incentives and autonomy in and excellence in training provision (2.1); (ii) the management of public institutions. fostering relevance in public training programs (2.5); and (iii) enhancing evidence-based accountability for Bulgaria scores at the Emerging level for Policy Goal results (2.0). The explanation for these ratings and 7. A diversity of non-state providers is active in the their implications follow below. training market, despite few government incentives to encourage non-state provision. While most of these providers are registered and licensed, few SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR BETTER EDUCATION RESULTS 27 BULGARIA ǀ WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT SABER COUNTRY REPORT |2014 measures are in place for quality assurance. With institutions. In practice, these two options are regard to public training provision, the government seldom used because few institutions are found to grants considerable autonomy to the institutions, be lagging. One reason for this may be the absence but neither requires them to meet explicit of external evaluations of educational services, performance targets, nor provides financial or non- which has prompted questions about the adequacy financial incentives for performance. of NAVET’s quality assurance procedures. According to the 2009 Law on Vocational Education In some well-functioning systems, private and Training, VET may be delivered both by state associations of training providers play an important and non-state providers (e.g., national and local role in self-regulation and advocacy. Although the public institutions, universities, employers' Association of Licensed Vocational Training Centers organizations, labor organizations and national and was established in 2004, it has not met since 2010. international NGOs and businesses). Private for- However, a joint initiative of MES and the British profit providers are most numerous. National Council has sought to create a framework for self- programs in VET are limited in terms of number, assessment. beneficiaries served and funding. Although diversity in training provision allows for increased access to Public training institutions have significant autonomy VET, experts have raised concerns about the average over admissions, operations and staffing, and most quality and relevance of such services. are allowed to generate revenue. The schools are overseen by Regional Inspectorates of Education and Bulgaria’s support for opening non-state TVET MES, and, while they are required to report institutions is limited to the provision of guidelines administrative data, regulators set no specific targets for registration, licensing and accreditation of for performance. In the context of broad freedom in training programs. All training providers are required programming and budgeting, the lack of targets to be registered and licensed, requirements that do raises concerns about the quality and efficiency of not seem to pose major obstacles to entry. In fact, the public training system. However, a recent the diversity of non-state training providers indicates ordinance by MES sets out guidelines for establishing that market conditions are favorable for entry, even criteria and indicators for quality assurance in in the absence of government incentives. vocational schools, which was an essential step towards alignment with the European Quality Licensing is a key mechanism for regulating the Assurance Reference in VET.23 quality of non-state training provision in Bulgaria. Non-state providers of adult training must register as Mechanisms for accountability are centralized in the a legal entity and apply for a license from NAVET. MES. This creates a situation where the local Applications for licenses are reviewed by expert authorities best positioned to oversee the operation commissions within NAVET based on criteria such as of training providers are not empowered by law to the availability of material and human resources for do so. For example, complaints about the providing quality vocational training, the provider’s management of training institutions can be raised access to financing and the results of studies with MES and the Regional Inspectorates of justifying the provider’s application in terms of Education, who examine the case and decide on a impact on the quality and efficiency of VET. Once course of action. This centralized system strains the licensed, providers are required to submit annual Ministry’s capacity to respond effectively. To address reports to the NAVET, a measure meant to ensure these issues, the draft Law on Preschool and School providers’ adherence to minimum standards of Education seeks to devolve power to local quality. NAVET experts are also empowered to conduct audits that can result in the closure of non- 23 Ordinance 09-872/29.06.2012 for approval of areas, compliant institutions. NAVET also provides criteria and indicators for quality evaluation of vocational administrative and technical support to lagging education and training SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR BETTER EDUCATION RESULTS 28 BULGARIA ǀ WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT SABER COUNTRY REPORT |2014 authorities to elaborate and monitor Bulgaria scores at the Emerging level of development implementation of local WfD strategy and hold for Policy Goal 8. Only informal and sporadic links public training providers accountable. It also aims to exist between public training institutions and clarify responsibilities in the system of quality industry, resulting in the limited involvement of assurance at all levels of government, including by industry in curriculum design and in the specification creating the National Education Inspectorate to of standards for training facilities. Links between develop, examine and refine criteria and indicators public training providers and research institutions for inspection; to organize and conduct the are rare. The score on this goal also reflects the fact inspection of schools; and to identify specific that previous industry experience is not a criterion measures to enhance the quality of school for the recruitment of instructors and administrators education. of public training institutions. Furthermore, instructors often face practical difficulties in Another important strand of quality assurance in VET accessing opportunities for professional is the use of financial and non-financial incentives to development. encourage public training institutions to provide high-quality and market relevant training programs. Industry provides inputs into the creation of Currently, the use of incentives for excellence in occupational standards, curricula and measures for training provision is limited. For example, Bulgaria’s quality assurance through participation in NAVET’s system of determining budgets for training Board and Expert Committees. However, institutions is based primarily on enrolment. By partnerships between individual firms and providers, contrast, many advanced systems allocate which can increase the participation of employers in discretionary funds to training providers in a way managing, funding and augmenting the services that is indexed to outcomes and innovation in provided, are largely non-existent. Such partnerships service delivery to reward institutional performance. have been increasing in recent years, but these tend to be sporadic, weak, and limited in scope. For Policy Goal 8: Fostering Relevance in instance, there are only a few examples of private Public Training Programs companies providing scholarships for trainees or consulting with providers in the development of Public training institutions need reliable information textbooks and training methods. Existing on current and emerging skills demands in order to partnerships are often built on the basis of personal keep their program offerings relevant to market and business contacts. Therefore they are highly conditions. It is therefore desirable for public dependent on individuals rather than institutional training institutions to establish and maintain processes. Moreover, no policies exist to facilitate relationships with employers, industry associations, these partnerships. The absence of such partnerships and research institutions. Such partners are a source can lead to a misalignment between the skills taught of both information about skills competencies and by training providers and those required by industry. expertise and advice on curriculum design and As a result, training is too often supply driven. technical specifications for training facilities and equipment. They can also help create opportunities The lack of reliable labor market data, either from for workplace training for students and continuing industry or other sources, makes it difficult for professional development for instructors and providers to align program offerings with skills administrators. Policy Goal 8 considers the extent to demand. Consequently, logistical and technical which arrangements are in place for public training considerations such as the availability of facilities, providers to: (i) benefit from industry and expert equipment and teaching staff often take precedence input in the design of programs and (ii) recruit over market needs. In addition to enhancing direct administrators and instructors with relevant links with industry, forming partnerships with qualifications and support their professional research institutions can also play an important role development. SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR BETTER EDUCATION RESULTS 29 BULGARIA ǀ WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT SABER COUNTRY REPORT |2014 in augmenting the flows of information to training instructors' professional development (in 2012, the providers to inform the creation of programs. minimum requirement was 0.8 percent of the budget allotted for salaries). However, this One major impediment to the intensification of links requirement does not necessarily translate into the between businesses and educational and training availability of high quality training opportunities, and institutions is disinterest among the business some schools conduct training merely as a formality. community. A culture of corporate social Lack of effective monitoring of the results of such responsibility is not yet widespread and industry training has led to questions about their quality. does not recognize that it is in its competitive interest to engage. This can partially be attributed to Despite the availability of professional development the low social value placed on VET; some firms have being prescribed in law, many school administrators decided to partner instead with so called “elite� and instructors face obstacles when pursuing schools, a relationship that offers considerably more professional development opportunities. Even prestige. It can also be attributed to the perceived though schools develop qualification plans for poor quality of many VET programs among teaching staff, training courses are offered employers. "centrally" and are not always in consonance with the needs and expectations of teachers and schools. In advanced systems, local businesses may offer These centrally provided courses may not offer systematic financial support, technical equipment modern training on innovative technologies, new and professionals’ working time to endorse the VET pedagogical methodologies or instruction on schools and training. In such systems, significant emerging occupations. In addition, internship benefits including influence in managing training opportunities in firms with adequate infrastructure institutions, better access to appropriately skilled for instructor training are rare. Teachers often must workers, and opportunities to identify and hire high- pay for their participation in these qualification performing individuals often accrue to those courses without support from the school budget. employers that engage. In the absence of such Budgetary constraints also restrict the number of partnerships, a vicious circle of lack of employer substitute teachers available to replace those input, leading to poor quality training and to instructors who choose to enroll in qualification disincentives to cooperate, can develop. Faced with training. In post-secondary education the situation is such issues, some governments have intervened in complicated by the fact that the majority of schools training markets by providing financial and non- are private and the availability of money for financial incentives, including levy-grant schemes, to professional qualifications is even more restricted. induce firms to think more proactively about training As regards adult education, vocational training in the hope that it increases the linkages between centers, which provide the majority of such services, firms and training providers. are not required to provide teachers with opportunities for further training. The Law on Education sets recruitment standards for heads of training institutions, which include Policy Goal 9: Enhancing Evidence-Based minimum academic qualifications and teaching Accountability for Results experience. Criteria and standards for recruiting instructors are set by MES and are limited to Systematic monitoring and evaluation of service academic qualifications only. These standards apply delivery are important for both quality assurance to staff at both state and non-state providers. and system improvement. Accomplishing this function requires gathering and analyzing data from The Law on Education states that school principals a variety of sources. The reporting of institution level and teachers must be provided with opportunities to data enables the relevant authorities to ensure that improve their qualifications, and requires schools to providers are delivering on expected outcomes. Such spend a certain percentage of their budget on data also enable these authorities to identify gaps or SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR BETTER EDUCATION RESULTS 30 BULGARIA ǀ WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT SABER COUNTRY REPORT |2014 challenges in training provision or areas of good training programs and assess the overall relevance of practice. Additionally, periodic surveys and the VET system to labor market demand. evaluations of major programs generate complementary information that can help enhance The government does not conduct or sponsor the relevance and efficiency of the system as a systematic skills-related surveys to provide feedback whole. Policy Goal 9 considers these ideas when to institutions, prioritize funding allocation, identify assessing the system’s arrangements for collecting good practices or inform the design of policies for and using data to focus attention on training improvements in service delivery. However, small outcomes, efficiency and innovation in service scale, ad-hoc surveys are carried out for some delivery. projects funded by the HRD-OP and the National Employment Action Plan. Third parties contracted by Bulgaria scores at the Emerging level for Policy Goal the government often conduct these surveys. In 9. All training providers, state and non-state, are addition to being used to evaluate the effectiveness required to collect and report basic administrative of the reviewed programs, in some instances results data, which are occasionally used to assess have been used to inform the implementation of the institutional performance as well as to analyze National Lifelong Learning Strategy and the Updated system-level trends and issues. However, sources of Employment Promotion Strategy. data on labor market outcomes are limited to a few ad-hoc skills-related surveys or evaluations of Public access to data reported by both public and specific targeted programs. Public access to data is non-state training providers is limited. Most schools limited. do not publish their annual reports, thus impeding institutional accountability to the broader The Regulation for Implementation of the Law on community. Stakeholders interested in obtaining Public Education and the Law on State Budget set information for TVET policy analysis from MES can forth requirements for data collection. In compliance do so only by submitting a request that needs to be with these laws, state and non-state training approved by the relevant officials. Non-state training providers report administrative, financial and providers licensed by NAVET are required to submit graduation data. The schools are also required to annual reports, but do not need to make these update the school strategy on an annual basis. reports publicly available. However, NAVET uses this However, the lack of special reporting guidelines and information to inform its assessment of overall requirements related to the renewal of the school training provision and discussion of major gaps and strategy often make those documents incoherent challenges published as part of its annual report. In and useless for the strategic steering of school addition, NAVET’s newly developed information development. system provides online information on licensed service providers at the regional level and on the MES maintains and updates the data for public training courses offered by them. To improve the providers in a management information system flow of information and the capacity for data (MIS), which is currently used for administrative and analysis, the government is taking several steps. The financial purposes and, occasionally, to assess Draft Law on Preschool and School Education institutional performance and system level trends. contains quality assurance provisions designed to NAVET maintains its own database for non-state improve the reporting of financial data and training providers for administrative and monitoring incentivize cost efficiency at the school level. In purposes. Reporting of indicators, such as job addition, a Policy Design, Evaluation and Analysis placement rates, earnings of graduates and trainee Directorate has been established at MES to increase satisfaction, is uncommon and there are currently no the capacity for data analysis and evidence-based normative requirements to do so. The lack of such policy development (see box 5). indicators makes it difficult to monitor the quality of SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR BETTER EDUCATION RESULTS 31 BULGARIA ǀ WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT SABER COUNTRY REPORT |2014 Box 5: Policy Design, Evaluation and Analysis Directorate According to article 40 of the Organizational Statute of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Science a new “Policy Development, Analysis and Evaluation� Directorate has been established as an integrated part of the MES, with specific responsibilities and functions, as well as the ability to respond to policy issues with data-based analyses. This Directorate will (i) support the minister in the development and implementation of state policy related to preschool, school and university education, science and research, and youth; (ii) elaborate concepts, strategies, programs and plans in compliance with national and European practices and the priorities of the national government; and (iii) analyze the effectiveness of the implementation of educational standards and establish the need for upgrading the standards. The Directorate will develop sectoral programs on equal access to education, integration, qualifications and ICT. It is also responsible for ex-ante evaluation of the developed strategies and conducts ex-post analyses of external evaluations, school inspections and the results of program and policy implementation. The Directorate introduces methods for policy evaluation in education, youth and science and produces statistical and financial analyses. Based on its analyses, it suggests measures for improvement, while ensuring compliance with EU policies. Directions for Policy Development Encouraging practical cooperation within the triangle of schools, businesses and the research Strengthening VET quality assurance and development sectors Strengthening of VET quality assurance in the WfD One possible mechanism is to formalize the role of framework is an urgent and vital task. The employers and empower them with executive synchronized adoption of a new Preschool and authority on the boards of training institutions. In School Education Law and amendments to the VET Singapore, for instance, a representative from Law could guarantee a single concept of quality private industry chairs the board of the Institute of management in VET. This presents an opportunity to Technical Education and the Institute's constituent introduce schemes supporting the capacity colleges likewise involve private sector enhancement of VET schools for the development representatives on their boards. and effective implementation of internal systems of quality control, so that they can make the best use of Reviewing the recruitment standards for heads of web-based platforms for the exchange of good VET institutions practices in VET provision across the country and abroad. Recruitment standards for heads of training institutions should include industry experience or Actively involving the local area economic significant linkages with the private sector. If heads committees in educational and training planning of VET institutions do not understand the private sector, then linkages between them will be much This will ensure a closer alignment between skills harder to encourage. supply and demand in line with regional economic and social conditions and prospects. These committees, if well represented by leading firms in the area, are a critical source of labor market intelligence and may provide information that is often not captured by surveys. SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR BETTER EDUCATION RESULTS 32 BULGARIA ǀ WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT SABER COUNTRY REPORT |2014 Improving the quality of professional private industry chairs the board of the Institute of development for VET teachers Technical Education and the Institute's constituent colleges likewise involve private sector Teachers’ high initial qualifications and regular representatives on their boards. training are of vital importance to ensure an effective teaching and learning process. On-the-job Another innovation in this direction would be the trainings and qualification courses, however, need to creation of a special WfD fund that can be accessed better address capacity gaps and reflect the needs by businesses with a view to addressing market for capacity building of teachers and be tailored to failures that hinder private investment in WfD. For reflect local and school level circumstances. instance, several countries have set up levy-grant Promotion of partnerships between schools and schemes, whereby firms contribute to an earmarked regional business entities can contribute to the fund from which they can claim reimbursement for training of teachers and the development and training investments. modification of curricula, and help address human resource deficiencies in some subjects. Incentivizing Implementing a WfD monitoring and evaluation teachers’ industry exposure and vice-versa, via system internships for teachers in industry and encouraging business representatives to lecture in the schools, A key prerequisite of good governance for WfD is the might also promote better collaboration between optimal use of M&E mechanisms to support the VET institutions and industry. evidence-based WfD policy and to provide the means for quality assurance and accountability. Creating mechanisms for engaging employers Chile, for instance, has put in place mechanisms to regularly gather and publicly disseminate data on the The involvement of employers in a broad range of employment, earnings and reported satisfaction of aspects related to WfD training needs to be employers with the graduates they employ, by field enhanced. Such involvement can be achieved, for and institution type. This information is essential to example, through (i) incentivizing the establishment guide individuals in their training decisions. of more effective schemes for businesses, such as Bulgaria’s recent experience with the launch and programs to encourage practical cooperation within maintenance of the Bulgarian Universities Ranking the triangle of schools, businesses and the research System is an excellent domestic example, which and development sectors, and (ii) providing could be used to develop a similar system covering opportunities for teachers to gain industry exposure. the entire spectrum of WfD service provision. One possible mechanism is to formalize the role of employers and empower them with executive authority on the boards of training institutions. In Singapore, for instance, a representative from SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR BETTER EDUCATION RESULTS 33 BULGARIA ǀ WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT SABER COUNTRY REPORT |2014 Annex 1: Acronyms BIA Bulgarian Industrial Association CEDEFOP European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training CVET Continuing Vocational Education and Training DCI Data Collection Instrument EU European Union GDP Gross Domestic Product HRD-OP Human Resources Development Operational Program ICT Information and Communication Technology IVET Initial Vocational Education and Training M&E Monitoring and Evaluation MES Ministry of Education and Science MLSP Ministry of Labor and Social Policy NAVET National Agency for Vocational Education and Training NQF National Qualifications Framework OJT On the Job Training PIAAC Program for International Assessment of Adult Competencies PISA Program for International Student Assessment SABER Systems Approach for Better Education Results TVET Technical and Vocational Education and Training VET Vocational Education and Training WfD Workforce Development SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR BETTER EDUCATION RESULTS 34 BULGARIA ǀ WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT SABER COUNTRY REPORT |2014 Annex 2: The SABER-WfD Analytical Framework Policy Goal Policy Action Topic in DCI 2.5 FINAL Setting a G1_T1 Advocacy for WfD to Support Economic Development Provide sustained advocacy for WfD at the top leadership G1 Strategic level G1_T2 Strategic Focus and Decisions by the WfD Champions Direction Establish clarity on the demand for skills and areas of G2_T1 Overall Assessment of Economic Prospects and Skills Implications critical constraint G2_T2 Critical Skills Constraints in Priority Economic Sectors Fostering a G2 Demand-Led G2_T3 Role of Employers and Industry Approach Engage employers in setting WfD priorities and in G2_T4 Skills-Upgrading Incentives for Employers enhancing skills-upgrading for workers G2_T5 Monitoring of the Incentive Programs Strengthening G3_T1 Roles of Government Ministries and Agencies Formalize key WfD roles for coordinated action on G3 Critical G3_T2 Roles of Non-Government WfD Stakeholders strategic priorities Coordination G3_T3 Coordination for the Implementation of Strategic WfD Measures G4_T1 Overview of Funding for WfD Recurrent Funding for Initial Vocational Education and Training G4_T2 (IVET) Provide stable funding for effective programs in initial, Ensuring Recurrent Funding for Continuing Vocational Education and Training continuing and targeted vocational education and training G4_T3 Efficiency and Programs (CVET) G4 Equity in Recurrent Funding for Training-related Active Labor Market G4_T4 Funding Programs (ALMPs) Monitor and enhance equity in funding for training G4_T5 Equity in Funding for Training Programs Facilitate sustained partnerships between training G4_T6 Partnerships between Training Providers and Employers institutions and employers Broaden the scope of competency standards as a basis for G5_T1 Competency Standards and National Qualifications Frameworks developing qualifications frameworks G5_T2 Competency Standards for Major Occupations G5_T3 Occupational Skills Testing Assuring Establish protocols for assuring the credibility of skills G5_T4 Skills Testing and Certification Relevant and testing and certification G5 G5_T5 Skills Testing for Major Occupations Reliable G5_T6 Government Oversight of Accreditation Standards G5_T7 Establishment of Accreditation Standards Develop and enforce accreditation standards for Accreditation Requirements and Enforcement of Accreditation maintaining the quality of training provision G5_T8 Standards G5_T9 Incentives and Support for Accreditation Promote educational progression and permeability G6_T1 Learning Pathways Diversifying through multiple pathways, including for TVET students G6_T2 Public Perception of Pathways for TVET Pathways for Facilitate life-long learning through articulation of skills G6_T3 Articulation of Skills Certification G6 certification and recognition of prior learning G6_T4 Recognition of Prior Learning Skills Acquisition Provide support services for skills acquisition by workers, G6_T5 Support for Further Occupational and Career Development job-seekers and the disadvantaged G6_T6 Training-related Provision of Services for the Disadvantaged G7_T1 Scope and Formality of Non-State Training Provision Enabling G7_T2 Incentives for Non-State Providers Encourage and regulate non-state provision of training Diversity and G7_T3 Quality Assurance of Non-State Training Provision G7 Excellence in G7_T4 Review of Policies towards Non-State Training Provision Training G7_T5 Targets and Incentives for Public Training Institutions Provision Combine incentives and autonomy in the management of G7_T6 Autonomy and Accountability of Public Training Institutions public training institutions G7_T7 Introduction and Closure of Public Training Programs G8_T1 Links between Training Institutions and Industry Integrate industry and expert input into the design and G8_T2 Industry Role in the Design of Program Curricula Fostering delivery of public training programs G8_T3 Industry Role in the Specification of Facility Standards Relevance in G8_T4 Links between Training and Research Institutions G8 Public Training Recruitment and In-Service Training of Heads of Public Training Recruit and support administrators and instructors for G8_T5 Programs Institutions enhancing the market-relevance of public training Recruitment and In-Service Training of Instructors of Public Training programs G8_T6 Institutions Enhancing G9_T1 Administrative Data from Training Providers Evidence- Expand the availability and use of policy-relevant data for G9_T2 Survey and Other Data G9 based focusing providers' attention on training outcomes, Use of Data to Monitor and Improve Program and System Accountability efficiency and innovation G9_T3 Performance for Results SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR BETTER EDUCATION RESULTS 35 BULGARIA ǀ WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT SABER COUNTRY REPORT |2014 Annex 3: Rubrics for Scoring the SABER-WfD Data Functional Dimension 1: Strategic Framework Policy Level of Development Goal Latent Emerging Established Advanced Visible champions for WfD are Some visible champions provide ad- Government leaders exercise Both government and non- G1: Setting a Strategic either absent or take no specific hoc advocacy for WfD and have acted sustained advocacy for WfD with government leaders exercise Direction for WfD action to advance strategic WfD on few interventions to advance occasional, ad-hoc participation sustained advocacy for WfD, and rely priorities. strategic WfD priorities; no from non-government leaders; on routine, institutionalized arrangements exist to monitor and their advocacy focuses on selected processes to collaborate on well- review implementation progress. industries or economic sectors and integrated interventions to advance a manifests itself through a range of strategic, economy-wide WfD policy specific interventions; agenda; implementation progress is implementation progress is monitored and reviewed through monitored, albeit through ad-hoc routine, institutionalized processes. reviews. Functional Dimension 1: Strategic Framework Policy Level of Development Goal Latent Emerging Established Advanced There is no assessment of the Some ad-hoc assessments exist on the Routine assessments based on A rich array of routine and robust country's economic prospects country's economic prospects and multiple data sources exist on the assessments by multiple stakeholders G2: Fostering a Demand-Led and their implications for skills; their implications for skills; some country's economic prospects and exists on the country's economic industry and employers measures are taken to address critical their implications for skills; a wide prospects and their implications for havealimited or no role in skills constraints (e.g., incentives for range of measures with broad skills; the information provides a basis Approach to WfD defining strategic WfD priorities skills upgrading by employers); the coverage are taken to address for a wide range of measures with and receive limited support from government makes limited efforts to critical skills constraints; the broad coverage that address critical the government for skills engage employers as strategic partners government recognizes employers skills constraints; the government upgrading. in WfD. as strategic partners in WfD, recognizes employers as strategic formalizes their role, and provides partners in WfD, formalizes their role, support for skills upgrading through and provides support for skills incentive schemes that are upgrading through incentives, reviewed and adjusted. including some form of a levy-grant scheme, that are systematically reviewed for impact and adjusted accordingly. SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR BETTER EDUCATION RESULTS 36 BULGARIA ǀ WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT SABER COUNTRY REPORT |2014 Functional Dimension 1: Strategic Framework Policy Level of Development Goal Latent Emerging Established Advanced Industry/employers have a Industry/employers help define WfD Industry/employers help define Industry/employers help define WfD limited or no role in defining priorities on an ad-hoc basis and make WfD priorities on a routine basis priorities on a routine basis and make G3: Strengthening Critical Coordination for strategic WfD priorities; the limited contributions to address skills and make some contributions in significant contributions in multiple government either provides no implications of major policy/ selected areas to address the skills areas to address the skills implications incentives to encourage skills investment decisions; the government implications of major policy/ of major policy/investment decisions; upgrading by employers or provides some incentives for skills investment decisions; the the government provides a range of conducts no reviews of such upgrading for formal and informal government provides a range of incentives for skills upgrading for all incentive programs. sector employers; if a levy-grant incentives for skills upgrading for all employers; a levy-grant scheme with Implementation scheme exists its coverage is limited; employers; a levy-grant scheme comprehensive coverage of formal incentive programs are not with broad coverage of formal sector employers exists; incentive systematically reviewed for impact. sector employers exists; incentive programs to encourage skills programs are systematically upgrading are systematically reviewed and adjusted; an annual reviewed for impact on skills and report on the levy-grant scheme is productivity and are adjusted published with a time lag. accordingly; annual report on the levy-grant scheme is published in a timely fashion. SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR BETTER EDUCATION RESULTS 37 BULGARIA ǀ WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT SABER COUNTRY REPORT |2014 Functional Dimension 2: System Oversight Policy Level of Development Goal Latent Emerging Established Advanced The government funds IVET, The government funds IVET, CVET The government funds IVET, CVET The government funds IVET, CVET CVET and ALMPs (but not OJT in (including OJT in SMEs) and ALMPs; (including OJT in SMEs) and ALMPs; (including OJT in SMEs) and ALMPs; SMEs) based on ad-hoc funding for IVET and CVET follows funding for IVET is routine and funding for IVET is routine and based budgeting processes, but takes routine budgeting processes involving based on multiple criteria, on comprehensive criteria, including no action to facilitate formal only government officials with including evidence of program evidence of program effectiveness, partnerships between training allocations determined largely by the effectiveness; recurrent funding for that are routinely reviewed and G4: Ensuring Efficiency and Equity in Funding providers and employers; the previous year's budget; funding for CVET relies on formal processes adjusted; recurrent funding for CVET impact of funding on the ALMPs is decided by government with input from key stakeholders relies on formal processes with input beneficiaries of training officials on an ad-hoc basis and targets and annual reporting with a lag; from key stakeholders and timely programs has not been recently select population groups through funding for ALMPs is determined annual reporting; funding for ALMPs reviewed. various channels; the government through a systematic process with is determined through a systematic takes some action to facilitate formal input from key stakeholders; process with input from key partnerships between individual ALMPs target diverse population stakeholders; ALMPs target diverse training providers and employers; groups through various channels population groups through various recent reviews considered the impact and are reviewed for impact but channels and are reviewed for impact of funding on only training-related follow-up is limited; the and adjusted accordingly; the indicators (e.g. enrollment, government takes action to government takes action to facilitate completion), which stimulated facilitate formal partnerships formal partnerships between training dialogue among some WfD between training providers and providers and employers at all levels stakeholders. employers at multiple levels (institutional and systemic); recent (institutional and systemic); recent reviews considered the impact of reviews considered the impact of funding on a full range of training- funding on both training-related related indicators and labor market indicators and labor market outcomes; the reviews stimulated outcomes; the reviews stimulated broad-based dialogue among WfD dialogue among WfD stakeholders stakeholders and key and some recommendations were recommendations were implemented. implemented. SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR BETTER EDUCATION RESULTS 38 BULGARIA ǀ WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT SABER COUNTRY REPORT |2014 Functional Dimension 2: System Oversight Policy Level of Development Goal Latent Emerging Established Advanced Policy dialogue on competency A few stakeholders engage in ad-hoc Numerous stakeholders engage in All key stakeholders engage in policy standards and/or the NQF occurs policy dialogue on competency policy dialogue on competency dialogue on competency standards and/or on an ad-hoc basis with limited standards and/or the NQF; standards and/or the NQF through the NQF through institutionalized engagement of key stakeholders; competency standards exist for a few institutionalized processes; processes; competency standards exist for competency standards have not occupations and are used by some competency standards exist for most occupations and are used by training been defined; skills testing for training providers in their programs; most occupations and are used by providers in their programs; the NQF, if in major occupations is mainly skills testing is competency-based for a some training providers in their place, covers most occupations and a G5: Assuring Relevant and Reliable Standards theory-based and certificates few occupations but for the most part programs; the NQF, if in place, wide range of skill levels; skills testing for awarded are recognized by public is mainly theory-based; certificates are covers some occupations and a most occupations follows standard sector employers only and have recognized by public and some private range of skill levels; skills testing for procedures, is competency-based and little impact on employment and sector employers but have little most occupations follows standard assesses both theoretical knowledge and earnings; no system is in place to impact on employment and earnings; procedures, is competency-based practical skills; robust protocols, including establish accreditation standards. the accreditation of training providers and assesses both theoretical random audits, ensure the credibility of is supervised by a dedicated office in knowledge and practical skills; certification; certificates are valued by the relevant ministry; private providers certificates are recognized by both most employers and consistently improve are required to be accredited, however public and private sector employers employment prospects and earnings; the accreditation standards are not and may impact employment and accreditation of training providers is consistently publicized or enforced; earnings; the accreditation of supervised by a dedicated agency in the providers are offered some incentives training providers is supervised by a relevant ministry; the agency is to seek and retain accreditation. dedicated agency in the relevant responsible for defining accreditation ministry; the agency is responsible standards in consultation with for defining accreditation standards stakeholders; standards are reviewed with stakeholder input; standards following established protocols and are are reviewed on an ad-hoc basis and publicized and routinely enforced; all are publicized or enforced to some training providers are required as well as extent; all providers receiving public offered incentives and support to seek funding must be accredited; and retain accreditation. providers are offered incentives and limited support to seek and retain accreditation. SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR BETTER EDUCATION RESULTS 39 BULGARIA ǀ WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT SABER COUNTRY REPORT |2014 Functional Dimension 2: System Oversight Policy Level of Development Goal Latent Emerging Established Advanced Students in technical and Students in technical and vocational Students in technical and vocational Students in technical and vocational vocational education have education can only progress to education can progress to education can progress to academically or few or no options for further vocationally-oriented, non-university vocationally-oriented programs, vocationally-oriented programs, including formal skills acquisition programs; the government takes including at the university level; the at the university level; the government beyond the secondary level limited action to improve public government takes some action to takes coherent action on multiple fronts to and the government takes no perception of TVET (e.g. diversifying improve public perception of TVET improve public perception of TVET (e.g. action to improve public learning pathways); some certificates (e.g. diversifying learning pathways diversifying learning pathways and G6: Diversifying Pathways for Skills Acquisition perception of TVET; for technical and vocational programs and improving program quality) and improving program quality and relevance, certificates for technical and are recognized in the NQF; few reviews the impact of such efforts on with the support of a media campaign) and vocational programs are not qualifications certified by non- an ad-hoc basis; most certificates for routinely reviews and adjusts such efforts to recognized in the NQF; Education ministries are recognized by technical and vocational programs maximize their impact; most certificates for qualifications certified by non- formal programs under the Ministry of are recognized in the NQF; a large technical and vocational programs are Education ministries are not Education; policymakers pay some number of qualifications certified by recognized in the NQF; a large number of recognized by formal attention to the recognition of prior non-Education ministries are qualifications certified by non-Education programs under the Ministry learning and provide the public with recognized by formal programs under ministries are recognized and granted of Education; recognition of some information on the subject; the the Ministry of Education, albeit credits by formal programs under the prior learning receives limited government offers limited services for without the granting of credits; Ministry of Education; policymakers give attention; the government further occupational and career policymakers give some attention to sustained attention to the recognition of provides practically no development through stand-alone the recognition of prior learning and prior learning and provide the public with support for further local service centers that are not provide the public with some comprehensive information on the subject; occupational and career integrated into a system; training information on the subject; a formal a national organization of stakeholders development, or training programs for disadvantaged association of stakeholders provides provides dedicated attention to adult programs for disadvantaged populations receive ad-hoc support. dedicated attention to adult learning learning issues; the government offers a populations. issues; the government offers limited comprehensive menu of services for further services for further occupational and occupational and career development, career development, which are including online resources, which are available through an integrated available through an integrated network of network of centers; training centers; training programs for programs for disadvantaged disadvantaged populations receive populations receive systematic systematic support with multi-year budgets support and are reviewed for impact and are routinely reviewed for impact and on an ad-hoc basis. adjusted accordingly. SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR BETTER EDUCATION RESULTS 40 BULGARIA ǀ WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT SABER COUNTRY REPORT |2014 Functional Dimension 3: Service Delivery Policy Level of Development Goal Latent Emerging Established Advanced There is no diversity of There is some diversity in training There is diversity in training There is broad diversity in training G7: Enabling Diversity and Excellence in training provision as the provision; non-state providers operate provision; non-state training provision; non-state training providers, system is largely comprised of with limited government incentives providers, some registered and most registered and licensed, operate public providers with limited and governance over registration, licensed, operate within a range of with comprehensive government or no autonomy; training licensing and quality assurance; public government incentives, systematic incentives, systematic quality assurance Training Provision provision is not informed by training is provided by institutions with quality assurance measures and measures and routine review and formal assessment, some autonomy and informed by routine reviews of government adjustment of government policies toward stakeholder input or some assessment of implementation policies toward non-state training non-state training providers; public performance targets. constraints, stakeholder input and providers; public providers, mostly providers, mostly governed by basic targets. governed by management boards, management boards, have significant have some autonomy; training autonomy; decisions about training provision is informed by formal provision are time-bound and informed by analysis of implementation formal assessment of implementation constraints, stakeholder input and constraints; stakeholder input and use of a basic targets; lagging providers variety of measures to incentivize receive support and exemplary performance include support, rewards and institutions are rewarded. performance-based funding. SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR BETTER EDUCATION RESULTS 41 BULGARIA ǀ WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT SABER COUNTRY REPORT |2014 Functional Dimension 3: Service Delivery Policy Level of Development Goal Latent Emerging Established Advanced There are few or no attempts Relevance of public training is Relevance of public training is Relevance of public training is enhanced G8: Fostering Relevance in Public to foster relevance in public enhanced through informal links enhanced through formal links through formal links between most training programs through between some training institutions, between some training institutions, training institutions, industry and research encouraging links between industry and research institutions, industry and research institutions, institutions, leading to significant Training Programs training institutions, industry including input into the design of leading to collaboration in several collaboration in a wide range of areas; and research institutions or curricula and facility standards; heads areas including but not limited to heads and instructors are recruited on the through setting standards for and instructors are recruited on the the design of curricula and facility basis of minimum academic and the recruitment and training basis of minimum academic standards standards; heads and instructors professional standards and have regular of heads and instructors in and have limited opportunities for are recruited on the basis of access to diverse opportunities for training institutions. professional development. minimum academic and professional development, including professional standards and have industry attachments for instructors. regular access to opportunities for professional development. SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR BETTER EDUCATION RESULTS 42 JORDAN ǀ WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT SABER COUNTRY REPORT |2013 Annex 4: References and Informants References Legal acts and bills Law on Vocational Education and Training Law on Education Law on Employment Promotion Rules for the Implementation of the Law on Education Rules for the Implementation of the Law on Vocational Education and Training Draft Law on Preschool and School Education Law for degree in Education, General Education Minimum and Curriculum Act on recognition of vocational qualifications Ordinance on conditions and procedures for maintaining the list of regulated professions in Bulgaria Ordinances of the Minister of Education on the acquisition of qualifications in different occupations National educational standards for vocational qualification State Budget Act Rules of Procedure of the National Council for Employment Promotion Rules of Organization and activities of the national advisory council on vocational training of the workforce Strategies and Legal Documents National Qualifications Framework of Bulgaria Strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth "Europe 2020" National Strategy for Lifelong Learning (LLL) for the period 2008 – 2013, Action Plan for the period 2012-2013 and 2010-2011 National Employment Action Plan 2012 Council conclusions of 12 May 2009 on a strategic framework for European cooperation in education and training ("ET 2020") "New Skills for New Jobs. Anticipating and matching labour market and skills needs" Communication from the Commission, COM(2008) 868, 16 December 2008 European Qualifications Framework for Lifelong Learning (EQF) Recommendation of the European Parliament and Council establishing a European reference framework for quality assurance in vocational education and training of 18.06.2009 year Recommendation of the European Parliament and Council establishing a European Credit System for Vocational Education and Training (ECVET) on June 18, 2009 Development Program of Education, Science and Youth Policy In Bulgaria (2009 - 2013) National Youth Strategy (2010 - 2020) National Plan for Integration of children with Special Educational needs and / or Chronic Diseases in the National Education System National Strategy for Introduction of ICT in Bulgarian schools Strategy for Educational Integration of Children and Pupils from Ethnic Minorities SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR BETTER EDUCATION RESULTS 43 JORDAN ǀ WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT SABER COUNTRY REPORT |2013 Project "Promotion of lifelong learning in Bulgaria" 2007-3865/001-001 National Strategy for Continuing Vocational Training for the period 2005-2010 National Strategy for Continuing Vocational Training for the period 2005-2010, Action Plan for 2005- 2010 National program for Development of School and Preschool Education (2006 - 2015) National Program for Education and Employment of People with Durable Disabilities - 2012 National Programs - Ministry of Education Youth and Science National program for the modernization of vocational education (2008 – 2012) National Program Optimization of School Network Module 3.2. Rationalization of the Vocational Training School System Reports on the implementation of national programs for development of secondary education - 2011 Government Reports Ministry of Education Youth and Science - Annual plans Ministry of Education Youth and Science- Annual reports National Agency for Vocational Education and Training - Annual plans National Agency for Vocational Education and Training - Annual reports Documents of Projects funded by the Human Resources Development Operational Program Competence Assessment Information System (CASSY): Structure of Sector Models and Approaches to Competence Assessment of the Workforce: Short Description Created for the Purposes of the International Meeting in Sofia 1-2 November 2012. Accessible: http://en.competencemap.bg/language/en/uploads/files/project_document__0/project_document__ 33b78c6e9cc4ec60b8ff9d80520f4ee3.pdf Vocational Education department at the Educational Programs and Curricula Directorate, Ministry of Education Youth and Science: System for career guidance in school education Improving the quality and implementation of European instruments and practices in vocational education and training system Pupils practices - http://praktiki.mon.bg/?m=1 Research Reports Workforce Development in Developing Countries: A Framework for Benchmarking, Jee-Peng Tan, Robert McGough and Alexandria Valerio, Human Development Network, World Bank, 2010 Development of national qualifications frameworks in Europe. October 2011 (eBook) CEDEFOP School for tomorrow. Results of Bulgaria's participation in the Programme for International Student Assessment PISA 2009, Petrova S., Centre for Control and Assessment of the Quality in Education, Sofia, 2010 SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR BETTER EDUCATION RESULTS 44 JORDAN ǀ WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT SABER COUNTRY REPORT |2013 Understanding Child Poverty in South-East Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States, UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre, 2006 Human Resource Development Centre (HRDC) - http://www.hrdc.bg/cgi-bin/e- cms/vis/vis.pl?s=001&p=0027&n=&vis=&g= Schneider, 2011 List of informants This report is drafted predominantly based on documentary evidence, interviews and study visits carried out in vocational schools in Bulgaria. In addition the feedback from participants in the validation workshop contributed to further explanations and an outline of priority areas for intervention. The following experts and representatives of key stakeholders were interviewed to gather additional information and clarifications. Their contribution is gratefully acknowledged. 1. Mrs. Emiliana Dimitrova, Director of the Policy Designing, Analyses and Evaluation Directorate at the Ministry of Education Youth and Science 2. Mrs. Emilia Valchovska, chief of the Vocational Education department at the Educational Programs and Curricula Directorate, Ministry of Education Youth and Science 3. Mrs. Svetla Nikolova, Director of Professional Qualification and Licensing Directorate, the National Agency for Vocational Education and Training 4. Mrs. Stefka Limanska, chief of department at the Labour Market Policy Directorate, the MLSP 5. Mr. Ivaylo Naydenov, senior expert in the Labour Market Policy Directorate, the MLSP 6. Mrs. Daniela Simidchieva, Vocational Training Program Director at the Center for Vocational Education of the Bulgarian Industrial Association 7. Mrs. Elena Shishmanova, expert in Vocational Training Program Director at the Center for Vocational Education of the Bulgarian Industrial Association 8. Mr. Ivaylo Ignatov, Director of the Euroqualification Center at the Unit of Private Bulgarian Entrepreneurs “Vazrazhdane� 9. Mrs. Genoveva Bakardzhieva, The Bulgarian Human Resources Management and Development Association - BHRMDA 10. Mrs. Margarita Damyanova, Director of the Business Services Directorate, the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry 11. Mrs. Dora Ganeva, Director General of the Directorate General "Employment Services", the Employment Agency 12. Mrs.Zornitsa Assenova, Assitant-Pricincipal of Professional Gymnasium of Fashion “Maria Luisa� 13. Mrs. Bistra Vatsova, Principal of Professional Gymnasium of Economics - Shumen Information in this report cannot be attributed to the professionals interviewed or workshop participants. The principal investigators are responsible for all processed data and summarized outcomes and interpretations of information. SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR BETTER EDUCATION RESULTS 45 JORDAN ǀ WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT SABER COUNTRY REPORT |2013 Annex 5: SABER-WfD Scores Policy Goal Policy Action Topic G1_T1 2.0 G1 2.5 Provide sustained advocacy for WfD at the top leadership level 2.5 G1_T2 3.0 G2_T1 2.0 Establish clarity on the demand for skills and areas of critical constraint 2.0 Dimension 1 G2_T2 2.0 G2 1.8 G2_T3 3.0 2.1 Engage employers in setting WfD priorities and in enhancing skills- 1.7 G2_T4 1.0 upgrading for workers G2_T5 1.0 G3_T1 2.0 G3 2.0 Formalize key WfD roles for coordinated action on strategic priorities 2.0 G3_T2 2.0 G3_T3 2.0 G4_T1 info Provide stable funding for effective programs in initial, continuing and G4_T2 2.0 2.0 targeted vocational education and training G4_T3 1.0 G4_T4 3.0 G4 2.0 G4_T5_IVET 3.0 Monitor and enhance equity in funding for training 2.0 G4_T5_CVET 1.0 G4_T5_ALMP 2.0 Facilitate sustained partnerships between training institutions and 2.0 G4_T6 2.0 employers Broaden the scope of competency standards as a basis for developing G5_T1 2.0 2.0 Dimension 2 qualifications frameworks G5_T2 2.0 G5_T3 2.0 2.0 Establish protocols for assuring the credibility of skills testing and 2.7 G5_T4 3.0 certification G5 2.2 G5_T5 3.0 G5_T6 info Develop and enforce accreditation standards for maintaining the quality G5_T7 2.0 2.0 of training provision G5_T8 2.3 G5_T9 1.7 Promote educational progression and permeability through multiple G6_T1 2.0 2.0 pathways, including for TVET students G6_T2 2.0 G6_T3 2.0 G6 1.8 Strengthen the system for skills certification and recognition 1.5 G6_T4 1.0 Enhance support for skills acquisition by workers, job-seekers and the G6_T5 2.0 2.0 disadvantaged G6_T6 2.0 G7_T1 3.0 G7_T2 1.3 Encourage and regulate non-state provision of training 1.8 G7_T3 1.7 G7 2.0 G7_T4 1.0 G7_T5 1.7 Combine incentives and autonomy in the management of public training 2.3 G7_T6 2.3 institutions Dimension 3 G7_T7 3.0 G8_T1 3.0 2.1 Integrate industry and expert input into the design and delivery of public G8_T2 2.7 2.0 training programs G8_T3 1.3 G8 2.1 G8_T4 1.0 Recruit and support administrators and instructors for enhancing the G8_T5 2.0 2.3 market-relevance of public training programs G8_T6 2.7 G9_T1 2.7 Expand the availability and use of policy-relevant data for focusing G9 2.2 2.2 G9_T2 1.7 providers' attention on training outcomes, efficiency and innovation G9_T3 2.3 SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR BETTER EDUCATION RESULTS 46 JORDAN ǀ WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT SABER COUNTRY REPORT |2013 Annex 6: Validation Workshop Report This section presents a brief report on the stakeholders’ workshop on implementation of SABER-Workforce Development in Bulgaria, organized in cooperation between the teams of the World Bank, Open Society Institute (OSI) – Sofia and the MES. The seminar was held on October 29, 2012 and hosted by the secretary general of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Science. Goals The main objective of the workshop was to present and validate the SABER-WfD analytical approach, the initial findings from its pilot application in Bulgaria, and the experience and outcomes from SABER-WfD implementation in other countries. Participants The event was attended by 30 professionals from 3 ministries, 2 agencies, local administrations, trade unions, employers and employers' associations, schools and NGOs, operating in different strands of workforce development and VET – IVET, CVET, human resources, economic development and the labor market. Description After the official opening and welcome address of the MES secretary general Krassimir Valchev, the World Bank’s SABER-WfD team leader Jee-Peng Tan made a presentation on the System Assessment and Benchmarking for Education Results (SABER) and its philosophy, analytical framework, approach and tools. She underlined the SABER-WfD goals of supporting policy dialogue in this critical area and provided highlights and relevant lessons learnt from SABER-WfD implementation in four countries: Ireland, Chile, Korea and Singapore. After the OSI team’s presentation on the context of WfD and the preliminary results of the application of SABER-WfD tools in Bulgaria, participants continued the discussions in three small groups so that the SABER-WfD approach could be examined in greater detail. Each small group was provided with hand-outs of the graphical representation of the Policy Goal scores, summary results presentation and decision tree as guiding instruments for group discussions. The participants went through the preliminary findings for Bulgaria of the three SABER-WfD Functional Dimensions: Strategic Framework; System Oversight and Service Delivery. At the final plenary discussion, the three small groups presented their major conclusions and suggested the key priority areas of intervention for the country’s workforce development. Main outcomes and conclusions The presentations on the preliminary SABER-WfD findings were positively received and their added value for furthering WfD policy dialogue in Bulgaria was acknowledged by participants in the plenary discussion after the WB and OSI teams’ presentations. All in all, the SABER-WfD framework and instruments were highly appraised by participants as necessary, timely, relevant and adequate for the Bulgarian context, and only small changes in the terminology used in regard to state and public education were recommended for further consideration. SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR BETTER EDUCATION RESULTS 47 JORDAN ǀ WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT SABER COUNTRY REPORT |2013 The initial outcomes, as presented, also received positive feedback. Participants largely agreed on the correctness of most scores, the country’s level in the three Dimensions, and the areas for policy actions. However, some suggestions were made for slightly lower scores for Strategic Framework and System Oversight. The participants endorsed the most obvious problems that were identified and made recommendations for deeper analyses of the underlying factors for the existing national VET and labor market policy and the status quo of workforce development. Participants also identified the main challenges in developing and implementing the legal framework for the management and monitoring system, putting in place the necessary mechanisms and increasing the quality of service provision for workforce development. These challenges, which require further reflection in the process of preparing the Bulgarian Barometer Report, to be presented for consideration by the Bulgarian government (particularly MES), include:  The need for better and more effective and accountable coordination at the national level;  The lack of public incentives for cooperation between training providers and businesses;  Policy making and accountability for results at regional and local levels;  Increased accessibility of services for vulnerable groups; and  The need for in-depth analyses of the links between VET and the whole formal education system. Based on the analysis, the participating experts formulated the strategic priorities and directions for workforce development and outlined specific opportunities for the improvement of policies and measures in the following areas: Leading Priority: 1. Strategic Focus. Second wave key priorities: 2. Enhanced dialogue between the institutions and the social partners; 3. Improved Information management; 4. Building mechanisms for employers’ involvement in the development of new standards – incl. entrepreneurs beyond the employers’ associations; 5. Development of an incentives system for all participants in WfD to achieve excellent results; 6. Quality management. Other key priorities: 7. Teachers’ qualifications; 8. Curricula tailored to the needs of the labor market. Bearing in mind that the SABER outputs are coming amid the substantial educational reforms – both in mainstream and vocational education – the participants underlined the relevance of the SABER results to the work on the new draft laws on preschool and school education and on vocational education and training. SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR BETTER EDUCATION RESULTS 48 JORDAN ǀ WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT SABER COUNTRY REPORT |2013 Annex 7: Structure of the Bulgarian Education System 0 Pre-Primary 235,015 children 1 Basic Education, Stage 1 Grades 1-4 253,675 students 2A Basic Education, Stage 2 General Vocational, Level I Grades 5-8 After grades 6 or 7 Duration: 4 years Duration: 3 years 221,839 students 1,979 students 3A Upper Secondary (Total 273, 498 students) 3C Upper Secondary General Vocational Vocational (Incl. VIII grade of foreign languages secondary schools and other specialized secondary schools with selection after VII grade.) Level II Level III Level III Level I Duration: 4 years Duration: 4-5 years Duration: 4-5 years Arts and sports schools, Duration 2 years Duration: 4-5 years 135,013 students 35,469 students 95,443 students 6,450 students 1,011 students 4C Post-Secondary Non-Tertiary (Level IV, Duration: 2 years) 2,381 students 5A & 5B - Tertiary Education 278,588 students SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR BETTER EDUCATION RESULTS 49 JORDAN ǀ WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT SABER COUNTRY REPORT |2013 Annex 8: Authorship and Acknowledgements This report is the product of collaboration between a team of the World Bank comprising Plamen Danchev (Education Specialist, Human Development Sector, ECA Region, Bulgaria Country Office), Omar Arias (Sector Manager and Lead Economist, Human Development Economics, ECA Region), Jee-Peng Tan and Ryan Flynn, leader and member, respectively, of the SABER-WfD team based in the Education Department of the Human Development Network of the World Bank and Ilko Jordanov (Consultant, Expert Analyses Consulting Group) who served as principal investigator and led data collection through examining documentary evidence and extensive interviews with stakeholders. The report was prepared under the World Bank Activation and Skills Programmatic Knowledge Service for the Central European and the Baltic countries under the supervision of Omar Arias until September 2013, and of Alessandra Marini after that date. The research team acknowledges the support of all who have contributed to the report and its findings, including informants, survey respondents, representatives of the Government and government agencies in Bulgaria, participants at various consultation workshops, as well as other members of the SABER-WfD team at the World Bank: Rita Costa, Viviana Gomez, Rijak Grover, Kiong Hock Lee, Joy Yoo-Jeung Nam, Brent Parton and Alexandria Valerio. The research team gratefully acknowledges the generous financial support of the Government of the United Kingdom through its Department of International Development’s Partnership for Education Development with the World Bank which makes it possible for HDNED’s SABER-WfD team to provide technical support to the principal investigator in the form of standardized tools for and guidance on data collection, analysis and reporting. SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR BETTER EDUCATION RESULTS 50 JORDAN ǀ WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT SABER COUNTRY REPORT |2013 www.worldbank.org/education/saber The Systems Approach for Better Education Results (SABER) initiative produces comparative data and knowledge on education policies and institutions, with the aim of helping countries systematically strengthen their education systems. SABER evaluates the quality of education policies against evidence-based global standards, using new diagnostic tools and detailed policy data. The SABER country reports give all parties with a stake in educational results—from administrators, teachers, and parents to policymakers and business people—an accessible, objective snapshot showing how well the policies of their country's education system are oriented toward ensuring that all children and youth learn. This report focuses specifically on policies in the area of Workforce Development This work is a product of the staff of The World Bank with external contributions. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this work do not necessarily reflect the views of The World Bank, its Board of Executive Directors, or the governments they represent. The World Bank does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this work. The boundaries, colors, denominations, and other information shown on any map in this work do not imply any judgment on the part of The World Bank concerning the legal status of any territory or the endorsement or acceptance of such boundaries. SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR BETTER EDUCATION RESULTS 51 THE WORLD BANK