THE FORMER YUGOSLAV REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA

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1 ETF COUNTRY INFORMATION FICHE THE FORMER YUGOSLAV REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA BASIC COUNTRY DATA Total Population: 2,065,769 (Last available year: 2013, State Statistical Office of the Republic of Macedonia) Youth dependency ratio: 23.53% (Last available year: 2013, World Bank) Share of VET in secondary education: 30.05% (Last available year: 2012, Unesco Institute of Statistics) GDP ANNUAL GROWTH RATE (%) Source: World Bank.

2 ETF COUNTRY INFORMATION FICHE: BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA GDP PER CAPITA (CURRENT INTERNATIONAL $) Source: World Bank. EMPLOYMENT RATE 15+ (%) Source: Eurostat. UNEMPLOYMENT RATE (%) Total (15-74) Youth (15-24) Source: Eurostat.

3 Public expenditure on education as share of GDP (%) Source: Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Macedonia. The population of the country has remained relatively steady over the past decade, increasing from million in 2004 to million in Similarly to most countries in Europe, the population is aging, partly due to a low fertility rate which hit a low of 1.43 in 2005 but had risen slightly to 1.52 in Unemployment also remains high, although it fell from approximately 28% in 2014 to an estimated 27% in Conditions for youth remained strained as the unemployment rate for those aged stood at 48.2% in the 3rd quarter of 2015, a small reduction from 52.0% during the same period of There is a pattern of internal migration from rural areas to larger urban centres as is the case for many other countries. In January 2016, the government submitted an Economic Reform Programme (ERP) for As with the ERP for 2015, it is based on an optimistic scenario predicting annual real GDP growth of 4.0% in 2016, 4.3% in 2017 and % in This progress is expected to be driven by growth of exports and investment, with the government budget deficit projected to decline gradually from 3.2% of GDP in 2016, to 2.9% of GDP in 2017 and 2.6% in According to the projections, an average annual 3% increase will occur in the number of people employed due to job creation in the free economic zones and public sector infrastructure projects, alongside active measures and programs for employment. Two measures in the ERP aim to address human capital development. Reform measure 17 (Profiling of unemployed persons and designing an individual employment plan 2) aims to improve PES capacity to profile the unemployed and consistently follow up those at risk of long term unemployment, while Reform measure 18 (Education and qualifications for all) focuses on the role of the NQF as an instrument to reform education and training, improving transparency, delivery and the quality of qualifications in relation to the labour market. The FRAME skills vision 2020 for Kosovo focuses on the role of human capital in development, stating that: In 2020, education and training are the key drivers of our inclusive, innovation based society and high quality of life, based on a flexible, comprehensive and accessible skills system. This lifelong learning system is highly anticipatory and responsive to the dynamic and mobile labour market, and promotes constructive dialogue of socially responsible stakeholders. VET and employment policy: Progress since 2012 A stakeholder group developed an inventory of qualifications to populate the NQF and a draft referencing report was presented to the EQF Advisory Group in February Several Laws were adopted from 2014 to increase the quality of teacher training. A system to license and re license teachers, linked with salary incentives for existing teachers, has been developed as well as a programme for continuous professional development.

4 The Centre for Adult Education delivered a concept report on non formal education in April 2015 following a series of stakeholder consultations and MES approved an implementation roadmap to support the development of non formal adult learning aligned with EU policies. Work on VNFIL will continue through 2016 and beyond. In December 2014, the Strategy for Development of Entrepreneurial Learning and Action Plan 2020 was adopted by MES (implementation is being monitored by an inter Ministerial steering council). It engages formal and non formal education, and training for entrepreneurs. The country signed agreements for full participation in Erasmus+ in 2014, also agreeing to be an associated country in Horizon Labour market policy goals were updated in the Employment Strategy , National Employment Action Plan for and Action Plan for Employment of Youth The country addressed the Council s 2015 ERP recommendation on strengthening performance evaluations of active labour market policies within a renewed strategic and operational framework in the field on employment. Country priorities for VET and employment reforms Better coordinated skills policies. Coherence and transparency of qualifications and of the NQF, and approximation with EU policies and initiatives. Non formal and informal learning, alignment with the NQF and HRD policy. HRD policy review, based on multi ministry monitoring (indicators) and analysis. ETF interventions In 2016 the ETF is working on the following streams of action in the country: The ETF will support the country in developing a new methodology to populate its National Qualifications Framework (NQF), provide advice to authorities on institutional arrangements for the NQF and advise the EU Delegation on the IPA 2013 NQF Twinning project with Croatia, Poland and Scotland. The ETF will support national participation in the Copenhagen Process, including in the ACVT and DGVT, and with Riga monitoring. The ETF will support the country in the implementation of work based learning in particular with regard to the MTD on WBL, to improve quality of VET provision and relevance for the labour market. The ETF will also facilitate Macedonian participation in the European Alliance for Apprenticeship and mapping of work based learning. The ETF will provide support to the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia to apply EU employment instruments (e.g. the Youth Guarantee) and to disseminate EU Member State good practice (policy advice, peer learning, capacity building). It will also provide methodological support on developing tracer studies and an integrated labour market information system, along with employer surveys and the coaching of experts in close coordination with the World Bank skills development project. The ETF will continue to support CPD for teachers and trainers in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia through its three year ( ) regional project. Implementation of a demonstration project will take place and support will also be provided for the implementation of the Riga MTD on CPD. The ETF will support the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia in the modernisation of quality assurance policies and measures in line with the MTD on Quality Assurance and promote the European Quality Assurance Reference in VET (EQAVET). The ETF will disseminate the outcomes of the SBA assessment undertaken in 2015 in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, including advisory inputs to the Regional Cooperation Council Working Group on Industrial Policy to raise the profile on vocational skills identified in the country s ERP. Support to the EU Delegation Input and comments on the Economic Reform Programme. Briefing of TA experts during inception phase and assistance with monitoring of IPA projects in VET, adult education, NQF development and Employment State Agency. ETF inputs to EC Progress report on HRD related areas. Monitoring of HRD related issues of the EU Country Strategy

5 EU projects Period Budget ETF role EU: IPA II projects supporting lifelong learning (including three year secondary VET) and NQF development (twinning). Started projects with Employment State Agency (EURES) Evaluation, monitoring and development of IPA II. Key donors in VET The World Bank Skills development and innovation support project (EUR 17.7 million) supports higher education and VET, but also the innovative capacity of enterprises and collaboration with research organisations. The project includes support to Observatory of Skills, reform of four year VET programmes and the development and implementation of tracer studies. USAID via the Youth Employability Skills (YES) Network, which is a five year project with approximately USD 7 million in funding. The goal of the YES Network project is to enhance the employability skills of young people in Macedonia aged between 15 and 27. It supports institutional development of the VET Centre, teacher training, career guidance centres in VET schools, social partnership in VET, inclusive education, curriculum development and quality monitoring in school education as well as youth employment network initiatives and small business development. The Swiss Contact/SDC Increasing Market Employability in Macedonia project (CHF 7 million) runs from and is focused on supporting sustainable economic growth and job creation in tourism and hospitality, the green economy and the creative industries. A key focus lies on improving the capacity of the education system to provide skilled human resources. Key publications ETF, Torino Process report 2014: Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia: ETF, Torino Process report 2012: Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia: ETF, FRAME Skills 2020: Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia: former%20yugoslav%20republic%20macedonia.pdf ETF Country Desk Shawn Mendes Tel.: shawn.mendes@etf.europa.eu