site.bta36,000 students to Take Additional Classes in Real-life Work Environment by 2027

Some 36,000 students will take additional classes and apprenticeships in a real-life work environment by 2027 under a project aiming to modernize vocational education and training. The contract was signed by caretaker Minister of Education and Science Sasho Penov and Georgi Vaysilov – Executive Director of the Executive Agency Education Programme, the Ministry of Education and Science said in a press release here on Thursday.

Penov said that the implementation of the project is in line with the proposed amendments to the Vocational Education and Training Act. In his words, it is important that the Ministry of Education and Science encourages improvement of students' skills and takes care of their future realization on the labour market. The proposed amendments to the Act and implementation of activities under the project are part of the ministry’s aspirations to improve vocational education and training, Penov added.

One of the objectives of the project is to improve students' competences in vocational training, entrepreneurial skills, social entrepreneurship, together with the participation of employers. Further vocational training will be funded through additional practices in a real-life work environment. It is foreseen to develop a new list of vocational education and training professions, state educational standards, curricula and programmes, national examination programmes, including cross-sectoral ones.

The grant financial assistance procedure is implemented with the financial support of the European Social Fund Plus. The project is worth BGN 70 million and will last 58 months.