Abstract:

Nowadays, we could hardly speak about well-shaped patterns of development, given the multitude of challenges around and ahead, as well as the rapid technological transformations, intertwined with the countries’ capabitilies to capitalize (or not) upon these changes. Still, at least one straightforward pattern of development can be identified – if we are allowed to call it this way – and that is that everything changes at an unprecedent speed and with sometimes difficult to foresee implications. This fluid environment calls for fluid professions, and for new categories of jobs. As revealed by the 2017 LinkedIn U.S. Emerging Jobs Report, the 2018 market is looking for qualified individuals, able to take new jobs and roles, such as “machine learning engineer”, “data scientist”, “customer success manager”, or “big data developer”. Strikingly, the World Economic Forum highlights that 65% of children entering primary school today will ultimately hold jobs that do not currently exist.

In this context, education – and, more specifically, vocational education and training (VET) – will need systemic adjustments, so that the current supply-oriented approach (i.e. focusing on competence formation, on what the schools and the teachers can or are able to provide) will be refocused into a demand-driven approach (i.e. very concerned with the market, on the needs exposed by the external stakeholders, such as businesses, and the customers or users of educational services). Unavoidably, education will be competence-based and customer-oriented, which means that each student will be offered with more and more possibilities to design an individually appropriate path to finishing an entire qualification or a supplementary skill set. The primary accent falls on what the student learns and is able to do. Digital learning environments and new approaches to pedagogy (e.g. modern simulators, serious games) will have a larger role in the future of learning. While businesses will strive to individualize their goods and services, learning at the workplace (e.g. on-tje-job training) will be increased.

VET holds an active role in local and regional development thanks to its practical orientation and sometimes close links with business environment, as well as regional/local governance structures. In the close future, work life will require new kinds of competencies, while there are fewer financial ressources available for education. VET has to respond more swiftly to changes in work life and operating environment and to adapt to individual competence needs. As the industry structure change, VET will shortly become the new bridgehead of development in many regions. Ineffective VET policies might lead to lost opportunities to enhance employment and entrepreneurship, which in turn can contribute to a weak or declining economy.

This paper highlights the challenges and opportunities that VET needs to tackle in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), with a special focus on Romania. More than in other areas, many CEE countries deal with insufficient alignment of VET strategies with local and regional development strategies, and more generally with the needs and opportunities arising from their immediate environment and region. This can lead to issues and challenges on multiple levels. Thus, the paper aims is to advance a framework strategy for VET, tailored for CEE countries, and able to contribute to the optimization of VET in Romania and other similar Member-States.

Keywords:

Vocational education and training (VET), development, Central and Eastern Europe, emerging jobs.