In December 2017 the Parliament of the Republic of Lithuania consented to the draft recasting of the law on vocational education and training. The draft law introduces fundamental changes into the VET system to align it with the needs of the economy.

The changes proposed aim to promote the image, prestige and quality of vocational education and training to attract more learners and companies.

The draft law underlines the significance of apprenticeships in helping students acquire practical experience at the workplace, not just within the infrastructure of vocational training institutions.

Vocational training institutions should be responsible for the quality of the training offered and ensure that it complies with international quality standards. They should have internal quality assurance systems, carry out annual self-assessments, publicise their results, and have an external institutional assessment every five years.

The aim is to change the management and funding of the vocational education and training system to attract more social partners, increase the involvement of municipalities, and ensure efficient and transparent use of public funds.

Vocational education institutions will be reorganised into public institutions, giving social partners and municipalities the opportunity to become stakeholders. VET institutions should receive additional income and support to promote their activities.

The role and responsibilities of vocational training councils are widened and strengthened to attract social partners and municipalities to their activities, promoting greater accountability to the public and focusing more on the needs of the region and businesses.

Responsibility for many strategic decisions is delegated to sectoral professional committees.

All procedures related to the validation of the above law were planned to be completed by end 2017.

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Draft legislation