Croatia

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List of policy instruments

  • Croatian Qualifications Framework (CROQF) Web portal

    Web portal Hrvatskog kvalifikacijskog okvira

    Description

    Focus area
    Main skills assessment/anticipation initiative
    The portal integrates data on employment, unemployment, enrolment in secondary and higher education programmes, key economic activities and corresponding employment rates. The aim is to support the establishment and work of the bodies and stakeholders involved in the process of implementation of the CROQF, which includes the development of occupational standards, qualifications standards and educational programmes compliant with them. One of the main activity is related to National Human Resources Council. The portal is constantly updated with relevant information on the CROQF so that citizens have complete information on everything that happens in connection with the implementation of the CROQF. CROQF is a tool that will enable Croatian citizens to easily enter the labor market in Croatia.
    Link
    Reference/weblink
    http://www.kvalifikacije.hr/
    Implementation level
    At what level is the initiative implemented?
    National
    Legal base
    Legal base (E.g. Law, regulation, implementing provision, other)
    Law on the Croatian Qualifications Framework, Official Gazette, 22/13; 41/16; 64/18; 47/20; 20/21.
    Starting period
    TIMESPAN: In what year did the initiative commence?
    2013
    Perspective
    PERSPECTIVE: is the initiative based on evidence derived from skill forecasts or foresight activities?
    Yes, based on monitoring the development of the economy and analysis of relevant institutions in the field of monitoring the needs of the labor market (Croatian Employers' Association, Croatian Employment Service) focused on the harmonization of qualifications in terms of content and not on the form of education.
    Policy area
    To which POLICY AREAS(s) does the initiative apply?
    Education
    Training
    Employment
    Migration
    Innovation
    Digital economy
    Social inclusion
    Equality/equal opportunities
    Funding
    How it is funded?
    Funded by national government

    Skill mismatch

    Skill mismatch target
    What type(s) of skills MISMATCH does the initiative aim to addresses?
    Overqualification (individuals' qualifications/credentials are above their job's needs)
    Underqualification (individuals' qualifications/credentials are below their job's needs)
    Skill underutilisation (individuals' skills are not well used in their jobs)
    Skill shortages (employers cannot fill their vacancies due to a lack of skills in the labour market)
    Skill gaps (worker's skills are below the level of proficiency required by their employers and jobs)
    Skills obsolescence (some or all of an individual's skills are no longer relevant to the current employer or in the labour market generally)
    Skills matching focus
    How does  the initiative address skills mismatches?
    Match young graduates' skills to labour market
    Implementation of reformed educational programs whose content is based on proven indicators of the needs of society and the economy, and which have been developed in 63 projects implemented so far in the field of adult education and higher education.
    Upskill or reskill employed adults
    By defining the formal outcome of the assessment and evaluation process, which shows that a person has achieved learning outcomes in accordance with the standards prescribed by a competent body (institution), and / or that he / she possesses the competencies necessary for a certain activities.
    Upskill or reskill non-employed adults
    By defining the formal outcome of the assessment and evaluation process, which shows that a person has achieved learning outcomes in accordance with the standards prescribed by a competent body (institution), and / or that he / she possesses the competencies necessary for a certain activities.
    Facilitate job / career transitions
    In the development of occupational standards, which means recognizing the knowledge and skills needed by a large number of employers
    Address sectoral or occupational skill shortages
    Occupational market projections are used in the development of occupational standards
    Address mismatch broadly
    By linking sets of competencies in occupations with sets of learning outcomes in educational programs in order to achieve the relevance of education to labor market needs.
    Skills delivered
    What types of skill  does the initiative deliver?
    More advanced digital skills
    General employability skills (team working, communication, etc.)
    Green skills
    Job search skills
    Career management skills

    Methods

    Methods
    What methods of undertaking skills assessments and / or skills anticipation does the policy instrument utilise?
    Skills forecasting
    When developing occupational standards, projections of labor market trends prepared by the Croatian Employment Service are used
    Employer surveys
    Developing methodology for a systematic approach in the participation of employers in predicting the required skills of employeesthrough sectors (Croatian Employers' Association)
    Skills foresight
    See above.
    Expert panels
    Organized by Croatian Employment Service, Croatian Employers' Association, various research institutes….
    Graduate tracing
    Particulary for those with aquired knowledge and skills from unformal and informal education.
    Real-time labour market information (e.g. big data analysis of job advertisements, CVs)
    Using analysis provided by Croatian Employment Service, Croatian Employers' association.
    Use of skills intelligence
    How is labour market information / skills intelligence used within the initiative?
    Informing the design of national qualification frameworks (NQFs)
    For designing methodology for sectoral profiles development and occupational standards using statistic information /data provided by Croatian Employment Service/, studies on the short-term projection of labor market trends (Ministry of Labour.., Croatian Employer's Association), as well as with providing data about assessment of supply and demand matching.

    Stakeholders

    Main responsible body
    Main body or organisation with overall responsibility for the initiative.
    National ministry
    Ministry of Science and Education
    Other involved organisations
    Which other organisations have a role in the initiative?
    National ministry
    Ministry of Labour, Pension System, Family and Social Policy; Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development
    National agency
    Agency for Vocational Education and Training- developing new curricula for personal and professional development and continuing education.
    Social partner: employer organisation
    Croatian Employers' Association - activities of association in education, aiming on supporting occupational standards creation
    Social partner: trade union
    Trade union representatuves participate within sectoral councils
    National PES
    Croatian Employment Service, with statistic data about of long-term trends in a particular group of occupations
    Regional PES
    Regional Croatian Employment Services on county level - with statistic data about of long-term trends in a particular group of occupations
    Chambers of Commerce
    Croatian Chamber of Commerce-proposals for occupational standards
    Training Providers
    Centres for Lifelong Learning - acquisition and improvement of competence for personal, social and professional needs in accordance with the Law on the Croatian Qualifications Framework
    Research centres, universities
    Universities and higher education insititutions

    Sustainability

    Success factors
    SUCCESS FACTORS in the implementation
    The importance of wide public promotion for CROQF that has been recognized from the very begining and supported by various public institutions and the broad e public interest expressed for this portal.
    Barriers
    BARRIERS in the implementation
    No barriers
    Monitoring and evaluation
    MONITORING and EVALUATION: Is progress measured regularly? What are the indicators used to measure progress of the policy instrument? Have any evaluations been conducted?
    It is related to the pogress of CROQF development, not to the portal bas such.
    Updates
    UPDATES: whether there have been any major updates of the initiative since it has been implemented?
    Yes
    It is, for exmaple, related to the CROQF Register established for the needs of the data management system on learning outcome sets, occupational standards, qualification standards, programs for acquiring and evaluating learning outcome sets, programs for evaluating learning outcome sets, qualification programs and other data of interest, due to their connections and harmonizations.
    Effectiveness
    EVIDENCE ON EFFECTIVENESS: How effective is the policy instrument?
    It improves efficiency in recognizing occupational standards and qualifications standards for the general population and strengthens and provides more opportunities for the inclusion of resources in the education system.
    Sustainability
    SUSTAINABILITY: How sustainable is the policy instrument? Do you expect the instrument to continue over the next few years and why?
    Yes, it is expected the continuation of this instrument for the next years.The portal is constantly updated with relevant information on the CROQF so that citizens have completed information on everything that happens related to the implementation of the CROQF