- 2015Approved/Agreed
- 2016Implementation
- 2017Implementation
- 2018Approved/Agreed
- 2019Implementation
- 2020Implementation
- 2021Implementation
- 2022Implementation
- 2023Implementation
- 2024Implementation
Background
The education system has undergone substantial transformation in recent decades. In 2013, the State replaced local government (municipalities) in the governance of primary and secondary schools. The VET landscape was reformed in 2015. The administration of most VET schools (at the time there were more than 200 mixed-profile upper secondary schools combining general and vocational education) was transferred to the ministry in charge of VET (the Ministry of National Economy in 2015). From 2018, IVET and adult training were led by the Ministry of Innovation and Technology.
Objectives
To improve quality and efficiency in a heavily fragmented institutional VET structure, the integration of VET schools into VET centres aims at offering greater autonomy in administrative and financial management and quality training better aligned with labour market needs.
Description
Government Decree 120/2015 classified VET institutions into categories and allowed for the reorganisation of VET schools into 44 VET centres in the counties. A maximum of three centres can be set up in each county with a minimum number of 2 000 learners in each.
The centres serve as an intermediate level of administration between the schools and the National Office of VET and Adult Learning (NOVETAL), which exercises the governing body's powers and ensures the coordination and implementation of national VET and adult learning policies at State level.
Act CIV of 2018 included further modifications of the Act on VET, public education and tertiary education. Sections related to VET described primarily the organisational structure of VET centres and their related powers and responsibilities, introducing in particular the role of chancellor in VET centres. The chancellor will be in charge mainly of economic, financial, legal and labour-related issues as well as for overall asset management.
Currently, there are 40 VET centres with altogether 372 member schools affiliated to them. An additional smaller VET centre is under creation in the northern part of Hungary close to Budapest in Esztergom city, to which will be affiliated VET schools previously belonging to the Tatabánya VET Centre. The reduction of the number of VET centres was the result of rationalisation and better centralisation to increase their efficiency:
- Some VET centres are located in the same city, but providing different technical and service specialties (e.g. in Szombathely);
- certain VET schools of the Budapest VET Centre specialise in tourism (four) and in human health care (four). VET provision has been made for the control and maintenance of other VET centres and of higher education. Half of the member schools in the related VET centre were affected by this measure: two schools specialising in tourism were taken over by the Budapest Economics VET Centre - BGSzC, and two VET schools in the same specialisation were taken over by the Komplex Budapest VET Centre;
- four VET schools specialising in human health care were affiliated to Semmelweis University, a medical school in Budapest. Other health care VET schools were taken over in Pécs by Pécs University and others in Gyor-Moson-Sopron region by Széchenyi István University in Gyor
In 2020, altogether 41 VET centres were in operation with 371 affiliated member schools (VET institutions). Directors have a key role in the new system: according to the new regulation, the head of the institution is responsible for the professional instruction of the given VET institution, for managing the body of instructors and he/she is in charge of the financial matters for certain types of expenditures set by the VET centre. This means more professional freedom than ever for the VET institutions. VET centres are responsible for securing the professional background of the institution's management, fulfilling the activities related to investments and facility management and participate in determining the training structure by taking into consideration the needs of the labour market.
The implementing regulation consolidates the well-functioning dual management model in the VET centres that was introduced a year ago, which clearly separates the tasks and responsibilities of the directors, the director-general and the chancellor.
A vocational institution operating as part of a VET centre is an organisational unit of the centre with legal personality and own budget. In the past period, there has been intensive development of VET infrastructure and equipment both from EU and national resources, which is continuing in VET Centres and their member institutions.
A VET centre - with the permission of the Minister responsible for VET- can acquire 'shares' in a sectoral training centre (STC), particularly in a knowledge centre, where the VET centre in question exercises ownership rights on behalf of the State. At present 18 sectoral training centres are registered, four VET Centres are members in STC.
According to the Act LXXX of 2019 on VET, until 31 December 2025, a VET institution maintained by the State, particularly in possession with a cooperation agreement, may organise the vocational final examination regardless of whether the VET institution in question is certified as an accredited examination centre. Within the VET centre, accredited examination centres are currently being developed.
VET centres continue to play a key role, as every school year since their establishment has demonstrated the legitimacy and effectiveness of this institutional structure. VET institutions in a given region are able to participate much more effectively in developing a training structure tailored to local economic needs and in maintaining contacts with economic stakeholders, in a coordinated manner through VET centres. VET centres have strengthened their operational links with regional chambers of commerce and local business organisations to support career guidance and expand dual partnerships.
By 31 August 2022, the institutions of the VET centres have established their quality management system (QMS), which consists of a quality policy, a comprehensive self-assessment, and intervention and improvement activities based on these. This quality policy was to focus on improving the quality of VET. The QMS has been operational since 1 September 2022.
In 2022 , the total number of Sectoral Training Centres registered by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MKIK) is 31, of which seven VET centres are registered in seven Sectoral Training Centres as legal entities.
In 2022 , the total number of Sectoral Examination Centres is 63, of which 36 accredited examination centres are linked to VET centres. Based on the preliminary plannings, all VET centres are expected to have accredited examination centres, so the development of additional ones is currently underway. This will create a national network providing examination facilities throughout the country.
The websites of the Hungarian VET centres and their institutions continue to operate under the umbrella of the Unified Digital Information System (EDIR). The system was created by IKK Innovative Training Support Centre Ltd. The aim of EDIR is to provide an innovative, uniform, high quality and user-friendly transformation of the websites of VET institutions belonging to VET centres. By the end of 2022, 38 VET Centres and 347 institutions joined EDIR.
In 2022, there were 41 VET centres and their 363 VET institutions under the responsibility of the Ministry of Culture and Innovation, and five VET centres and their 55 VET institutions under the responsibility of the Ministry of Agriculture.
VET Centres are in constant communication with companies, government agencies and local authorities to balance supply and demand for training. They also consult with local and regional chambers of commerce, industry associations, school district centres and primary schools in the planning of enrolment, resulting in a refined range of qualifications and vocational training courses.
VET Centres play a key role at the local level by addressing the needs of the economy, providing training, and supporting employment in their regions.
Key achievements:
Number of enterprises engaged:
- 2022/23 school year: 9 932
- 2023/24 school year: 12 190
Number of meetings with local stakeholders involved in VET:
- 2022/23 school year: 3 675
- 2023/24 school year: 4 827
Number of local cooperation initiatives:
- 2022/23 school year: 6 350
- 2023/24 school year: 7 627
To achieve the quality objectives, VET institutions prepare an annual work plan that takes into account labour market needs and dual partner satisfaction. Cooperation with the dual partners is a priority and specific action plans are drawn up.
They maintain relations with universities, with whom they work mainly on certified technician programmes and other cooperation.
In 2023, VET institutions carried out the first teacher evaluations based on a methodological proposal approved by the Minister responsible for VET.
By July 2024, the fact-based self-assessment of VET schools and their heads was completed. This provided school management and the governing VET centres (maintainers) with a comprehensive overview of their functioning and performance.
Based on the self-evaluation results, VET schools launched intervention and development activities as of 1 September 2024. Their effectiveness and efficiency will be continuously monitored.
As mandated by the VET 4.0 Action Plan, VET Centres are required to establish customer service systems by 2030 to provide counselling, enrolment services, and career guidance. Under this strategy, eight VET Centres—Debrecen, Gyor, Karcag, Miskolc, Nyíregyháza, Székesfehérvár, Szolnok, and Vác—have already launched Info-points. These Info-points offer comprehensive career guidance and counselling to students and adults.
The establishment and operation of Info-points, along with the integration of skills forecasting data into their counselling services, remain a strategic commitment through 2030.
By the end of October 2024:
a. all VET Centres had joined EDIR (EDIR is a digital platform that standardises the websites of VET Centres and their institutions for easier access to information and services);
b. the total number of Sectoral Training Centres registered by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MKIK) reached 71, with 32 of these represented by VET Centres;
c. a total of 42 accredited vocational examination centres were affiliated with VET Centres
Bodies responsible
- Ministry of Culture and Innovation
- National Office for Vocational Education and Training and Adult Learning (NOVETAL)
- VET Centres
Target groups
Entities providing VET
- VET providers (all kinds)
Thematic categories
Governance of VET and lifelong learning
This thematic category looks at existing legal frameworks providing for strategic, operational – including quality assurance – and financing arrangements for VET and lifelong learning (LLL). It examines how VET and LLL-related policies are placed in broad national socioeconomic contexts and coordinate with other strategies and policies, such as economic, social and employment, growth and innovation, recovery and resilience.
This thematic category covers partnerships and collaboration networks of VET stakeholders – especially the social partners – to shape and implement VET in a country, including looking at how their roles and responsibilities for VET at national, regional and local levels are shared and distributed, ensuring an appropriate degree of autonomy for VET providers to adapt their offer.
The thematic category also includes efforts to create national, regional and sectoral skills intelligence systems (skills anticipation and graduate tracking) and using skills intelligence for making decisions about VET and LLL on quality, inclusiveness and flexibility.
This thematic sub-category refers both to formal mechanisms of stakeholder engagement in VET governance and to informal cooperation among stakeholders, which motivate shared responsibility for quality VET. Formal engagement is usually based on legally established institutional procedures that clearly define the role and responsibilities for relevant stakeholders in designing, implementing and improving VET. It also refers to establishing and increasing the degree of autonomy of VET providers for agile and flexible VET provision.
In terms of informal cooperation, the sub-category covers targeted actions by different stakeholders to promote or implement VET. This cooperation often leads to creating sustainable partnerships and making commitments for targeted actions, in line with the national context and regulation, e.g. national alliances for apprenticeships, pacts for youth or partnerships between schools and employers. It can also include initiatives and projects run by the social partners or sectoral organisations or networks of voluntary experts and executives, retired or on sabbatical, to support their peers in the fields of VET and apprenticeships, as part of the EAfA.
Modernising VET offer and delivery
This thematic category looks at what and how individuals learn, how learning content and learning outcomes in initial and continuing VET are defined, adapted and updated. First and foremost, it examines how VET standards, curricula, programmes and training courses are updated and modernised or new ones created. Updated and renewed VET content ensures that learners acquire a balanced mix of competences that address modern demands, and are more closely aligned with the realities of the labour market, including key competences, digital competences and skills for green transition and sustainability, both sector-specific and across sectors. Using learning outcomes as a basis is important to facilitate this modernisation, including modularisation of VET programmes. Updating and developing teaching and learning materials to support the above is also part of the category.
The thematic category continues to focus on strengthening high-quality and inclusive apprenticeships and work-based learning in real-life work environments and in line with the European framework for quality and effective apprenticeships. It looks at expanding apprenticeship to continuing vocational training and at developing VET programmes at EQF levels 5-8 for better permeability and lifelong learning and to support the need for higher vocational skills.
This thematic category also focuses on VET delivery through a mix of open, digital and participative learning environments, including workplaces conducive to learning, which are flexible, more adaptable to the ways individuals learn, and provide more access and outreach to various groups of learners, diversifying modes of learning and exploiting the potential of digital learning solutions and blended learning to complement face-to-face learning.
Centres of vocational excellence that connect VET to innovation and skill ecosystems and facilitate stronger cooperation with business and research also fall into this category.
VET standards and curricula define the content and outcomes of learning, most often at national or sectoral levels. VET programmes are based on standards and curricula and refer to specific vocations/occupations. They all need to be regularly reviewed, updated and aligned with the needs of the labour market and society. They need to include a balanced mix of vocational and technical skills corresponding to economic cycles, evolving jobs and working methods, and key competences, providing for resilience, lifelong learning, employability, social inclusion, active citizenship, sustainable awareness and personal development (Council of the European Union, 2020). The thematic sub-category also refers to establishing new VET programmes, reducing their number or discontinuing some. It also includes design of CVET programmes and training courses to adapt to labour market, sectoral or individual up- and re-skilling needs.
This thematic sub-category covers all developments related to work-based learning (WBL) elements in VET programmes and apprenticeships which continue to be important in the policy agenda. It includes measures to stabilise the offer of apprenticeships, the implementation of the European framework for quality and effective apprenticeships, and using the EU on-demand support services and policy learning initiatives among the Member States. It also covers further expansion of apprenticeships and WBL to continuing VET (CVET), for transition to work and inclusion of vulnerable groups, and for improving citizens’ qualification levels.
European priorities in VET
VET Recommendation
- VET agile in adapting to labour market challenges
- VET underpinned by a culture of quality assurance
Subsystem
Further reading
Country
Type of development
Cedefop, & ReferNet. (2025). The network of vocational training centres: Hungary. In Cedefop, & ReferNet. (2025). Timeline of VET policies in Europe (2024 update) [Online tool].
https://www.cedefop.europa.eu/en/tools/timeline-vet-policies-europe/search/28275