- 2018Implementation
- 2019Implementation
- 2020Implementation
- 2021Implementation
- 2022Implementation
- 2023Implementation
- 2024Implementation
Background
The Catching-up regions initiative of the European Commission and the World Bank aims to improve competitiveness in low-income and low-growth regions and support Member States to invest and manage European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF) better. Cooperation with regional authorities is central to the identification of weaknesses and priority areas to invest in.
After successful implementation in Poland, the initiative was implemented in three regions considered as lagging behind. The regions include many underdeveloped districts, according to the Act on the support of the least developed districts (336/2015); they were also subject to other specific support and investments.
Objectives
Improved VET provision and better alignment to labour market needs can contribute to boosting growth in underdeveloped regions.
Description
The Catching-up regions initiative, in cooperation with regional authorities, aims to identify challenges and priority areas at regional level to direct investments to. Improving VET programmes in line with labour market needs can foster economic development in regions lagging behind.
The initiative was initially carried out in the Prešov region in 2018. In 2019, a report was published providing specific suggestions on how to improve secondary VET. The cooperation with the Banská Bystrica region started in March 2019 and with the Košice region in October 2020.
In 2018, the Catching-up regions initiative was carried out in the Prešov region.
The most important suggested systemic reform for the Prešov self-governing region, included in the 2019 Catching-up regions overview report, related to the lack of data and institutional support to secondary VET. Therefore, special attention was to be paid to the recommended creation of a 'regional VET platform' that should complement VET governance regional authorities as an advisory body affiliated to the region's school department. It should offer analyses and data, resulting from more effective cooperation among stakeholders from the worlds of education and work to support evidence-based decisions by regional authorities. Peer reviews as a tool to assist self-evaluation of VET schools should be promoted.
In March 2019, the initiative was launched in the Banská Bystrica region. In the first phase of the implementation, the needs of employers and obstacles to speed up the growth of the region were identified, while an analysis of secondary schools was also carried out. The World Bank, together with the regional department of education, identified 21 secondary VET schools, of which eight were prioritised to receive specific support.
In December 2020, as a follow-up of the Catching-up regions initiative, a call of the economy ministry was launched to support SMEs and their cooperation with VET schools in the Banská Bystrica region. The budget was EUR 3 million.
Two national ESF projects, Strengthening regional governance in VET towards improving quality, attractiveness and better alignment to the labour market (EUR 6.6 million) and Piloting a model of counselling centres for youth (EUR 3.7 million) were launched in the Banská Bystrica region. The total investment for the first year of the implementation of CURI was set at EUR 46.6 million, of which EUR 43.4 million were a direct benefit for the eight pilot schools.
Based on the experience gained in the first year of implementation of the initiative, the 2021 Action plan for growth and employment was developed. One of its main components focuses on improving the employability of secondary VET school graduates, through two major activities: creating a quality assurance system for VET schools and supporting eight secondary vocational schools selected from a shortlist of 21 schools identified earlier via integrated investment packages tailored to respective school's needs.
In the Košice self-governing region four prioritised areas of support were agreed: improving the quality of secondary education, supporting an innovative environment, accelerating investments and systemic assistance to marginalised Roma communities.
After substantial progress in the Prešov region, the Catching-up regions initiative (CURI) initiative has been fully expanded in the Banská Bystrica region and the first steps were being taken in the Košice region.
In the Banská Bystrica region, national ESF projects aimed at strengthening regional governance in VET were launched, with a financial allocation of EUR 6.6 million, and at piloting a model of counselling centres for the young with a financial allocation of EUR 3.7 million, both in compliance with the REACT-EU goals. Within these projects, administrative structures of the self-governing region had been improved. The Education Reform Division recruited four types of specialists responsible for innovation and alignment of the curriculum to labour market needs, school marketing, and inclusion. The work focused on the support of inclusive education at 16 schools. Mentors operate at eight pilot schools and eight schools from at-risk sub-regions. The career centres department supported the activities of 13 district centres that were hubs of cooperation between basic schools, secondary schools and employers aimed at supporting career guidance in schools and preventing supply-demand mismatch on the labour market.
INNOLAB in Banská Bystrica, currently developed by the self-governing authority to offer a place for pupils and students to learn about innovations in science, will be interlinked within the CURI initiative, with regional youth centres and a network of eight innovative schools.
All pilot schools completed their self-assessment and prepared action plans for improving the quality of VET for the next school year and the related operation manual. Preparation of the national ESF project aimed at quality assessment is in progress in cooperation with the State Institute of Vocational Education. 24 SMEs succeeded with their applications for funding projects aimed at supporting cooperation between SMEs and secondary VET schools, responding to the call of economy ministry Operational programme Integrated infrastructure.
Five VET schools prepared projects aimed at improving their training facilities and innovations in training with an estimated budget of EUR 18.3 million in total.
In the Košice region, activities are being implemented in the least developed districts, of which there are six in the Košice region, namely Gelnica, Rožnava, Sobrance, Trebišov, Košice - surroundings, Michalovce. In cooperation with the World Bank and the European Commission, 70 key employers and 42 secondary vocational schools were approached. Based on cooperation with employers and schools, 8 secondary VET schools were selected for participation in the project, two of which focus on the education of marginalized Roma communities. The goal is to set VET programmes at these eight schools in such a way that they best reflect the needs of future employers and thus improve the employment prospects of their graduates.
The Catching-Up initiative also supports the creation and activities of the"Innovation Center of the Košice Region", interlinking the capacities of the academic world, the public and non-profit sector, and companies to support innovation and thereby"maintain brains" in the east of Slovakia.
For the assistance to marginalized Roma communities cooperation with"Roma communities" Vtáckovce, Vitkovce and Jasov was agreed. The needs of their residents in the areas of housing, education, employment and health are mapped, which will later be reflected in projects.
In the Prešov region, investment in five pilot schools was in progress. The Secondary VET School of Agriculture, Food and Technology in Kežmarok, received funding for a three-phase investment in a total amount of EUR 6.5 million.
On 16 November 2021, a call was launched by the regional development ministry, within which secondary VET schools from the CURI were eligible to draw from Operational programme Integrated infrastructure - REACT-EU funds.
In January 2022, the Action plan to promote economic growth in the Prešov self-governing region (CURI IV) was adopted building on previous activities carried out within Catching-up regions initiative I to III.
It focused on inclusive economic growth through improving the quality of secondary education and lifelong learning and unlocking the workforce potential of the marginalised Roma community. Activity IV.1 of the new action plan aimed at the support for the digitisation of selected regional secondary 'pilot' schools. Support for six pilot communities with a significant Roma population continued during CURI IV through complex interventions, of which enhancement of social enterprises to improve employment opportunities for marginalised and vulnerable groups also opened the door for formal and informal learning opportunities.
In February 2022, the Action plan for growth and employment in the Banská Bystrica self-governing region for 2022-23 (CURI III) building on previous activities carried out within CURI I and II was adopted.
According to the experts, dual VET was not as effective as it should be due to a comparably low share of dual learners. Reasons for this and the mismatch between supply and demand in the regional labour market should be examined. The World Bank cooperated with the regional and national authorities in preparing and sharing materials and examples of good practice and training for 13 pilot VET schools on selected topics, such as self-assessment, peer-reviewing, school improvement plans, and dual VET. Five out of 13 pilot VET schools were assisted in preparing for project applications, while other eight schools already continued the implementation of the aforementioned projects aimed at investment in the improvement of school equipment and premises. The Banská Bystrica region also piloted innovative solutions to help healthcare workers stay working in Slovakia, assisted by World Bank experts.
In the Košice region, two additional municipalities (Dobšiná and Trebišov) were accepted for cooperation concerning the assistance to marginalised Roma communities in 2022. All municipalities (except Trebišov) elaborated and submitted projects aimed at the support of marginalised Roma communities within a call launched by the interior ministry in the total amount of EUR 17 332 885.
A letter of intent was signed on 20 September 2022 to continue the Catching-up regions initiative in the Banská Bystrica, Košice, and Prešov self-governing regions aimed at strengthening the efficiency and effectiveness of the use of EU funds backed by the action plans for growth and jobs of these regions.
In November 2023, a conference at the end of the 4th phase of the initiative discussed results in all three regions. Significant results in improving the learning environment in VET schools are already visible in the Prešov and Banská Bystrica regions which are advanced in implementation compared to the Košice region.
An example of good practice is the successful renewal of the Jozef Murgaš Secondary Industrial School in Banská Bystrica. Within two 2022-23 IROP projects, Modern educational technology centre in support of the digitisation of industry, and Modernisation of school premises for the needs of the establishment of an educational technology centre, EUR 5.39 million for building and reconstruction works and EUR 1.77 million for material and technical equipment were invested. The modern educational centre for ICT and electrical engineering will create the conditions for the creation of a concentrated/innovation and technology zone of specialised classrooms with added value for innovative education with a focus on Industry 4.0, autonomous and robotic technologies, artificial intelligence, software engineering, the mechanical and engineering side of production, and rapid prototyping and 3D technologies. The newly created innovation and technology zone is a space that is also available during out-of-class time/for extracurricular activities for learners from other schools for individual work on projects, and for the public. A creative centre equipped with the most modern professional audiovisual equipment is being built in cooperation with the public TV. Learners specialising in image and sound technology will become acquainted with it within vocational subjects and practice. This makes the school a candidate for developing into a centre of vocational excellence (CoVE).
Within Programme Slovakia 2021-27, the ESF+ call titled Support for vocational education and training within the Catching-up regions initiative was launched on 1 December 2023 for two advanced regions within the initiative. It focused on interlinking the educational system with labour market needs, expanding cooperation with employers, professional development of pedagogical and professional staff, introducing an inclusive culture, and enhancing the marketing activities of selected secondary VET schools established by self-governing regions.
The conference 'Modernisation of secondary education and its relevance to the economy in Slovakia and its regions: CuRI contribution', held on 6 February 2024 in Bratislava, discussed all the results of the initiative in Slovakia. Since 2018, 105 projects have been implemented, 24 are in the pipeline, and EUR 120 million were invested to address challenges in three regions: mismatch in the labour market, skilled labour shortages, weak access to lifelong learning and the inclusion in education of marginalised groups, notably of Roma communities.
Thanks to the initiative, important partnerships between schools, employers and self-governing regions began to be built. These led to the development of joint integrated investment packages, responding to the needs of schools and employers. Small and medium-sized entrepreneurs cooperating with secondary VET schools were also supported. Purchase of technical machinery or software equipment in the total amount of almost EUR 10 million improved practical training directly at the employers' workplaces. 82 study programmes were innovated to adjust to regional needs, and more than 850 innovative outputs in the form of teaching materials were developed.
Within the ESF+ call related to the Catching-up regions initiative, two projects for 2024-27 were approved and launched: Modernisation of secondary education in the Banská Bystrica region, with a budget of about EUR 9.1 million in support of 11 VET schools, and Improvement of secondary vocational education in the Prešov self-governing region II, with a budget about EUR 6 million in support of 10 VET schools. These ESF projects are intended to complement and implement changes identified by the Catching-up regions project in these two regions. In the Kosice region, the project focused on priorities outside VET.
According to the Catching-up regions initiative 5 joint action plan, the 5th phase marks the phasing-out stage of the initiative. It supports the completion of previously approved and implemented activities, with no new activities planned. The main aim is to complete ongoing activities, share lessons learnt and disseminate results. This seven-year project will culminate at the final conference to be held in Bratislava Castle on 15 April 2025. World Bank experts will continue providing technical assistance and support to regional authorities. In all three regions, efforts will include the elaboration of the EU funding proposals for solutions enhancing physical inclusivity in schools (such as consultation rooms, and equipping school premises for collaborative small-group work) and strengthening the inclusion of marginalised Roma communities in education.
36 pilot VET schools will benefit or have been already supported with resources and infrastructure to give learners access to up-to-date technologies and equipment strengthening their practical skills. In the Prešov region, in total 15 schools benefitted from the initiative-related investment of about EUR 39 million for construction works and about EUR 10 million for material and technical equipment. In the Banská Bystrica region, in total 13 schools benefitted from the initiative-related investments. In the first period, it was about EUR 21 million for building and reconstruction and EUR 12 million for material and technical equipment for seven schools out of eight pilot schools. In 2024, investment in five new pilot schools and two earlier pilot schools is in progress.
Bodies responsible
- Prešov Self-Governing Region
- Banská Bystrica Self-Governing Region
- Košice Self-Governing Region
- Ministry of Education, Research, Development and Youth
- Ministry of Economy
- Ministry of Investments, Regional Development and Informatisation
- Ministry of Education, Science, Research and Sport (until 2024)
Target groups
Learners
- Learners in upper secondary, including apprentices
- Young people (15-29 years old)
- Learners at risk of early leaving or/and early leavers
- Learners from other groups at risk of exclusion (minorities, people with fewer opportunities due to geographical location or social-economic disadvantaged position)
Education professionals
- Teachers
- Trainers
- School leaders
- Guidance practitioners
Entities providing VET
- Companies
- Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)
- 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 to the integration of VET into economic, industrial, innovation, social and employment strategies, including those linked to recovery, green and digital transitions, and where VET is seen as a driver for innovation and growth. It includes national, regional, sectoral strategic documents or initiatives that make VET an integral part of broader policies, or applying a mix of policies to address an issue VET is part of, e.g. in addressing youth unemployment measures through VET, social and active labour market policies that are implemented in combination. National skill strategies aiming at quality and inclusive lifelong learning also fall into this sub-category.
This thematic sub-category refers to the ways VET is funded at the system level. Policies include optimisation of VET provider funding that allows them to adapt their offer to changing skill needs, green and digital transitions, the social agenda and economic cycles, e.g. increasing the funding for VET or for specific programmes. They can also concern changing the mechanism of how the funding is allocated to VET schools (per capita vs based on achievement or other criteria). Using EU funds and financial instruments for development of VET and skills also falls into this sub-category.
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.
This thematic sub-category refers to further development of national quality assurance (QA) systems for IVET and CVET, for all learning environments (school-based provision and work-based learning, including apprenticeships) and all learning types (digital, face-to-face or blended), delivered by both public and private providers. These systems are underpinned by the EQAVET quality criteria and by indicative descriptors applied both at system and provider levels, as defined in Annex II of the VET Recommendation. The sub-category concerns creating and improving external and self-evaluation of VET providers, and establishing criteria of QA, accreditation of providers and programmes. It also covers the activities of Quality assurance national reference points for VET on implementing and further developing the EQAVET framework, including the implementation of peer reviews at VET system level.
Modernising VET infrastructure
This thematic category looks at how VET schools and companies providing VET are supported to update and upgrade their physical infrastructure for teaching and learning, including digital and green technologies, so that learners in all VET programmes and specialities have access to state-of-the-art equipment and are able to acquire relevant and up-to-date vocational and technical skills and competences. Modernising infrastructure in remote and rural areas increases the inclusiveness of VET and LLL.
This thematic sub-category refers to measures for modernising physical infrastructure, equipment and technology needed to acquire vocational skills in VET schools and institutions that provide CVET or adult learning, including VET school workshops and labs.
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.
This thematic sub-category focuses on developing and updating all kinds of learning resources and materials, both for learners and for teachers and trainers (e.g. teachers handbooks or manuals), to embrace current and evolving content and modes of learning. These activities target all kinds of formats: hard copy and digital publications, learning websites and platforms, tools for learner self-assessment of progress, ICT-based simulators, virtual and augmented reality, etc.
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.
Teachers, trainers and school leaders competences
Competent and motivated VET teachers in schools and trainers in companies are crucial to VET becoming innovative and relevant, agile, resilient, flexible, inclusive and lifelong.
This thematic category comprises policies and practices of initial training and continuing professional development approaches in a systemic and systematic manner. It also looks at measures aiming to update (entry) requirements and make teaching and training careers attractive and bring more young and talented individuals and business professionals into teaching and training. Supporting VET educators by equipping them with adequate competences, skills and tools for the green transition and digital teaching and learning are addressed in separate thematic sub-categories.
The measures in this category target teachers and school leaders, company trainers and mentors, adult educators and guidance practitioners.
This thematic sub-category refers to all kinds of initial and continuing professional development (CPD) for VET educators who work in vocational schools and in companies providing VET. VET educators include teachers and school leaders, trainers and company managers involved in VET, as well as adult educators and guidance practitioners – those who work in school- and work-based settings. The thematic sub-category includes national strategies, training programmes or individual courses to address the learning needs of VET educators and to develop their vocational (technical) skills, and pedagogical (teaching) skills and competences. Such programmes concern state-of-the-art vocational pedagogy, innovative teaching methods, and competences needed to address evolving teaching environments, e.g. teaching in multicultural settings, working with learners at risk of early leaving, etc.
Supporting lifelong learning culture and increasing participation
Lifelong learning refers to all learning (formal, non-formal or informal) taking place at all stages in life and resulting in an improvement or update in knowledge, skills, competences and attitudes or in participation in society from a personal, civic, cultural, social or employment-related perspective (Erasmus+, Glossary of terms, https://erasmus-plus.ec.europa.eu/programme-guide/part-d/glossary-common-terms). A systemic approach to CVET is crucial to ensure adaptability to evolving demands.
This broad thematic category looks at ways of creating opportunities and ensuring access to re-skilling and upskilling pathways, allowing individuals to progress smoothly in their learning throughout their lives with better permeability between general and vocational education and training, and better integration and compatibility between initial and continuing VET and with higher education. Individuals should be supported in acquiring and updating their skills and competences and navigating easily through education and training systems. Strategies and campaigns that promote VET and LLL as an attractive and high-quality pathway, providing quality lifelong guidance and tailored support to design learning and career paths, and various incentives (financial and non-financial) to attract and support participation in VET and LLL fall into this thematic category as well.
This thematic category also includes many initiatives on making VET inclusive and ensuring equal education and training opportunities for various groups of learners, regardless of their personal and economic background and place of residence – especially those at risk of disadvantage or exclusion, such as persons with disabilities, the low-skilled and low-qualified, minorities, migrants, refugees and others.
This thematic sub-category refers to all kinds of incentives that encourage learners to take part in VET and lifelong learning; VET providers to improve, broaden and update their offer; companies to provide places for apprenticeship and work-based learning, and to stimulate and support learning of their employees. It also includes measures addressing specific challenges of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) willing to create work-based learning opportunities in different sectors. Incentives can be financial (e.g. grants, allowances, tax incentives, levy/grant mechanisms, vouchers, training credits, individual learning accounts) and non-financial (e.g. information/advice on funding opportunities, technical support, mentoring).
This thematic sub-category refers to making VET pathways and programmes inclusive and accessible for all. It concerns measures and targeted actions to increase access and participation in VET and lifelong learning for learners from all vulnerable groups, and to support their school/training-to-work transitions. It includes measures to prevent early leaving from education and training. The thematic sub-category covers measures promoting gender balance in traditionally ‘male’ and ‘female’ professions and addressing gender-related and other stereotypes. The vulnerable groups are, but not limited to: persons with disabilities; the low-qualified/-skilled; minorities; persons of migrant background, including refugees; people with fewer opportunities due to their geographical location and/or their socioeconomically disadvantaged circumstances.
Subsystem
Further reading
Country
Type of development
Cedefop, & ReferNet. (2025). Catching-up regions initiative: Slovakia. 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/38910