- 2022Implementation
- 2023Implementation
- 2024Implementation
Background
Cooperation between education institutions and employers in Lithuania is often ad hoc. The challenge for the country is to increase and provide incentives to boost cooperation between education institutions and employers, helping vocational education and training (VET) graduates acquire the right skills to meet current and future labour market needs (OECD, 2020). 2018 amendments to the Law on VET, which provide for greater involvement of employers in the management of vocational education and training institutions, have not yet produced the desired result, despite the creation of systemic preconditions for employers to participate in the stakeholder and sectoral professional committees, and to engage in the admission planning process. Convincing employers to become more actively involved in the social partner role is important in improving the quality and continuity of cooperation.
Objectives
The purpose of the National platform for progress in VET is to encourage dialogue between various interested parties in order to advance the vocational education system. The platform functions as a consulting group of experts providing suggestions for issues related to VET system development: identify the need for updating /developing VET curricula, which will allow a greater number of stakeholders to be directly involved in the quality of VET processes.
Description
The National platform for the progress in VET, as a team of experts, is established as a response to the European Commission's encouragement to its member states to strengthen vocational training and adapt more flexibly to the needs of the labour market. The European Commission emphasises the necessary fundamental changes in the area of skills development, as a means for recovery from the social and economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The platform focuses on the further development of vocational training and strengthening of vocational training institutions. It provides proposals for vocational training programmes, training and improved qualification of vocational teachers, assessment of competences, and popularisation of apprenticeships. It initiates joint activities among business, industry, the education community and government authorities in vocational training.
The platform expert group represents vocational training institutions, trade unions, business associations, employers and ministries, for closer cooperation between business, industry, education community and authorities in order to reach solutions for the effective operation of the vocational training system.
The National platform for progress in VET expert group was established by the order of the Minister for education, science and sport No 442 of 24 March 2022. The Regulation of the working group was approved by the protocol of the first meeting of the platform on 5 April 2022.
Throughout 2023, the National platform for progress in VET was actively involved in shaping decisions on the modernisation of the VET curriculum in response to the Green and Digital transition in VET. Comprising 32 experts representing VET institutions, trade unions, business associations, employers, and ministries from various economic sectors, the platform engaged in discussions to align VET programmes with evolving labour market needs. During an online meeting in December 2023, members reviewed and approved a proposed list of new or updated VET programmes, ensuring that training aligns with future skills demands.
In June 2024, the National Platform for Progress in VET convened for an online meeting to discuss findings from a longitudinal study examining the correlation between students' academic achievements in general education and their decision to pursue VET.
Members emphasised the urgent need to enhance the attractiveness of VET to encourage high-achieving students to consider VET pathways. Discussions also focused on improving flexible access to higher education for VET graduates.
Members of the National Platform discussed how recommendations from the study could be implemented into practice.
Bodies responsible
- Ministry of Education, Science and Sport
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.
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).
European priorities in VET
VET Recommendation
- VET agile in adapting to labour market challenges
- VET as an attractive choice based on modern and digitalised provision of training and skills
Osnabrück Declaration
- Resilience and excellence through quality, inclusive and flexible VET
- Establishing a new lifelong learning culture - relevance of continuing VET and digitalisation
Subsystem
Further reading
Country
Type of development
Cedefop, & ReferNet. (2025). The National platform for progress in VET: Lithuania. 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/43482