- 2022Implementation
- 2023Implementation
- 2024Implementation
Background
Internal quality assurance (QA) systems help vocational education and training (VET) providers to improve performance quality, their resilience, competitiveness and inclusiveness of students. National legislation (Vocational Education Act) prescribes that internal QA systems of VET providers need to be in line with total quality management (TQM) principles and with common European framework for QA in VET (EQAVET framework). The EQAVET improves trust amongst the Member States.
Objectives
The Institute of the Republic of Slovenia for Vocational Education and Training (CPI), aims at supporting VET providers in QA and quality development, in further development of systematic QA process in line with EQAVET framework's QA cycle plan-do-check-act (PDCA cycle), and in integrating EQAVET/national indicators into their internal QA systems.
For QA at VET system level, CPI aims at:
- engaging in EU level peer reviews of QA to increase the transparency and consistency of QA arrangements, and to reinforce trust between the Member States;
- providing an updated description of the national QA arrangements based on the EQAVET Framework.
Description
In 2017, the Council of Experts at the Ministry for Education, Science and Sport, in line with legislative authorisation, defined 11 national indicators. The package of national indicators contains all 10 EQAVET indicators and comprises: relevance of QA systems for VET providers, investment in training of teachers and in-company trainers, participation rate in VET programmes, completion rate in VET programmes, placement rate in VET programmes, utilisation of acquired skills in the workplace, unemployment rate, participation of vulnerable groups, mechanisms for identifying educational needs in the labour market, schemes used to promote better access to VET and support to local industrial and economic development. National indicators are used for monitoring at VET provider and at VET system level. CPI, the National reference point for EQAVET, supports VET providers in integrating national/EQAVET indicators into their internal QA systems.
From 2017 to 2021, CPI took part in an international activity for updating quality areas and criteria for peer review of VET providers. A manual, European peer review quality areas and criteria for VET, was published. At the development stage, quality areas and criteria were piloted with VET providers in all participating countries through transnational peer review. The activity was implemented through the Erasmus+ project, European quality assurance in vocational education and training...
In 2017, the Council of Experts at the Ministry for Education, Science and Sport, in line with legislative authorisation, defined 11 national indicators. The package of national indicators contains all 10 EQAVET indicators and comprises: relevance of QA systems for VET providers, investment in training of teachers and in-company trainers, participation rate in VET programmes, completion rate in VET programmes, placement rate in VET programmes, utilisation of acquired skills in the workplace, unemployment rate, participation of vulnerable groups, mechanisms for identifying educational needs in the labour market, schemes used to promote better access to VET and support to local industrial and economic development. National indicators are used for monitoring at VET provider and at VET system level. CPI, the National reference point for EQAVET, supports VET providers in integrating national/EQAVET indicators into their internal QA systems.
From 2017 to 2021, CPI took part in an international activity for updating quality areas and criteria for peer review of VET providers. A manual, European peer review quality areas and criteria for VET, was published. At the development stage, quality areas and criteria were piloted with VET providers in all participating countries through transnational peer review. The activity was implemented through the Erasmus+ project, European quality assurance in vocational education and training national reference points (EQAVET NRPs) (2019-21), in partnership with EQAVET NRPs in Estonia, Croatia and Finland, following earlier implementation in, Croatia, Austria, Slovenia and Finland from 2017-19.
In 2022, representatives of the Slovenian VET system met EQAVET system peers in peer reviews in two EU countries: The national model of quality assurance in initial vocational education and training, in Croatia, and the new system for validation of results of non-formal education and informal learning and its quality assurance processes, in Slovakia.
An updated description of the national quality assurance arrangements based on the EQAVET Framework was prepared by CPI as a result of discussions in working groups, structured by different stakeholders (CPI, Ministry of Education, Science and Sport and National Examination Centre).
In 2022, different forms of support were offered to VET providers to establish/ upgrade their internal QA systems in line with the TQM principles and EQAVET framework, to improve the process of QA and quality development, to integrate national/EQAVET indicators into their internal QA systems and to complement self-evaluation as main approach in QA with external evaluation in a form of peer review.
In the same year, further support initiatives were carried out. For example, eight training activities and one national conference for VET providers (VET schools and folk universities/ adult education learning centres). Peer review for one VET provider with a transnational team of peers, using European quality areas and criteria for VET providers. Representatives of five national VET providers attended transnational training to become peers and participated as peers later as members of transnational teams: a peer review on one national VET provider and three VET providers in other EU countries, Estonia, Croatia and Finland.
In the period between 2021 and 2023 CPI representatives participated as peers in five EQAVET system peer reviews. In June 2023, Slovenia conducted a system peer review on the national support system for VET schools in their internal QA.
In 2023 CPI contributed to the preparation of the proposal for the National Education Programme 2023-2033. The proposal aims to reform the education system, elevate quality assurance on the political agenda and enhance the national quality assurance framework.
In 2023, CPI, together with the Ministry of Education and two other public institutes, organised ,Networking for Quality, for VET schools.
In 2024, CPI continued this initiative, further strengthening collaboration and support for QA in VET. The initiative aims to assist VET schools in exchanging experiences related to QA, particularly in self-evaluation, and in establishing and further developing their internal QA systems.
The ,Networking for Quality, initiative is overseen by a national-level working group comprising representatives from the Ministry, CPI, the National Examination Centre, and the School for Leadership at the National Education Centre. In addition to this initiative, VET schools can benefit from individual counselling and tailor-made training to further enhance their internal QA systems. CPI, in collaboration with external experts, provides customised support to meet schools' specific needs.
Furthermore, in 2024, CPI prepared the ,Quality Report on VET, focusing on EQAVET National Indicator 2: Investment in Teachers and Trainers in VET.
Bodies responsible
- Ministry of Education
- Institute of the Republic of Slovenia for Vocational Education and Training (CPI)
Target groups
Entities providing VET
- VET providers (all kinds)
Other
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 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.
European priorities in VET
VET Recommendation
- VET underpinned by a culture of quality assurance
Subsystem
Further reading
Country
Type of development
Cedefop, & ReferNet. (2025). Improving quality assurance in VET in line with the EQAVET framework: Slovenia. 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/45142