Croatia: CVET benefits from adult education quality assurance system

In Croatia, adult education is focused on professional development, reskilling and upskilling, therefore also on CVET. However, learners who graduated from the same education programme in different education institutions, often have different knowledge and skills. Changes were necessary in order to harmonise the system.

Main developments towards an adult education quality assurance system

The new Law on Adult Education provides guidelines for the development of a comprehensive quality assurance system. The system includes accreditation and re-accreditation of education programmes, external evaluation of the learning outcomes, self-evaluation of education providers (including CVET), inspection, professional supervision and monitoring of the work of education institutions. The law also harmonises the duration of CVET programmes and adjusts the acquisition of competencies through a new scoring system.

The work on a quality assurance system for adult education started in 2020. So far, a comprehensive model of quality assurance for adult education has been proposed and manuals for self-assessment and external evaluation of adult education, including CVET providers, have been developed. In 2021, 25 education institutions piloted self-assessment and external evaluation procedures.

It is planned to conduct self-assessment and external evaluation for CVET providers from April 2022. An external evaluation committee is being set up and support for education institutions will be provided.

Role of the Agency for Vocational Education and Training and Adult Education

The agency, within the ESF project ‘Development of quality system in adult education’, is implementing some measures to develop a quality assurance system.  

By the end of February 2022, the agency completed visits to adult education providers, including CVET, involved in the project. Once an expert committee for external evaluation of adult education institutions is established, training of external experts will begin. In addition, three symposiums will be held for adult education, CVET, reskilling and upskilling stakeholders. E-tools for self-assessment of adult education institutions, including CVET, will also be developed in 2022.

On completion of the self-assessment and external evaluation, adult education institutions will receive facts-based insight into their strengths and weaknesses. Once the evaluation results become available, the agency will be able to plan for each institution measures for the improvement of the quality of adult education, including CVET.

All these measures contribute to the development of the adult education quality assurance system.

Read more about the adult education quality assurance system in Croatia