A new programme aims to ease transition from upper secondary to higher education vocational studies, advance VET quality, ensure a smooth transition to higher education for learners with outstanding achievements, and raise awareness of the importance of career planning.

The new certified technician programme foreseen by the new VET Act, which entered into force in 2020 was jointly designed by IVET schools and higher education institutions and is being piloted in 27 VET institutions from 2021/22. Participating institutions are well-qualified, high-performing and prestigious upper secondary Technicum schools from all over the country, selected based on a set of objective criteria (average school GPA (grade point average) indicator, enrolments rates and number of learners who continue their studies in higher education). The primary goal of the programme is to harmonise upper secondary and higher education contents (and dual training practices) for validation purposes and ensure a direct path to higher education.

Programme delivery

A cooperation agreement, signed between a Technicum school and a higher education institution, defines the areas of cooperation, the obligations and rights of the parties; it details a joint training programme that specifies the harmonised and transferable knowledge content which can be validated/credited in ECTS points when enrolling in higher education (thus shortening the programme duration).

Learners apply during the upper secondary admission procedure (grade 9), in various economic sectors (such as IT, electronics, construction) available in the pilot phase. An advantageous score calculation method is assured (detailed in the cooperation agreement) for certified technician programme candidates during the admission process for entry into higher education. The programme is expected to ease transition from IVET to higher education and contribute to reducing the number of dropouts from higher education, which is currently very high in some disciplines (more than 50%).

Results from early testing in 2020/21

The programme was initially tested at the Boronkay György Technicum (Boronkay György Műszaki Technikum és Gimnázium) affiliated to the VET Centre of Vác town. During the experimental year, in the electrotechnical technician training programme, after the harmonisation process, more than 20 ECTS credits were identified to be transferable, and extracurricular (higher level) content was built in the programme curricula. A corporate actor, who provided dual training for both upper secondary and higher education students, was also involved in this collaboration. The VET school is currently also participating in the pilots.

Aims and expectations

The primary target group of the certified technical programme are VET learners who knowingly choose a profession which requires a university degree, and who are determined to invest energy and time into their future to achieve a prosperous career path. This initiative aims to increases the prestige and attractiveness of VET. According to the enrolment data in 2021/22, every available place has been filled and the pilot sparked great interest. Building on the results from the pilots, programmes are expected to be made available in more VET and HE institutions and sectors in the future.

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Jövő tanévtől indul az okleveles technikusképzés [launching of the Certified technician programme testing from 2021/22] 

TÁJÉKOZTATÓ AZ OKLEVELES TECHNIKUSKÉPZÉSRŐL [fact sheet of the certified technical programme activities]