- 2015Implementation
- 2016Implementation
- 2017Implementation
- 2018Completed
Description
Based on the 2015-20 strategic plan for technical and vocational education and training, a proposal for upgrading the apprenticeship system, in cooperation with the apprenticeship board, was approved in August 2015. The reform affects both the preparatory and core programmes;
- at preparatory apprenticeship level: to respond to the needs of students from different academic backgrounds, two different classes (A and B) are offered. Assessment criteria have been developed for students wishing to attend this programme. For example, students who have been examined by a psychiatrist or a psychologist, and who need special psychiatric or psychological treatment, are not accepted to enrol if they have not completed their treatment successfully. Also, students who are drug users or traffickers cannot be accepted. Other criteria include serious conduct and behavioural problems, serious kinetic/disability problems and intellectual disability. Learners below the age of 15 have the option to return to the first cycle of lower secondary education;
- at core apprenticeship level: improving the cooperation between apprenticeship system programmes and industry, through meetings with representatives of employers' organisations, is a continuous process. Apprenticeship programmes have been linked with the formal education programmes offered by the evening schools of technical and vocational education (second chance schools). Graduates of the...
Based on the 2015-20 strategic plan for technical and vocational education and training, a proposal for upgrading the apprenticeship system, in cooperation with the apprenticeship board, was approved in August 2015. The reform affects both the preparatory and core programmes;
- at preparatory apprenticeship level: to respond to the needs of students from different academic backgrounds, two different classes (A and B) are offered. Assessment criteria have been developed for students wishing to attend this programme. For example, students who have been examined by a psychiatrist or a psychologist, and who need special psychiatric or psychological treatment, are not accepted to enrol if they have not completed their treatment successfully. Also, students who are drug users or traffickers cannot be accepted. Other criteria include serious conduct and behavioural problems, serious kinetic/disability problems and intellectual disability. Learners below the age of 15 have the option to return to the first cycle of lower secondary education;
- at core apprenticeship level: improving the cooperation between apprenticeship system programmes and industry, through meetings with representatives of employers' organisations, is a continuous process. Apprenticeship programmes have been linked with the formal education programmes offered by the evening schools of technical and vocational education (second chance schools). Graduates of the apprenticeship scheme are entitled to attend the upper secondary programme offered at these evening schools with part of their acquired education and training being recognised (they can complete upper secondary education in one or two years instead of three).
The flexibility of the apprenticeship system is gradually being increased through the development of new specialisations, such as graphic design, cooking - preparation of food - and retail sales. About 40 new specialisations are envisaged, which will be offered alternately based on apprentice demand, labour market needs and the readiness of organised employers to cooperate with the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sport and Youth by offering industrial placements to apprentices. Several are already offered in fields in high demand in the labour market.
The decision of August 2015 on the upgrading of the apprenticeship system included measures to provide suitable training for apprenticeship in-company trainers. A training programme was developed for preparatory apprenticeship in-company trainers to assist them in addressing the needs of apprentices. It also covered the continuing training of VET school teachers and counsellors.
The decision also included measures for improving cooperation with industry and providing suitable continuing professional development (CPD) training to all in-company trainers, teachers and counsellors involved in apprenticeships. The training programme that was developed for preparatory apprenticeship staff to assist them in addressing the needs of apprentices also covered the continuing training of in-company trainers.
In April 2017 the Cypriot government started a joint project with Cedefop. The objective was to carry out a comprehensive analysis of the national apprenticeship system. Interviews were conducted with apprentices and the companies involved and exchange forums were held. This joint project intended to help national stakeholders plan further development of the national apprenticeship system.
The project with Cedefop ended in October 2018. The areas identified for reform included:
- the updating of the legislation;
- expanding the role of the apprenticeship board;
- introducing more structure into the system through, for example, the development of clear guidelines and handbooks, improving the quality of training delivered in the workplace, and making apprenticeship more attractive to employers.
Bodies responsible
- Ministry of Education, Culture, Sport and Youth (MoECSY) (until 2022)
- Ministry of Education and Culture (MoEC) (until 2019)
Target groups
Learners
- Young people not in employment, education or training (NEETs)
- Learners at risk of early leaving or/and early leavers
- Low-skilled/qualified persons
Education professionals
- Teachers
- Trainers
- Guidance practitioners
Entities providing VET
- Companies
- Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)
Other stakeholders
- Social partners (employer organisations and trade unions)
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 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.
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.
VET standards and curricula define the content and outcomes of learning, most often at national or sectoral levels. VET programmes are based on standards and curricula and refer to specific vocations/occupations. They all need to be regularly reviewed, updated and aligned with the needs of the labour market and society. They need to include a balanced mix of vocational and technical skills corresponding to economic cycles, evolving jobs and working methods, and key competences, providing for resilience, lifelong learning, employability, social inclusion, active citizenship, sustainable awareness and personal development (Council of the European Union, 2020). The thematic sub-category also refers to establishing new VET programmes, reducing their number or discontinuing some. It also includes design of CVET programmes and training courses to adapt to labour market, sectoral or individual up- and re-skilling needs.
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.
Subsystem
Further reading
Country
Type of development
Cedefop, & ReferNet. (2025). Developing the apprenticeship system: Cyprus. 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/28072