- 2015Pilot
- 2016Approved/Agreed
- 2017Implementation
- 2018Implementation
- 2019Implementation
- 2020Implementation
- 2021Implementation
- 2022Implementation
- 2023Implementation
- 2024Implementation
Background
The availability of modular programmes has become crucial, primarily because of the need to update VET content. The country's overall portfolio of VET offerings was relatively old, with many programmes developed around 2000 and in use for more than 10 years. The situation no longer sufficed to meet the needs of employers and students were not satisfied with the quality of teaching: the available training content only partially meeting the needs of the labour market and requirements of specific jobs. In addition, employers blamed the existing education system for a lack of high-quality training of specialists and problems for new employees in adapting to the workplace. Since 2013, priority has therefore been given to the design of modular VET programmes, with a target for all such schemes to have this format by December 2020.
Objectives
A systematic review of VET programmes and a transition to modular training, alongside the setting of new qualifications standards, have been viewed as essential steps to modernising the training of professionals to make the system as flexible and up-to-date as possible, while also abandoning obsolete and unprofitable programmes. The reorganisation of this area is aimed at enabling people more quickly to acquire attractive qualifications in the labour market and employers to obtain the employees they need.
Description
In spring 2015, the Ministry of Education, Science and Sport decided that formal IVET and CVET programmes would consist of mandatory (85%) and elective (15%) modules grouped into introductory, professional and final categories. These would be competence-based and in line with sectoral qualifications standards, while a credit system would be introduced, with one academic year corresponding to 60 credits. More than 60 modular programmes were finalised by 2016, prepared by expert groups consisting of VET providers and social partners, mostly with European Social Fund (ESF) support. The piloting of such programmes started in 2015 and was extended in 2016 to 38 modular programmes in about half of VET institutions.
Since September 2017, modular programmes have replaced the majority of corresponding subject-based VET programmes. By the end of 2017, 76 modular programmes were registered, 61 of which were implemented in the 2017-18 academic year, involving 27% of all VET learners (compared with 11% in 2016-17). The VET Law (2017), which stipulated that all VET programmes must be exclusively modular from the beginning of 2019, created a special impetus for the replacement of coherent subject programmes with modular ones. A crucial facet of the new law was that it introduced a clear concept of continuing education, stating that such training and corresponding programmes were intended for people seeking a second vocational qualification or improving an existing one. Therefore, CVET programmes may not have included introductory and final modules that students had already taken when learning for the first time. The aim was also to make CVET programmes more intensive and shorter, creating opportunities for second-time learners to acquire the necessary qualifications in the most efficient way and find a new job or return to their former position as quickly as possible.
To ensure uniform understanding of the structure and duration of programmes throughout the system, the Ministry of Education, Science and Sport prepared and approved a new description of the procedure for preparation and registration of VET programmes in 2018, after which it was revised and updated in mid-2019. This description finalised the provision that the duration of VET programmes would be defined by teaching credits, with one credit equivalent to 27 academic hours. In the implementation of a formal VET programme under IVET, 22 academic hours of one learning credit would be allocated for contact work, guidance and assessment of student learning achievements, and five academic hours for self-directed learning unsupervised by a teacher. For a programme under IVET training involving people with special educational needs who have studied in line with special education programmes, 27 academic hours, worth one credit, were allocated for contact work, counselling and assessment of student learning achievements. For formal VET programmes under CVET and non-formal VET programmes, 18 academic hours of one learning credit were allocated for contact work, counselling and assessment of student learning achievements, and nine academic hours for self-study unsupervised by a teacher.
At the start of 2019, 247 modular programmes were registered. The Qualifications and VET Development Centre (KPMPC) coordinates the modularisation process, while agreement from sectoral professional committees is needed prior to the development of any new programme or module.
In 2020, 104 modular programmes for 42 qualifications were registered.
In 2021, 30 modular programmes for qualifications were registered.
In 2022, the final transition to modular VET programmes was completed. From this year onwards, all formal VET programmes are based on learning outcomes, with each module specifying the criteria for their assessment. Learning outcomes are formulated separately for each competence, considering the competence boundaries outlined in the qualification descriptor. This ensures a clear link between the learning outcomes of VET programmes and their modules and the qualifications, qualification units, and competences described in the relevant sectoral qualification standards.
Each module in a VET programme consists of theoretical learning (30% of total learning time) and practical learning (70%). Additionally, in 2022, 14 new modular programmes for qualifications were registered, and the list of licensed training programmes was revised.
In 2023, preparatory activities were carried out to develop new and update existing modular VET programmes. A study conducted by a group of experts identified key economic sectors most affected by the digital and green transition and proposed a list of VET programmes to be developed or updated in response to these changes.
As part of this effort, the project ,Updating and/or Development of Formal Vocational Training Programmes, was launched in 2023 to promote digital and green transformation and modernise vocational training content in line with labour market needs. The project aims to develop or update 95 VET programmes, ensuring they align with the twin transition. It is coordinated by the European Social Fund Agency, with the Qualifications and Vocational Education and Training Development Centre (KPMPC) as a partner.
The project runs from 15 September 2023 to 30 April 2026 and is funded through the ,Next Generation Lithuania, plan under the Recovery and Resilience Facility.
33 modular VET programmes essential for the green and digital transition have been renewed, developed, and registered in the Register of Study, Training Programmes, and Qualifications.
Bodies responsible
- Ministry of Education, Science and Sport
- Qualifications and VET Development Centre (KPMPC)
Target groups
Learners
- Learners in upper secondary, including apprentices
- Young people (15-29 years old)
- Adult learners
- Low-skilled/qualified persons
Thematic categories
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.
The learning-outcomes-based approaches focus on what a learner is expected to know, to be able to do and understand at the end of a learning process (Cedefop, 2016). Learning outcomes can be defined at the system level as in national qualification frameworks (NQFs), most of which are currently based on learning outcomes. Learning outcomes can be defined in qualification standards, curricula, learning programmes and assessment, although the last one is still uncommon. This thematic sub-category refers to the use of learning outcomes in these contexts and to development and use of modules or units of learning outcomes in VET curricula and programmes.
Transparency and portability of VET skills and qualifications
European principles and tools, such as EQF, ESCO, ECTS, Europass and ECVET, provide a strong basis for transparency and portability of national and sectoral qualifications across Europe, including the issuing of digital diplomas and certificates.
This thematic category looks at how individuals are supported in transferring, accumulating, and validating skills and competences acquired in formal, non-formal and informal settings – including learning on the job – and in having their learning recognised towards a qualification at any point of their lives. This is only possible if qualifications are transparent and comparable and are part of comprehensive national qualifications frameworks. Availability of qualifications smaller than full and acquirable in shorter periods of time is necessary; some countries have recently worked on developing partial qualifications, microcredentials, etc.
This thematic sub-category refers to the development and implementation of qualifications that are smaller than full qualifications (alternative credentials) or are acquired in a shorter learning experience. It includes microcredentials, partial qualifications, units of learning outcomes (ECVET principle), digital badges, etc. These are owned by learners and can be combined or not to get a full qualification.
European priorities in VET
VET Recommendation
- VET agile in adapting to labour market challenges
- Flexibility and progression opportunities at the core of VET
- VET as an attractive choice based on modern and digitalised provision of training and skills
Osnabrück Declaration
- Establishing a new lifelong learning culture - relevance of continuing VET and digitalisation
Subsystem
Further reading
Country
Type of development
Cedefop, & ReferNet. (2025). Modularisation of VET curricula: 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/28334