Romania

Introduction to the VET System in Romania

The Romanian Government has established five priorities concerning its Vocational Educational and Training system, including to: build a comprehensive legal and institutional framework for vocational education and training; decentralize the management of the system; increase financial resources through a participatory financing system; develop an information system and mechanisms for optimizing the demand and supply for vocational training at national, regional and local level; and base the training system on vocational standards as benchmarks for quality.

Traditionally, VET administration has been centralized in Romania. The major actors in the administration of the system include essentially two Ministries: Ministry of Education, Research and Youth (MERY) and the Ministry of Labour, Family and Equal Opportunities (MLFEO) . Other organizations involved in the VET system include the National Council for Academic Assessment and Accreditation, National Centre for Training of Pre-university Education Staff (NCPTT) , National Centre for Technical and Vocational Education and Training Development and National Adult Training Board.

Regional intervention is made predominately by the County School Inspectorates and County Directorates for Work, Social Solidarity and Family .Continuing training activities are organized within County Training, Re-training and Further Training Centers, Schools or other Training Units .

The Romanian vocational education and training system comprises pre-primary, compulsory school, post-compulsory general and vocational secondary education and tertiary education.

Pre-primary education is part of the education system and its main objectives are the socialization and the mental, emotional, cognitive and intellectual development of children in the 3 to 6 year old age group.

Compulsory school includes primary and lower secondary education up to 11 years. Lower secondary education provides general education and covers the last four years of compulsory education (Gimnaziu): the 11 to 15 year old age group.

The national legislative framework governing post-compulsory general and vocational secondary education is set out according to the Education Act No. 84/1995, modified by the Law No. 151/1999 and the Law 268/2003, the Regulations on High School Education and the Regulations on Vocational Education. It covers general and sectoral high schools (Liceu) and also vocational schools (Şcoală profesională).

Concerning general and specialized high schools, there are three types of high schools: general, vocational and technological. All types give access to higher education and most of them also offer a qualification and therefore the opportunity to obtain a job after graduation. High school education covers the 15 to 19(20) year-old age group. Alternatively, vocational school courses lead to employment after 2 or 4 years study, depending on the sector. The vocational training structure and network are established and organized by the Ministry of Education and Research after consulting the institutions concerned.

Tertiary education is provided in education and research institutions – universities, institutes, academies, conservatories and university colleges (which are distinct from actual universities). It is organized as short-term courses (2 to 3 years), provided in university colleges and long-term courses (4 to 6 years) provided in higher education institutions – universities, academies, conservatories.

IVET

Initial vocational training represents a form of training realized through a kind of technical and vocational education as part of the formal education system in view of achieving a qualification before entering employment.

In June 2003, a new act (268/2003) was adopted by the Parliament that supplemented the Education Act 84/1995. It extended the compulsory education to 10 years, changed the age corresponding to the start of compulsory education to 6 years, proposed new forms of vocational education and initial training and facilitated the transition to higher education levels and lifelong learning. The extension of compulsory education to 10 years, has determined major changes in the IVET which include modifications in terms of structure, curriculum, finalizing conditions of various school tracks, development of the social partnership etc.

As part of the pre-university education, the technical and vocational education is now organized on three education levels: lower secondary education (two study years leading to ISCED 2, part of the compulsory education), upper secondary education (ISCED 3) and post-high school education (ISCED 4).

Within the lower and upper secondary education, the technical and vocational education is organized in two education routes: the high school technologic route, consisting of the lower cycle (2 study years) and the upper cycle (2 study years) of high school and the progressive professionalizing route, consisting of the trades and arts school (2 study years), the completion year (1 study year) and the upper cycle of high school (2 study years). Arts and Trades Schools (SAM) is the name of the new education level included in the compulsory education, which replaces the apprenticeship school and the vocational school for which schooling was organized until 2002-2003.

From the point of view of the qualification levels adopted in Romania according to the European Council Decision 85-368-EEC, the pre-university technical and vocational education assures the first 3 qualification levels, as follows: qualification level I through the arts and trades school, qualification level II through the completion year and qualification level III through the upper high school cycle – technologic route and through post-high school education.

CVET

The principles for lifelong learning have been included as priorities in policy documents related to education, continuous training and employment, such as the National Development Plan 2007-2013 or the Sectoral Operational Program for the Development of Human Resources (SOPDHR). Additionally, some lifelong learning objectives are explicitly present in sectoral strategic documents, such as The National Employment Strategy 2004-2010 (MLFEO, 2004), the Short and Medium-Term Strategy of Continuous Vocational Training 2005-2010 (MLFEO, MERY and NATB, 2005, The Tripartite Agreement on Development of a National Qualification Framework (signed in 2005 by the Romanian Government representatives, employers and trade union confederations representatives at national level) and The Ministry of Education and Research Strategic Guidelines for 2006-2008 (MER, 2005).

Other initiatives have been introduced to establish specialized institutes or departments dealing with lifelong learning issues, including the validation of informal and non-formal learning.

Quality Assurance

Subsequent to the decision on extending the duration of compulsory education to 10 years, a series of legislative acts were adopted and t the same time, the Law on Quality Assurance in Education was developed stipulating the performance standards, norms, and indicators relating to the quality of the national system of education, to the quality of the providers’ services, and to the quality of the training and education process.

Some of the major entities involved in the Quality Assurance (QA) of the VET system include the following:

The Ministry of Education, Research and Youth (MERY) has the overall responsibility for vocational education and training within the formal education system and develops strategies and policies, prepares legislation and manages public education. It also approves curricula, national assessment standards and the school network. Additionally, the regional representatives of the Ministry, the County School Inspectorates ensure the implementation of and compliance with the policies and decisions of the MERY. The structure of the County School Inspectorates is established through Ministerial Order (considering the importance of quality assurance in education, each County School Inspectorate appoints an inspector responsible for quality assurance in education at county level). Each County School Inspectorate evaluates annually the education system at the county level and, based on this evaluation and the national educational policy, establishes the management plan for the next school year – detailing objectives, activities, resources and responsibilities.
The Ministry of Labour, Family and Equal Opportunities (MLFEO) and its regional branches, the County Labour and Social Protection Directorates, are responsible for the retraining and further training of the labour force. The Romanian National Observatory for Employment and Training (NOET) functions within the Department for Labour Force Programs and Strategies, having a central role in the monitoring and evaluation of the impact of training programs and strategies on the employment. The Observatory is also an important source of information with regard to the efficiency of measures designed to encourage adult participation in lifelong learning, and measures targeted at specific groups (including the elderly). The National Agency for Employment (NAE) implements the policies and strategies regarding employment and vocational training of jobseekers, and coordinates, guides and controls the activities of the subordinated county agencies, whose roles are regulated by law. From April 2007, the Labor Migration Office functions under the coordination of NAE.
The National Centre for Technical and Vocational Education and Training Development (NCTVETD) plays a major role in QA and developed the National Quality Assurance Framework (NQAF) for TVET in Romania, based on the Common Quality Assurance Framework (CQAF), and two main instruments for quality assurance at provider level: the Self - assessment Manual, based on the European Guide on Self-assessment for VET providers and the Inspection Manual for external monitoring of TVET providers. NCTVETD is the main initiator of the proposal of generalizing the manuals at national level, for all TVET providers and is the initiator of the National Reference Point (NRP), structured as an inter-institutional coordination structure whose role is to apply national and European QA strategies and measures in VET. Some of the activities performed by NCTVETD include contribution to the development of policies and strategies on education and training, assessing the curriculum and qualifications for vocational and technical education, ensuring and improving quality in higher professional and technical and planning offers training in technical and vocational education.
Other important entities in Quality Assurance are the Romanian Agency for Quality Assurance in Secondary Education (ARACIP) and the Romanian Agency for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ARACIS). Law 87/2006 stipulates the foundation of these two National Agencies for QA, one for pre-university education and one for higher education, whose tasks include the development of QA methodologies and the implementation of external audits.
ARACIP is also important in quality assurance. It is a public institution of national interest, belonging to the Ministry of Education and Research, whose mission involves external evaluation of the quality of education offered by university education and other organizations providing education and approval, accreditation and evaluation units of pre-university education through inspection and developing standards, reference standards and performance indicators, evaluation methodologies as well as an institutional accreditation manual for the assessment of the good practice in quality.
• ARACIS is another body involved in VET quality assurance in Romania. It has the tasks of developing the methodology and the periodic accreditation standards for different types of programs and providers of higher education that advise the MERY; and evaluating the standards and proposing the authorization and accreditation of higher education providers and their programs of study. Based on its accreditation reports, MERY develops regulations for the establishment of structures of higher education. Regarding some of the its most important QA responsibilities, ARACIS has to formulate and review periodically, based on best practices, national reference standards and performance indicators for evaluation and quality assurance in higher education; collaborate with MERY in developing and promoting policies and strategies for action to increase the quality of education in Romania; organize annual consultations with higher education institutions to set priorities of quality assurance and develop and make public its procedures for external evaluation of the quality of education.
The National Adult Training Board (NATB) is another entity involved in QA. Established as a tripartite body, with a consultative role in the field of adult vocational training, the NATB has become responsible for the quality assurance of CVT through the endorsement of occupational standards and through the accreditation of the training providers and of the competences assessment centers. From 2004, NATB has played the role of National Authority for Qualifications (NAQ), its mains responsibilities being the development and implementation of methodological framework for the qualification development, the setting up and upgrading of the National Register of Qualifications and the coordination of the sectoral committees (develop, validate and update the qualifications for which it benefits from the full participation of social partners and of the other actors involved). Based on the National Tripartite Agreement (signed by the Government, Trade Unions and Employers’ Organizations), 23 sectoral committees have been set up through sector agreements, covering all the activity sectors. The NAQ endorses the draft legislation on training for adults, collaborates with autonomous administrative authorities, with national NGOs and international suppliers of training and other public institutions to fulfill the Ministry’s objectives; participates in national and international adult training projects and programs and in developing the methodology for approval of adult training providers. It also participates in developing the adult training certification methodology monitors training providers, draws up and updates the national register of adult training providers; and develops specific criteria and procedures for uniform implementation and use of occupational standards. Finally, it also develops the professional skills assessment and certification methodology for informal learning.

EQARF Indicators

The following PDF attachment summarises evidence identified that relates any indicators used at national level to the ten indicators proposed in the EQARF recommendation: EQARF Indicators Romania