List of Qualifications as an instrument for monitoring the harmonization of labor market and education needs
The Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development and the Qualifications Agency have compiled a unique List of Qualifications of the Republic of Serbia, which includes more than 4,000 qualifications for all levels of education.
The List of Qualifications is an organized register of qualifications, classified according to certain criteria and is part of the national standard applied in recording, collecting, processing, analyzing, reporting, and publishing data on qualifications, as an instrument of unambiguous communication among all users of these data, nationally and internationally.
As such, the List of Qualifications is one of the basic instruments for monitoring the harmonization of the labor market and education needs, as well as planning and conducting public policies in the field of education and employment.
The application of the List of Qualifications will enable more precise recording of the qualification structure of the workforce, both employed and unemployed, monitoring the effects of the implementation of qualifications on employment and lifelong learning, and understanding the mismatch between supply and demand for knowledge and skills in the labor market. This will further enable the creation of a market-relevant educational policy that meets the current and future needs of the labor market and society as a whole.
Observed from the point of view of employers who employ and individuals who are looking for a job, the List of Qualifications will enable more precise recording of qualifications of individuals, but also facilitate the process of providing the necessary staff, that is, job search process on the labor market. This provides improved communication between employers and jobseekers, reduces barriers to labor mobility, supports better use of existing knowledge, skills, and competencies, and a better match between supply and demand in the labor market.
More precise recording of data on workforce qualifications in the Republic of Serbia will ensure a better quality of statistical and other analyzes of numerous social partners who will apply the List of Qualifications in their work, including the National Employment Service, the Central Register for Compulsory Social Insurance, the Republic Statistical Office, etc. They will have the opportunity to obtain quality data for reviewing current and forecasting future mismatches of supply and demand for knowledge and skills in the Republic of Serbia.
The implementation of the List of Qualifications will contribute to the improvement of the employment mediation service at the National Employment Service as one of the key services in the implementation of employment policy.
The List of Qualifications is of special importance for the census of the qualification structure of the entire population of the Republic of Serbia within the planned census.
In addition to the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development and the Qualifications Agency, the process of drafting the List of Qualifications was supported by the Institute for the Improvement of Education, the Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia, the Council for Vocational Education and Adult Education, the National Education Council, the National Council for Higher Education, the National Entity for Accreditation and Quality Assurance in Higher Education, the Conference of Universities, the Conference of Academies of Applied Studies, the Tempus Foundation as well as almost all higher education institutions. Important support in the development of the List of Qualifications was also provided by the experts of the IPA 2014 Project “Development of an integrated national qualifications system in Serbia”.