At the end of August 2021, after two and a half years of work, the implementation of the project “Development of an integrated system of national qualifications in the Republic of Serbia” was completed. The final conference of the project was an opportunity to present the achieved results, discuss the implemented activities, but also to open a great and important topic that will be in focus in the coming years – the challenges of implementing the Law on National Qualifications Framework in Higher Education.

• Serbia has been invited to join the European family and I am happy to confirm Serbia’s commitment to put this policy high on its agenda and align its qualifications system with European standards for skills development. The European Commission remains committed to this important reform. Increasing the importance of education and the quality of workforce competencies is a key factor for a real change in the quality of life of citizens – said Matin Klauke, Head of Operations 2 in the EU Delegation, at the beginning of the conference.

The project activities were realized within three project results and included support in the work of the Agency for Qualifications and sectoral councils, support for the establishment of the Register of NOKS and social partnerships, development of sector profiles, development of qualification standards and support for piloting the recognition process. Two and a half years later, as a result of the great cooperation of the institutions of the system, the great efforts of our experts and the appropriate support of the project, Serbia has a functional National Qualifications Framework.

One of the conclusions of the conference is that with the establishment of the national qualifications framework, the systematic regulation of the field of qualifications has begun and an important step has been made towards connecting the world of work and the world of education. The NQFS lists and describes qualifications that could be acquired through formal, non-formal or informal learning, which enables more precise recording of the qualification structure of the workforce and the creation of market-relevant policies in the field of education. The list of qualifications, which combines more than 4,000 qualifications for all levels of education is one of the basic instruments for monitoring the harmonization of labor market and education needs. The Register of NQFS has been established, and the process of referencing to the European Qualifications Framework is underway, which should enable the recognition and comparability of qualifications acquired in Serbia with qualifications acquired in other countries in a short period of time. A mechanism for introducing qualifications into the national framework and a qualification standard has been established as an agreement between the world of work and the world of education on the learning outcomes that need to be achieved in order to acquire qualification. Finally, the framework has been prepared for the introduction of recognition of prior learning as an equal path to qualifications.

• The introduction of the mentioned systemic changes in the previous period significantly improved the transparency and comparability of the qualification system of the Republic of Serbia with other systems. At the same time, the quality of qualifications, their market relevance as well as the trust in the qualifications that are acquired through the system of education, adult training as well as through the procedure of recognition of previous learning is ensured – said prof. Dr. Marijana Dukić Mijatović, State Secretary at the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development

The last part of the conference was dedicated to a panel discussion on the challenges of implementing the Law on NQFS in higher education. Emphasizing open discussion, a good and useful exchange of opinions once again pointed out the complexity of the problem, but also the necessity of dialogue with universities.

• The state will do everything in the next year or two to provide an appropriate legal framework and connect the Law on Higher Education with the Law on the National Qualifications Framework. Higher education institutions must understand that their role is also great, so until a new law is passed in agreement with the National Accreditation Body, changes to the standards and accreditation procedure can be considered – said prof. Dr. Bojan Tubić, Assistant Minister of Higher Education at the end of the panel discussion.

The results achieved within the project “Development of an integrated system of national qualifications in the Republic of Serbia” provoke new challenges. The goal of the National Qualifications Framework is that qualifications could be acquired throughout life, changed and that the whole society should focus on openness and flexibility, but also the relevance and quality assurance of all these processes.

Agenda of the Final Conference

Speech by Prof. PhD Gabrijele Grujić at the closing conference

Video Recognition of Prior Learning