European Centre for the Developmentof Vocational Training

EN

HungarySpotlight on VET

HungarySpotlight on VET

Europe 123, 570 01 Thessaloniki (Pylea), GREECE

PO Box 22427, 551 02 Thessaloniki, GREECE

Tel. +30 2310490111, Fax +30 2310490020, E-mail: info@cedefop.europa.eu

European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training

8036 EN – TI-31-11-147-EN-C – doi:10.2801/8841

Further information

Cedefop (2011). Vocational education and training in Hungary: short description. Luxembourg: Publications Office (forthcoming). Available from Internet: http://www.cedefop.europa.eu/EN/Files/4103_en.pdf [cited: 29.4.2011]

ReferNet. Hungary: VET in Europe – Country report 2010. Available from Internet: http://libserver.cedefop.europa.eu/vetelib/eu/pub/cedefop/vetreport/2010_CR_HU.pdf [cited: 13.4.2011]

Eurydice. Structures of education and training systems in Europe: Hungary, 2009/10 edition. Available from Internet: http://eacea.ec.europa.eu/education/eurydice/documents/eurybase/ structures/041_HU_EN.pdf [cited: 25.1.2011]

Halász, Gábor; Lannert, Judit; Loboda Zoltán (eds) (2007). Education in Hungary 2006. Budapest: Országos Közoktatási Intézet. Available from Internet: http://www.ofi.hu/education-in-hungary-090617-7 [cited: 25.1.2011].

www.kormany.hu/hu/ Ministry of National Economy nemzetgazdasagi-miniszterium

www.nefmi.gov.hu Ministry of National Resources

www.kim.gov.hu/ Ministry of Public Administration and Justice

www.nive.hu National Institute of Vocational and Adult Education (including National Reference Point – Europass and CQAF)

www.mkik.hu Hungarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry

www.munka.hu National Employment Service

www.ksh.hu Hungarian Central Statistics Office

www.tka.hu Tempus Public Foundation

www.nfu.gov.hu National Development Agency

www.nefmi.gov.hu/europai-unio-oktatas/ The European Union and education and training europai-unio-oktatas (portal of the Ministry of National Resources)

http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu Eurostat

www.cedefop.europa.eu/EN/about-cedefop/ ReferNet, Cedefop’s European network for VET networks/refernet/index.aspx

www.observatory.org.hu/en/?page_id=20 ReferNet Hungary

http://www.cedefop.europa.eu/ VET in Europe country reports EN/Information-services/ Information resource on vocational education and vet-in-europe-country-reports.aspx training systems in Europe (Cedefop)

We wish to thank the staff of ReferNet Hungary and the Observatory for Education Development, in particular Eszter Bukki and György Mártonfi, for their valuable contribution. This brochure focuses on some of the main aspects of vocational education and training in Hungary and does not claim to be exhaustive.

For further information, please contact Sylvie Bousquet and Eleonora Schmid, project coordinators at Cedefop.

25

20

15

10

5

0

FI UK SI AT EU-27 DE CZ PT PL SK HU

EU benchmark 2020

EU benchmark 2010

40

30

20

10

0

PT UK EU-27 HU DE FI AT CZ PL SI SK

EU benchmark 2010 and 2020

SK CZ PL SI AT FI HU UK EU-27 DE PT

100

80

60

40

20

0

Education and training in figures

Educational attainment of the

populationPopulation aged 25-64

by highest level of education attained

in Hungary and in selected Member

States (2009, %)

Youth education attainment level

Population aged 20-24 having completed at

least upper secondary education (2009, %)

Early-leavers from education

and trainingPopulation aged 18-24

with at most lower secondary education

and not in further education or training

(2009, %)

Participation in lifelong learning

Population aged 25-64 participating in

education and training over the four weeks

prior to the survey (2009, %)

Source: Eurostat, population and social conditions, online database, 2009.

Source: Eurostat, population and social conditions, online database, 2009.

Source: Eurostat, population and social conditions, online database, 2009.

Country ISCED ISCED ISCED 0-2 3-4 5-6

Czech Republic 9 76 16Slovakia 9 75 16Germany 15 59 26Slovenia 17 60 23Finland 18 45 37Austria 18 63 19Poland 12 67 21Hungary 19 61 20United Kingdom 25 41 33Portugal 70 15 15EU-27 28 47 25

ISCED International standard classification of educationISCED 0-2 Pre-primary, primary and lower secondary educationISCED 3-4 Upper secondary education and post-secondary education ISCED 5-6 Tertiary education

The countries are listed by the percentage of their population educated at least to level 3.

Source: EU labour force survey, Eurostat online database [cited: 13.4.2011].

93.3 91.9 91.3 89.4

86.0

85.1 84.0

79.3 78.6 73.7

55.5

31.2

15.7

14.4

11.2 11.1 9.9 8.7 5.4 5.3 5.3 4.9

22.1 20.1

14.6

13.8

9.3 7.8 6.8 6.5

4.7 2.8 2.7

9 789289 608220

978-92-896-0822-0

Source: Adapted from Ministry of National Resources.

Transition and modernisation

Policy decisions in the 1990s have shaped Hungary’s current VET: the VET Act, creation of a single national qualifications register (Országos Képzési Jegyzék, OKJ), start of tertiary-level VET, and major education reform to postpone tracking and ensure a sound general basis for further learning. At upper secondary level, only one track now prepares directly for jobs. After the change to a market economy, initial VET tended to be more school-based. In the early 2000s, the trend has moved back to more enterprise-based training.

Today, high youth unemployment coexists with skills shortages. Business and industry criticise the quality and relevance of training. Hence, current policy priorities are to:• anticipate skill needs and provide incentives to match skills and jobs better;• reinforce cooperation with business and industry;• reduce drop-out rates in vocational schools (SZI);• improve the quality of VET.

Structure

VET for young people

At the age of 14 learners decide if and what type of VET to choose. In 2009/10, two thirds of 14 year-olds moved towards VET tracks, almost half of them to prepare directly for jobs. Overall, programmes that lead to higher education are more popular. VET tracks focus initially on general and pre-vocational education. The second tier, from the age of 16 at the earliest, prepares for a vocational qualification. The next chance to opt for VET is at the end of upper secondary education.

• Vocational school (szakiskola, SZI) programmes lead to ISCED 3C (or 2C) level OKJ qualifications. They do not allow access to higher education. In September 2010, three-year programmes started which immediately focus on vocational skills (‘early VET’).

• Secondary vocational school (szakközépiskola, SZKI) programmes span upper and post-secondary level. The general part leads to the secondary school leaving certificate (érettségi bizonyítvány, ISCED 3A); then learners can move on to higher education or stay in the ‘VET grades’ to acquire an ISCED 4C level OKJ qualification. These are open to anyone holding the secondary school leaving certificate. The average duration of two years is reduced to one for SZKI ISCED 3A graduates.

• Apprenticeship is not a separate pathway. Whether practical training is organised in enterprises and/or in school workshops depends on the availability of training places and learner and school decisions.

• The secondary school leaving certificate is a prerequisite to entering four-term advanced vocational programmes (felsőfokú szakképzés) which award ISCED 5B level vocational qualifications. Graduates can transfer 30-60 credits to a bachelor programme in the same field and reduce its duration by one or two terms.

VET for adults

• Formal adult education offers adults the same options as young people.• Adult training outside the formal school system comprises: VET programmes which lead to OKJ

qualifications; courses by economic chambers preparing for master craftsmen exams (mestervizsga); training that awards (inter)nationally recognised qualifications and licences; and other courses.

Characteristics

• The OKJ, as revised in 2004-06 based on job analyses, has a modular, competence-based structure. This makes it easily adaptable to labour market needs and helps learners plan their training routes.

The national qualifications register comprises all officially recognised vocational qualifications. Most can be acquired within and outside formal education and training. They entitle their holders to practise the occupation specified in the ‘vocational and examinations requirements’ (szakmai és vizsgakövetelmény, SZVK), but, as such, not to progress in their educational career. The SZVK regulate access to training and exams, indicate assessment standards, and list job tasks and learning outcomes for each module. Together with the OKJ, they aid the work on Hungary’s national qualifications framework.

• Since the 1990s, business and industry has been involved in various national advisory bodies and, increasingly, also in decision-making on VET-related issues. The Hungarian Chamber of Commerce and Economy plays an ever more prominent role in helping to make VET more relevant and work-based.

• Enterprises increasingly provide training. VET policy has devised financial incentives to promote student contract-based training, a kind of apprenticeship. Since 2001, the number of student contracts has quadrupled. However, most apprentices train in one of only 10 occupations.

• To improve quality and efficiency in a heavily fragmented institutional IVET structure, regional integrated vocational training centres (térségi integrált szakképző központ, TISZK) have been created. However, despite financial incentives and ESF support, the original aims have not (yet) been achieved. TISZKs offer programmes based on regional development and training committee information about skills shortages. To encourage training in shortage-jobs, TISZKs are offered incentives and students receive grants.

• A notable source of VET funding is the enterprise training levy (1.5% of total labour cost) which dates back to the 1970s. Enterprises can more or less freely decide how to spend their vocational training contribution: to train IVET students, subsidise IVET institutions, train their own staff, or pay into the labour market fund’s training subfund.

Challenges

• Low image and attractiveness of VET as a route to becoming a skilled worker, as higher level qualifications bring higher returns. This and lacking progression routes have made VET in SZI the last resort for learners who have poor prior education, low aspiration and motivation and/or are from deprived background. This leads to quality problems and high drop-out rates. To address these problems, VET policy introduced catching-up programmes, most recently ‘early VET’, and is placing more emphasis on work-based learning.

• Very low participation of adults in education and training activities, coinciding with one of the lowest employment rates in the EU. Long training programmes and very few opportunities to have non-formal/informal learning and work experience recognised, seem to be disincentives. However, the government intends to increase participation from 2.7% in 2009 to 8% by 2013 (the EU benchmark for 2010 was 12.5%, for 2020 it is 15%).

The education and training system in Hungary in 2010/11

1413121110

9876543

18

17

16

15

14

12

11

10

9

13

14

15

GRAD

ESGR

ADES

AGE

AGE

87654321

PhD/DLA programmes(ISCED 6)

PhD/DLA programmes(ISCED 6)

(ISCED 2/3C)

‘General education grades’

‘VET grades’

‘Early

VET

’

Pre-primary education (ISCED 0)Pre-primary education (ISCED 0)

Primary education (ISCED 1)Primary education (ISCED 1)

Spec

ial e

duca

tion

prog

ramme

sSp

ecia

l edu

catio

npr

ogram

mes

Spec

ial e

duca

tion

prog

ramme

sSp

ecia

l edu

catio

npr

ogram

mes

Primary school(including special needs education)

Primary school(including special needs education)

Lower secondary education (ISCED 2)Lower secondary education (ISCED 2)

SZKI – Secondary vocational school

‘General education grades’(ISCED 3A)

SZKI – Secondary vocational school

‘General education grades’(ISCED 3A)

Vocational schoolVocational school

MA/MSc –Master programmes

(ISCED 5A)

MA/MSc –Master programmes

(ISCED 5A)

Higher educ.specialisationprogrammes

(ISCED 5A)

Higher educ.specialisationprogrammes

(ISCED 5A)

MA/MSc – Longuniversity

programmes(ISCED 5A)

MA/MSc – Longuniversity

programmes(ISCED 5A)

BA/BSc – Bachelor progr.

(ISCED 5A)

BA/BSc – Bachelor progr.

(ISCED 5A)

FSZ – Advancedvocational progr.

(ISCED 5B)

FSZ – Advancedvocational progr.

(ISCED 5B)

Spec

ial v

ocat

iona

lpr

ogr.

(ISCE

D 2/

3C)

Spec

ial v

ocat

iona

lpr

ogr.

(ISCE

D 2/

3C)

Grammar school(ISCED 3A)

Grammar school(ISCED 3A)

Basic education certificate

Admission procedure, entrance examination

Secondary school leaving examination

Vocational qualification examination

Higher education diploma (BA, BSc, MA, MSc, Specialisation diplomas)

PhD, DLA

Basic education certificate

Admission procedure, entrance examination

Secondary school leaving examination

Vocational qualification examination

Higher education diploma (BA, BSc, MA, MSc, Specialisation diplomas)

PhD, DLA

Next education level

Labour market

Length of course in year

Schooling is compulsory from the age of 5 to 18.

Next education level

Labour market

Length of course in year

Schooling is compulsory from the age of 5 to 18.

1,2,31,2,3

(ISCED 2)(ISCED 2)

8

6

8644 5 6

2

2

3

1-3

3+

4 65

4 53

Ad

ul

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tr

ai

ni

ng

Ad

ul

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ed

uc

at

io

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Ad

ul

t

tr

ai

ni

ng

Ad

ul

t

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uc

at

io

n

‘VET grades’‘VET grades’

SZKISZKI

SZISZI

Post-secondaryPost-secondary

(ISCED 4C)(ISCED 4C)

7

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