site.btaGovernment Is Determined to Press Ahead with Dual Education in Bulgaria

121 - POLITICS - EDUCATION - APPRENTICESHIP - DOMINO

Government Is Determined to Press
Ahead with Dual Education
in Bulgaria

June 12 (BTA) - A conference was held in Sofia Wednesday to outline a vision for the further development of dual education in Bulgaria after the completion of the Swiss-supported Domino project for apprenticeship during school education. Education Minister Krassimir Vulchev said that the dual education project will have a follow-up after its completion in late 2019.

With more than 180 Bulgarian and foreign participants, the discussions presented the views of policy makers, representatives of vocational schools and business, as well as Swiss experts.

The name of the project, DOMINO, is the Bulgarian abbreviation for "dual education for the modern needs and requirements of the society".

Funded by the Swiss government, the project started in 2015 with two schools and has since used a budget of 3,530,000 Swiss francs, including 15 per cent co-funding from the Bulgarian Ministry of Education and Science. Since its inception, Domino has included 1,600 students from 32 vocational schools in 19 cities across the country, who enrolled in a form of education based on a learning-by-working model. The graduates leave school with a diploma and a certificate for professional qualification in professions which are in high demand on the labour market.

DOMINO partners are 170 Bulgarian and foreign companies, who offer to students not just practice, but also training by skilled mentors and work in real working environment paid under a labour contract. 70 per cent of the DOMINO graduates already work in the company where they have gained working experience while still in school.

Education Minister Vulchev said that during the next two-and-a-half years the project will be funded by the EU-supported Operational Programme Science and Education for Smart Growth. Funding will be available for training trainers and for logistical costs. The scholarships to students will be paid by the national budget. The project is still in the pipeline and is expected to start in the autumn.

The available funding will be up to 24.5 million leva.

The Minister recalled that Parliament adopted changes to the vocational training legislation all obstacles to dual education. LN/IG