On 19 May 2016, the EU Delegation in Bosnia and Herzegovina launched a new EU-funded project “Development of Qualifications Framework for Life Long Learning”,   that is based on the EU Strategy Europe 2020 and will contribute to the comparability of the education systems in Bosnia and Herzegovina with those in the EU.

The outcomes to be achieved will focus on three areas of activity: the Qualifications Framework, Quality Assurance in Vocational Education and Training (VET) and VET financing.

“Bosnia and Herzegovina is facing problems of a high unemployment rate and the authorities are committed to the implementation of the Reform Agenda and its priorities, including employment. The Qualification Framework is an important tool for the establishment of links between education and labour, and the results of this project would greatly give rise to the increase of employability of the labour force in the country,” said Massimo Mina, Head of Operations Section for Social Development, Civil Society and Cross Border Co-operation at the EU Delegation to BiH.

Mina has also pointed out the ongoing challenges in the development of the Qualifications Framework in BiH calling upon the local authorities to invest their energy in addressing these challenges.

“The implementation of the Action Plan for Qualifications Framework for BiH adopted by the BiH Council of Ministers is essential for the successful implementation of this project.  Therefore, we hope that the members of the Inter-sectorial Commission responsible for the implementation of the Action Plan will be soon nominated. A delay in their nomination represents a serious problem since the BiH authorities should be formally included in this work and have ownership of projects dealing with the development of the Qualifications Framework’’, Mina concluded.

Adnan Husić, Assistant Minister for Education at the BiH Ministry for Civil Affairs underlined the importance of the education reform in BiH. “All the outcomes of the project should bring about the overall development and implementation of the BiH Qualifications Framework representing one of the priorities envisaged in the education reform in the country,” Husić stated.

This is the second EU-funded project which is directly focused on the development of the Qualifications Framework of BiH in the area of non-formal education, informal learning and vocational education and training.

Introducing the foreseen project activities Mile Dželalija, Project Team Leader, described the Qualifications Framework as one of the most important tools for a country in order to successfully link its education and labour.

The project’s launching conference in Sarajevo, attended by the representatives of relevant ministries at state, entities and Brčko District level, was designed as a consultation platform for a wider group of stakeholders. During the working groups sessions, relevant stakeholders had the opportunity to discuss the conducted analysis, findings and outstanding issues, thus contributing to the preparation of the next steps to be taken within the project.

The European Qualifications Framework (EQF) is a European-wide qualifications framework which joins the qualifications of different EU members together. In a way, it is a translation of different national qualifications making qualifications in different EU countries easier to understand. The EQF aims to facilitate mobility of students and workers within the EU in order to encourage development of mobile and flexible workforce throughout Europe and to help develop lifelong learning.

The European Union funds this project from the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA 2012) in the amount of EUR 1,442.000. The project is implemented by the EPRD Ltd. in cooperation with SQA United Kingdom, IBF Belgium and INBAS Germany.