Sarajevo, 16th of July – Drafting the School Curriculum for the “plastics worker” vocation has been completed. The process began last year in Bosnian Podrinje Canton Goražde and, after extensive work by local and international experts, including those from the plastics industry, resulted in creation of the most advanced Curriculum that is to be implemented in the aforementioned Canton. The new School Curriculum was created based on a newly-established vocations’ standard that features a greater number of practical classes that are to be conducted within companies, as well as less general knowledge classes. The Curriculum will be implemented in the Secondary Vocational School “Džemal BIjedić” Goražde, beginning next school year.
“Plastics worker” is among those vocations that offer a very promising future in the BiH, and the only institution that provides the needed education for it is the Secondary Vocational School “Džemal Bijedić” in Goražde.
Admir Kurtović, the School’s Principal, had this to say:
“The initiative for the inclusion of this vocation came from the local entrepreneurs several years back. This inspired our School’s initial efforts towards creating a curriculum for two vocations: plastics worker and rubber worker. We had received support from the Ministry and one generation of students that followed this curriculum completed their formal education and found employment not long afterwards. The IDEAL Project, that we became involved in together with the relevant Ministry, PREVENT and German company GIZ, gave us the opportunity to rely on international experts and adopt an entirely new curriculum that would prove to be a giant leap forward when compared to previous ones. The Curriculum is based on standards in vocational education, new technologies, and several learning segments that offer a wide range of knowledge to those students who decide to enroll. I am very pleased that people working in the industry are actively involved in this initiative, as it benefits both the learning outcomes and skills of our students. The plastics worker vocation is the vocation of the future.”
The education process has elements of dual education from which students start deriving great benefits as soon as they enroll. In addition to their mentor’s support, while taking practical classes in companies the students receive meal allowance and have their transport fees covered, but also enjoy other benefits.
Classes conducted in school provide the students with theoretical knowledge and expertise, but it is the practical classes, held in renowned companies whose products have entered global market, that provide the students with knowledge tailored to answer the needs of the labor market.
After completing formal education based on this system, it can be rightly said that the student mastered his or her craft and is ready for employment.
Dženana Omanović, representative of the “PREVENT COMPONENTS” d.o.o. Goražde, talked of the significance that this curriculum’s implementation has for entrepreneurs:
The tailoring of the educational system in accordance with the needs of the labor market will allow the entrepreneurs to have access to quality employees who are ready to answer the needs of the market with minimal delay. We have to be aware of the fact that every industry is on the path towards modernization and that the demands of the market, which are greater every day, need to be met. Educational system has to follow. I believe that this curriculum will fully satisfy the needs of the plastics industry. We look forward to its implementation and hope that, in a few years’ time, the students who have decided to pursue this vocation will become our employees.”
The implementation of the “IDEAL-Improving and Developing the Educational and Learning System for Plastic Workers in Bosnia and Herzegovina” is the result of the developmental partnership of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH and “PREVENT COMPONENTS” d.o.o. Goražde. The partnership is established as a part of the develoPPP.de program of the Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development of Germany (BMZ). The project is funded by BMZ and its private sector project partner – “PREVENT COMPONENTS” d.o.o. Goražde. All the activities pertaining to the project aid the establishment of a vocational education that is more oriented towards the needs of the labor market and increase in overall quality of this system, as well as output of a qualified workforce which is the main contributor to the country’s economic development.
