A 2014 report of the OECD has emphasized the importance of vocational education and training (VET) as a policy tool for governments to respond to the rapidly changing demands of the global economy.<\/p>\n
MJB’s Center for Research on Employment of Disadvantaged Populations has increasingly been working in collaboration with international organizations to advance this agenda in Israel.\u00a0MJB is facilitating a collaboration between the Ministry of Economy and the OECD designed to strengthen apprenticeship and vocational training programs in Israel. The Institute is preparing a national status report, and will be consulting with the expert OECD team during their visit in December.<\/p>\n
In 2014, MJB was a partner in the Mediterranean Region Conference on Governance for Employability, a collaboration sponsored by the European Training Foundation to focus on improving vocational education and training systems in the region.\u00a0 Working with the Ministry of Economy, Ministry of Education, the General Federation of Labor, and the education networks ORT and AMAL, MJB researchers Dr. Yonatan Eyal and Yael Hadar presented a comprehensive overview of Israel\u2019s professional and technological training system for youth.\u00a0 At the conference, professional contacts were established with participants from Middle Eastern countries, including Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, and Lebanon.<\/p>\n
Also in 2014, the OECD released an international report on “Skills Beyond School,” which included a country review of Israel’s VET system.\u00a0 The review was based on a detailed\u00a0review of post-secondary vocational training in Israel, prepared by MJB for the Ministry of Economy.<\/p>\n
Most recently, the Prime Minister’s Office established an interministerial commission to examine issues of accreditation and the development of VET programs.\u00a0 MJB prepared a detailed review of accreditation policies in England, Switzerland, and Germany, which contributed to the decision to establish a national qualification framework in Israel.<\/p>\n
MJB is also a partner in an international collaboration on vocational training with the Israeli Ministry of Economy and the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research.\u00a0 Over the past two years, there have been a series of professional exchanges between Israel and Germany focusing on best practices in vocational education and training in both countries.\u00a0 Among the issues being discussed are how to increase the involvement of employers, unions, and other stakeholders in designing Israel’s VET system, and how to expand data-based decision-making within the system.<\/p>\n
Center director Dr. Nir Levy and MJB researcher Tirza Willner are providing professional support for the Israeli-German exchange team.<\/p>\n
There is growing interest all over the world in the development in apprenticeship systems as a cornerstone of the vocational training system.\u00a0 The essence of the apprenticeship approach is that it combines formal instruction with on-the-job experience guided by an assigned mentor.
\nThe apprenticeship model has long been popular in some European countries, in a centuries-old tradition of young workers learning a trade within a guild system. In Israel, however, apprenticeship has never taken hold for a variety of reasons.<\/p>\n
Over the past few years, MJB has actively contributed to a shared learning process among key stakeholders with respect to the possibilities of introducing the apprenticeship approach in Israel.\u00a0 This has included bringing in international experts, holding seminars, conferences, and international study tours, and participating in planning processes.<\/p>\n
The fruits of this collaborative learning process are being realized with the piloting of a new apprenticeship program developed by JDC-Tevet and the Ministry of Economy’s Manpower Training and Development Bureau, which will be evaluated by MJB.\u00a0 Called “Starter,” the program aims to help unemployed and under-employed adults to successfully transition into professional employment using apprenticeship training.\u00a0 In addition to helping the individual participants integrate into employment, the program is also seeking to develop a wider culture of apprenticeship among Israeli employers.<\/p>\n
The program prepares participants with three months of basic skills training prior to their entry into a workplace.\u00a0 They then begin their apprenticeship and receive practical vocational training while working and being paid for their work.\u00a0 They continue supplementary studies for two or three days a week.\u00a0 After completing training, all participants will be required to take official Israeli government exams to receive their formal credentials.<\/p>\n
Participating employers benefit from being able to hire an employee tailor-groomed to the employer\u2019s needs, and from the monthly subsidies for time devoted to training the apprentice.<\/p>\n
MJB’s evaluation of the pilot will be an important basis for the subsequent decision to expand the program nationally.<\/p>\n
Given the trends in Israel’s labor market, there is every indication that vocational education and training will continue to grow as an important component of Israel’s labor force development strategy and as a part of MJB’s research program.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A 2014 report of the OECD has emphasized the importance of vocational education and training (VET) as a policy tool for governments to respond to the rapidly changing demands of the global economy. MJB’s Center for Research on Employment of Disadvantaged Populations has increasingly been working in collaboration with international organizations to advance this agenda […]","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":1776,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[73],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1771","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-employment-en"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n