National Programme United Monitoring and Evaluation of the Quality of Vocational Training

National program “United Monitoring and Evaluation of the Quality of Vocational training” (NAPE 2008) was developed according to the European Lifelong Learning Policy. The main aim of the project was increasing the quality of the adult vocational training by examining the impact of training unemployed people, organized and financed by the National Employment Agency.

Within the programme were examined unemployed people, participants in the vocational training from all over the country from November 2008 to Jun 2009.

Examined were 311 people, separated in two different target groups.

The first target group included 251 unemployed people who were redistricted in Labour Office Directorate and were taking classes in vocational training, organized by 21 licensed training institutions. During the examined period all of the courses that National Employment Agency conducted (total of 23), were included and most of them were in different thematic.

The second target group included the lecturers. There were sixty interviewed lecturers.

For the aim of the examination were used specially developed Methods and Tools for Evaluating the Vocational Training of Unemployed People, which is based on the theory and practice of  the American researchers Donald Kirkpatrick and Jack Phillips for Return the Investments in Training (ROI).

ROI is one of the most popular methods for evaluating the vocational training. It offers the possibility of detail analysis in every period of the learning process. It is separated in different levels:

• First level: Satisfaction – rates the satisfaction of the vocational training;
• Second level: Knowledge transfer – rates the increase of theoretical knowledge, practical skills and competences as a result of the vocational training;
• Third level: Changes in the behavior – rates the change in the professional behavior and the attitude of the participants in the vocational training for starting a career;
• Forth level: Practical workability – defines the long-term effect of the investment in the training of unemployed people, participants in the vocational training;
• Fifth level: Retuning of the investments – it compares the resources put in training and the benefits from the professional realization if the trained unemployed people for the state. The benefits equal the resources that were saved from compensations and income from taxes after the unemployed start career.

ROI% = Benefits from vocational training            x 100

             Resources put in vocational training

The results from vocational training show that the courses for unemployed people with main aim of getting a professional qualification are well organized and implemented. The participants graduate with very good success – 4.09 (out of 5.00).

Higher benefits are reported form the investments in “Graphic Design”, “Administration Services” and “Computer Graphics”.