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INTEGRATION OF EDUCATION
AND THE LABOR MARKET - NEW REQUIREMENTS
FOR THE CONTENT AND RESULTS
OF LIFELONG EDUCATION
А. Е. Abylgazina А. К. Tastanova
The article considers the interaction of the labor market and education through the mechanism of National Qualification System. The National Qualification System establishes the connection between the learning outcomes and activity demanded in the labor market, and the qualification of professional education and the academic degree received.
Key words: professional standard, the National Qualification System, educational standards, learning outcomes.
Head of State Nursultan Nazarbayev, in his Address to the people of Kazakhstan "Kazakhstan's way - 2050: The overarching goal, common interests, common future", noted one of the priorities, i.e. creating the necessary conditions for improving all parts of national education, from pre-school education to higher and postgraduate education [1]. The development of professional education in the State Program for Educational Development of the Republic of Kazakhstan for 2011-2020 is designated as one of the key areas [2]. For successful implementation of this goal, it is necessary to overcome the current barriers, such as inadequate level of preparation of specialists and inability of their qualifications to meet the modern requirements. Practice shows that the system of technical and vocational, higher and postgraduate education is not always able to provide students with the professional skills and qualifications in demand in the labor market, a high level of knowledge, entrepreneurial skills, and skills of flexibility and mobility in search of work, which makes the process of employment difficult. A lack of effective cooperation between education and the labor market is a system factor causing these problems, as well as weak involvement of employers in the development of standards and training programs in the process of training and support of educational organizations [3].
In this regard, Kazakhstan has created a new model of functioning of the system of technical and vocational, higher and postgraduate education based on the principles of social partnership. At present, based on the Loan Agreement between the Republic of Kazakhstan and the World Bank, the project “Modernization of vocational and technical education” is being implemented. Within the framework of this project, development of new professional standards has been initiated, which is carried out in cooperation with the sectoral state authorities (education, tourism, oil and gas and chemical industry, metallurgy, geology, mining, agriculture and engineering industries).
Social partnership in professional training is a special type of interaction of educational institutions with the subjects and institutions of the labor market, public and local authorities, and non-governmental organizations aimed at maximum harmonization and account of interests of all participants of this process. It is intended to solve the problems of training professionals to meet the needs of the
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labor market, providing enterprises with qualified personnel, staff development and employment of young specialists graduating from educational establishments [4].
One of the main tools for facilitating the interaction of the labor market and education is the National Qualification System (hereinafter - NQS), which includes: National Qualifications System; Industry Qualifications Framework; Professional Standards; Evaluation of professional readiness [5]. NQS serves as a format of integration of the labor market and education based on the harmonization of academic and professional qualifications, and in the context of the Bologna reforms, serves as a normative and methodological base for the development of a new generation of educational programs.
In the professional standards (hereinafter - PS) qualification requirements are expressed in competencies demanded by practice. Learning outcomes are the main instrument for ensuring the transparency of the system of professional education, showing individual achievement, knowledge and practical skills acquired in the course of training. Focusing on final results is important for determination of qualification, creation of curricula and programs and organization of the educational process as a whole. Based on the results of training, it is possible to formulate the criteria making it possible to differentiate the qualification levels. Through the mechanism of PS, the market should determine its requirements for graduates, whereas the education system, through educational standards, should develop the content of educational programs, relevant to the competence-based model of a graduate.
On the basis of development of NQS and the requirements of the real sector of the economy, it is necessary to shape the education policy of the country and the system of certification of specialists. In this regard, development of social partnership of universities and professional associations of employers should be the main vector of modernization of the higher school. The culture of social dialogue of the higher school and the labor market implies high responsibility. Positive synergistic effect in the development and implementation of practice-oriented educational standards is only possible in the case of creative collaboration of the higher educational institutions with professional societies of employers. The partnership system of Kazakhstan is still very undeveloped. At the national level, this system is managed by the strong central government, as a result of which a relatively small number of organizations of technical and vocational education and higher professional education interact with the enterprises. Nevertheless, the fundamental reorientation of the education system to the National Qualifications Framework should result in significant participation of enterprises and business associations in the training of qualified personnel. For example, public-private partnership (hereinafter - PPP) in education is a system of long-term relations between the state and entities of the private sector to implement projects in the field of education through the pooling of resources and distribution of income or intangible benefits, costs and risks. In this case, each party receives a positive effect: the government is strengthening its economic and social potential through education of the population, businesses get a broad base of qualified workers, and citizens, with the support of the government and entrepreneurs, receive the opportunity to acquire good education, enhancing their chances of employment and career development. Let us note the obvious advantages of PPP: they help to
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improve the efficiency of expenditure; allow the government to use special skills that civil servants may not have, allow the state to meet new demand, and facilitate the process of implementation of innovation in education. [6]
Another aspect of this collaboration is provision of their material and technical base for organization of the educational process. We mean creation of educational, scientific and industrial associations, or clusters. Without such close cooperation, it is impossible to prepare a modern competitive specialist. In the process of interaction of the production area and higher educational institutions, great help is rendered by the Association of Alumni and the School Boards, especially, in terms of approaching the content of the educational programs to the needs of the labor market, internships and employment. The very organization of the educational process should be built in favor of practical forms of training and independent work of students to develop necessary manufacturing competencies. It is preferable to present the theoretical material in the form of review or problem lectures, attracting leading practitioners or invited academic professors to organize on-site activities at an enterprise.
The involvement of social partners and production in education can be demonstrated by holding joint forums of industry and education that promote a key examination of the results of training, knowledge and skills for certification of training and the award of the academic degree for graduates. The range of interactions has expanded considerably in recent years, , and now includes new forms of attracting employers to the educational activities of universities: the introduction of new specializations and opening of new educational programs to meet the needs and the enterprises and organizations; attraction on a permanent basis of practitioners to develop new educational programs; evaluation of the quality of individual courses implemented by universities, in terms of the requirements of production and the labor market; revision and updating of field trip program content; involvement of international company representatives for giving lectures, organization of seminars and development of training programs curriculum; formation and evaluation of subject competence of students and graduates, etc.
The above mentioned forms of cooperation with employers allow students and graduates to perform theses and term projects based on real tasks of enterprises and organizations; to participate in the support of production processes of real production facilities; to participate in research and development and research work (in collaboration with specialists of companies) and implementation of the results of term papers; to develop soft skills such as the ability to work in a team, be a leader, to negotiate.
The successful development of mutual relations will allow universities and employers to significantly increase the number of training courses and programs valued by employers and practitioners; take into account the needs and requirements of companies and organizations with the introduction of new specializations and introduction of new educational programs; regularly involve employers and practitioners to develop new educational programs, development and discussion of the expected results of training, assessment of actual learning outcomes of students and graduates. Since on-the-job training, for which at least 40% of the total teaching load is allocated, is obligatorily introduced from the
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second year of study, higher educational institutions will be able to independently change up to 30% of the educational program content. Taking into account the requirements of employers, new professional, basic competence of specialists is taken into account. The best models and technology of education are being implemented: dual training, e-learning, apprenticeships, modular training technique, distant learning, credit education technology. In the structure of the 4-year educational programs, the ratio of theory and practice (9th grade) is 52.2% to 47.8%, respectively. As for 11th grade, 40% is given for theoretical training, and 60% for practical lessons.
Thus, improving the quality of training is a common goal of the educational institution, the graduate, and the labor market. New approaches to attract employers will ensure not only the practical component of the educational process in the real production environment and modern material base, but also improve the quality of education in general. Thus, social partnership in training is becoming one of the most important and modern forms of educational management aimed at increasing the effectiveness of professional education, when “there is a coordination of interests of the parties on the basis of respect for the equality of the parties of interest, voluntary, consideration of interests of the partners, the priority of reconciliatory methods and procedures, compliance with educational standards, mandatory execution of agreements, etc.”
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Translated from Russian by Znanije Central Translastions Bureas
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