Vocational education will achieve its goal if graduates can transition from school to the workplace more easily and quickly, and with the skills and competencies they acquire, can readily integrate into the modern economic and technological flows of the labor market. Vocational education is a complex system that must be relevant to the labor market’s skill demands, functional, and flexible, keeping pace with changes and quickly delivering quality labor with the required skills. This can only be achieved through the joint cooperation of the education and business sectors at two levels: at the content level, by involving the business community in the creation, development, and implementation of policies in formal vocational education and training, and in the joint creation of program documents, standards, and curricula; and at the operational level, through the implementation of work-based learning programs, certifying mentors, verifying companies for practical training, and participating in the final examination of students.

This collaboration requires strong coordination on both sides to achieve the common goal—creating an education system that produces skilled labor who, during their education, acquire the skills and competencies needed by the labor market.

Therefore, as part of its activities, the Economic Chamber organized a roundtable on the topic: "Defining the Role of Associations in the Economic Chamber in Creating Vocational Education and Training Tailored to Business Needs," where, in the presence of the Minister of Education and Science, Dr. Vesna Janevska, representatives from associations, branch associations, and other Chamber bodies shared their proposals and suggestions for improving the vocational education and training system.

Minister Janevska emphasized to companies that secondary vocational education must be continuously enhanced, but it is essential for companies to contribute their input so that necessary interventions can be made. She called for the business sector to actively participate in monitoring regulatory frameworks and engaging in processes to create an educational model aimed at producing a workforce that meets the needs of the economy as a whole.

At the roundtable, Helvetas’ Boris Trimchev, B.Sc., invited by the Chamber, presented best practices from the Swiss model of vocational education and the role that associations and chambers play in vocational education. He highlighted that companies, through business associations, should take a more active role in shaping curricula according to their needs, and emphasized the importance of promoting and affirming successful examples of vocational education and its application in the real sector.

The roundtable was preceded by a survey conducted among companies that are members of the associations and branch associations within the Chamber. The findings were presented at the roundtable and served as the basis for the initiated discussion.