Veles, 19 December 2024 (MIA) – This school year, over 500 companies provided practical training for nearly 4,000 students enrolled in dual education programs across 62 vocational secondary schools, Minister of Education and Science Vesna Janevska said during her visit on Thursday to the Swiss company Rontis in Veles.

Janevska underlined that these impressive results were achieved thanks to the hard work of the Ministry of Education and Science, along with the support of the Swiss Embassy, the EU Delegation, the business community, and the schools.

She stressed that the dual education model develops the required, well-trained workforce for the economy’s needs, thereby bridging the gap between the supply and demand in the human capital market.

The Ministry of Education and Science supports vocational high school students with scholarships, and the new legal provisions aim to ensure they also receive compensation from companies in collaboration with the business sector.

“I think that gradually, we are not only improving this form of education but also ensuring continuous benefits for both students and companies, so they can achieve decent employment and a stable life after completing their education in their homeland,” Janevska noted.

The Ministry, as she noted, has already sent a letter to municipalities and vocational secondary schools, which, in coordination with companies, need to provide information on the actual demand for specific staff in order to appropriately plan enrollment quotas for secondary education.

According to the Swiss Ambassador, it is crucial for the private sector to participate in the dual education system.

“They will ensure that all young people attending these schools can be directly employed by them and be valuable to the companies themselves. Through this project, we are transferring positive experiences from Switzerland to your country,” said Swiss Ambassador Véronique Hulmann.

Bojana Dimovska, the director of Rontis, highlighted that the students receive not only scholarships from the Ministry of Education and Science (MON) but also financial allowances from Rontis company.

Currently, seven students from the second, third, and fourth grades of the state vocational secondary school “Kole Nedelkovski” in Veles are participating in practical training at Rontis in Veles.

The students told the media they are pleased with their work at Rontis and intend to secure employment there and remain in the country after finishing their education.