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Human Resources Development Convention, 1975 (No. 142) - Montenegro (RATIFICATION: 2006)

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Articles 1 and 5 Convention. Formulation and implementation of education and training policies. Cooperation with the social partners. With regard to the development of vocational guidance and training, the Government refers to numerous educational and promotional activities dedicated to adult education and training (conferences, focus groups, fairs, round tables, seminars, info days, etc.) and to measures taken for the improvement of procedures for recognition of non-formal and informal learning for adults to acquire national professional qualifications. The Government further refers to general and special programs of professional orientation implemented by the Employment Agency of Montenegro which includes professional information services, counselling and psychological analysis for employment or inclusion in the active employment policy programs, in particular the Program “Encouraging career development of directly employable unemployed persons” which encourages the professional development of jobseekers that are registering for the first time with the Employment Agency. The Committee notes the statistics provided by the Government on the number of beneficiaries who have participated, from 2018 to 2021, in various professional orientation programmes, including the number of people that have used career guidance services and the number of students that have benefited from the special professional orientation Program, namely the “Career orientation and labour market in primary and secondary schools”, which provides career guidance and information on professional orientation to young people in the education system. In this respect, the Committee notes however that the number of students that have benefited from the Career Orientation and Labour Market Program in Primary and Secondary in 2020 (611 students) has decreased by more than 90 per cent, compared to 2019 (6,824 students). Regarding employment training measures, the Government refers to training programs such as “training for work with the employer” which supports unemployed people who lack practical knowledge or skills and the “training for independent work” which supports unemployed persons without working experience that have secondary education (3rd and 4th degree education). The Committee notes that in collaboration with 76 employers, the training Program for independent work has provided employment for 238 participants (for a period of six months). It also notes that 2,248 unemployed persons have benefited from active employment measures and that the Government has further implemented adult education and training programs for 896 participants, public work programs such as the “Keep It Clean” project for 629 people, independent work training for 238 individuals, employer training for 239 candidates, “Stop the Gray Economy” program for 190 participants and has allocated 42 loans to promote self-employment, which has generated 56 new jobs. In this regard, the Government indicates that the implementation of the above-mentioned measures has created employment for 1,306 unemployed persons with identified barriers to employment, for a period of three to seven months. With regard to the coordination between the labour market and education, the Government indicates that an internal analysis of occupational deficits and a projection for the development of educational programs were prepared, which focuses on the needs of people with low skills, in accordance with the Recommendation of the EU Council on forms of training: new opportunities for adults – Upskilling Pathways. In this respect, the Committee notes that the Employment Agency of Montenegro has taken various measures, including financial assistance and reimbursement of transportation costs during education, to facilitate the implementation of the EU Recommendation. The Committee welcomes the information received and invites the Government to continue providing updated information on the design and implementation of vocational education and training policies and programs, closely linked with employment needs, including programs aimed at specific groups, such as young persons, women and persons with disabilities. In addition, the Committee invites the Government to provide disaggregated statistical data on the number of vocational guidance and training graduates accessing employment following the completion of the training programs. The Committee further requests the Government to provide detailed information on the steps taken to promote cooperation with the social partners in the formulation and implementation of vocational guidance and vocational training policies and programs.

Article 3(1). Coverage by the vocational training system of groups in vulnerable situations. With regard to women, the Government indicates that the Ministry of Science, Education, Culture and Sports and its agencies support strategies for strengthening the position of women in society, raising the level of their elementary and functional literacy and their employability. The Government further refers to a Pilot program “Empower me and I will Succeed” which has been implemented in 2018, to support the integration of hard-to-employ persons, primarily women, into the labour market. The Committee notes that the program has covered 925 hard-to-employ persons (95.7 per cent women, 37.6 per cent persons older than 50 years, 4.1 per cent persons under 30, and 22.2 per cent long-term unemployed persons). It further notes detailed statistics provided by the Government on the participation of women, youth, persons with disabilities and older workers in various entrepreneurship, training and employment programs, in particular, the public project “Personal Assistant”, which created temporary non-market jobs of public interest in the field of protection of persons with disabilities for 507 people, and the public work “Care of the Elderly” in the field of protection of the elderly which has created short-term employment (four to six months) for 117 people. With regard to ethnic minorities, the Committee notes with interest that, in 2020, the Government has organized special training for the professional qualifications of the Roma population. It further notes that the Government has developed the Strategy for Social Inclusion of Roma and Egyptians 2021–25 to improve the current status and position of the Roma and Egyptian communities in Montenegro, as well as to enable them to exercise their rights guaranteed by the Constitution and other legal acts, in order to fight all forms of discrimination and segregation. The Government indicates that the Centre for Vocational Education, in cooperation with international and domestic organizations such as HELP, the Red Cross, the Roma Education Fund (REF) and some NGOs, has created four professional qualifications and developed educational programs for Associates in Social Inclusion of Roma and Egyptian Women in four areas of education, employment, health and social protection. The Government further refers to measures taken to strengthen the social integration of the Roma population and for the preservation of their culture, language and traditions. In this regard, the Committee notes that an educational program for the acquisition of key skills – Romology and an examination catalogue based on it – was prepared. The Government indicates that, in 2021, efforts have been made, in cooperation with the Public Health Centre Podgorica, to provide additional support for the early development of children in families with special reference to Roma and Egyptians. With regard to categories of workers in vulnerable situations, the Government refers to various measures taken for the implementation of the primary adult education program, which include the preparation of an Andragogy handbook for teachers implementing the Elementary Functional Literacy Program, which was undertaken with the support of the EPALE project National Support Service for Montenegro. The Government further indicates that the Employment Agency, in cooperation with the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare, the Ministry of Finance - Tax Administration, the Ministry of the Interior – Police Administration and the Inspection Administration, has implemented the Training and Employment Program for Youth with Higher Education in Preventing Informal Work “Stop the Gray Economy” program, which provides training and employment program to support the integration of young people in the formal labour market. The Committee notes that the “Stop the Gray Economy” program, which targets unemployed young persons (up to 30 years of age and with at least 9 months of work experience), has covered 180 unemployed persons with higher education (56.7 per cent women and 15 per cent long-term unemployed). The Committee welcomes the information received and invites the Government to continue to provide updated information on the development and implementation of measures in relation to vocational training and lifelong learning and their impact on access to quality lifelong learning of specific groups, particularly women, young persons and the long-term unemployed. It also requests the Government to supply information on the manner in which such measures encourage and enable all persons, on an equal basis and without any discrimination whatsoever, to develop and use their capabilities for work in their own best interests and in accordance with their own aspirations, account being taken of the needs of society. The Committee further requests the Government to provide up-to-date detailed information, including statistics disaggregated by age and sex, on the impact of policies and programs implemented in relation to vocational guidance and special training for professional qualifications of the Roma population, including those adopted in the context of the Strategy for Social Inclusion of Roma and Egyptians 2021–25.

Article 4. Lifelong learning. The Government refers to the National Strategy for Adult Education 2015–25, the four-year Adult Education Plan 2019–22 and the annual adult education plans which are based on the existing strategy and several key EU documents that provide guidelines for improving adults’ education. The Government further reiterates that the National Strategy for Employment and Human Resources Development for 2016–20, provides for “Improving qualifications and competencies” (priority 3) and defines a series of activities to be carried out by the Ministry of Education for promoting access and participation of adults in lifelong learning (objective 1). In this regard, the Committee notes that the Centre for Vocational Education carries out various activities and organizes educational and promotional events dedicated to adult education and learning, including “Days of Adult Education and Learning”, International Literacy Day and International Day of Older Persons. The Government indicates that each year, the Department for Adult Education and Life-long Learning Centre (LLLC) implements measures for improving the educational offer of different target groups. The Government further refers to various measures taken to strengthen the national system of adult education with the support of the EPALE project National Support Service for Montenegro, including the initiative to connect 31 databases on the adult education system and the ongoing research conducted on the educational needs of teachers as well as the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on adult education and the labour market. The Committee notes the statistics provided by the Government on the participation of adults (aged 15 to 64) in Life-long learning (LLL) programs based on the EU requirement (participation of 15 per cent of the adult population in LLL by 2020). It further notes that, in 2020, the percentage of adult participation in LLL activities was 9.48 per cent, which has increased compared to 2019 (6.88 per cent). The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide updated detailed information on the content and practical impact of the policies and programs related to adult education, vocational guidance and lifelong learning, and on their impact on access to quality lifelong learning.