How do students become specialists in VET institutions? How are professional competencies and skills developed through assessment? What is the extent of the employer involvement in the process? These issues are on the agenda of the ETF Forum for Quality Assurance in Vet scheduled for May 21-23.
During the event "Quality Assurance of Employment-oriented Formative Assessment", experts from ETF partner countries will study the application of ANQA’s formative assessment model in VET institutions and provide enhancement-led recommendations.
At ANQA’s suggestion, the peer visit will include professional talks: walking interviews in VET institutions. The aim is to observe the formative assessment conducted with the involvement of employer teachers, the performance of tasks fostering students’ professional progress and the feedback provided to them. Meetings and walking interviews will take place at the College of Yerevan State Medical University after Mkhitar Heratsi, Yerevan Regional State College №1 and French-Armenian Vocational Education Center.
For the three-day period, meetings are planned with a diverse range of VET stakeholders, including representatives from the RA ESCS Ministry, the RA Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, the RA Ministry of Economy, accreditation experts, employers, employer teachers, VET institutions’ management staff, managers of academic programmes, representatives of career centres, quality assurance managers, students.
"Currently, the education quality is the primary focus not just for students and parents, but also for employers. The employer expects an effective workforce. Today, there is a global emphasis on the formative assessment, which entails students engaging in practical professional work during their studies and receiving feedback from the employer teachers. The process aims to enhance their capacities, ensuring their skills are aligned with the requirements of the labour market upon graduation", noted Ruben Topchyan, ANQA’s director, commenting on the selection of the quality assurance measure for peer review.
Referring to the formative assessment, Luiza Militosyan, member of ANQA’s Accreditation Committee, highlighted that the Accreditation Committee's decisions are also based on the presence and effectiveness of the formative assessment. "We observe the appropriateness of the chosen assessment methods in terms of ensuring learning outcomes. Formative assessment, along with feedback, serves as an effective way for the continuous enhancement of the education quality", mentioned L. Militosyan.
Welcoming the ETF Forum in Armenia, Jora Sargsyan, head of Labour and Employment Department at the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs of the RA, highlighted the importance of VET institution applicants having a clear understanding of the the labour market’s needs and the nature of professions.
"We value discussions on employment-oriented assessment tools and international experts’ recommendations in this regard", mentioned Larisa Avetisyan, Vice-rector for Educational Affairs of Yerevan State Medical University after Mkhitar Heratsi, in her welcoming speech to the Forum participants.
Pilvi Torsti, director of European Training Foundation, noted that the ETF Forum for Quality Assurance in VET has recorded great success during the seven years of its activity. "We attach importance to the identification and dissemination of best practices in ETF partner countries. We all should combine our efforts to achieve excellence", stressed Pilvi Torsti.
The ETF established a Forum for Quality Assurance in VET in 2017. This Forum is a transnational collaboration initiative between 20 national institutions with VET quality assurance mandates in selected ETF partner countries. The peer visit is expected to contribute to the modernization and enhancement of the quality assurance system in the RA VET sector and the internationalization of the country’s best practices. ANQA has been a member of the ETF Forum for Quality Assurance since 2020.