OECD Reviews of Vocational Education and Training Vocational Education and Training in Bulgaria Governance and Funding

Foreword
Executive summary
	Introduction
	Governance of VET in Bulgaria
		Decision-making structure and capacity
		Using data and evidence to inform policy decisions
		Social partner involvement
		Steering adult VET provision
	Funding of VET in Bulgaria
		Local level financial autonomy can be improved
		Collaboration with employers and schools can be strengthened
		More can be done to tackle the issue of equity
Chapter 1.  Overview
	Funding and governance in VET
	The VET review of Bulgaria
	Snapshot of the VET system
	Data on Bulgarian VET
		Enrolment in VET and educational attainment
		Adult education
		Early leavers from education and training
		Employment rate of recent graduates
	Main strengths and challenges
		Strengths
			Willingness in Bulgaria to reform
			Bulgaria is developing a new strategy with a medium term vision for VET
			System of social partner engagement
			A solid funding arrangement
			VET is well articulated with the other parts of the education system
		Challenges
			Summary of challenges relating to governance
			Summary of challenges relating to funding
	References
Chapter 2.  Governance of vocational education and training in Bulgaria
	The governance of VET
		The complexity of VET governance and why it is so important
			Whole-of-government perspective
			Balanced allocation of tasks and functions between governance levels
			Engaging multiple social partners in VET design and delivery
			Ensuring quality by making sure that decisions are appropriately informed by evidence
	Governance of VET in Bulgaria
	Decision-making structure and capacity
		Challenges in the governance of the Bulgarian VET system
			In order to increase the labour market responsiveness of vocational provision, Bulgaria is in the process of increasing decision-making autonomy at a local level in relation to the operation of VET
			The capacity of the Ministry of Education and Science to oversee an overarching strategy for VET is compromised by its lack of capacity
			NAVET has a limited capacity which can have consequences for its ability to undertake its responsibilities in a reasonable manner
			Both regions and municipalities are involved in VET governance with tasks mostly linked to implementation and control
		Policy message and arguments: Consider implementing greater autonomy at a subnational level, while strengthening quality assurance
			Policy message
			More autonomy and flexibility delegated to local actors can free up resources for national authorities, but requires capacity building
			Increased autonomy at the local level requires a stronger national quality assurance system
	Using data and evidence to inform policy decisions
		Challenges: There are weaknesses related to collecting and making use of data and evidence within policy decisions
		Policy message and arguments: Collecting and using data and evidence
			Policy message
			Investing in mapping existing data on the outcomes of VET and making it available is crucial in order to steer the system - for Bulgaria this can be a quick win
			Making sense of VET evidence at a national level
	Social partner involvement
		Challenge: The foundations for social partner involvement seem strong, but co-operation can be expanded and capacity to engage increased
			Bulgaria has developed a strong foundation for social partners’ involvement at a national level, but institutionalised co-operation is concentrated in few areas
			Challenges in co-operation with social partners appear to be linked to capacity
		Policy message and argument: Expanding social partner involvement and increasing capacity
			Policy message
			Ensuring that employers and trade union representatives have sufficient capacity and that they represent the broad spectrum of VET professions in order to enhance the quality of engagement
			Expanding the institutionalised engagement of social partners to sectoral and local levels can increase the system’s sensitivity to labour market needs
	Steering adult VET provision
		Challenge: The overall participation of adults in VET is low and the quality of provision is uncertain
		Policy message and supporting arguments: Assure the quality of the VET provision for adults
			Policy message
			Improve horizontal collaboration to ensure the adult learning policy is coherent
			Improving quality assurance mechanisms is essential to raise the attractiveness of provision
	References
Chapter 3.  Funding of vocational education and training in Bulgaria
	Background: Funding of VET
		Well-crafted funding arrangements can help achieve better quality in education
			Efficiency in funding arrangements
			Funding systems should take equity in consideration
			Funding arrangements should be accountable, transparent and sustainable
			Many countries use funding formulas to distribute funds
		Why focus on the funding of VET?
			At upper secondary level spending on vocational programmes tends to be higher than on general programmes
			There are differences between countries in how VET is funded
			The cost and benefits of providing apprenticeships for employers vary between countries, sectors and occupations
	Issue and challenges: Funding of VET in Bulgaria
		VET funding arrangements in Bulgaria
			The funding of VET schools and adult education providers
			Financial incentives directed towards learners
			Funding of work-based learning – incentives for employers
		The overall funding of VET is relatively low, and the Bulgarian employers’ involvement in VET is low
			Resources spent on education are lower than the European Union average - and are falling
			Bulgarian employers involvement in upper secondary VET is low
		School autonomy is low and the collaboration with employers can be strengthened
			The degree of school-level financial autonomy is low
			Collaboration between schools and employers can be strengthened
		More can be done to tackle the issue of equity
			There are issues about equity in the Bulgarian education system
			The funding formula does not include criteria to tackle the issue of equity
	Policy message
	Policy argument
		The funding formula should ensure equity and at the same time be transparent and accountable
			The challenge for funding formulas – transparency versus complexity
			Use the funding formula to ensure equity
			Funding criteria based on employment outcomes can be helpful, but should be accompanied with good quality data about such outcomes alongside consideration of other criteria and should be monitored closely
			Monitor and evaluate funding arrangements
		School autonomy and cost sharing with employers can provide greater efficiency and better labour market outcomes
			Where capacity is sufficient to make effective use of resource, increased financial autonomy for the subnational level and schools can increase the labour market relevance of VET
			Work-based learning has multiple benefits, including the sharing of costs with employers
			Potential funding to employers should be based on evidence relating to employers’ anticipated costs and benefits
	Note
	References
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