Future Agri-Tech Reskilling and Modern Education Reimagining

ongoing

The project aims to improve the responsiveness of vocational education and training (VET) systems in the agri-food sector in the Western Balkans to growing tech and green skills demand by: reinforcing capacities of VET providers; strengthening their links with the labour market; and institutionalising knowledge sharing between regional and international policymakers and practitioners. Based on the consortium partners’ broad multidisciplinary expertise bridging policy, research, and practice in VET and agri-tech in the Western Balkans and the EU, the project proposes to strengthen capacities of local actors in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro (VET schools, tech-based start-ups, and policymakers) to jointly design, pilot, and institutionalise curriculum innovations based on modular learning, allowing for quick adaptation to industry trends. It strengthens the influence of VET teachers and VET schools on quality and relevance of learning outcomes, equipping them with knowledge and opportunities to lead the process of alignment of the school curricula to local labour market and workplace requirements. At the same time, the project will consolidate existing ad hoc communication between agri-tech businesses and VET schools into regular exchange mechanisms guided by evidence-based inputs, feeding into innovative practices. Finally, the project will develop tools and replication strategies to bridge VET and the labour market more effectively, enabling skills development that is continuously shaped by teachers, VET learners, and employers, ensuring curriculum alignment with real-world demands. The achieved results will be captured and formulated into policy actions, advocating for replication and systematic improvements when it comes to labour market relevance of VET curricula as response to innovation-based agri-food expansion in the Western Balkans.