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About

The Regional Challenge Fund (RCF) is a financing facility designed to increase youth employability and boosts the competitiveness of enterprises in Western Balkan 6 by funding investments in equipment and infrastructure for selected cooperative or dual training projects implemented through partnerships between vocational training institutes and the enterprises. The grants are allocated through a competitive regional challenge.

The German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development commissioned 64.43 million EUR for the RCF, and the Swiss Government, represented by the SDC Swiss Development Cooperation, co-financed an additional 9.7 million CHF. The funds were commissioned to the KfW Development Bank and executed by the Western Balkans 6 Chamber Investment Forum (WB6-CIF), a joint initiative of chambers of commerce from the region. The Fund is implemented by the consultant consortia.

  • The first and the second round of applications attracted more than 300 Expressions of Interest from all Western Balkan 6 economies.
  • The selection process led to selecting 63 projects for financing, allocating approximately 27 million Euros for the investments in equipment, infrastructure, and training at the vocational training providers and partnering enterprises.

Annual Regional Conference of the Regional Challenge Fund

  • RCF is organizing the Annual Regional Conference to promote its third call, share the experiences and lessons learned from its previous calls, and foster the exchange among stakeholders in vocational education and training from the region. The Conference will promote good practices that address the common challenges faced around the region, in light of new trends.
  • With the mission to strengthen the cooperative training approach, RCF also promotes greening, digit(al)ization and regional cooperation in VET. In addition, consultations within the RCF Technical Advisory Committee recognized the importance of career development support and capacity building of teachers and mentors.
  • The virtual Conference will gather RCF winners, vocational training providers, enterprises, chambers of commerce, employers` unions, representatives of SMEs, donors, international and regional organizations, civil society organizations, teachers` unions, etc.

We are looking forward to your participation.

Agenda

Tuesday, May 30th, 2023

09.30 – 10.00
Virtual gathering & visit to the exhibition hall
Welcome Statements
10.00 – 10.20
  • Heike Backofen-Warnecke, Head of Division, South-Eastern and Eastern Europe, South Caucasus, Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development
  • Lulzim Rafuna, President of the Managing Board, Chamber Investment Forum of the Western Balkan 6 and President of the Chamber of Commerce in Kosovo
  • Klaus-Martin Müller, Director, South-Eastern Europe and Turkey, KfW Development Bank
  • Mattia Poretti, acting Head, Section Eastern Europe, SDC Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation

Session moderator: Balsa Culafic, Project Coordinator, Western Balkans 6 Chamber Investment Forum and Chamber of Commerce Montenegro

Presentation: Lessons Learned from the First and the Second Call for the Expressions of Interest of the Regional Challenge Fund and Promotion of the Third RCF Call
10.20 – 10.40

Frieder Woehrmann, Team Leader, Fund Management Unit, Regional Challenge Fund

Key Note Speeches: Recent Trends and Challenges on Human Capital Development in the Western Balkan 6
10.40 – 11.00
  • Digitalization of WB6 SMEs Region in the Framework of the Common Regional Market Action Plan, Tatjana Shterjova Dushkovska, Secretary General, Western Balkans 6 Chamber Investment Forum
  • Priorities and Examples of SDC’s Work on VET in the Western Balkans and Emerging Trends, Jean-Christophe Favre, Regional Advisor Economy and Employment – Western Balkans, SDC

Session moderator: Jelena Manic Radoicic, Deputy Team Leader, Fund Management Unit, Regional Challenge Fund

11.00 – 11.15
Virtual coffee break & visit to the exhibit hall
Panel sessions
11.15 – 11.55
Session 1: Attracting Students to Cooperative VET and Providing Support for Employment and Career Development

An easier transition to sustainable employment is often seen as the key benefit of cooperative VET programmes, but schools sometimes struggle to attract students or keep them motivated. Evidence shows that career guidance is particularly relevant, both before entering a programme and within the programme. What is the state of career development support in cooperative training programmes in WB6? What are the examples of recognizing various roles of career guidance and counselling support within cooperative VET?

  • Florian Kadletz, Human Capital Development Expert, European Training Foundation, Career Guidance in the Western Balkans: A Regional Synthesis
  • Sanja Milojevic, Secondary Vocational School Kragujevac
  • Aranit Shkurti, Universiteti Metropolitan Tirana

Session moderator: Sven Dominkovic, Regional Coordinator, Fund Management Unit, Regional Challenge Fund

11.55 – 12.35
Session 2: Innovation and Digitalization in VET

Innovation and digitalisation have a great potential to support high-quality VET, and at the same, address labour market needs and the technological level of partnering enterprises. The session will explore how introducing new technologies can enable further innovation and technology transfer and promote digitization or digitalization in VET and in businesses.

  • Daniel Schroeder, Chief Mobile Officer, Hacon – A Siemens Company, Building Foundations for Innovation
  • Driton Hapciu, Cacttus Education, Pristina
  • Snezana Saramandova, Secondary School Bogdanci
  • Maja Spajic, Don Bosco School, Zepce

Session moderator: Renato Vasili, Regional Coordinator, Fund Management Unit, Regional Challenge Fund

12.35 – 12.50
Virtual coffee break & visit to the exhibit hall
12.50 – 13.30
Session 3: Greening Vocational Education and Training for Green Jobs

VET can make a vital contribution to the delivery of the Green Agenda for the Western Balkan. However, measures for greening VET are at the early stages of development in the region. What are current opportunities to learn about environmental topics provided by VET consortia? How can VET providers and enterprises cope with greening their organizations while embracing the concept of education for sustainable development?

  • Philipp Lassig, Sector Economist Education, Competence Centre Jobs, Economic and Rural Development, KfW Frankfurt, Greening VET at the provider level – what this means and what is needed: an example from Vietnam
  • Danica Radevic, HEC Faculty of International Tourism and Hotel Management, Budva
  • Biljana Milutinovic, The Academy of Applied Technical and Preschool Studies Nis
  • Kreshnik Shehu, Shehu Academy, Drenas

Session moderator: Biljana Simeonova, Regional Coordinator, Fund Management Unit, Regional Challenge Fund

13.30 – 14.00
Q&As
Concluding remarks

VET can make a vital contribution to the delivery of the Green Agenda for the Western Balkan. However, measures for greening VET are at the early stages of development in the region. What are current opportunities to learn about environmental topics provided by VET consortia? How can VET providers and enterprises cope with greening their organizations while embracing the concept of education for sustainable development?

  • Richard Kohli, Head of Cooperation, Serbia, SDC
  • Frieder Woehrmann, Team Leader, Fund Management Unit, RCF
  • Balsa Culafic, RCF Project Coordinator, Western Balkans 6 Chamber Investment Forum

Session moderator: Jelena Manic Radoicic, Deputy Team Leader, Fund Management Unit, Regional Challenge Fund

Organizers

Regional Challenge Fund

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German Development Bank (KfW)

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Western Balkans 6 Chamber Investment Forum (WB6 CIF)

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Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation

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The event's official language is English. Simultaneous translation to project languages (Albanian, Macedonian, SER/BH/MNE) will be provided.