Education Ministry should not monopolize dual education system, CTI head

Most of the proposals submitted by the Chamber of Trade and Industry (CTI) as regards the system of preparing staff for the national economy have not been taken into account when drafting the Education Code, the Chamber's head Gheorghe Cucu told Radio Moldova in an interview. The specialists trained do not meet the demands of the companies. Without skilled labor force, they cannot be competitive, Gheorghe Cucu said, quoted by Info-Prim Neo. “The institutions that train specialists and skilled workers for companies are financed insufficiently and the equipment they possess is old. Instead, large amounts of money are spent on training theoreticians. The graduates of universities in Moldova make up about 60%, as against 24% in Germany for example,” Gheorghe Cucu said. The Chamber of Trade and Industry considers that a dual vocational education system should be developed in Moldova so as to allow the students of vocational schools and colleges to get practical experience in companies' production halls. The companies could co-finance the training of specialists. “The Education Ministry should not monopolize the dual education system. In other countries, the specialists are monitored and accredited by the Chamber of Trade and Industry and the Chamber of Craftsmen. In our country, chief masters train the workers and then certify them,” Gheorghe Cucu said. Veaceslav Shutkevich, the manager of a clothing company, said it is good that the draft Education Code contains stipulations concerning the dual education system. “I don't think that they are perfect, but they can be improved,” he said, adding that most of the company managers in Moldova face a shortage of skilled labor. “The state should allow the companies to finance the vocational training of specialists. The sum that can be collected in 2010 – 2011 will not be high, but it may increase significantly in several years, as it happened in the mandatory health insurance system,” Veaceslav Shutkevich said. The new Education Code replaces the Education Law of 1995. The public discussions on the draft Code will continue by the end of May. A congress of teachers will be held afterward to take a decision about the pre-final structure of the document. The decision will be submitted to the Government for approval.