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- Ελληνικά
It took place on Tuesday, December 12, 2023, at the Hall of Events of the Ministry of Education, Sports and Youth, the presentation of the results of the Completion Report of the Contract Completion Report for the Evaluation of the Structures and Curricula of the Public School of Higher Vocational Education and Training MIEEK by the Contractor Company, the Frederick-Talos Consortium. The primary objective of this primary data survey was to determine the degree of quality of the structures and programmes of the MIEEK and to identify potential areas for change and improvement. At the same time, it explored the contribution of MIEEKs to the employability of their graduates and their linkage to the labour market, as well as the provision of opportunities for young people to acquire, improve or upgrade their professional qualifications and skills in order to make them more capable and competent to participate in the labour market.
The presentation, which was organised by the Directorate of Secondary Technical and Vocational Education and Training of the Ministry of Education and Training, was addressed by the Minister of Education, Sports and Youth, Dr Athena Michaelidou. In her address, the Minister stressed the special importance that the Government, through its governance programme, attaches to Technical and Vocational Education and Training, noting that the Ministry of Education, Sports and Youth has already included the upgrading and strengthening of the public MIEEK school among its ten flagship actions and policies, according to its Action Plan for 2023-2024. At the same time, he noted that the Directorate of Secondary Technical and Vocational Education and Training has adopted a targeted policy to ensure the future operation of the school and its continuous development, prioritizing the quality assurance of the education provided. At the heart of this policy is, among other things, the systematic development of new accredited curricula and the expansion of existing ones to other provinces, depending on the requirements of local labour markets.
This was followed by a welcome address by Dr. Elias Markatzis, Director General of the MIEEK, who referred to the more than ten-year history of the MIEEK, the future goals and plans of the School, while a short address on behalf of the consortium was also given by Dr. George Demosthenous, Rector of Frederick University.
According to the Professor of Mathematics Education at Frederick University, Dr Rita Panaura, the positive findings of the Report include that Cyprus, with its decisions to establish autonomous post-secondary education centres in terms of facilities, is heading in the right direction based on the EU recommendations. In addition, the experiences of the graduates of the MIECS are also very positive, mainly in terms of the years they spent at the School, the knowledge they gained and the skills they acquired, while employers believe that the MIECS School prepares graduates with appropriate knowledge and necessary skills to work in organisations such as the ones they represent. At the same time, however, there is a need to develop further education and training opportunities through short seminars or short programmes after graduation, the need to create an Office of Liaison between the School and employers, the further use of the digital tools that modern times offer for information, the need to create an Alumni Association of the School and, finally, the possibility of attending the programme on a part-time basis in order to enable a larger number of people to combine professional and vocational training.
