Official guidelines on traineeship and apprenticeships

The professional training program for persons with acquired higher education aims to facilitate the transition of young people from the world of education to the world of work by providing opportunities for additional acquisition of knowledge, skills and competences. The program should also contribute to the reduction of youth unemployment, as well as provide guidance to institutions of higher education in designing enrollment policies.
According to the regulations, the Program is organized for the eleventh time, for 2022/2023. a year. Persons with acquired higher education who do not have work experience at a certain level of education and are registered with the Employment Service have the right to professional training. For the Vocational Training Program for persons with acquired higher education, the total number of places advertised for professional training by employers is 16,569, of which 12,124 are in the private sector, and 4,445 in the public sector.
More information on transparency, applications for employers and users of the program, description of jobs submitted by employers, contracts between all actors, total number of users, can be found at the following link.

The planned monthly compensation according to The Labor Law defines the traineeship is equal to the minimum wage in Montenegro, which is EUR 450.00.
During the duration of the professional training program, the user of the program realizes the right to health insurance as an unemployed person.
During professional training, the general labor regulations shall be applied to the user in relation to his rights, obligations and responsibilities, unless otherwise regulated by this law.
The conditions of the competition specifically define that users of the Program who want to work in teaching in primary and secondary schools must, before starting the professional training, have a diploma/certificate of completed study cycle, namely:
- according to the 3+1 model, they apply with a diploma/certificate of basic studies, amounting to 180 ECTS, and guarantee that they have completed specialist studies for a duration of 60 ECTS, i.e. a total of 240 ECTS;
- according to the 3+2 model, they apply with a diploma of basic studies, volume 180 ECTS, and guarantee that they have obtained a diploma/certificate of completed two-year master's studies, volume 120 ECTS, i.e. a total of 300 ECTS.
The target group of this program are young people with completed higher education who do not have work experience in a certain level of education and are registered with the Employment Office.


Guarantees for youth are currently in the final stages of development and Information is not available at the moment.

Promoting traineeship and apprenticeships

The establishment of the Vocational Training Program for higher education students, as well as the importance of the existence of such measures, which provide opportunities for connecting the business sector and the public sector on the one hand and young people on the other, created mutual benefit in order to provide work practice for employers.
The government departments responsible for the promotion of the Program have, through various sets, informed both young people and the business sector to take part and be part of this Program.
Various events were an opportunity to share information with potential users, while the interested parties received adequate information about the activities through the media.
Some of the information can be found at the following links


Recognition of the learning outcomes

The information system for the needs of professional training of users is provided by the state administration body responsible for the information society.
The records of users who have completed the professional training program, based on data from the information system, are kept by the administrative body responsible for personnel management and the Employment Institute of Montenegro.
The certificate of acquired knowledge, skills and competences is issued by the employer at the end of the nine-month internship. A user with a Certificate obtained from an employer can register with the Ministry of Public Administration for taking a state exam and thus acquire the condition to be employed in the state sector.
The employer is obliged to submit a monthly report on the work of the Program user and submit it in the form of a report to the state body responsible for paying the user's monthly salary.

Funding

The professional training program for higher education students is financed from the state budget and funds are allocated in the amount of EUR 12,500,000.00.
Formal education for young people in Montenegro is under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Education. The quality of insurance is ensured by the Institute for Education at the level of secondary education, while for higher education it is ensured by the Agency for Control and Quality Assurance of Higher Education, and recognition of non-formal education by the Examination Center of Montenegro.
Formal education is represented at three levels: primary, (general and professional) secondary and higher education. Only basic education is compulsory, while general and vocational secondary education, as well as higher education are not compulsory.

1. General secondary education is carried out in gymnasiums. People who have completed primary education and who are younger than 17 years old can enroll in gymnasium. Education in gymnasiums lasts four years.
2. Secondary vocational education is carried out in secondary vocational and art schools and can be two-, three- or four-year.
3. Higher education is obtained at the University of Montenegro, which is a state university, three private universities, two independent private faculties and one state independent faculty. From the academic year 2017/2018. studies are carried out according to the new study model 3+2+3.