Renewed Vocational Education Among the Best in Europe

The renewed Hungarian vocational education and training is the second best in Europe and is among the top ten in the world, said Balázs Hankó, Minister of Culture and Innovation, on Friday at the 1st Excellence Gala of the Carpathian Basin Vocational Schools in Budapest. At the event, students and teachers from the most outstanding vocational schools in Hungary and beyond the borders of the region were honored for their academic and community achievements.

Balázs Hankó emphasized that the secret of success is the organic cooperation between vocational education and training and the Hungarian economy, and that real success can be achieved through motivated teachers and students. The Minister said it is important for young people to have a profession in their hands, because it gives them security, but success can only be achieved if it is built on a solid foundation.

He pointed out that all professions change, but if the basics are learned with confidence, new things can be absorbed quickly, and there is room for progress and the chance to become one of the best. He added that

vocational training had become popular, helped by the renewal of the scholarship system, the restoration of the prestige of the professions and the introduction of dual, practical training.

Among other things, Balázs Hankó mentioned that students in vocational training can receive a scholarship of tens of thousands of forints, a wage, a HUF 300,000 (EUR 733) career start allowance, and the HUF 4 million (EUR 9,775) workers’ loan to help young skilled workers. Meanwhile, technician training has become a precursor to higher education, added the Minister.

He recalled that 34 vocational schools are being renovated with around HUF 100 billion (EUR 244 million). The program to develop vocational training institutions customized for the 21st century will be continued, and regional knowledge centers will be built through a joint effort between vocational training, higher education and economic operators.

Veronika Varga-Bajusz, Secretary of State for Higher Education, Vocational and Adult Education and Youth at the Ministry of Culture and Innovation, said at the event that the revamped vocational education and training system can provide both high quality theoretical and practical skills. The technical institutions are increasingly working with businesses, so students can earn money during their studies while gaining practical skills.

The gala was also organized to promote Hungary’s world-renowned vocational education and training, and to ensure that those who study in the Hungarian vocational training system get a profession that will provide a solid foundation for the future,”

she said.

The best technical school in the Carpathian Basin was the Boronkay György Vocational School and High School of Vác, followed by the Széchenyi István Vocational and Technical School of Nyíregyháza, the Horváth Boldizsár Vocational School of Economics and Informatics of Vas County, the Bethlen Gábor Vocational School of Economics and Informatics of Debrecen, and the Jedlik Ányos Vocational School of Mechanical Engineering and Informatics of Győr.

Award winners at the 1st Excellence Gala of the Carpathian Basin Vocational Schools.Photo: MTI/Hegedüs Róbert

A special prize for dual training was awarded to the Pálffy Miklós Trade and Logistics Vocational School of Győr.

The special good service prize was awarded to the Türr István Vocational School in Baja, the special foreign prize to the Ede Egán Vocational Training Center of the Ferenc Rákóczi II Transcarpathian Hungarian College of Higher Education, and the Mandiner prize to the Pesti Barnabás Vocational School of Food Industry.

The first five technical schools received a grant of HUF 10 million each (EUR 24,460), while four others received a special prize of HUF 500,000 (EUR 1,220).

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