Why did you decide to earn a national vocational qualification certificate?
For five consecutive years, I have been carrying out the job and work tasks of a Roma assistant at an elementary school. I am currently employed by Ljudska univerza Kočevje which employs about 20 Roma assistants in the framework of the project. I work at Osnovna šola borcev za severno mejo and at Osnovna šola Slave Klavore Maribor. Last year, I attended the first certification process for obtaining the Roma assistant NVQ certificate. I was extremely motivated to obtain this public certificate since the NVQ certificate was a condition for me to be able to perform this work. Otherwise, I completed my studies at the commercial college. My mission is working with children: I simply feel most useful when I am helping children learn, when I monitor them, help them by translating things for them, etc. To this day, I still remember the process of putting together my personal portfolio. I believe that my effort in preparing the portfolio was repaid by the fact that I am still one of the first 31 people in Slovenia with this certificate. The portfolio stays with you forever – it is a place where you can collect education certificates, reference letters, creations, etc. You can introduce yourself at any time using this portfolio, and even add new components. We have created our portfolios with the assistance of the NVQ advisor at the Andragogical Institute of Maribor (Ljudska univerza) where the first certification took place. The committee has decided to only award the certificate based on the confirmed portfolio.
How does the national vocational qualification that you have earned help you as you exercise your profession?
If I wanted to become employed as part of the LU Kočevje project, I had to obtain my Roma assistant NVQ certificate. Before that, me and other assistants were a part of longer education projects which somehow culminated in obtaining this certificate. Without in-depth education, we never would have been able to navigate the complex waters of schoolwork; at the same time, new pedagogical and psychological content has also broadened my horizons. Personally, I would like to see the work of a Roma assistant become a permanent job position. I would like to continue with this special work with Roma children and their parents.
Valbone Haliti
