Additional professional education is one of the types of education in the Russian Federation. It is intended to enable one to upgrade the professional level or acquire new professions when necessary. Such an education, along with second and subsequent higher education, provides lifelong learning. Additional professional education programs provide the necessary skills without separation or with minimal separation from the professional activities.
There are four levels of professional education:
· secondary professional education (technical school, college, high school and others)
· bachelor’s degree
· Master’s or specialist’s degree
· Postgraduate studies
The special feature of the APE is that it can only be obtained as a supplement to secondary professional or higher education.
The Difference between Additional Education and Additional Professional Education
Many people misunderstand the terms and think they are identical. But this is not true. The difference is not just in one word. They differ also by other criteria:
· Additional education (AE) can last several years, while APE can be obtained in a shorter time. For example, the average duration of advanced training courses ranges from two weeks to several months
· The AE program does not guarantee any educational documents while as completing the APE program usually result in a certificate or diploma of advanced training.
· The APE organization is subject to stricter requirements. The educational program should be built according to state standards
What types of Additional Professional Education exist?
To take any additional training courses or not is a voluntary choice of everyone. APE can be the responsibility of the employee. But this is more like an exception to the rules. Not all employers require employees to regularly upgrade their skills.
There are 2 types of the APE:
1. Advanced training
2. Professional retraining
Advanced training
Why does the advanced training is needed? They allow to improve professional knowledge and skills, to master new skills necessary for work.
The modern labor market is full of specialists in different fields. Therefore, to be competitive, it is essential to constantly learn new ways and broaden your worldview.
In addition, the educational courses help to learn about innovations in the professional field and to master new skills. Regular training is the key to successful work and promotion up the career ladder.
The courses usually last from 72 to 150 hours. It depends on the specific program. The government only sets a minimum duration of 16 hours.
The students who successfully completed the training receive a certificate of qualification improvement.
Professional retraining
What is the difference between professional retraining and advanced training? It’s simple. The main difference is that those who want to get a completely different job are retrained. For example, an accountant may complete a course in psychology and a lawyer may complete a course in philology.
Retraining can be called a light version of higher education. Who wants to learn a new profession but does not want to spend five or six years on it, can take additional courses. This saves money and time.
The minimum duration of courses is 250 hours. The average length of courses is 300 to 500 hours. But there are also more extensive programs which last for six months, it is about 1000 academic hours. Duration depends on the difficulty of the occupation to be mastered.
Additional education can also be obtained in the form of an internship. The individual performs various test tasks to consolidate the knowledge acquired in the courses and demonstrate professional skills.
Forms of APE:
The APE programs are represented in the 3 forms
1. Full-time
2. Part-time
3. Distance
The form of education is determined by each organization that provides APE. Some educational universities provide a choice. The students can study online or in-person. Form is agreed in advance and specified in the contract. No matter what format the person chooses, it should not affect the quality and effectiveness of the study. Form is written only in the contract. The certificate of additional professional education will only indicate the name of the course and the number of academic hours.
Who can receive additional professional education?
The Professional retraining and Advanced Training courses are available for those who have already completed secondary vocational or higher education. Or those who are in college or high school. Getting an APE is easy. You don’t need to take exams to enroll in the courses. It is sufficient for a person to present a university diploma or certificate that he is studying in parallel.
Additional training is usually paid. But some companies pay for the employees to take Professional Retraining Courses. Students are admitted to the classes immediately after payment.
Foreigners and stateless persons also have an opportunity to apply for APE. The main condition is that their certificates of education must be recognized in Russia.
DBO is available to any adult at any age. The main thing is to have time and desire to learn.
