Haapsalu Vocational Education and Training Centre (HKHK) is a VET institution administered by the Estonian Ministry of Education and Research. The school is situated in the western part of Estonia, in a summer resort town Haapsalu, in Lääne County. The main activity of HKHK is providing a quality education service with equal opportunity for people of all ages and abilities. The mission of Haapsalu Vocational Education and Training Centre is to provide their students vocational education and training, so that they will be successful in the labour market and in Life Long Learning process. HKHK is the biggest in-service training provider in the district and an important developer of Adult Education.
The school has over 700 students who are studying 30 different specialties. 64% of the students are Adult Learners who are studying 22 different specialties. The school has 11 curriculum groups: Tourism, Accommodation and Catering, Construction, Woodwork, Handicraft, Infotechnology, Office Work, Social Work, Financing, Childcare and Cleaning Services. The school has 90 employees, 33 of them are full-time teachers. Besides that there are 20 external educators from different fields who also who carry out courses and workshops at HKHK.
The school has a close cooperation with the Tallinn University Haapsalu College and with other enterprises, institutions and organizations in the district. This helps the school to be well-prepared in educating people due to the needs of the labour market and increase the economical efficiency of the region. HKHK has signed several partnership agreements with locally important enterprises and institutions to reciprocally and beneficially change the studies more effective and down-to-earth due to the real needs of the employers and to create new values through the cooperation, both for the partner organizations and the students.
Since 2016 the school has directed a course to develop and increase the digital skills of the staff. For that purpose the school carries out systematic staff trainings and implements new internet based environments and digital cooperation tools to create the new possibilities for collaboration and using the ICT skills and resources in teaching. In spring 2018 the school plans to initiate an e-learning week when all the studies are carried out through the Internet.
The students of HKHK have been successful in Republican and International Vocational Competitions. The school has taken part in AEHT International Competitions for Chefs and Restaurant Service and won the silver medals in 2006 and 2013, and the bronze medal in 2008. The students of HKHK have represented Estonia in Euroskills, where we got the gold medal in Chefs’ Competition in 2012 and in Worldskills in 2015, where we have been among the first 10 in Joinery Competition.
Since 2005 the school has run a range of International Mobility and Cooperation projects in the frame of Leonardo da Vinci, Comenius, Grundtvig, Erasmus+, Interreg and Nordplus programs. The school has partners in more than 20 European countries. Every year more than 50 students take part in International Mobilities and carry out their placements in European enterprises. The staff members of HKHK take actively part in the International projects as well. Besides that the school operates as a host partner and with cooperation of the local enterprises offers placements for the students of the partner schools.
In 2016 the school obtained the Erasmus+ VET Mobility Charter for proven quality in organising VET mobility for learners and staff to further develop their European internationalisation strategies. Due to the “Strategy of Internationalisation” in Haapsalu Vocational Education and Training Centre during 2016 – 2020, HKHK is an active cooperation partner in Europe, sharing our skills and knowledge and supporting the development of VET all over the European Union.
Adult Education 