AZOO – Agency for Vocational Education and Adult Education

AZOO (Agencija za strukovno obrazovanje i obrazovanje odraslih), the Agency for Vocational Education and Adult Education, is Croatia’s national body responsible for developing, implementing, and quality-assuring the country’s vocational and adult education and training system. Headquartered in Zagreb, AZOO works closely with the Croatian Ministry of Science and Education, employer organisations, trade unions, and VET schools to design occupational standards, update educational programmes, and introduce competence-based assessment aligned with European Qualifications Framework (EQF) levels. The agency coordinates the development of the Croatian Qualifications Framework (HKO) and manages the accreditation and oversight of adult education providers across Croatia. AZOO also supports the professional development of VET teachers, instructors, and school leaders through training programmes and resource development, ensuring teaching practice reflects current industry requirements and modern pedagogical approaches. The agency participates in multiple EU and Erasmus+ projects promoting VET reform, credit transfer, and transparency of qualifications across the European Higher Education and Vocational Education space. AZOO provides a publicly accessible database of accredited adult education programmes and supports the validation of non-formal and informal learning within Croatia’s lifelong learning framework.