Introduction

• This report covers a shorter period of time (late April to mid-August) than is usual. It has not been possible at this time of year to obtain verification from all correspondents on the way information provided has been summarised.
• If the eight months previous to April 1999 had in many member states being marked by major new policy initiatives and announcements, the four months since then have been characterised by continuing debate and discussion on these proposals. The main themes seem however to be common in many countries -

• how to ensure that all young people leaving full time education, not only have the opportunity to obtain a vocational training which leads to a qualification, but also avail of it;

• to make transfer between various elements of education and training easier;

• to mobilise existing resources to deal with disadvantaged groups.

• The very active participation of the social partner organisations in the on-going debate is also notable.

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Overall VET reform

• The comprehensive proposals for reform put forward in March by the Minister of State for Vocational Training in France have been the subject of widespread discussion but a formal debate with the social partners has not yet begun. It is not now expected that legislative proposals will be presented to parliament until early next year. However previous to that, there will be legislation concerning the reduction of the working week to 35 hours and this will have a vocational training component. In Italy draft legislation to implement the reform announced earlier envisages the creation of an agency for vocational education and training, which would be responsible to a committee composed of representatives from central and regional authorities and, ultimately, to the Prime Minister. It would also take over the present responsibilities of ISFOL and would be charged with creating an integrated system of vocational education and training.
• In June, a white paper Learning to Succeed was published in the United Kingdom. This proposes far-reaching changes in the infrastructure and funding arrangements for post-16 education in England, including the creation of a new Learning and Skills Council (LSC), which should be in operation by April 2001, with responsibilities in the fields of further education, community and adult learning, work-based training for young people, workforce development and information, advice, guidance and support for adults. It is proposed that there be 50 local Learning and Skills Councils taking over the role of the Training and Enterprise Councils (TECs).

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Initial training

• In Germany following the third round of negotiations in the context of the alliance for employment (Bundnis für Arbeit) in July involving the Federal government and the social partners, a joint declaration states that "any young person who is able and willing to do so will receive training". This should be seen in the context of a demographically-driven rise (expected to be between 1.3 and 2 % per year until 2006) in the demand for training places, an expected number of 655 000 school-leavers in 1999 seeking training places and a commitment to a special programme to provide 15 000 additional training places in Eastern Germany.
• In Germany, as in Austria, the positive effects in terms of more new apprenticeship contracts, following the introduction of new or reformed programmes in specific occupations, are being felt, but in Germany the Federal Minister of Education is concerned that some companies are not aware of, or taking up, these new opportunities for training.
• Modern Apprenticeship is seen as one of the successes of government intervention in the labour market in the UK. Figures for participation continue to rise and 250 000 young people have now been involved since the pilot scheme four years ago. 40 % of large companies offer Modern Apprenticeship as part of their overall training and development programme. In Ireland, a recent report of the ESF evaluation unit found that while both the apprenticeship and "traineeship" programmes had increased their number of participants and had been positively evaluated by both employers and trainees, some unnecessary rigidities remain, for example in the length of apprenticeship (four years) and the conditions of recruitment to the traineeship programme.
• A recent decree following agreement between the regional council of Wallonia and the council of the French-speaking community in Belgium spells out the procedures and the financial support available for the expansion of alternance training actions. At the end of June in Lyon, the French employers organisation (MEDEF) launched the fourth edition of its "Cap sur l’avenir" (Course for the future) with an objective of having 500 000 young people in apprenticeship or other alternance type contracts by the end of the year 2000. The number of apprentice contracts has increased dramatically from 128 000 in 1993 to 215 000 in 1998. The quality of training offered also needs to be improved and those young people having difficulty in the transition from school should be a priority target group.
• In April, the Danish parliament approved a programme for improving the quality of the total package on offer to young people in general and vocational education. It did not propose new training programmes, but greater flexibility to ensure a better transition of young people at the end of the first cycle of secondary education, so that by the year 2000, 95% of each age cohort leaving the education and training system obtain a recognised qualification. This provided a framework for the annual meeting organised by the Ministry of Education, which focused on the "rest" group. A report presented at it, suggested that the flexible individual programmes launched in the beginning of the 1990s involving guidance counsellors and students setting up a study plan and targets, had for the most part been successful. Guidance was seen to have a key role. However, the "rest" group in reality contains many different sub-groups and this means that knowledge of the detailed problems they experience is limited. Other recent reports consider that a major problem in terms of apprenticeship is a clash between trainee and enterprise attitudes and expectations and that this resulted in a high level of dropout.
• In the Netherlands a programme, which aims to make vocational education more attractive to young people and had been operated on a pilot basis in a limited number of occupations in four large cities, will from 1999 to 2001 be extended to other occupations and areas. The programme encourages self-organised learning in an effective learning environment, optimal use of new ICT and greater relevance of training to the needs of companies, particularly small and medium-sized ones. Concern about how to ensure the quality of training is also an issue in Italy where legislation to make participation in vocational training up to the age of 18 compulsory is under consideration. A recently published report on a study carried out in the province of Milan found a high level of satisfaction by young people who had completed training and that 71% had found employment within a year of completion of training. Also in Italy 229 new courses to train technicians and professionals according to labour market demand as part of a system of integrated Higher Technical Education and Training (Istruzione e formazione tecnica superiore – IFTS) are being launched. They are for young people holding an upper secondary school leaving certificate and the programme is managed by a committee which includes representatives of the regions, ministries, social partners and universities.
• In the United Kingdom, new legislation aimed at helping young employees get the skills and qualifications they need, came into effect in England and Wales on 1 September. The Right to Time Off for Study or Training entitles 16- and 17-year old employees who have not yet achieved National Vocational Qualification Level 2 or its equivalent, to take paid study leave to work towards this level of qualification. The legislation does not specify the amount of time off but should be "reasonable in all the circumstances".

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Continuing training

• In Denmark, from July 1999, the adult vocational training scheme (VEUD), introduced in 1992 on a trial basis, has become permanent. This is an apprenticeship type programme for adults run by the Ministry of Education with the local labour market authorities providing subsidies to employers. In Wallonia, a new "training-insertion" programme, which has it origins in a 1995 declaration of the government and social partners, has now formally entered into force. Its aim is to assist the unemployed and also small and medium sized enterprises by placing job-seekers with employers who are offering jobs which require a specific training programme and then to provide the necessary training geared to the needs of the company. 8 000 such contracts are expected to be signed during 1999 with a target of 10 000 by 2002. In Flanders, following legislation in February, revised programmes for the training of entrepreneurs and those working in small and medium-sized enterprises have been introduced.

• The Spanish government has now extended the successful programme of training workshops and crafts training centres set up in 1985 for those under 25, to unemployed persons over the age of 25. The Job Training Workshops, administered by the National Manpower Agency (INEM), will provide a mixed programme combining training and work for those with special difficulties on the labour market, e.g. those over 45, long-term unemployed, the disabled, etc.
• In Portugal, with a view to improving employability, an objective of doubling each year until 2002, the number of workers undergoing training has been set. The Institute for Employment and Vocational Training (IEFP) has organised 63 new training programmes leading to a qualification. By the end of 1999, more than 70% of those who are unemployed should have been assisted through the establishment of 10 new regional employment networks.

• In Norway the expected legislation on continuing training and qualifications is still under preparation and it is now planned that it should come in to force in October 2000.

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Qualifications

• In Norway a three year project involving the documenting of competences and then the recognition of qualifications obtained through informal learning has been launched. In Spain, where, as previously reported, a national institute for qualifications responsible to the Ministry for Employment and Social Affairs, but jointly financed by the Ministry of Education, has been established, a further three decrees containing regulations for occupations in the framework of adult training (formacion ocupacional) have been approved, bring the total of such decrees to 133 out of an expected 136.

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Combating illiteracy

• In June a comprehensive report commissioned by the French Minister of Employment and the Secretary of State for the rights of women and vocational training, on illiteracy was published. It reported that more than 2.3 million people in France could not read or only read a little. It emphasised the need for a much more effective co-operation of all those involved with this issue and called for a genuinely public policy which would be well organised and evaluated. Amongst the main recommendations were the improvement of guidance services with effective local networks and the provision of training which would respond better to specific needs - the improvement of the training, but also the status and contractual position, of teachers and trainers of the illiterate was indicated as a key issue in this regard.

• A government report "Improving Literacy and Numeracy: A fresh start" published in March 1999 found that 7 million adults in the United Kingdom are functionally illiterate and innumerate. It recommended that the number of adults with basic skills problems should be reduced to 3.5 million by 2010 and suggested a much wider choice of adult literacy education in a more informal setting so as to enable people to reap the benefits of life long learning. As a follow up to the 1998 green paper on adult literacy, the Irish government very recently established a pilot scheme in six areas providing adult education guidance and counselling services, focusing on adult literacy, basic education and vocational information.

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Skills development and shortages

• In a number of countries there is concern about existing and threatened skill shortages. This was again underlined by the annual UK report on skill needs (the 1998 edition reported 42% of employers as saying that they had considerable difficulties in filling some vacancies) and more recently in a report by the Ministry of Education in Denmark which forecast shortages in a number of industries such as metal-working and building where occupations such as masons, and painters are expected to be in short supply by 2010 unless more young people can be attracted into them. A recent seminar of German training managers emphasised the increasing importance of the service sector and the need for increasing training capacity in this area. A special programme launched in Ireland to cope with IT skill shortages has received a good response and 900 people are expected to be trained through it during 1999.

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Impact of new technologies and their use in training

• The programme of the Finnish government formed at the end of April lays emphasis on the creation of a humane information society and the role of education and training in this. This requires co-operation at EU level. Exclusion of citizens must be avoided. Training will have a key role with an expansion of apprenticeship. The capacity to use new technologies effectively is given a major place in the white paper "Modernising Government", which was published in March in the UK and also deals with the training and development of public servants. A recent experiment in Norway aimed at strengthening the participation by women training to be teachers in ICT programmes has been successful. This involved offering courses for women only and the result was higher learning curves and successful examination results.

• The results of a recent survey of training managers in the United Kingdom found that 40% expected their activities and budgets to increase during the coming 12 months with a view to making more effective use of the company’s labour force and increasing productivity. While most companies used traditional on-the job training methods many were planning to use ICT (70% videos, 52% CD-ROMs, 26% the Internet). In Belgium, the Flemish employment and training agency (VDAB) is now providing on-line PC-training through the Internet to employers, employees and those seeking employment. Registration, payment, training and tutoring are all done through the net.

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Vocational training research

• A national centre for vocational training research has been established in the United Kingdom. The Research Centre for Skills, Knowledge and Organisational Performance (SCOPE) will be financed by the Economic and Social Research Council and located in the Universities of Warwick and Oxford.

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Internationalisation

• The various moves at EU and bi- or multi-lateral level, to bring about a voluntary harmonisation of the higher education structures has resulted in Austria in greater autonomy for the universities to make decisions concerning the length and content of their programmes. This will have an impact on occupation-oriented courses and on the question of mutual recognition within the framework of the 1989 EU Regulation. Also in Austria a new law allows the recognition of private post-secondary education establishments as private universities, thus permitting foreign organisations to establish themselves there.

• The parliamentary process in Germany and France to implement the proposal for the establishment of a Franco-German university made progress in both countries in May and June.

• Partly to deal with a shortage of engineers, the Danish Ministry of Education, in co-operation with the umbrella employer organisation, is offering 200 places (100 in February 2000) to students from Eastern Europe enabling them to spend a year as trainees in Danish companies.

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The above note has been prepared by CEDEFOP as background information for the meeting of the Directors General for Vocational Training to be held in Rovaniemi (Finland) at the end of September. It is based on information received from members of CEDEFOP's documentary information network, in particular, their contributions to CEDEFOP Info 2/99, which should be published in late September and will include a dossier section concerning the new Leonardo da Vinci programme. These contributions, including some material which for space reasons have not been included in the hard copy version are available on CEDEFOP's Internet site (http://www.cedefop.eu.int) and in its Electronic Training Village (http://www.trainingvillage.gr). CEDEFOP would be pleased to receive feed back and reactions on the content and usefulness of this note.

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