Introduction

In the field of vocational education and training (VET), many Member States have been busy the past seven months with a number of important initiatives covering all aspects of VET. The design and implementation of major programmes concerned with

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Overall reviews of the system

In Finland, new legislation which consolidated 26 acts into eight, focusing on the regulation of objectives and content, levels and forms of education, student rights and responsibilities, and establishing obligations for interinstitutional cooperation, came into force on 1 January 1999. In France, in March, the Secretary of State for the rights of women and vocational training presented a white paper and a report on the present state of VET which amongst other things was found not to be either efficient or egalitarian. Her proposals for reform include: implementing an individual right to training which should be guaranteed collectively; making it easier for competences obtained through working experience to be validated and recognised; extending the availability of offers of alternance training; simplifying procedures and clarifying the role of the various actors and agents in the system.

The social partners welcomed the proposals in general terms although the emphasis of the employers and trade unions varied in relation to the responsibilities of employers and of individuals for ensuring the development of their competences.

In Italy, as part of an overall social package signed in December 1998, the government announced its intention of introducing a unified education and training system. A first step will be a one year extension of compulsory education in 1999. The aims are to reform schools, to create closer links between schools (particularly vocational schools) and in-company training, to improve the quality and quantity of training and to develop further forms of apprenticeship training.

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Special measures for the integration of young people in the labour market

Three of the largest Member States (Germany, France and the United Kingdom) have in the past two years launched very large-scale programmes containing elements of guidance, counselling, work experience and education and training to assist young people to obtain a qualification and successfully enter the labour market. The most recent is the emergency programme launched by the new German government. It aims to assist about 10 000 young people who have not obtained a training place in the dual system or who, having completed their training, have been unemployed for longer than six months. The extra training places will be sought initially within companies, and later in training institutions. Special emphasis is being laid on providing extra training places for women.

In the United Kingdom and France, evaluation of the initial impact of similar programmes launched in 1997 are now becoming available. Interestingly, while it seems the opportunities offered in France are essentially in the public sector, a UK report found that the public sector had not fulfilled its expectations in terms of places in the new deal programme. Overall, under the programme over 58 000 young people have found a job whilst 230 000 people have joined the programme including over 50 000 being prepared for employment through education or training measures. Although drop-out rates of up to 40% are reported in part of the programme, a major extension to meet the special needs of single mothers has been announced together with a programme for people aged 25-50. The French report showed the objective of providing 150 000 jobs or education/training places for young people had been achieved by the end of 1998.

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Initial training, new training programmes and expansion of apprenticeship

A major reform of initial vocational training is being initiated in Denmark, although its introduction has been postponed until 2001. The reform is influenced by the Norwegian 1994 reform and the Finnish system of modularised training courses. The number of programmes available at entry will be reduced from 83 to seven and some schools will be practising this policy from August 1999 on an experimental basis.

Statistics in Austria and Germany show that reformed or totally new training regulations have attracted additional young people into the dual system particularly in the fields of information and communication technology and the media. However, the German trade unions (DGB), consider that some of the newly developed regulations might result in over-specialisation. In Ireland, the number of apprenticeship contracts being signed continues to rise. In Greece, within the framework of the general education and training reform agreed in 1997, the technical vocational centres which offer a programme at lower secondary level that combines general education and technical-vocational specialisation, have been operating since September 1998.

In Norway, a White Paper on upper secondary education and training was presented to parliament in March. It was based on an evaluation of the comprehensive Reform 94 programme. This evaluation was completed in December 1998 and found that while the quality of training at this level had improved, there were still important challenges as regards content and delivery.

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Continuing training

In France, AFPA (the national association for the training of adults) signed a second five-year "progress contract" in January 1999 for the period to 2003 with the State. Amongst the agreed objectives are the establishment of individual training contracts regulating entry to vocational training qualification measures between AFPA and the unemployed and increasing the number of adults participating in State financed vocational training. AFPA is to work closely with the ANPE (employment service) to achieve the objectives laid down in the French national action employment plan.

In Portugal, a decree was approved in February to introduce a system of rotation between employment and training. This system, already used in other Member States, aims at facilitating companies, particularly SMEs, by providing support for releasing employees for training and replacing them on a temporary basis by unemployed people.

Parliament in Norway made a formal decision in January asking the government to prepare legislation on adults' right to basic education, and employees' individual rights to leave for further education and training purposes. The government was also asked to establish a system which will ensure the recognition of non-formal competence. In parallel to the preparation of legislation, financial and taxation aspects are being looked into. The major social partners are heavily involved in all parts of this work.

In late 1998, the Irish government published its green paper entitled Adult education in an era of lifelong learning, which underlines the importance of retraining those at work to update constantly skills and maintain competitiveness. It proposes: a "back to education" initiative targeted at all adults who did not complete upper secondary education; the establishment of a national adult learning council to promote coordination among providers; efforts to widen recognition of new qualifications; and the accreditation of prior learning.

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Financing of training

In Wallonia, a new programme issuing training cheques covering half the costs of training to small employers (less than 50 employees), who then purchase training from recognised training bodies for their employees during working time in areas such as computers, languages, marketing, came into force on 1 December 1998. In Flanders, a new funding framework (VLAMIFORM) for funding vocational training in companies has been agreed with the social partners. Companies which participate will have to draw up a training policy plan.

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Linking the worlds of employment and education and training

The underlying theme of the white paper Our competitive future: building the knowledge driven economy published in December by the United Kingdom government is the strengthening of capabilities, knowledge, skills and creativity. The government wants to develop entrepreneurs and has asked the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority to consider developing entrepreneuship skills in schools. It also wishes to support the establishment of a management and enterprise national training organisation and a management and enterprise council to present a strategy for the development of managers.

The national employment institute (INEM) in Spain approved a model training contract and drew up instructions for the application of its training components in December 1998, thus reinforcing links between the worlds of training and work. In Sweden, the pilot project which launched a new form of post-secondary education in 1996 in which one third of time is spent in the workplace, (qualified vocational training), is being expanded and extended in 1999, so that it will have 12 000 students.

In Flanders, a new agreement between the construction sector and education bodies has been signed to ensure close cooperation in the technical, vocational and general education of future construction workers. In the United Kingdom, this was also a sector defined as having a skills shortage due to lack of training, while another UK report indicated skill shortages in engineering.

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Development of qualifications and systems for their recognition

The Qualifications and Curriculum Authority in the United Kingdom commenced a root and branch review of National Vocational Qualifications (NVQs) at the end of last year. One of the aims will be to see how many of the nearly 900 NVQs no longer serve the purpose for which they were designed. An earlier survey showed wide variations in the costs of training even at the same NVQ level. In Spain, a royal Decree of 5 March 1999 created the national institute for qualifications. Within the framework of the second national vocational training plan, it will support the general council for vocational training by observing training qualifications and their evolution, assisting in the establishment of a national system of vocational qualifications and establishing procedures for working with the autonomous regions and social partners in defining and updating a catalogue of vocational qualifications on the basis of sectoral needs.

In Austria, a major conference held in January co-organised by the social partners, explored ways of intensifying cooperation between higher education and the economy, and particularly the further development of Fachhochschulen (non-university higher education institutions).

The Irish Minister for Education published a bill in early March 1999 proposing the creation of a comprehensive qualifications framework with the objectives of promoting quality in education and training, protecting the interests of students and trainees and allowing institutions to receive recognition of their work. It is proposed to establish a new body called the further education and training awards council together with a higher education and training awards council, with a national qualifications authority being the overall guarantor of quality and promoter of access, transfer and progression within and between education and training.

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Use of information technologies

The community and regional office for employment and vocational training in the Walloon region (FOREM) has developed its internet site so that individuals can use the net to register themselves as seeking employment and provide a short curriculum vitae, which is then sent by electronic mail to employers seeking staff.

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Drop outs

Recent studies in Denmark, one of which was carried out by LO the Danish trade union confederation, have shown disturbingly high levels of drop-out trainees during the company-based part of their training - this figure reaches almost one in four in technical training programmes. In Portugal a second chance school is being established as part of the EUs programme. In addition, the Portuguese government has approved special measures for the training of drug addicts.

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Social partners

In October 1998, French employers launched a new organisation (mouvement des entreprises de France - MEDEF, replacing the CNPF) and a new economic and social policy with the reform of the State as an absolute priority. MEDEF wants a new definition of social partnership in which VET will be of paramount importance.

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Internationalisation

The results of pilot projects initiated as part of the Leonardo da Vinci programme and seminars and conferences held as part of the concluding phases of that programme underline the degree to which the simple exchange of experiences between Member States has been superseded by joint initiatives. This was made clear at a seminar held in January 1999 in Dresden on the contribution of Leonardo da Vinci projects to the development of new job and qualification profiles, where the German Federal Institute of Vocational Training (BIBB) reported that it had been involved in 185 pilot projects dealing with the European dimension of national training concepts.

In Denmark, a working committee with representatives from six ministries was established in November 1998 to set up a centre for the recognition and assessment of foreign diplomas and qualifications. In the Netherlands, the existing agency for international diploma comparison which provides detailed descriptions of Dutch qualifications and the courses leading to them, has recently been expanded. In France, an agency to make the availability of higher education and training opportunities better known to those from abroad was established in November 1998. At the same time, a reorganisation of programmes in French higher education was announced with the objective of moving towards greater harmonisation of European university systems.

In Wallonia, FOREM has developed a project (Symbiosis) aimed at helping young people of foreign origin living in Belgium to make the most of their potential skills in, for example, exporting to markets in countries with whose languages they are familiar. In Germany, the Federal Institute for Vocational Training (BIBB) has published (in English as well as German) a handbook and a video on the theme of preventing violence and racism in vocational training.

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J. Michael Adams
Email: jma@cedefop.eu.int
Brussels
30 April 1999

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