Vocational education: establishment of a consultative committee
Under the Decree Law of 21 May 1997, a Consultative Committee on Vocational Education has been established at the Ministry of School and Higher Education. This Committee is to use a partnership approach to tackle all issues of joint interest to education and the professions. It is to be consulted on the formulation of vocationally oriented schemes and diplomas, information on trades, jobs, guidance for school and higher education students, continuing training schemes run by State education, validation of experience and concerted action by State education and the professions. Chaired by the Minister, it is made up of ten representatives from employers’ organisations, ten representatives from workers’ trade unions, experts, representatives of Regional Councils, a representative of the Ministry of Labour and teachers from secondary and higher education. The National Education-Professions Committee set up in 1992 has been abolished.
A second Decree Law establishes a Higher Committee on Vocational Training at the Ministry of School and Higher Education. This body replaces the Higher Committee on Education and the Economy which is abolished. Made up of 24 experts, the Higher Committee on Vocational Training has the task of developing exchanges between State education and its partners and of leading forward thinking about the links between the education system and the economic world.
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Reform of higher education - implementation
The general order on the implementation of the reform of higher education was published in the Official Gazette on 15 April 1997. In addition to the right to re-orientation and more widespread tutoring, the main innovation that this reform introduces is the establishment of vocational experience units. These take the form of in-company work experience periods forming part of the final undergraduate or postgraduate degree year and are intended to help students to gain a better knowledge of the working world and to promote their vocational integration.
Educational supervision and evaluation will be the joint responsibility of the university and the enterprise.
Undergraduate and postgraduate degree students whose universities have entered into agreements for this purpose, may also attend a European University Semester in another EU Member State.
In both cases, validation will be by a panel that may be renewed every year and is appointed by the Dean of the University.
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Continuing vocational training: establishment of the DGEFP
As part of a reorganisation within the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, the Vocational Training Delegation has been merged with the Employment Delegation. The new General Delegation on Employment and Vocational Training (DGEFP) now has the task of shaping and co-ordinating employment, vocational training and social advancement policy and of supervising the implementation of this policy.
This reorganisation is the logical outcome of reforms at Departmental and Regional level which were reflected by the establishment of the Departmental Directorates for Labour, Employment and Vocational Training (DDTEFP) in 1992 and by the Regional Directorates for Labour, Employment and Vocational Training (DRTEFP) in 1995.
A National Commission on Vocational Training Accounts was also established in March 1997. It will submit a yearly report to Parliament on the use of vocational training funds and will, in addition to its supervisory role, work as a think-tank.
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Proposals for a medium-term reform of the continuing training system (Virville Report)
This report, requested by the Minister for Labour, was published in October 1996. The guiding thread of this report is the possibility of qualification throughout life. It looks at three aspects:
- Developing alternance training under contracts of employment, with the objective of associating initial work experience with the acquisition of an initial qualification;
- Developing qualifying continuing training. Two main methods are envisaged:
- opening up alternance training contracts to jobseekers aged over 26;
- establishing a national system for the validation of vocational experience by formulating a national reference framework for qualifications by branch and level, to which vocational qualification and diplomas would be linked. The aim is to standardise and clarify current validation systems and to place vocational experience and continuing training on a par with initial training.
- Reforming the way in which the employees’ training system is organised in order to make better use of existing financial resources. In particular, the report advocates:
- establishing a bank of training time that can be accumulated over several years; it would be financed by the enterprise and possibly by the employee and would make it possible for the employee to be paid during subsequent training;
- encouraging enterprises to develop qualifying training by exempting them from social security contributions in respect of training periods that lead to validation;
- allowing small and medium-sized enterprises to accumulate financial provisions over several years in order to organise qualifying training.
A draft law based on this report was to be lodged at the beginning of 1997 after negotiation of some points by the social partners. In practice, the social partners had done little by way of response to the invitation to establish working parties when the National Assembly was dissolved on 21 April.
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Shelved plans
In addition to the vocational training reform, a number of draft laws have been shelved as a result of the dissolution of the National Assembly and the elections in May-June 1997.
This applies to the draft law on social cohesion and the draft law on apprenticeship in the public sector.
There was not enough time to provide a legal foundation for the new form of the guidance contract decided by the social partners on 26 February 1997 (codicil to the national multi-industry agreement of 3 July 1991).
Established in 1991 at the initiative of the social partners, the guidance contract is part and parcel of vocational integration measures for young people. Combining initial experience in enterprise with guidance sessions and assistance with jobseeking, its aim is to promote active guidance for young people who are finding it difficult to gain a foothold in the labour market. At the outset, its target group was young people aged under 22 who had not completed upper secondary education and had no vocational qualifications. The social partners’ intention is to open up this measure to young people aged under 25 likely to have a higher standard of education but no vocational qualifications as they have dropped out of their university courses.
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Continuing training statistics - 1995
In 1995, continuing vocational training and apprenticeship statistics remained at much the same level as in 1994. Total funding rose to FF 131.2 billion. The State continued to provide most funding with 57.6% of this figure, followed closely by enterprises with 52.4%. As a result of the decentralisation of training for young people, Regional expenditure increased to FF 9.3 billion in comparison with FF 7.6 billion in 1994.
Over eight million people attended training in 1995, including 4.3 million enterprise employees and over 2 million public service workers.
738 600 young people attended vocational training financed by the State or the Regions, outside of school. The "contrat de qualification" and the "contrat d’adaptation" (both forms of employment and training contracts) declined to some extent. Apprenticeship increased by 8%, showing an increase of 40% over three years. The age of apprentices is rising and the ratio of young men to young women is also increasing.
The participation rate of enterprises with 10 or more employees averages 3.3% of the wage bill. Training efforts increase with enterprise size, from 1.6% for enterprises with 10-19 employees to 5.1% for enterprises with over 2000 employees.
Source: Centre INFFO
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