# Commission Regulation (EU) No 1153/2014Show full title

Commission Regulation (EU) No 1153/2014 of 29 October 2014 amending Regulation (EC) No 198/2006 as regards the data to be            collected, and the sampling, precision and quality requirements (Text with EEA relevance)         

        - Previous
        - Next

U.K.

# Commission Regulation (EU) No 1153/2014                     

# of 29 October 2014

# amending Regulation (EC) No 198/2006 as regards the data to be collected, and the sampling, precision and quality requirements

# (Text with EEA relevance)

THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

Having regard to Regulation (EC) No 1552/2005 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 September 2005 on statistics                           relating to vocational training in enterprises(1), and in particular Articles 7(3), 8(2) and 9(4) thereof,                        

Whereas:

(1)Regulation (EC) No 1552/2005 establishes a common framework for the production of European statistics on vocational training                              in enterprises.

(2)Commission Regulation (EC) No 198/2006(2) defines the specific data to be collected with respect to training and non-training enterprises and to the different forms                              of vocational training, the sampling and precision requirements, the quality requirements for the data to be collected, and                              the structure of the quality reports.

(3)Requirements concerning the quality of the data to be collected and transmitted for European statistics on vocational training                              in enterprises, the standard quality report and any measures necessary for assessing or improving the quality of the data                              should be adopted.

(4)It is appropriate to modify the coding scheme, sampling, precision and quality requirements in order to reduce the burden                              for future data collection on statistics relating to vocational training in enterprises.

(5)Regulation (EC) No 198/2006 should therefore be amended accordingly.

(6)The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the European Statistical System Committee,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

# Article 1U.K.

Annexes I, II, III and V to Regulation (EC) No 198/2006 are replaced by the texts set out in the Annex to this Regulation.

# Article 2U.K.

This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the *Official Journal of the European Union*.                  

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.

Done at Brussels, 29 October 2014.

*For the Commission*                            

*The President*                            

José Manuel Barroso                            

## ANNEXU.K.

### 1.Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 198/2006 is replaced by the following:U.K.

#### “ANNEX IVariables

##### *Note to the table:*U.K.

The values “core” and “key” in the column “variable group” are explained in Annex III. The value “ID” means that the variable                     is an “identification variable” (no missing allowed). In the column “variable type” the value “QL” refers to “qualitative                     variable” of type yes/no, “QM” to “qualitative variable” with multiple categories as described in the table and “QT” refers                     to “quantitative variable”. CVT stands for continuing vocational training. IVT stands for initial vocational training. NACE                     refers to the classification of economic activity according to NACE Rev. 2.                  

##### 1.**Variables to be collected from all enterprises: sample characteristics**U.K.

##### 2.**Variables to be collected from all enterprises: background data**U.K.

##### 3.**Variables to be collected from all enterprises: CVT strategies**U.K.

##### 4.**Variables to be collected from all enterprises: CVT characteristics**U.K.

Sections 5 and 6 shall be addressed to enterprises providing CVT courses in the reference year [(B1a or B1b) = yes].

Section 7 shall be addressed to all training enterprises in the reference year, i.e.:
          -  enterprises providing CVT courses in 2015 [(B1a or B1b) = yes], or 
          -  enterprises providing other forms of CVT in 2015 [(B2a or B2b or B2c or B2d or B2e) = yes]. 

Section 8 shall be addressed to non-training enterprises only.

##### 5.**Variables to be collected from enterprises which provided CVT courses: CVT participants, subjects and providers**U.K.

##### 6.**Variables to be collected from enterprises which provided CVT courses: CVT costs**U.K.

##### 7.**Variables to be collected from enterprises which provided CVT courses or other forms of CVT: CVT quality, outcomes and difficulties**U.K.

##### 8.**Variables to be collected from non-training enterprises: reasons for non-provision of CVT activities**U.K.

##### 9.**Variables to be collected from all enterprises: initial vocational training (IVT)**U.K.

### 2.Annex II to Regulation (EC) No 198/2006 is replaced by the following:U.K.

#### “ANNEX IISample

##### 1.Business registers referred to in Regulation (EC) No 177/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council(3) shall be taken as the main source of the sampling frame. A nationally representative stratified probability sample of enterprises                        shall be taken from this frame.U.K.

##### 2.The sample shall be stratified by NACE Rev. 2 and size category according to the following minimum specifications:U.K.

          -  20 NACE Rev. 2 categories [B, C10-C12, C13-C15, C17-C18, C19-C23, C24-C25, C26-C28+C33, C29-C30, C16+C31-C32, D-E, F, G45,                           G46, G47, H, I, J, K64-K65, K66, L+M+N+R+S],                         
          -  3 enterprise size categories, according to their number of persons employed: (10-49) (50-249) (250 and more) for countries                           with fewer than 50 million inhabitants,                         
          -  6 enterprise size categories, according to their number of persons employed: (10-19) (20-49) (50-249) (250-499) (500-999)                           (1 000 and more) for Member States with 50 million inhabitants or more.                         

##### 3.A sample size shall be calculated to ensure a maximum half-length of 0,2 of the 95 % confidence interval for the estimated                        parameters, which are a proportion of “training enterprises” (after allowance for the non-response rate in the sample) for                        each of the 60 stratified elements identified above (120 stratified elements for Member States with 50 million inhabitants                        or more).U.K.

##### 4.The following formula may be used in determining the sample size:U.K.

Where:

=

the anticipated response rate in the stratum cell, h

=

maximum length of half the confidence interval

=

the anticipated proportion of training enterprises in the stratum cell, h

=

the total number of enterprises (training and non-training) in the stratum cell, h”                     

### 3.Annex III to Regulation (EC) No 198/2006 is replaced by the following:U.K.

#### “ANNEX IIIImputation principles and record weighting

Member States shall take all appropriate measures to reduce item and unit non-response. Prior to imputation countries shall                     make all reasonable efforts to use other data sources.                  

Core variables, for which neither missing values shall be accepted nor imputation permitted, are:
          -  A1, A2tot, B1a, B1b, B2a(QL), B2b(QL) B2c(QL), B2d(QL) B2e(QL), F1. 

Key variables, for which every effort should be made to avoid missing values and for which imputation is recommended, are:
          -  A4, A5, C1tot, C3tot, C7sub(QT), PAC, C7tot. 

Imputation for item non-response shall be recommended within the following general limits:

When a record contains less than 50 % of variables presented then this record shall normally be considered as a unit non-response.

For a single NACE Rev. 2/size cell imputations shall not be allowed if more than 50 % of the responding enterprises have missing                              data for more than 25 % of the quantitative variables.                           

For a single NACE Rev. 2/size cell, no imputation shall be performed on a quantitative variable if the proportion of responding                              enterprises for that particular variable is less than 50 %.                           

For a single NACE Rev. 2/size cell, no imputation shall be performed on a qualitative variable if the proportion of responding                              enterprises for that particular variable is less than 80 %.                           

Quantitative and qualitative variables are identified in Annex I.

Rules for imputation are provided in the manual referred to in Article 8.

Member States shall calculate and transmit a weighting factor — to be applied to each data record — together with the auxiliary                     variables, which may have been used in the calculation of this weighting factor. These auxiliary variables should be recorded                     as the variables EXTRA1, EXTRA2, EXTRA3 as necessary. The methodology adopted for establishing the weighting factors shall                     be detailed in the quality report.”                  

### 4.Annex V to Regulation (EC) No 198/2006 is replaced by the following:U.K.

#### “ANNEX VStandard quality report

Member States shall submit a standard quality report in accordance with the European Statistical System Standard Quality Report                     Structure. A copy of the national questionnaire shall be submitted together with the standard quality report.                  

The standard quality criteria shall apply as follows:

##### 1.RELEVANCEU.K.

Implementation of the survey and the degree to which statistics meet current and potential user needs. This covers a description                     of users and their individual needs and an evaluation to what degree these needs have been satisfied.                  

##### 2.ACCURACYU.K.

###### 2.1.**Sampling errors**U.K.

This covers:
          -  Description of the sample design and of the effective sample. 
          -  Description of the calculation of the final weighting factors including non-response model and auxiliary variables used, estimator                           used, e.g. Horvitz-Thompson estimator, variance of the estimates according to the sample strata, variance estimation software.                           In particular, a description of the auxiliary variables or information used should be reported in order to recalculate the                           final weighting factors at Eurostat since it is needed for variance estimation.                         
          -  In case of non-response analysis, a description of the biases in the sample and results.  

Tables to be provided (broken down by NACE Rev. 2 and size classes according to the national sampling plan):
          -  Number of enterprises in the sampling frame. 
          -  Number of enterprises in the gross sample and in the effective sample. 

Tables to be provided for the observed effective sample (broken down by NACE Rev. 2 and size classes according to the national                     sampling plan):                  
          -  Coefficients of variation(4) for the following key statistics.                         
          -  Total number of persons employed, total number of enterprises that provided any form of CVT, ratio of the total number of                           enterprises that provided any form of CVT to the total number of enterprises.                         
          -  Total number of enterprises that provided CVT courses, ratio of the total number of enterprises that provided CVT courses                           to the total number of enterprises.                         
          -  Total number of persons employed in enterprises that provided any form of CVT, total number of participants in CVT courses,                           ratio of the total number of participants in CVT courses to the total number of persons employed, ratio of the total number                           of participants in CVT courses to the total number of persons employed in enterprises that provided CVT.                         
          -  Total costs of CVT courses. 
          -  Total number of enterprises providing IVT, ratio of the total number of enterprises providing IVT to the total number of enterprises. 

###### 2.2.**Non-sampling errors**U.K.

###### 2.2.1.*Coverage errors*U.K.

This covers:
          -  Description of the register used for sampling and its overall quality, information included in the register, and its updating                           frequency.                         
          -  Errors due to the discrepancies between the sampling frame and the target population and sub-populations (over-coverage, under-coverage,                           misclassifications).                         
          -  Methods used to obtain this information and notes on the processing of misclassifications. 

Tables to be provided for the observed effective sample (broken down by NACE Rev. 2 and size classes according to the national                     sampling plan):                  
          -  Number of enterprises. 
          -  Ratio of the number of enterprises for which the observed strata equals the sampling strata. 

###### 2.2.2.*Measurement errors*U.K.

Where appropriate an assessment of errors that occurred at the stage of data collection due to:
          -  The questionnaire design (results of pre-tests or laboratory methods; questioning strategies). 
          -  Reporting unit/respondent considering the data collection mode used (e.g. problems and strategies to find the appropriate                           respondent(s) in the enterprise, memory problems, errors when filling the forms, assistance to the respondent). This includes                           a description and assessment of measures taken to ensure the high quality of the information related to “participants” and                           to assure that “participant events” were not collected.                          
          -  Existence/use of relevant information systems and administrative records in the enterprise, e.g. correspondence between the                           administrative and survey concept (reference period, availability of individual data).                         
          -  Methods used to reduce this kind of errors, problems with the questionnaire as a whole or with single questions. 

###### 2.2.3.*Processing errors*U.K.

This covers a description of the data editing process such as processing system and tools used, errors due to coding, editing,                     weighting or tabulation, quality checks at macro/micro level and corrections/failed edits.                  

###### 2.2.4.*Non-response errors*U.K.

This covers an assessment of unit non-response and item non-response and a description of the measures undertaken regarding                     “re-contacts” as well as:                  
          -  Report on imputation procedures including methods used for imputation and/or re-weighting. 
          -  Methodological notes and results of non-response analysis or other methods to assess the effects of non-response. 

Tables to be provided for the observed effective sample (broken down by NACE Rev. 2 and size classes according to the national                     sampling plan):                  
          -  Unit response rates(5).                         
          -  Item response rates(6) for the following with respect to all respondents: total number of hours worked for all respondents and total labour cost                           for all respondents.                         
          -  Item response rates for the following with respect to enterprises offering CVT courses:              -  Total number of participants in CVT courses for enterprises offering CVT courses. 
            -  Total number of hours of all CVT courses for enterprises offering CVT courses, number of hours of internal CVT for enterprises                                 offering CVT courses, number of hours of external CVT for enterprises offering CVT courses.                               
            -  Total costs of CVT courses for enterprises offering CVT courses. 

##### 3.TIMELINESS AND PUNCTUALITYU.K.

This covers a table of dates when different phases of the project started and ended such as fieldwork (considering the different                     data collection modes), reminders and follow-up, data checking and editing, further validation and imputation, non-response                     survey (as appropriate) and estimations as well as data transmission to Eurostat and dissemination of national results.                  

##### 4.ACCESSIBILITY AND CLARITYU.K.

This covers the type of results sent to enterprises, a dissemination scheme of results and a copy of any methodological documents                     about the statistics provided.                  

##### 5.COMPARABILITYU.K.

This covers the deviations from the standard European questionnaire and definitions provided in the manual referred to in                     Article 8 and a description of links done with other statistical sources (use of certain data available in registers, survey                     linked to another national survey).                   

##### 6.COHERENCEU.K.

This covers a comparison of statistics for the same phenomenon or item from other surveys or sources and an assessment of                     coherence with structural business statistics for the number of persons employed as a function of NACE Rev. 2 and size classes.                  

Tables to be provided for the observed effective sample (broken down by NACE Rev. 2 and size classes according to the national                     sampling plan):                  
          -  Number of persons employed from structural business statistics and number of persons employed from CVTS. 
          -  Percentage of differences (SBS — CVTS)/SBS. 

##### 7.COST AND BURDENU.K.

This covers an analysis of the burden and benefit at national level through, for example, a consideration of average time                     for answering the questionnaire, problematic questions and variables, variables most/least useful in describing CVT at national                     level, estimated or actual satisfaction level of data users at national level, difference of burden between small and large                     enterprises and efforts made to reduce the burden.”                  

1

OJ L 255, 30.9.2005, p. 1.                           

2

Commission Regulation (EC) No 198/2006 of 3 February 2006 implementing Regulation (EC) No 1552/2005 of the European Parliament                              and of the Council on statistics relating to vocational training in enterprises (OJ L 32, 4.2.2006, p. 15).                           

3

Regulation (EC) No 177/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 February 2008 establishing a common framework                              for business registers for statistical purposes (OJ L 61, 5.3.2008, p. 6).                           

4

The coefficient of variation is the ratio of the square root of the variance of the estimator to the expected value. It is                              estimated by the ratio of the square root of the estimate of the sampling variance to the estimated value. The estimation                              of the sampling variance must take into account the sampling design and changes of strata.                           

5

The unit response rate is the ratio of the number of in scope respondents to the number of questionnaires sent to the population                              selected.                           

6

The item response rate for a variable is the ratio of the number of available data to the number of available and missing                              data (equal to the number of in scope respondents).