10.5.93 OfficialJournaloftheEuropeanCommunities NoC129/57
OpinionontheproposalforaCouncilRecommendation onAccesstoContinuingVocational
Training(*)
(93/C129/12)
On15February1993theCounciloftheEuropeanCommunitiesdecidedtoconsultthe
EconomicandSocialCommittee,underArticle128oftheTreatyestablishingtheEuropean
EconomicCommunity,ontheabovementioned proposal.
TheSectionforSocial,Family,EducationalandCulturalAffairs,whichwasresponsiblefor
preparingtheCommittee'sworkonthesubject,adopteditsOpinionon5March1993.The
RapporteurwasMrNierhaus.
Atits304thPlenarySession(meetingof25March1993),theEconomicandSocialCommittee
adoptedthefollowingOpinionbyamajority,withonevoteagainstandoneabstention.
1.Basiccomments
1.1.InthelastfewyearstheCommitteehason
severaloccasionsexpresseditsviewsontheimportance
ofcontinuingvocationaltrainingintheMemberStates
oftheEuropeanCommunity,speakingoutonboth
Communityprojects(Force,Eurotecnet,Petra,Comett,
etc.)andmattersofprinciple(cf.ESCOpinionon
theCommissionCommunication onAdultTraining
inFirms).Particularattentionisalsodrawntothe
Committee'sInformationReportonVocationalTrain­
ing—ThePromotionofVocationalQualifications—
AnInstrumentfortheEconomicandSocialDevelop­
mentoftheEuropeanCommunity .Sincetheseearlier
statementsarestillbyandlargevalid,theycanbeused
tohelppreparetheCommittee'sresponsetothepresent
proposalforaCouncilRecommendation .
1.2.TheEECTreatyunfortunately allowsCom­
munitybodieshardlyanyscopeforinfluencingthe
developmentofcontinuingvocationaltraininginthe
MemberStates.TheMaastrichtTreatylikewise
reaffirmstheprincipleof'fullyrespectingtheresponsi­
bilityoftheMemberStatesforthecontentandorgan­
izationofvocationaltraining'.WhilstuseofaDirective
aslegalinstrumentwouldhaveprovidedmanymore
concreteopportunitiesforactionandwouldhavebeen
moreeffectiveinfurtherdevelopingandimproving
accesstovocationaltraining,thechoiceofaRec­
ommendation inthisparticularinstancemust,forall
theabove-mentioned reasons,beregardedastheonly
feasiblesolutionforthetimebeing,eventhoughthere
isinprinciplebroadagreementthroughouttheCom­
munityontheobjectivestobeachieved.Inthelast
analysis,however,itistheMemberStatesthemselves
whichinevitablyhavethegreatestinterestinbuilding
upaneffectivecontinuingvocationaltrainingsystem.
Thereareseveralreasonsforthis:
—Technological changetendstodemandhigherskill
levelsinallsectors;atthesametime,demographic
factorsmeanthattherewillbeadeclineinthe
mediumterminthepotentialnumberofyoung
skilledworkers.—Unemployment isrisingominouslyagain,buteven
inamorefavourableeconomicclimatethejobless
willonlybereintegratedintothelabourmarketin
anyrealnumberiftheirskillsarebroughtintoline
withthecontinuouslychangingrequirementsofthe
labourmarket,oriftheyhaveatleastkeptuptheir
existingskilllevels.InsomeMemberStatesthe
participationofunemployedpersonsincontinuing
trainingschemeshasrepercussionsonunemploy­
mentpay:wherethisisthecase,suchlegalbarriers
mustbelifted.
—Inadditiontospecialistjob-relatedknowledgeand
skills,general,multi-disciplinary andsocialskills
willbeinincreasingdemandinmanysectorsof
activity.Theselatterskills,whichinclude,forexam­
ple,aknowledgeofCommunitylanguagesandthe
fundamentalsofdataprocessing,willalsohaveto
betaughttoworkerscurrentlyinemploymentas
partoftheircontinuingtraining.
1.3.Subjecttothefollowingcomments,theCom­
mitteeapprovestheCommissionproposalandemphas­
izestheimportanceofdevelopingandexpandingcon­
tinuingtrainingandimprovingitsaccessibility,inthe
interestsof:
—workers,forwhomcontinuingtrainingplaysan
increasinglyimportantroleinensuringjobsecurity,
careeradvancement ,retrainingforanewjoband
reintegrationintoworkinglife,
—employers,forwhomtheexpansionofcontinuing
in-firmtrainingisneededbecauseoftheroleplayed
bythehumanfactorinkeepingfirmscompetitive,
andfinally
—thecompetitiveness ofnationaleconomies,andthus
thecompetitiveness oftheEuropeaneconomicarea
worldwide .
1.4.Thesituationissimilarinthecaseofself­
employedpersons,forwhomcontinuingtrainingis
essentialiftheyaretokeepabreastofnewproduction
andmanagementtechniquesatatimewhenradical
changesaresweepingthroughoureconomies. (!)OJNoC23,27.1.1993,p.8.

NoC129/58 OfficialJournaloftheEuropeanCommunities 10.5.93
tributionsbythepublicauthorities)gearedtothecapa­
bilitiesofthetargetgroupstheyserve.Greaterprovision
shouldalsobemadeinCommunitycontinuingtraining
programmes,andthefundingregulationspertaining
thereto,forcontinuingtrainingestablishments outside
firms.Thisisparticularlyrelevantinviewoftheneed
toensurethereintegrationofvulnerablegroupsinto
thelabourmarketwiththehelpofESFfunds.
2.3.'TheCommitteebelievesthataccesstocontinu­
ingvocationaltrainingisinmanycasesseverelyham­
peredbythelackoftransparencyandnon-coordination
ofinformationregardingthepossibilitiesavailable.Not
onlyisithardtocomparein-firmschemesbutitiseven
hardertomakesenseofthebewilderingvarietyof
coursesofferedbypublicandprivatetrainingestablish­
ments.Wheretrainingleadstoformalend-of-course
examinations ,thereshouldthereforebeanationalsys­
temofcertificationsothatcoursesandexaminations
canbecompared.Considerationshouldalsobegiven
tothedevelopmentofanetworkofadvisorybureaux
forallthosewishingtofollowtrainingcourses,atleast
inconurbations .2.Specificcomments
2.1.Therearemanydifferentsystemsofcontinuing
vocationaltrainingintheMemberStates,justasthere
aremanydifferentregulationsgoverningthem.Because
ofthisandbecauseaccesstocontinuingtrainingstill
variesverywidelyfromoneMemberStatetoanother,
thesocialpartnersatnationalandCommunitylevel
haveaparticularlyimportantresponsibility .AtCom­
munityleveltheirtaskistoagree,withinthecontext
ofthesocialdialogue,onajointstrategyforimproving
accesstocontinuingtraining,whilstatnationallevel
theyhavetocreatemechanismsforimplementingsuch
astrategy(e.g.viacollectiveagreements).Wherenecess­
ary,thesocialpartnerscanalsobringtheirinfluence
tobearbyseekingtoimprovethelegalframeworkfor
continuingtrainingprovisionintheMemberStates.
2.1.1.TheCommitteethereforestronglysupports
theCommission'sappealtounionandmanagement
groupingsatbothECandMemberStateleveltopress
onresolutelywiththetaskofpromotingthedevelop­
mentandexpansionofcontinuingtraining,andof
ensuringwideaccessthereto.Tothisextentthesocial
partnersareclearlytheappropriateaddresseeforthe
proposedCouncilRecommendation .
2.2.TheCommitteenotesthattheCommissionpro­
posalstilllargelyseescontinuingtrainingasanactivity
organizedandfinancedsolelybyfirms.Theexistence
andfurtherdevelopmentofin-firmcontinuingtraining
isofcourseofparamountimportance,ifonlybecause
ofitsscale,buttherearelimitstowhatitcandoand
itneedstobecomplemented byaneffectivesystemof
publicandprivate—andprivatelyfunded—training
establishments .Thisisnecessary,interalia,because:
—in-firmcontinuingtrainingschemesoftendonot
leadtoarecognizedpaperqualificationsothatit
isdifficulttoputthistrainingtouseonthelabour
market,
—smallandmedium-sizedfirmsoftenexperiencecon­
siderabledifficultiesintryingtoorganizeand
implementtheirownin-housecontinuingtraining
programmes ,
—in-firmcontinuingtrainingarrangementsaregener­
allyrestrictedtotheparticularfirm'sown
employees,
—vulnerablegroupsonthelabourmarket(especially
theunemployed )aregenerallyleftoutofschemes
runbyfirms;thisisespeciallytrueofwomen
returningtoworkafteraperiodoftimespentcaring
fortheirfamilies,
—longer-termtrainingleadingtoadvancedpaper
qualifications isnotprovidedbyallfirms.
2.2.1.Publicandprivatetrainingestablishments ,
includingthoserunbytradeunionsandemployers'
associationsinsomeMemberStates,areaneffective
additiontothesystemofcontinuingvocationaltrain­
ing;theythereforealsoneedtobefurtherexpanded.
Suchestablishments neverthelessrequiredifferentiated
cost-sharingandfundingarrangements (includingcon­2.4.Fundingplaysacrucialrolewhenitcomesto
openaccesstocontinuingtraining.TheCommittee
believesthatdifferentsolutionsmustbeapplied,
dependingonthetargetgroupsandtheircapabilities
andinterests.Generallyspeaking,in-firmcontinuing
trainingisalsofinancedbythefirmitselfifitserves
thefirm'sinterests.Butthismeansthatworkersin
smallerfirmsfrequentlydonothavethesameaccess
toin-firmcontinuingtrainingasworkersinlargerfirms.
Moreover,flourishingbranchesoftheeconomyarein
abetterpositiontoprovidetheirworkerswithskills
trainingthanailingbranches,eventhoughtheraising
ofskilllevelsisparticularlynecessaryinthecaseofthe
latter.Quiteapartfromthis,theCommissionrightly
deploresthesituationwherethelowestqualifiedwork­
ersalsocomeoffworstintermsofin-firmcontinuing
training.Thesocialpartnersthereforeneedtoreview
and,ifneedbe,refinetheeffectivenessoftheinter­
sectoralco-financingofcontinuingvocationaltraining
alreadypractisedincertainMemberStates.
2.4.1.Nationalgovernmentsarealsocalleduponto
ploughmuchmorepublicmoneyintothecontinuing
trainingofvulnerablegroups,especiallyduringperiods
ofeconomicdownturnwhensuchgroups(e.g.the
unemployed,thehandicappedandethnicminorities)
areswellinginsize.
2.4.2.Thosewishingtoattendcontinuingvocational
trainingcoursesinpublicorprivateestablishments
mustnotbedebarredfromdoingsojustbecausethey
areunabletobearthecosts.Statesubsidies,taxcon­
cessionsorfundsco-financedbyworkersandemployers
mustensurethatplacesoncoursesareavailableto

10.5.93 OfficialJournaloftheEuropeanCommunities NoC129/59
everycandidate.Thistypeoffunding(asintheBelgian
buildingtradeorintheprofessionsinFrance)canalso
actasanecessarycheckonthequalityofcontinuing
vocationaltraining.
2.4.3.TheCommitteegenerallysharestheCom­
mission'sviewthatthepercentageofGDPgivenover
tocontinuingtrainingisstillfartoolowcomparedwith
thepercentageallocatedtoinitialtraining.
2.5.TheCommissionrightlydrawsattentiontothe
particularresponsibilityofthesocialpartnersinthe
organizationofin-firmcontinuingtraining.The
involvementofworkersandtheirin-houserepresenta­
tiveorganizations (e.g.inthedrawing-upofcollective
agreementsoncontinuingtraining)neverthelesspresup­
posesthatrulesontheirinvolvementhavealreadybeen
laiddown,asisthecaseinsomeMemberStates.
TheCommitteethereforeendorsestheCommission's
proposaltotrytodiscover,withinthecontextofthe
socialdialogue,towhatextentframeworkagreements
governingworkers'accesstoandinvolvementinin­
firmcontinuingtrainingcanbeconcluded.vocationaltrainingwhichwehavetotryharderto
attainbothnowandinthefuture.Nordoesitdealwith
theessentialcontentoftrainingcourses.Traditional
objectivesinclude:
—safeguardingofjobsandimprovementofcareer
prospects,
—safeguarding offirms'competitiveness by
developinghumancapital,
—retrainingforworkinnewsectorswithafuture,
—re-integrationofthejoblessintothelabourmarket,
—re-integrationofmenandwomenintothelabour
marketafteraperiodspentcaringfortheirfamilies.
However,thefollowingobjectiveswillacquireincreas­
ingimportance :
—increaseinsectoral,verticalandregionalmobility.
—eliminationofgapsinpersonaleducationandtrain­
ing(elementaryandsecondaryschooling,initial
vocationaltraining).
—greatermotivationtoacquirevocationalskills,part­
lythroughtheofferofrewardsforparticipatingin
continuingtraining.
—developmentofpersonalskills(socialskills,learning
andworkingmethods,skillsinkeyareas,etc.)for
thepurpose,interalia,ofimprovingthequalityof
life.
—initialandfurthertrainingofinstructorsandtrai­
nersinfirmsandinotherestablishments offering
continuingtraining.
Insomecasestheacquisitionofsuchskillsisvitalfor
providingdefactoaccesstocontinuingtraining(e.g.in
thecaseofpeoplenotaccustomedtostudying).In
addition,theseskillsareincreasinglyessentialformov­
ingintomanagerialjobs.
2.8.1.TheCommitteethereforeconsidersthatthe
organizationalandfinancialframeworkforcontinuing
vocationaltrainingatnationalandCommunitylevel
shouldencompasssuchskillconceptsandskills,as
wellastheacquisitionofpurelyfunctionalskillsand
knowledge.
2.9.TheCommitteewouldalsoexpresslyencourage
theCommissiontodrawupfurtherprogrammeswith
aviewtodevelopingnewformsofteachingthatmeet
continuingtrainingneedsinsparselypopulatedareas
(distancelearning,computer-assisted teaching,useof
databanks,etc.).
2.10.Sincetheproblemofthe'marketability'of
continuingtrainingskillswithintheCommonMarket
cannotbesolvedwithintheshorttermbyharmonizing
trainingschemesandformalvocationalqualifications ,2.6.AlthoughtheCommitteegenerallysharesthe
Commission'sviewthatexistingtraining-leave and
work-releaseschemesneedtobefurtherdeveloped,it
neverthelessregretsthatthisthinkinghasnotfoundits
wayintotheRecommendation ;suchschemesare,after
all,essentialtothefulfilmentofworkers'personal
trainingplans,eveniftheyareunablebythemselvesto
solvetheproblemofrestrictedaccesstocontinuing
training.
2.7.InitsearlierOpiniononAdultTrainingin
Firms,theCommitteecriticizestheuseofwoollyter­
minologyintheCommission'sproposals.TheCom­
mitteenoteswithsatisfactionthatthiscriticismno
-longerappliestothepresentproposal.Preciselybecause
'continuingvocationaltraining'isinterpreteddiffer­
entlyfromoneMemberStatetoanotherandiscovered
byawidevarietyofprovisionsandprocedures,uniform
definitionsarevitaltounderstanding intheCom­
munity.Unfortunately ,theCommissionproposaldoes
notmeetthisrequirementinallplaces{cf.paragraphs
21and43).Ifcontinuingvocationaltrainingisdefined
asastageintrainingfollowingonfromschooledu­
cation,initialvocationaltrainingand/oramoreorless
longperiodofworkexperience,thenitishardto
understandwhythedefinitionposesproblemsfromthe
pointofviewoftheresponsibilityofthevariousparties
andmethodsoffunding,evenifbasicandcontinuing
trainingisactuallyprovidedinaverywidevarietyof
forms(combinedorotherwise)intheMemberStates.
2.8.TheCommissionproposalunfortunatelyfailsto
mentionallthemajorobjectivesofcontinuing

NoC129/60 OfficialJournaloftheEuropeanCommunities 10.5.93
theCommitteebelievesthatitwouldbeusefultopro­
videaEuropean'vocationaltrainingpass',whichwould
provideastandardizedrecordoftheinitialtraining
received(indicatingtheadmissionrequirements ,form
oforganization,lengthofcourseandsyllabus)aswell
asarecordofworkexperienceandformalcontinuing
training.2.12.TheCommitteeconsidersthatprecisely
becausetheCommissionhasonlypresenteditspro­
posalsintheformofaRecommendation ,submission
ofnationalgovernmentreports,asprovidedforinthe
document,isvitallyimportantforachievingthedesired
results.Thesocialpartnersshouldalsobeinvolvedin
thesereports.
2.11.TheCommitteeconsidersthatthe'individual
trainingneeds'referredtobytheCommissioncanonly
beidentifiedinthelastanalysisbytheindividuals
themselves.Itsuggestsinsteadthatregionalandsectoral
vocationalneedsshouldbeidentifiedandlaiddownin
nationaldevelopmentplans.Suchplansshouldbe
drawnupinconjunctionwiththerelevantsocialpart­
ners(includingSMEsandtheprofessions)—particular­
lyatsectoralandregionallevelwhereverthisisnormal
practice.2.13.Finally,theCommitteeregretstheshortageof
nationalandECdataoncontinuingvocationaltraining.
Problemsofdefinitionanddemarcation,nottospeak
ofthefactthattheeconomicimportanceofhighly­
skilledworkersandotherhighly-skilledeconomicoper­
atorsisonlynowbeingslowlyrecognized,perhaps
explainthislackoftransparency .Despiteconsiderable
methodological obstacles,however,itisvitaltoforge
aheadwiththecompilationofnationalandultimately
Europeanvocationaltrainingstatistics.
DoneatBrussels,25March1993.
TheChairman
oftheEconomicandSocialCommittee
SusanneTIEMANN