9. 5. 83 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 124/9 
national delegation in order to consider cases which the 
two sides of industry believe might cause problems. There 
is a strong case for such preliminary meetings since they 
would speed up the whole procedure and also encourage 
Done at Brussels, 23 March 1983. 
The full text of the opinion is as follows: 
THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE, 
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European 
Economic Community, and in particular Article 198 
thereof, 
Having regard to the request made by the Council of the 
European Communities on 11 November 1982 for an 
opinion on the draft resolution of the Council concerning 
vocational training policies in the European 
Communities in the 1980s, 
Having regard to the decision taken by the Committee 
Bureau on 23 November 1982, instructing the Section for 
Social Questions to draw up an opinion on the matter, 
Having regard to the opinion adopted by the Section for 
Social Questions at its meeting on 10 March 1983, 
Having regard to the report submitted by the rapporteur 
Mr Nierhaus, 
Having regard to the discussions on 23 March 1983 
during the 206th plenary session held on 23 and 
24 March 1983, the active participation of both sides of industry. 
Preliminary meetings should accordingly also be held 
before discussions on the general operation of the 
Fund. 
The Chairman 
of the Economic and Social Committee 
Francois CEYRAC 
HAS ADOPTED THE FOLLOWING OPINION 
unanimously: 
1. General comments 
1.1. The Committee has read the Commission 
document with great interest and welcomes the proposed 
Community initiatives to improve vocational training. 
1.2. The Committee has already dealt with vocational 
training problems on a number of occasions in the past. It 
would refer in particular to its opinion on vocational 
preparation for young people who are unemployed or 
threatened with unemployment (J), its own-initiative 
opinion on education and vocational training for young 
workers (2), its opinion on the creation of a new 
European Social Fund aid for young people (3), and 
reiterates its previous basic comments. 
(') OJNoC 61, 10. 3. 1977. 
(2) OJNoC 181, 31. 7. 1978. 
(3) OJNoC 283, 27. 11. 1978. Opinion on the draft resolution of the Council concerning vocational training policies in the 
European Communities in the 1980s 
The text referred to the Committee has been published in Official Journal of the European 
Communities No C 306 of 23 November 1982, page 6. 
A. LEGAL BASIS FOR THE OPINION 
On 11 November 1982 the Council referred the abovementioned proposal to the Economic 
and Social Committee in accordance with Article 198 of the Treaty establishing the European 
Economic Community. 
B. OPINION OF THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE 
The Economic and Social Committee prepared its opinion on the above matter at its 
206nd plenary session held in Brussels on 23 and 24 March 1983. 
NoC 124/10 Official Journal of the European Communities 9. 5. 83 
1.3. The Committee thinks that initiatives to improve 
vocational training are extremely important, for the 
following reasons: 
— vocational training problems are already a matter of 
key importance to our society; they will become even 
more important in future on account of the 
accelerating changes in the world of work caused by 
the introduction of new technologies, 
— it is essential that vocational training problems be 
solved on account of the high unemployment in the 
Community; flexible occupational skills can help to 
reduce unemployment or even prevent it from arising 
in the first place, 
— the changes in the world of work mean greater 
demands on the individual worker in terms of 
qualifications (e.g. knowledge of the application of 
technology and technical experience) which can only 
be met by expanding and improving vocational 
training and by providing continuing training, 
— a high standard of vocational training is essential if the 
occupational and social situation of workers is to be 
safeguarded and improved and their human and 
social skills are to be enhanced in all circumstances, 
particulary in the present situation of acute recession 
and constant industrial and social change. 
For these reasons, the Committee welcomes the 
Commission's endeavours to adapt vocational training to 
the needs of the current adverse economic climate and to 
supplement Community vocational training guidelines 
(which have not yet been adequately implemented) by 
new activities and measures and by coordination of and 
contributions from the various Community instruments 
already in existence, above all the European Centre for 
the Development of Vocational Training and the 
European Social Fund. 
1.4. The Committee sets out from the premise that all 
the parties concerned, i.e. the competent authorities, 
employers, trade unions, instructors and trainees 
themselves, will be involved in an appropriate manner in 
the planning, implementation and evaluation of the 
necessary improvement in vocational training. 
1.5. The document fails to give any clear indication of 
how the objectives are to be achieved. The proposed pilot projects and the sum earmarked for their financing are 
inadequate in the Committee's view. 
1.6. The target groups range from pupils in the final 
classes in schools to workers who have reached retirement 
age (although these are not mentioned in the section on 
funding). The Committee is therefore afraid that, given 
the small amount of aid available, there could easily be a 
dissipation of effort and recommends that clear priorities 
be set. 
1.7. In this connection the Committee would like to 
see the link-up between Community initiatives and 
national programmes and responsibilites made clear. An 
attempt should be made to compare the effectiveness of 
vocational training measures, taking into account the 
many European Social Fund operations organized in 
coordination with national and local bodies and the study 
of vocational training in the Member States carried out by 
the European Centre for the Development of Vocational 
Training. The aim here would be to obtain the 
information and draw the conclusions required for 
practical action and to establish guidelines for a 
vocational training system which is better integrated and 
coordinated at Community level. 
1.8. The emphasis in the proposed measures is on 
problem groups. The Committee is aware that these 
people are in need of particularly intensive help, but 
would point out that vocational training problems can be 
solved only if there is a major improvement in the level of 
education /training of the large group of 
non-disadvantaged people as well. Therefore the choice 
of projects should be reviewed and consideration given to 
the possibility of including training measures for those 
working in small and medium-sized enterprises. 
2. The Community context and the employment 
situation 
2.1. In many places the document gives the impression 
that vocational training problems in the 1980s are viewed 
solely from the labour market angle and that vocational 
training is seen only as a labour market instrument. The 
important role of vocational training as a means of 
improving human and social skills is pushed into the 
background. 
The intrinsic value of vocational training should be given 
more emphasis, since it is conducive above all to 
self-fulfilment in working life. A precondition of this is 
the free choice of a training place according to aptitude, 
inclination and capability. 
9. 5. 83 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 124/11 
In making these comments the Committee is aware that, 
generally speaking, a high level of qualification is at the 
same time a prerequisite for innovation and the 
development of new occupational and work structures. 
2.2. Vocational training problems cannot be 
approached merely from the labour market angle 
(however crucial labour market problems may be in the 
present recession), since vocational training has two 
objectives of equal importance: 
— the development of the personality, 
— the acquisition of the skills required to secure a job, 
earn a living and improve living and working 
conditions. 
Even if there are not enough jobs for all workers, this 
should not mean that the value of education/training and 
in particular vocational training is diminished or 
underrated. The Committee would point out that a high 
standard of vocational training can give effective 
protection against enemployment or shorten its 
duration. 
2.3. The foreseeable decline in the number of young 
people in most Member States referred to in the 
Commission document must not mean that efforts to 
improve vocational training will be discontinued in the 
mid-80s. On the contrary, it must be ensured that all 
resources will then be deployed to solve problems of 
quality instead of quantity. 
2.4. Account must also be taken of the particular need 
for vocational training in the years in which 'baby-boom' 
generations leave the schools providing general 
education, so that enough skilled manpower will be 
available when there are fewer school leavers. 
2.5. The Committee would like a brief survey to be 
made of the results of previous Commission action to 
improve vocational training. 
3. Policy challenges for vocational training 
3.1. The Committee agrees with what the 
Commission has to say in this part of the document, 
particularly the fact that training is regarded as a right of 
every individual. 
3.2. The regionalization of training and job-creation 
measures proposed by the Commission can be endorsed in principle. This should be based on, and give special 
support to, existing local activities. It is, however, 
doubtful whether this can in all cases make a major 
contribution towards solving the quantitative problems 
in vocational training. 
3.3. The Committee considers that there is an urgent 
need for an improvement in the indicative value of labour 
market analyses for the planning and promotion of 
vocational training. This is a precondition for the rational 
deployment of resources as a time when funds are 
tight. 
3.4. The proposed systems of support for training 
infrastructures and the ideas concerning the 
decentralization of jobs, the boosting of small and 
medium-sized enterprises and cooperatives and the 
setting-up of group training facilities could result in an 
appropriate system for improving the quality of training 
on an extensive scale, particularly in rural regions. 
4. Community policy guidelines and spheres of 
action 
4.1. Preliminary comments 
4.1.1. The intention to make greater use of the 
European Social Fund for vocational training is strongly 
supported by the Committee. The Committee is, 
however, unable to see any reflection of this intention in 
the support programmes envisaged in the document. It 
considers that the planned measures and the support 
should be expanded. 
4.1.2. The Commission's intention to place more 
emphasis on investment in human resources is to be 
welcomed. But the comment made in 4.1.1 applies here 
too. 
4.2. Training policies for young people 
4.2.1. The aim of education in the final classes in 
schools and of vocational training must be to develop the 
personality of young people as well as to prepare them in 
terms of social and occupational skills for adulthood and 
working life. An abrupt switch from school to work leads 
to considerable problems for young people. The 
Committee therefore supports the Commission's call for 
final-class curricula that are oriented toward jobs and 
NoC 124/12 Official Journal of the European Communities 9. 5. 83 
working life. This means that teachers will have to have 
undergone appropriate training. 
The Committee considers that minimum standards in this 
sphere should be laid down by the Commission, in 
cooperation with the Advisory Committee on Vocational 
Training and with the assistance of the European Centre 
for the Development of Vocational Training. 
4.2.2. The 'social guarantee' remains a vague concept. 
If this guarantee is to mean merely that everyone up to the 
age of 25 is to be provided, if he or she so wishes, with 
only one year of vocational preparation in a wide variety 
of forms, then this is inadequate in the Committee's view. 
Implementation of these proposals of the Commission 
must not of course lead to a deterioration in training 
arrangements already in operation in the Member 
States. 
4.2.3. The choice provided for between 'work' on the 
one hand and 'training' on the other will for various 
reasons operate to the disadvantage of certain groups of 
workers in that the workers in question will be forced to 
decide for 'work' and thus against 'training', for financial 
reasons. 
4.2.4. Instead, the question of an education/training 
obligation up to a certain age (e.g. 18) should be 
considered at Community level. 
4.2.5. The Committee thinks that, taking account of 
long-term education/training and labour market 
considerations, initial vocational training must be backed 
up by possibilities for continuing training and, if 
necessary, retraining. 
4.2.6. The Committee endorses the personal for a 
new kind of adviser. A more precise description of these 
advisers' activities and how they fit in with existing 
systems would be desirable. The Committee doubts, 
however, whether the sum of 350 000 ECU earmarked 
for assistance in this sphere for the period 1985 to 1987 
will be sufficient. 
4.2.7. In defining the status of 'trainee' account must 
be taken of national provisions and free collective 
bargaining. 
4.2.8. In general, the Committee notes that the 
Commission document fails to make any clear proposals 
regarding minimum standards for vocational training, 
essential subject matter and knowledge and skills that are 
geared to the future. The document also fails to indicate 
any clear structure for vocational training. 4.2.9. The Committee also considers is essential that 
the work aimed at establishing comparability of 
occupational qualifications in the Member States be 
continued and speeded up with a view to the 
harmonization of training courses and certificates, which 
is a precondition for an improvement in the Community's 
vocational training policy. 
4.3. Training and equality of opportunity 
4.3.1. Priority must be given to special assistance for 
disadvantaged groups (notwithstanding 1.5), since these 
people are liable to be the first to lose their jobs and 
remain unemployed the longest. The finance plan 
includes assistance programmes for several 
disadvantaged groups. There is, however, no programme 
providing for experiments with, and the promotion of, 
the employment of women in new technology spheres as 
pilot measures. This is precisely an area where action 
should be taken. 
4.3.2. The relevant authorities in the Member States 
should be called upon to ensure that their assistance 
programmes for the training of women and their 
reintegration in working life are not confined to the 
traditional women's occupations but also embrace the 
development and application of new technologies. 
4.4. Conception and organization of training at local 
and regional levels 
4.4.1. In implementing the decentralization of 
training advocated by the Commission, care must be 
taken to ensure th at the quality of training does not suffer. 
Vocational training within a Member State must be 
uniform so as not to impede the regional mobility of 
labour. There must therefore be binding rules at national 
level - if not at Community level - as to the structure 
and content of vocational training. The Community 
should, if possible, lay down minimum standards for the 
content of training. 
4.4.2. The Committee welcomes the call for paid 
training leave in all the Member States. 
4.4.3. It seems logical to designate certain regions for 
the carrying-out of projects and observations. The 
Advisory Committee on Vocational Training should be 
involved in the selection and confirmation of the regions 
in question. In this connection, European Social Fund 
support under the heading of specific operations should 
also be made possible for pilot vocational training 
projects straddling national frontiers. 
9. 5. 83 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 124/13 
4.4.4. The Committee endorses the planned exchange 
of vocational training specialists. The relevant 
Community bodies, particularly the Economic and Social 
Committee, should be informed about the results of this 
exchange. 
5. Summary 
5.1. The Committee welcomes the submission of this 
Commission document, which it largely endorses. 
5.2. The appropriation for the execution and 
evaluation of pilot projects is not in keeping with the 
importance of vocational training and needs to be 
considerably increased. 
5.3. Clear priorities must be fixed in order to prevent 
dissipation of effort. 
Done at Brussels, 23 March 1983. 
Opinion on the 
The full text of the opinion is as follows: 
THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE, 
Having regard to Article 20 (3) of its Rules of 
Procedure, 
Having regard to the decision taken by its Bureau on 
27 October 1982 in connection with the opinion on the 
(') OJ No C 326, 13. 12. 1982, p. 6. 5.4. The Commission should give more precise 
indications as to how the proposed programme is to be 
carried out. The Committee assumes that the 
Commission has such information, since otherwise it 
would not have been possible to specify the projects or 
calculate the costs. 
5.5. The Committee observes in conclusion that, 
while it has every appreciation for the Commission's 
efforts to solve the problems connected with the 
introduction of new technologies, such activities are 
nevertheless liable to leave untouched the central 
problems involved in the increased application of 
technology. One such problem is that the loss of jobs due 
to the application of technology cannot generally be 
prevented in the short or medium term by vocational 
training, as pointed out in the Committee's opinion (*) on 
'Vocational training and new information technologies: 
New Community initiatives during the period 1983 to 
1987'. 
0) OJNoC77, 21. 3. 1983, p. 7. 
The Chairman 
of the Economic and Social Committee 
Francois CEYRAC 
1 lth report on competition policy, to draw up an opinion 
on the draft Commission Regulation on the application of 
Article 85 (3) of the Treaty to certain categories of 
exclusive distribution agreements and the draft 
Commission Regulation on the application of Article 
85 (3) of the Treaty to certain categories of exclusive 
purchasing agreeements, and to instruct the Section for 
industry, commerce, crafts and services to undertake the 
requisite work, — draft Commission Regulation on the application of Article 85 (3) of the Treaty to certain 
categories of exclusive distribution agreements, and the 
— draft Commission Regulation on the application of Article 85 (3) of the Treaty to certain 
categories of exclusive purchasing agreements 
LEGAL BASIS FOR THE OPINION 
Following the opinion which it issued on 28 October 1982, at the Commission's request, on the 
'1 lth report on competition policy' (*) the Committee issued an additional opinion on the same 
matter at its 206th plenary session of 23 and 24 March 1983, in accordance with Article 20 (3) 
of its Rules of Procedure.