COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 
COM(92) 486 final 
Brussels, 25 November 1992 
Proposal for a 
COUNCIL RECOMMENDATION 
on access to continuing vocational training 
(presented by the Commission) 
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Explanatory memorandum 
I - A PRIORITY OBJECTIVE FOR THE COMMUNITY 
Investment in human resources is a key issue for the Community 
1. A qualified and motivated workforce is the cornerstone of a 
competitive European economy in a context of increasing competition 
at world level. It also conditions the future stages of the 
development of the Community. The current and likely demographic 
trends in the Community countries mean that the growth of available 
skills will increasingly depend on the level of skills possessed 
and acquired by workers already in employment and their access to 
training during their working lives. 
2. The competitiveness, productivity and product/service quality of 
firms depend on the skill levels of their workforces. Employees in 
all sectors must have solid initial education and training on the 
basis of which they can pursue training throughout their working 
lives. Continuing training is now acknowledged as a priority for 
action and joint investment by public authorities and undertakings 
in conjunction with the two sides of industry: 
The OECD intergovernmental conference held in June 1991 on the 
education and training of the labour force of the future 
stressed that: "les qualifications et les compétences de la 
main d'oeuvre, des travailleurs de production au management 
supérieur, deviennent le facteur déterminant de productivité et 
de compétitivité", ("the quai If featfons and skills of the 
workforce, from shop floor level to top management, are 
becoming the determining factor of productivity and 
competItIveness".) 
In its September 1991 report entitled "Reshaping Europe", the 
European industrialists' round table stressed that: "Lifelong 
learning Is now a prime requirement for a full and happy life. 
Nowhere is this more Important than at work...To remain 
effective each person has to learn and re-learn throughout his 
or her working life". 
The UK Government's recently published White Paper entitled 
"People, Jobs and Opportunity" states that: "Businesses are now 
putting training higher than ever on their agendas, and people 
are putting a higher value on continuing learning throughout 
their careers. Training therefore needs to feature more 
prominently in the relationship between individuals and their 
employers." 
2) 
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The Communication of the Commission to the Council and to the 
European Parliament (C0M(90)556 final) "Industrial policy in an 
open and competitive environment" stressed that: "the adaptability 
and quality of human capital has become a key determinant of 
industrial competitiveness and the one on which developed economies 
must place greatest reliance in future". 
3. Training is thus important for firms and individuals alike: for 
firms it is the basis of their competitiveness and productivity, 
while the individual's terms of employment and career prospects are 
increasingly linked to access to training. This gives rise to an 
area of consensus and mutual interest which the different players 
involved develop and enhance and which can lead to new contractual 
relations, e.g. training and employment contracts. 
4. In the context of the social dialogue and their Joint Opinion on 
ways of faclIItatlng the broadest possible effective access to 
training opportunities, of 21 September 1991, the two sides of 
industry have confirmed the priority nature of continuing training. 
The social partners have stressed that the success of the single 
market will to a large extent depend on expanding the skill levels 
of workers and the competitiveness of the firms which employ them. 
Their view is that this confirms how essential it is for workers in 
the Community to have the widest possible access to continuing 
training opportunities in order to raise existing skill levels and 
acquire new ski I Is. 
Access to continuing training determines the development of human 
resources 
5. Developing access to continuing training for firms presupposes the 
establishment of a solid relationship between economic and 
industrial strategy, designed to increase competitiveness and the 
implementation of training plans, which must themselves be 
integrated within overall corporate strategy. For employees, the 
aim is to broaden, adapt and enhance their skills. The development 
of access to continuing training is not simply a question of 
additional know-how, but is a deeper-rooted process of developing 
and unlocking the potential of the individual in his/her working 
I ife. 
Article 15 of the Community Charter of Fundamental Social Rights 
for Workers, adopted at the Strasbourg European Council on 8-9 
December 1989 by the Heads of State and Government of eleven Member 
States, sets out the objective of access to training for workers: 
"Every worker of the European Community must be able to have access 
to vocational training and to benefit therefrom throughout his 
working life. In the conditions governing access to such training 
there may be no discrimination on grounds of national Ity. The 
competent public authorities, undertakings or the two sides of 
Industry, each within their own sphere of competence, should set up 
continuing and permanent training systems enabling every person to 
undergo retraining, more especially through leave for training 
purposes, to Improve his skills or acquire new skills, particularly 
In the light of technical developments". 
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7. In its Memorandum (C0M(91) 397 final of 12 December 1991) on 
vocational training in the European Community in the 1990s, the 
Commission sets out the challenges of the decade just started and 
the fundamental role of qualifications and access to continuing 
training. The constant changes, new forms of work organisation, 
the effects of demographic trends and the making good of skill 
shortages will give continuing training policies a central role. A 
new approach to training must be developed in which continuing 
training, rooted firmly in basic vocational training, is pursued 
throughout working life. 
8. In its Communication C0U(92) 2000 "From the Single Act to 
Maastricht and beyond : the means to match our ambit Ions", the 
Commission emphasises that the adaptation of workers to industrial 
change and to changes in production systems will be a central 
feature of the European labour market in the 1990s. The present 
and future competitiveness of firms lies largely in the quality of 
the labour force and in employees' capacity to adapt to a 
technological and economic environment which is constantly 
changing. New forms of work organisation require continuing 
training capable of producing this capacity for adaptation and 
initiative. 
9. Measures to reduce unemployment are also linked to the enhancement 
of qualifications and access to training throughout working life. 
It is the countries with the most decisively forward-looking and 
dynamic attitudes towards structural change, particularly as 
regards skill levels, continuing training and work organisation, 
which have been most successful in combating unemployment. 
Conversely, it is those countries which have been the least 
prepared for and the most open to these qualitative changes that 
are experiencing more marked and lasting mismatches between labour 
supply and demand. There is a direct correlation between the level 
of qualifications and skills of the active population and the 
incidence of exclusion from the labour market, which can lead to an 
upswing in long-term unemployment which is difficult to reverse. 
10. In the context of the social dialogue and their joint opinion on 
access, the two sides of industry pointed out that over 80% of the 
labour force in the year 2000 is already in employment. A major 
adult training drive is needed if the existing gap between the need 
for skilled labour and its availability on the labour market is not 
to widen. A significant proportion of the adult population has 
left school without qualifications adequate to today's demands, or 
has never attended any systematic continuing training. In the view 
of the two sides of industry, a number of conditions must be 
fulfilled if vocational training is to be effective: 
- Anticipation and planning: 
"Company and Individual needs must be clearly Identified and 
planned In training plans or programmes appropriate to the size of 
the firm and drawn up in the framework of the firm's overall 
strategy". 
- Taking due account of requirements: 
"The needs of workers to Improve their skills In line with the 
requirements of their job or In readiness for changes within the 
firm, and present and anticipated requirements of the firm". 
I ) 
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Information and consultation of employees and their 
représentât ives: 
"Informat Ion and consultât ion of employees and their 
representatives should be undertaken by employers, In accordance 
with national laws and pract Ices, on training programmes put Into 
effect by the firm". 
A challenge in terms of international competition 
11. The objective of raising and developing skill levels in firms seems 
to be gaining ground in Europe as an aspect of economic strategy, 
in line with trends already established in other economic areas, 
e.g. Japan (according to figures available 85% of firms provide 
their employees with training) and the USA (continuing training 
features as a priority in the report America 2000: an education 
strategy). Developing access to continuing training will therefore 
play a central role in enterprise strategy in the 1990s. 
12. As regards workers' personal projects, leave arrangements for 
absence from work introduced in certain EFTA countries (Sweden and 
Finland) are also worthy of note although it should be remembered 
that such arrangements are not necessarily linked to a guarantee of 
maintenance of income, and that the persons themselves are 
increasingly calKed upon to contribute to the cost. 
There are still major obstacles to access 
13. As regards firms, too few have training plans geared to developing 
their human resources. Good practice and collective agreements have 
not caught on to a sufficient extent, whereas these agreements are 
becoming increasingly common in big companies and occupational 
sectors. Small and medium-sized enterprises are experiencing 
specific difficulties in setting up appropriate training policies. 
They provide less training for their workers every year than big 
companies: access to continuing training is more limited for the 
employees of SMEs, and they are less involved in the training of 
their employees. 
14. As regards individuals, workers already in employment, 
particularly older workers, have gaps in their basic training and 
very often an inadequate basic education. There are substantial 
differences between male and female participation rates in 
continuing training. For a variety of reasons, workers are 
sometimes insufficiently motivated to undergo training, and more 
needs to be done in this respect. 
The Member States are seeking greater efficiency 
15. Trends in population figures and manpower resources, coupled with 
the need for a more widespread dissemination of innovations, entail 
in all Member States a speeding up in the transformation of the 
skills of the manpower already in employment. This depends on the 
development of continuing training policies. All countries set an 
objective of increased resources for continuing training and a 
quest for more efficient management of these resources, but the 
performance to date of national arrangements is limited and very 
patchy. The percentage of GDP given over to continuing vocational 
training varies from under 1% to no more than 2% and is still a 
considerable way from the sums provided for initial training or for 
promoting research and development. 
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16. Analysis of national situations shows that the availability of 
training for adult workers in the Community remains limited and 
disjointed and that the drive for continuing training in the 1990s 
needs to be boosted in terms of both quantity and quality. Access 
indicators in the Member States show some improvement, although 
generally for short courses and with considerable inequality of 
access, which means that its effect on skills levels is limited. 
17. Arrangements for absence for personal leave have a limited 
quantitative impact and would not therefore seem to provide the 
main basis for application of the principle enshrined in Article 15 
of the Charter of Fundamental Social Rights for Workers, or as a 
way of developing widespread access to continuing training. On the 
other hand, they do provide additional and essential ways of 
fulfilling workers' personal training plans. 
18. The conclusions of the OECD's intergovernmental conference on 
further education and training of the labour force (June 1991) 
stressed the worthwhile nature of partnership arrangements and drew 
attention to the need to define the responsibilities of each of the 
partners involved. In this connection, the conference stipulated a 
number of political objectives to be pursued, particularly in terms 
of incentives to be introduced for the financing of continuing 
training and mechanisms to be developed through public initiative, 
company-based training, and open and distance training tools. 
The action programme implementing the Social Charter 
19. The action programme implementing the Social Charter adopted by the 
Commission on 29 November 1989 (C0M(89) 568 final) provides for the 
setting before the Council of a Community instrument on access to 
vocational training. Under this programme the instrument would be 
presented in the light of the outcome of the social dialogue on the 
right to access to vocational training. 
20. The action programme stipulates that: "In order to achieve the aim 
of ensuring that every worker has the opportunity to continue his 
vocational training throughout his working life, measures will need 
to be taken by the Member States, by firms and the two sides of 
industry, including the provision of leave for training purposes". 
II - THE SITUATION IN THE VARIOUS MEMBER STATES 
National arrangements for continuing training are being introduced or 
reorganised 
21. The concept of continuing training is defined differently in each 
Member State and is covered by a wide variety of provisions and 
procedures. Such training is conducted mainly on the initiative of 
firms or is of direct benefit to employees. There is no clear 
dividing line between initial apprenticeship-based training and 
schemes combining training and work, from the point of view of the 
responsibility of the various parties involved and methods of 
funding. 
22. Some national continuing training systems have been in existence 
for some time (e.g. France, with agreements dating from 1970 and 
the Law of 1971), but others are much more recent (e.g. Spain and 
Portugal). Countries with long-standing arrangements are seeking 
to develop their systems and improve their practices, while others 
are laying down the foundations. 
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23. Over the last few years, a number of Member States have carried out 
or embarked on fundamental reform of their national systems: 
Belgium: Multi-sector agreement on the introduction of a 
contribution of 0.25% for the reintegration of groups at 
risk. 
Greece: Financing requirement of 0.2% of the wage bill 
since 1988 and collective agreement reached in 1991 setting 
the contribution at 0.45% of the wage bill. 
Netherlands: Framework law of June 1991 on continuing 
vocational training to provide cohesion in the funding of 
adult training. 
France: new multi-sector agreement of 3 July 1991 
redefining the provisions established in 1970, and a new 
law of 31 December 1991 adopting the agreement. The main 
innovations are: the principle of obligatory participation, 
previously limited to firms with more than ten employees, 
is extended to those with less than ten employees; 
arrangements for employees' shared investment in training 
leading to recognised qualifications; introduction of 
skills assessment for employees. 
Spain: creation, in 1990, of tripartite provincial 
committees for monitoring continuing vocational training, 
and establishment of triennial programme contracts for 
vocational training involving the social partners, with 
current discussions on changes to financing procedures. 
Luxembourg: new law (Sept. 1991) on continuing training, 
laying down fresh guidelines and procedures for training 
employees. 
Portugal: several laws passed in 1991, establishing the 
legal framework for vocational training and governing 
access thereto. 
Italy: current discussion on a draft law on continuing 
vocational training. 
Other developments, not necessarily entailing institutional reform, 
are also worthy of note: 
Germany: marked rise in firms' expenditure on continuing 
training, with the sums devoted to the skills of the 
existing workforce set to exceed the funding of initial 
vocational training provided by the dual system. 
United Kingdom: ongoing introduction of TECs (Training 
Enterprise Councils) leading to improved structuring at 
regional level. 
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Legislative provisions and collective agreements interlink to define 
access to continuing training 
24. National continuing training systems necessitate widespread 
involvement on the part of firms, occupational sectors, the social 
partners, public, national and regional authorities, chambers of 
trade and commerce, public and private training bodies, advisory 
bodies, etc. 
25. The basic organisation of national arrangements differs, with some 
systems formalised and organised by legislative provisions imposing 
specific obligations (France, Spain, Greece) and others deriving 
more from collective agreements (Denmark, Germany, Netherlands), or 
there may even be no formal provision made at national level 
(United Kingdom). There are likewise significant differences in 
this context across the regions of the Community. 
26. Access to vocational training (in terms of entitlement, financial 
c and practical arrangements) thus depends, according to the country 
concerned, either on collective agreements, legislative provisions 
or a combination of the two. The availability of continuing 
training is generally governed by market rules, even if public 
bodies are involved. 
27. In all the countries, access to training for employees and 
unemployed persons is governed by distinct rules and procedures. 
Generally speaking, firms are responsible for training employees, 
with training of the unemployed being the responsibility of public 
authorities. 
28. Employees' access to continuing training depends primarily on 
training plans drawn up by firms or collective agreements setting 
out their terms of access, or on their financial contribution to 
training courses entailing leave of absence. Particularly from the 
point of view of direct funding, public authorities tend to play a 
supplementary or subsidiary role. 
29. There is recent evidence of change in the relationship between 
firms and public authorities, with encouragement being provided in 
various forms (information, advice, fiscal aid, contracts, etc.). 
The formation of partnerships, in collaboration with the social 
partners, and between firms and public authorities, is emerging as 
a central feature of such change. 
30. As regards public activities, there is often a decentralisation of 
responsibilities down to regional level (Belgium, Netherlands, 
Denmark, France, Italy, United Kingdom). 
31. The principle of consultation involving the social partners and 
public authorities at various levels appears to be more widespread. 
Differing approaches are adopted in terms of negotiating 
objectives, planning measures and procedures for resource 
management. 
"Leave" arrangements have a limited quantitative effect 
32. The ILO's Convention No 140 concerning Paid Educational Leave has 
been ratified by nine Member States but is not universally applied. 
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33. Some countries have adopted, at central level or in a decentralised 
form, legislative measures establishing a "right to training leave" 
(training leave in some German Lander, paid leave for educational 
purposes in Belgium, 150 h in Italy, personal training leave in 
France). These arrangements constitute a limited and specific 
element of the general opportunities for access to training. 
34. There are, in practice, limits to how widely these arrangements can 
be extended. In terms of the number of employees concerned, they 
are still relatively insignificant. They currently reach less than 
1% of potential beneficiaries (as in France and Germany). The 
limits are not only financial but are also connected with the 
outlook and approach of individuals and firms. These arrangements 
are used by employees for training with a direct vocational slant 
or for personal cultural reasons. 
Special problems for SMEs 
35. The role and importance of SMEs as a source of new jobs and as a 
prop to regional development potential are consistent with the 
objective of widening access within these enterprises. They 
represent over 90% of enterprises in the Community and are the 
backbone of economic growth in most regions, particularly the less 
developed ones. 
36. For SMEs, the lack of skills amongst their workforce severely 
reduces their capacity to innovate and expand. Moreover, given 
that SMEs are generally on a less sound financial footing than 
large companies and are more sensitive to market fluctuations, they 
do not find it easy to allocate funds for training. It is 
therefore necessary to examine types of aid which would allow them 
to make progress in this respect e.g. assistance, tax credits, etc. 
(in Ireland, for instance, a system of subsidies has been 
introduced in certain sectors to help SMEs draw up their training 
plans). 
37. Insofar as work organisation is becoming a key element of 
competitiveness, SMEs are both flexible and adaptable by virtue of 
their size. In this type of company, workers assume several 
functions and often develop an overall understanding of the 
business. From this point of view, the principal advantage of SMEs 
is that they can react rapidly and flexibly to changed 
circumstances and fresh demands, thus requiring privileged access 
to information networks and appropriate skills. 
38. The situation of SMEs vis-à-vis training raises a number of 
specific questions. SMEs have a mainly local outlook and their 
human resources are limited. Consequently, any decision to send 
staff on training courses must take account not only of the costs 
involved but also the smallness of the workforce and the difficulty 
of reducing the labour potential, even over a short period. A 
number of Member States have introduced specific measures to 
replace employees absent for training (Denmark, France) and local 
support networks to provide training consultancy and assistance 
(Italy, Spain, Germany). The development of distance and flexible 
training methods is another possible solution (along the lines of 
the INEM's programmes in Spain). 
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39. It is too often the case that SMEs become aware of the need for, 
and the significance of, training only when a specific problem 
arises. These firms also need to have access to information which 
will enable them to devise a solution commensurate with their 
resources and organisation. The role of intermediaries is, in this 
respect, frequently decisive. These intermediaries (chambers of 
trades, industry and commerce) are often the reference point for 
SMEs in terms of access to information and offer them services 
(consultancy, assistance) to help them develop a training policy. 
Finally, in terms of implementation, assistance should be available 
to ensure that a firm obtains maximum benefit from its investment 
in training and selects the most suitable methods. 
40. If SMEs are to derive tangible benefit from the single market, 
training policies which take due account of their specific 
requirements need to be developed. These enterprises must be in a 
position to provide their employees with training which takes due 
account of their specific constraints (time availability, 
operational and financial potential), and the role of 
intermediaries. Steps must also be taken to enable SMEs to band 
together and to foster relations between themselves and large 
companies (in Greece, there are special incentives for joint 
programmes involving large and small firms). 
Winds of change 
41. Firms and public authorities are taking a fresh look at the 
training of employees. This increasing focus of attention is bound 
up with general economic and technological circumstances and the 
overriding need to increase the quality of production and services 
through more flexible and more efficient work organisation. 
42. The new initiatives being developed for firms derive largely from 
collective and internal agreements. Comprehensive and general 
negotiations, particularly at sectoral and company level, 
increasingly tend to make explicit reference to training. This 
reflects both the growing significance of training within firms and 
the way in which it is now seen as an investment. Public 
initiatives are primarily geared to groups at risk and persons 
experiencing difficulty. Initiatives taken by employees themselves 
are more and more frequent and lead to vocational qualifications or 
extension of their skills. 
43. Innovative measures for the general organisation of arrangements or 
as part of collective agreements aim to: 
take better account of employees' needs (skill assessments, 
regular interviews, guidance/supervision etc.) in training 
pI ans ; 
involve the social partners more closely in the development 
of firms' training policies (consultation, negotiation) so 
as to tailor them more closely to actual needs and enrich 
the internal social dialogue within firms, especially in 
terms of analysing qualifications, assessing skills and 
planning act ion; 
;3) 
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develop access to continuing training in keeping with 
general developments in working conditions (reduction of 
working time) and work organisation (setting up bodies 
providing work qualifications, combined work/training 
schemes and new means of access to training through the 
creation of distance or personalised tools); 
extend solutions for sharing the effort and cost of 
training by pooling the contributions of firms and 
employees: training both within and outside working time, 
cost of training borne by the firm and the employee, 
training contracts, etc.; 
extend the consensual approach to the organisation of 
training measures, leading to improved cost control: SMEs 
grouped together for training purposes, resource centres 
with personal access, distance training, etc.; 
develop new areas of joint action between the public and 
private sectors to give added impetus and provide overall 
balance for the system: general rules, adjustments for the 
benefit of certain groups of persons, advice for SMEs on 
training matters, quality control of training offered. 
44. Although access continues to be characterised by substantial 
disparities across the different countries, there is growing 
awareness of the importance of improved equality of access of 
employees to training. Opportunities for access to continuing 
training are not commensurate with the level of initial training 
and the level of employment. The lower one's level of training 
upon entry into working life, the smaller one's chances of gaining 
access to continuing training, the smallest chance of access being 
in respect of the least qualified jobs. Women, too, receive less 
training than men and older workers less than younger workers. 
45. The objective of reducing this inequality in opportunities for 
access is twofold. Firstly, it is in line with the objective set 
by the Social Charter, in that access to continuing training should 
be available for all the workers in the Community. Secondly, it 
corresponds increasingly to a priority economic objective, insofar 
as enhancing the skill level of all employees is an essential 
factor in the operation of the more efficient enterprises. This 
also highlights the increasing focus on the relation and link 
between initial training and continuing training. The concept of 
lifelong training is gradually gaining acceptance and gathering 
pace. 
46. Dialogue and negotiation between and with the social partners at 
all levels, national, branch and enterprise, are proving sound ways 
of defining the methods implemented to develop continuing training. 
This expansion of dialogue and negotiation is also a guarantee for 
better convergence of employer/employee requirements in the 
training programmed or supported by the enterprise. 
Ill - THE DRAFT RECOMMENDATION 
Acting as a catalyst 
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47. Most Member States are currently seeking to overhaul or reorganise 
their continuing training systems in order to enhance their scope 
and contribute to the raising of quality standards. This is 
reflected in a great number of recent steps taken nationally, 
either through action at public level or through negotiated 
agreements such as those mentioned above. 
48. Against this background, the Commission intends to put before the 
Council a draft Recommendation which will help to boost the steps 
taken nationally and to incorporate them in an overall consistent 
framework. This is in keeping with the aim of generalising access 
to continuing training in the Community so that every worker can 
gain access to continuing vocational training and take advantage of 
it throughout his working life in accordance with Article 15 of the 
Social Charter and point 20 of the joint opinion adopted by the two 
sides of industry under the social dialogue on 21 September 1991. 
49. The Commission sees this draft Council Recommendation as part of a 
broader strategy for Community action having a direct bearing on 
the widening of access to continuing training through a three-
pronged approach: 
- establishing, through the Council Recommendation, a framework 
of common objectives directed at the Member States, with the 
latter having responsibility for defining the procedures for 
implementation in the light of national laws and practices, in 
cooperation with the social partners; 
- creating favourable conditions in which the social partners, 
at Community level, as envisaged by their agreement of 31 
October 1991, extend their joint opinion on the question of 
access and, if so desired, adopt a more consensual approach, 
including collective agreements; 
- developing transnational measures throughout the Community as 
a means of supporting and following up, by transnational 
cooperation, the steps taken to extend access and encourage 
pooling of resources, particularly in terms of implementing and 
developing the FORCE programme. 
Applying the principle of subsidiarity 
50. The proposed instrument takes the form of a Council Recommendation 
based on Article 128, thereby complying with the aim of using the 
lightest possible form of legislation at Community level, in 
accordance with the principle of subsidiarity as defined by the 
European Council in Birmingham. Member States alone will be 
responsible for taking concrete measures and organising national 
systems in the light of each country's specific legal structure and 
practices, having regard to the powers conferred on the parties 
concerned under national law and the autonomy of contractual 
agreements, in keeping with this principle. It has to be stresses 
however that national systems are experiencing numerous 
developments and initiatives undertaken by the different players. 
This should be supported in the perspective of the Community 
Charter of Fundamental Social Rights for Workers and also in 
accordance with the principle of subsidiarity, by a Community 
action which takes account of the urgency and importance of 
developing continuing training. This Recommendation provides the 
overall consistent framework capable of meeting these various 
demands. 
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51. The Recommendation includes specific provisions concerning support 
for extension of the social dialogue in terms of relations based on 
agreement at European level as provided for by the agreement of 
31 ctober 1991 concluded between the social partners. It is 
addressed both to the Member States and to the social partners at 
European level, taking account of the major role played by the 
latter and the importance of collective agreements vis-à-vis access 
to continuing training. 
The recommended measures 
52. In order to make access effective and as broad as possible, the 
Council recommends that the Member States introduce or strengthen 
different measures focussing on : 
(i) Undertakings' training plans and programmes : 
The objective concerning the implementation by undertakings of 
training plans and programmes was adopted by the social 
partners in their joint opinion on education and training of 
19/06/90. The aim should therefore be for undertakings to 
implement strategies for training and investment in their human 
resources to give them the means of facing up to market and 
technological dedevelopments; 
(ii) Specific assistance to SMEs 
SMEs constitute a central problem in all Community countries. 
Their size and the specific nature of their organization and 
functioning have to be taken into account in developing 
training strategies. Different methods or mechanisms for 
assistance, which have proved their worth, such as groups of 
SMEs for training, links between large companies and small sub­
contractors, the contribution of advisory bodies, the 
dissemination of multi-media or distance learning tools, should 
be enhanced; 
(iii) Assistance to undertakings faced with industrial change. 
Industrial change and transformation of the sectoral division 
of activities will be at the heart of changes in the economic 
fabric of the Community in the nineties. New forms of work 
organisation and inter-company links will have to be promoted 
to maintain competitivity in this new context; 
(iv) Continuing vocational training as a factor of regional 
development. 
Reflecting certain mechanisms developed in Member States, the 
matching -at regional and local level- of training supply and 
demand is a sure guarantee of more effective methods, and more 
progressive and flexible programming of training supply, and 
should be encouraged; 
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(v) Individual training of workers. 
The worker should have the possibility of being informed about 
the conditions of access to continuing training in the 
undertaking or in partnership with the public authorities; and 
also, where necessary, about the absence of training policy in 
undertakings where this is not developed; 
(vi) Assessment of skills and requirements of workers. 
Individual assessment of skills and training requirements 
appears, in the light of national experience, to be a factor in 
the better matching of workers' individual training needs and 
undertakings' strategy. However, such systems require 
guarantees of the confidentiality of information concerning the 
individual, which should be regulated at national level; 
(vii) Consultation of workers' representatives. 
Continuing training is an area where information and 
consultation of workers' representatives, or of workers 
themselves in the undertaking at sector or inter-industry level 
is progressing. In some Member States, contractual relations 
are the focal point for definition of conditions for access to 
continuing training and should be encouraged; 
(viii) Design of continuing training activities. 
Content and design of continuing training activities constitute 
a central point for effective training strategies in 
undertakings. There are perceptible trends, which should be 
encouraged, towards a wider conception of training content and 
a development of activities leading to better anticipation of 
trends in work organisation and systems; 
(ix) New tools and methods . 
New techniques of processing and transfer of information are a 
factor in the development of tools, methods and new approaches 
for continuing training. Their dissemination should be 
encouraged, particularly so as to facilitate access to 
continuing training for workers who cannot use traditional 
methods : rural areas, SMEs, itinerant workers; 
Vulnerable groups. 
(x) Inadequacy of skills is one of the chief factors behind 
vulnerability to unemployment, segmentation of jobs and 
difficulties in reintegration in case of loss of employment. 
Raising the basic skill level of their employees is often a 
pre-requisite for the introduction of new production processes 
in undertakings, particularly when they involve new 
technologies. All workers should therefore be enabled to reach 
a basic level of skills and to achieve the basis for mastery of 
the new technologies. 
(xi) Overall, women have less access to continuing training than 
men, which is related to the sectors of activity in which they 
are most strongly represented, and the types of employment to 
which they have access. Mesures aimed at reducing these 
inequalities should therefore be encouraged. 
- 15 -
(xii) Training for the unemployed is in general principally the 
responsibility of the public authorities. New links with 
continuing training mechanisms should be encouraged to promote 
increased effectiveness of training for those seeking work in 
terms of integration and reintegration. 
(xiii) Ways of avoiding discrimination in access to continuing 
training based on the personal characteristics of workers, 
particularly their nationality, ethnic or social origin, 
religion or opinons, should be encouraged. 
The role of the social partners 
53. The Community's overall strategy incorporates specific measures 
which could be developed by the social partners. The Joint opinion 
which they adopted under the social dialogue, on ways of 
facilitating the broadest possible effective access to continuing 
training, constitutes a first stage. The measures advocated in 
Point II of the draft Recommendation are based largely on the 
proposals put forward by the social partners in their Joint 
opinion. 
54. Continuing vocational training is an area where the social partners 
play a very active role and often take the lead. Analysis of 
national situations shows that the pattern of access in the 
Community is based by way of priority on agreements negotiated in-
house, by occupational branch or at national level. The 
complementarity and synergy needed between public measures and the 
relations between the social partners are particularly significant 
as regards access to continuing training for all workers. Such 
complementarity is strong in the Member States and stands out as a 
principle which underpins the direction being taken by the national 
systems. This complementarity should also be sought at Community 
level in order to enhance the effectiveness of action taken by each 
party involved. 
55. The agreement concluded between the social partners on 
31 October 1991 sets out new conditions for devising and defining 
Community action to enhance the steps taken by the Member States 
and the two sides of industry. It is particularly important, under 
this new approach, to open up the channels whereby the social 
partners can intensify their discussion, examine the scope for 
expanding their joint opinions and adopt a more consensual 
approach, including collective agreements, at European level on 
access to continuing training. 
56. In point III, the draft Recommendation outlines the circumstances 
in which the Commission is asked to sustain the development of the 
social dialogue on access and sets out guidelines for moving 
towards agreement at European level on this question, so as to 
reflect the wishes of the social partners. 
From the Commission's point of view, now that the social dialogue 
on this question is under way, attention should focus on three 
fundamental points which could be included in such an agreement: 
how workers are informed by firms of the training available 
and of access to such training; 
16 -
worker entitlement to periodic assessment of their skills 
at regular intervals in the light of changing 
qua I if icat ions; 
details of how firms' training plans are prepared and 
implemented, and how they fit in with the overall corporate 
strategy. 
Accompanying measures 
57. The draft Recommendation also calls on the Commission to support 
the implementation of these common objectives by disseminating 
comparative information, strengthening exchanges of experience and 
methods, and supporting the transfer of know-how between Member 
States, targeted mainly at those regions, sectors, types of 
business and categories of personnel which are least well-off in 
terms of access to continuing training. 
Fol low-up 
58. The request for the Member States to report on the implementing 
measures taken is intended to establish regular monitoring of the 
implementation and impact of access to training in relation to the 
initial reference situation described in the summary tables drawn 
up in 1991. These reports should in particular bring to the fore 
the new contributions of the various players (undertakings, public 
authorities, individuals) and the synergy between them. Having 
regard to the measures taken to coordinate and rationalise 
Community vocational training action programmes, and with a view to 
rationalising reports which Member States are requested to draw up, 
it is recommended that the reports on the implementation of the 
Recommendation's objectives and the reports drawn up pursuant to 
Article 11(2) of the Council Decision (90/267/EEC) establishing the 
FORCE programme be integrated, since the timetables are the same. 
Moreover, in view of the creation of a continuing training 
committee under Council Decision 92/170/EEC, the views of the 
committee will be sought on these reports. 
59. On the basis of these reports, and before 30 June 1996, the 
Commission will present to the Council and the European Parliament 
a report evaluating the implementation of these objectives and the 
development of the situation vis-à-vis access to continuing 
vocational training for workers in the Community. The report could 
also be presented to the Social Dialogue Committee if the social 
partners so wished. 
60. On this basis, the Commission is invited, in the light of the 
conclusions, to present any proposal deemed appropriate for 
strengthening access to continuing training in the Community. 
17 
A qualitative impact 
61. The proposal is primarily designed to have a qualitative impact, 
geared to increasing access to continuing training and at the same 
time fostering new forms of work organisation. The Recommendation 
should pave the way for smoother partnerships between the public 
and private sectors and thus promote a more efficient link between 
effort and investment. Continuing training requirements in the 
years ahead mean that partnership between public and private 
sectors conditions the planning of provision at regional and local 
level and the optimum use of resources. 
Consistency with Community action under way 
62. The draft Recommendation has been prepared to dovetail with and 
supplement Community action already under way in the field of 
continuing training. It is based on what has already been achieved 
through Community vocational training programmes e.g. FORCE as 
regards firms' training plans and analysis of skills needs, COMETT 
as regards continuing training measures based on university-
enterprise partnerships regionally and sectorally, EUROTECNET as 
regards a tie-in with technological innovation, and PETRA from the 
point of view of links between initial and continuing training. 
63. These programmes have helped create awareness in firms, and among 
those concerned with vocational training, of the importance of 
implementing training plans and incorporating them in the firm's 
overall economic strategy. The transnational measures pursued 
under these programmes are also a tangible expression of the role 
of the public/private partnerships in providing a better response 
to vocational training requirements, particularly in the SMEs and 
in certain specific sectors. The draft Recommendation should help 
to streamline these objectives. 
64. The complementarity between the proposal for a legal instrument and 
the development and impact of action programmes such as FORCE must 
be stressed. The impact of these programmes and their future 
development, in line with the requests of promoters and the wishes 
of various parties involved, would be enhanced by the 
implementation of the principles laid down by the draft 
Recommendat ion. 
65. The action taken under these programmes (particularly transnational 
partnerships) have a genuine impact in terms of convergence and 
changing attitudes. This action paves the way for the 
implementation of the principles and for greater convergence of 
national systems for access to continuing training. The exchanges 
and the combined action under a programme such as FORCE are 
achieved within a common framework of guidelines which blends in 
with and consolidates the common objectives set by the draft 
Recommendation. Similarly, action prepared and pursued by the 
Member States to apply these common objectives and therefore on a 
broader scale than the action taken under these programmes, could 
help to streamline the effects of these programmes and foster 
convergence of approaches or methods between the various parties 
involved at Community level. This draft Recommendation also 
supports an interrelated and complementary concept of initial and 
continuing training, in liaison with the PETRA programme, and aims 
to back up the qualitative efforts undertaken to promote the 
development of initial training mechanisms in this sense. 
- 18 
66. Future Community action on access to continuing vocational training 
should also be linked to steps to adapt to industrial change and 
changes in production systems as set out in Article 123 and 127 of 
the Treaty currently undergoing ratification and in Commission 
Communication C0M(92) 2000 "From the Single Act to Maastricht and 
beyond : the means to match our ambit Ions". The development of 
access to continuing training for all workers, skilled and 
unskiI led a I ike, is in fact for all firms the conditio sine qua non 
for successfully adjusting to change. Anticipating requirements 
and wide access to training are henceforth the key to adjusting to 
industrial change and encouraging modern skill-enhancing 
configurations of work organisation which can secure quality and 
compet it iveness. 
- 19 -
Proposal for a 
COUNCIL RECOMMENDATION 
on access to continuing vocational training 
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, 
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic 
Community, and in particular Article 128 thereof; 
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission; 
Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament; 
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee; 
Whereas the first principle established by Council Decision 63/266/EEC 
of 2 April 1963 laying down general principles for implementing a 
common vocational training policy^1) states that every person should 
receive adequate training, with particular reference to the need to 
promote basic and advanced vocational training and, where appropriate, 
retraining suitable for the various stages of working life, and the 
need to offer to every person, by means of permanent facilities for 
vocational advancement, the opportunity to gain promotion or to receive 
instruction for a new and higher level of activity; 
Whereas, under the terms of Decision 63/266/EEC, it shall be the 
responsibility of the Member States and the competent institutions of 
the Community to apply such general principles within the framework of 
the Treaty; 
Whereas the development of human resources by means of vocational 
training is one of the essential elements in increasing the 
competitiveness of the European economy; whereas, as affirmed by the 
European Council (meeting in Hanover on 27 and 28 June 1988), the 
completion of the Single Market must be accompanied by increased access 
to continuing training; 
Whereas Article 15 of the Community Charter of the Fundamental Social 
Rights of Workers, adopted by the Heads of State and of Government of 
11 Member States at the European Council, meeting in Strasbourg on 
9 December 1989, states that: 
"Every worker of the European Community must be able to have access to 
vocational training and to benefit therefrom throughout his working 
life. In the conditions governing access to such training there may be 
no discrimination on grounds of nationality. 
The competent public authorities, undertakings or the two sides of 
industry, each within their own sphere of competence, should set up 
continuing and permanent training systems enabling every person to 
undergo retraining, more especially through leave for training 
purposes, to improve his skills or to acquire new skills, particularly 
in the light of technical developments"; 
(1) OJ No 63, 20.4.1963, p. 1338/63 
- 20 -
Whereas Council Directive 91/533/EEC<2) provides for the obligation of 
employers to inform employees of the conditions applicable to the 
contract or employment relationship; 
Whereas vocational training remains of constant concern to both 
employers and workers in the context of the dialogue between the two 
sides of industry; 
Whereas, in their joint opinion concerning training and motivation, 
information and consultation of 6 March 1987, the social partners 
therefore considered that in-service training should enable employees 
to adapt swiftly and continuously to structural changes in 
undertakings; whereas this idea was incorporated in the joint opinion 
of 13 February 1990 on the creation of a European occupational and 
geographical mobility area and improving the operation of the labour 
market in Europe; whereas this idea was further developed in the 
opinion of 19 June 1990 on basic education and initial, vocational and 
adult training; 
Whereas on 21 September 1991 the two sides of industry adopted a joint 
opinon on ways of facilitating the broadest possible effective access 
to training opportunities, on the basis of developments following the 
said joint opinion on 19 June 1990; 
Whereas the agreement concluded on 31 October 1991 between the two 
sides of industry at European level provides for the possibility of 
extending Joint opinions, and whereas the dialogue between them may 
lead to contractual relations based on agreements; 
Whereas, on 6 September 1990, the European Trade Union Confederation 
(ETUC) and the European Centre of Public Enterprises (CEEP) adopted a 
framework European agreement on training in public enterprises; 
Whereas the Economic and Social Committee adopted a report on 
22 October 1992 on vocational training as a means of promoting 
vocational qualifications and a strategic instrument for the economic 
and social development of the European Community; 
Whereas transnational cooperation measures have been undertaken at 
Community level ; 
Whereas such measures were provided for in Council Decision 90/267/EEC 
of 29 May 1990 establishing an action programme for the development of 
continuing vocational training in the European Community (FORCE)^3) 
and in Council Decision 89/657/EEC of 18 December 1989 establishing an 
action programme to promote innovation in the field of vocational 
training resulting from technological change in the European Community 
(EUR0TECNET)<4), both as amended by Decision 92/170 EEC^5*; 
(2) OJ No L 288, 18.10.91, p. 32 
(3) OJ No L 156, 21.6.90, p. 1 
(4) 0J No L 393, 30.12.89, p. 29 
(5) OJ No L 75, 21.3.1992, p. 51 
- 21 -
Whereas such measures are also envisaged in Council Decision 89/27/EEC 
of 16 December 1988 adopting the second phase of the programme on 
cooperation between universities and industry regarding training in the 
field of technology (COMET ll)(6) and in Council Decision 91/387/EEC 
of 22 July 1991 amending Decision 87/569/EEC concerning an action 
programme for the vocational training of young people and their 
preparation for adult and working life (PETRA)^7); 
Whereas such measures are also envisaged in Council Regulation (EEC) 
No 4255/88 of 19 December 1988 laying down provisions for implementing 
Regulation (EEC) No 2052/88 as regards the European Social Fund^8) ; 
Whereas demographic trends will significantly reduce the number of 
young people entering the Community labour market, which, together with 
changes in the working environment, must lead to an updating and 
adaptation of skills among the working population; 
Whereas it has been noted throughout the Community that the problems 
faced by women in gaining access to employment are largely attributable 
to their limited access to vocational training; whereas particular 
attention must be devoted to ensuring that women have effective access 
to continuing vocational training; 
Whereas cooperation in the field of continuing vocational training 
should also be based on existing provisions in force in the Member 
States, while respecting the diversity of national legal systems and 
practices, the powers under national law of the parties concerned and 
contractual autonomy; whereas the initiatives taken at national level 
by the Member States and the two sides of industry are many and varied, 
and it appears, as regards the Community Charter of the Fundamental 
Social Rights of Workers, and taking into account the transnational 
dimension of the action, that they should be supported at Community 
level and viewed within a consistent overall framework; whereas, 
finally, it is essential to encourage a synergy of resources and 
promote partnerships between the public and private sectors; 
Whereas the Advisory Committee on Vocational Training has been 
consulted; whereas it has recognized the strategic importance of the 
question of continuing vocational training in undertakings, for the 
Member States and for the Community, and the necessity for the 
Community to be seen to play an active role in this area; 
HEREBY RECOMMENDS AS FOLLOWS 
(6) 0J No L 13, 17.1.89, p. 28 
(7) 0J No L 214, 2.8.91, p. 69 
(8) 0J No L 374, 31.12.88, p. 21 
- 22 -
I. It recommended that Member States develop their vocational 
training policy with a view to ensuring that every worker in the 
Community has access to vocational training and benefits from it 
throughout his or her working life. 
II. In order to provide effective access to as many workers as 
possible, it is recommended that Member States: 
(i) ensure that undertakings give priority to improving the 
quality and skills of their workforce, and establish 
training plans and programmes appropriate to their size 
and company objectives. These plans and programmes should 
be established taking into account available human 
resources, the organisation of work, future skill 
requirements and the need to anticipate industrial and 
technological change; 
(ii) make provision for specific incentives and support 
measures for small and medium-sized undertakings. These 
should include, for example, assistance with regard to 
advice on training and financial and tax incentives. They 
should support small and medium-sized undertakings in 
analyzing their needs, in designing and implementing a 
training strategy and in evaluating it. Those 
undertakings should ensure the continuing vocational 
training necessary for their development, taking account 
of the particular situation of the employees of the 
undertakings, particularly in order to promote, where 
appropriate, the measures described below; 
(Mi) make provision for specific incentives and support 
measures for undertakings facing industrial change, in 
order to encourage vocational training and retraining for 
their employees; 
(iv) develop continuing vocational training in order to make 
it an essential feature of regional development. In this 
context, special attention should be paid to rural areas 
and to the specific needs of the workers and undertakings 
concerned. It is also recommended that support be given 
to the establishment of training consortia, particularly 
at regional or local level, with the responsibility for 
analysing the requirements of undertakings and employees 
and providing information on training opportunities in 
order to coordinate supply and demand as closely as 
possible; 
(v) ensure that workers are informed, particularly at the 
time of recruitment, about the undertaking's continuing 
vocational training policy and programmes. In particular, 
this information should include the rules and conditions 
governing access to continuing vocational training within 
the undertaking and/or in partnership with public 
authorities, including those applying to the attendance 
of training courses during working hours, leave of 
absence to take examinations, and training leave-, 
- 23 -
(vi) enable workers to obtain, on request, an assessment of 
their skills and training needs. This confidential 
assessment, which shall be the property of the worker, 
must be carried out within the undertaking and/or in 
partnership with specialised training institutions; 
(vii) encourage the information and consultation of workers' 
representatives or, in the absence of such 
representatives, the workers themselves on the setting up 
and implementation of training plans and programmes in 
the undertakings; 
(viii) encourage access by workers to training of appropriate 
duration leading to recognised qualifications. To this 
end, it should be ensured that training is broadly-based 
and provides the means to anticipate and master 
developments in production systems and the organisation 
of work, as well as the consequences of completing the 
Single Market, with reference to the economic, 
technological and social context of the undertaking; 
(ix) promote the use of open and distance learning systems, 
and multi-media and self-1 earning tools; 
(x) enable less-qualified workers, whatever their status, to 
benefit from continuing vocational training measures 
enabling them to achieve a basic level of qualification, 
and give them the basis for mastery of new technologies. 
Particular attention should be paid to providing access 
to continuing training for workers who have not benefited 
from training for a certain length of time, disabled 
workers and those who are most vulnerable in case of 
unemployment ; 
(xi) encourage access for and effective participation by women 
in continuing vocational training. This applies in 
particular to women returning to work, in order to enable 
them to raise their level of basic skills and to 
diversify the choice of occupations to which they have 
access; 
(xii) encourage access to and participation in vocational 
training for the unemployed. Particular attention should 
be paid to the young and the long-term unemployed in 
order to improve their occupational integration and 
reintegration, in particular by developing links between 
initial and continuing training and by reinforcing the 
involvement of undertakings in their training; 
(xiii) ensure that all workers in the Community shall have 
access to continuing vocational training without 
discr iminat ion. 
III. The Commission is invited to reinforce cooperation with Member 
States and the two sides of industry in order to support the 
implementation of point II. 
- 24 -
To this end the Commission, utilising the full potential of the 
Community action programmes and initiatives in the field of 
training, is invited to: 
- disseminate and add to the body of comparative information on 
continuing vocational training systems, including existing 
provisions and methods for integrating young Job-seekers and 
the long-term unemployed into the labour market; 
- reinforce exchanges of experience and methods of good 
practice in continuing training; 
- support transfers of know-how between Member States by means 
of transnational partnerships and networks, especially for 
the benefit of regions, sectors, types of undertaking and 
groups of workers for whom access to continuing training is 
less developed. 
The Commission is also invited to make all useful information 
available to both sides of industry at Community level and to 
support their efforts, within the dialogue between them, to 
discuss access to continuing training in greater depth and to 
extend the joint opinions which they have adopted. Such dialogue 
may lead to contractual relations based on agreements. 
IV. Member States are invited to provide the Commission, by the end 
of the first six months of 1995, with a report setting out the 
measures taken under the terms of point II. This report should 
be integrated with each national report drawn up under the terms 
of Article 11(2) of the Decision 90/267/EEC. 
The Commission is invited to consider the opinion of the 
EUROTECNET-FORCE Committee set up by Decision 92/170/EEC on 
these reports. 
On the basis of these reports and the results of the dialogue 
between the two sides of industry, the Commission is invited to 
present, not later than 30 June 1996, an assessment report on 
access to continuing training in the Community, featuring the 
results obtained by applying the measures set out in point II. 
This report should be presented to the Council, the European 
Parliament and the Economic and Social Committee. It could also 
be presented to the Social Dialogue Committee at the request of 
the two sides of industry. 
The Commission is invited to present any appropriate proposal to 
reinforce access to continuing training for workers in the 
Community, in the light of the conclusions of this report. 
V. This Recommendation is addressed to the Member States and to the 
two sides of undustry at Community level. 
Done at Brussels, 
For the Counc i I 
The President 
- 25 -
IMPACT ASSESSMENT FORM 
THE IMPACT OF THE PROPOSAL ON BUSINESS 
with special reference to small and medium sized 
enterprises (SMEs) 
Title of proposal 
Council Recommendation relating to Access to Continuing Training. 
The proposal 
Taking account of the principle of subsidiarity, why is Community 
legislation necessary in this area and what are its main aims ? 
In view of demographic developments (less young people entering the 
workforce) in the Member States and of the impact of technological 
change on qualifications (see Table 1 for the case of Germany), the 
Recommendation aims to support the development of access to 
continuing training by action to be taken by the Member States and by 
the Social Partners, in the framework of national dispositions. 
The Recommendation invites therefore Member States to enhance access 
to continuing training by establishing measures which will remove 
obstacles presently experienced by firms, employees and special 
groups (e.g. women, unskilled workers). These obstacles are related 
either to a lack of information and consultation between interested 
parties or to a lack of motivation for the individual to participate 
(see provision II. (vi) on skills assessment) and for the firm to 
invest (see provision II.(i) on training plans and programmes) in 
continuing training. 
The Recommendation provides also follow-up action to the work 
programme relevant to the Social Charter, in particular Art. 15. 
- 26 -
The impact on business 
2. Who will be affected by the proposal ? 
The Recommendation does not provide for discriminatory measures 
between sectors of business. It acknowledges however the lack of 
access to continuing training experienced by SMEs and by industry 
undergoing structural change and recommends to Member States to take 
appropriate action in this respect (see 11.(11), (iii). 
3. What will business have to do to comply with the proposal ? 
The Recommendation invites Member States to establish or reinforce 
measures which provide the means for career development 
considerations of the individual and incentives for skills 
improvement to be linked with the business strategy of the 
enterprise, to the mutual benefit of both parts. 
Depending on the measures decided by the Member States in application 
of the measures contained in the Draft Recommendation, firms may 
have to inform their employees or their representatives on their 
continuing, training plans or on conditions governing access to 
continuing training. 
Member States are invited to raise the awareness of firms relating 
the quality of their workforce qualifications with the competitive 
advantage of the firm and encourage the establishment of training 
plans by firms. 
In order to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of continuing 
training for firms, training assessments of individual employees may 
take place in order to clarify the objectives that the training is 
supposed to attain and increase the motivation of the individual 
employees. 
The above actions address the issue of continuing vocational training 
as an investment for the firms in terms of its impact on 
productivity, competitiveness and structural adaptation capacity. 
4. What economic effects is the proposal likely to have ? 
ECONOMIC EFFECTS ON EMPLOYMENT. 
The proposal is likely to have a positive impact on employment 
especially through its provisions concerning groups in danger of 
exclusion from the labour market or of groups or firms which 
currently experience obstacles in having access to continuing 
training (see attached Table 1 "The qualification structure of the 
workforce in Germany 1992/2000" , Table 2 "Labour Force Employed and 
Self-employed According to Educational Attainment (in 1000s) in 
Germany", Table 5 "Participation in Continuing Training According to 
Occupational Status in Germany (1988)"). 
- 2? -
3 ECONOMIC EFFECTS OF THE INVESTMENT AND THE CREATION OF NEW BUSINESSES 
The proposal underlines the importance of access to continuing 
training as an investment for the enterprises and supports the 
creation of new businesses through measures under II. Thus, 
providing the necessary skills base to support the economic potential 
of a region or locality. 
ECONOMIC EFFECTS OF THE PROPOSAL ON THE COMPETITIVE POSITION OF 
BUSINESSES. 
Measures to be established or reinforced will contribute raising the 
skill level of the workforce, and thus raise the competitive position 
of business. 
5. Does the proposal contain measures to take account of the specific 
situation of small and medium sized firms (reduced or different 
requirements, etc) ? 
MEASURES FOR SMEs 
Part II. recognises the lack of access to continuing training for 
SMEs at present and supports the provision of special incentive 
measures for these firms to be taken by public authorities at 
relevant level. 
Recent studies confirm that participation rates in continuing 
education in SMEs are well below those of larger firms even when 
these comparisons are established for employees having the same 
educational attainment. The same is true for expenditure. 
In France data on participation in continuing training according to 
size of firm and occupational status (1988) suggest that non-skilled 
and semi-skilled workers of enterprises having 10 to 19 employees 
is of the order of 1.9% while the same group of workers working for 
a company of more than 2000 have a participation rate of 23.8%. The 
same is true for expenditure i.e. that the relative size of 
expenditure for continuing training increases with the size of the 
firm [See Table 3 "Participation in Continuing Training According to 
Size of Firm and Occupational Status in France, (1988)", Table 4 
"Outlays for Accredited Continuing Activities Training in France 
According to Size of Firm" (in Absolute Figures and in Per Cent of 
Wage Bill (1989)]. 
According to a regular representative survey in the Federal Republic 
of Germany (Berichtssystem Weiterbildung) participation rates of 
employees were significantly higher in larger firms (1000+) than in 
smaller (less than 100) firms (41% as compared to 33%). This 
discrepancy is even greater when participation in continuing training 
proper is concerned : almost twice as many employees in large firms 
undergo training as.in small ones (31% compared to 17%). 
- 28 -
The same picture emerges from two other studies. A 1988 German 
inquiry, based on a representative sample of about lO per cent of all 
enterprises, found that in firms with less than 50 employees, the 
participation was below average. Whereas participation in 
enterprises with more than 500 employees was well above. In concrete 
figures the following situation emerged : for the period 1980-1985 in 
firms with fewer than 50 employees 21 per cent of the workforce 
completed a programme of continuing education or training, while the 
rate was 25 per cent for firms with between 50 and 500 employees, and 
29 per cent for enterprises with a workforce of more than 500 (cf. 
Koch, p. 185). Other studies confirmed that smaller firms are 
significantly less active than larger firms with respect to the 
continuing training of their employees (cf. von Bardlesleben et al. 
1986). 
Consultation 
6. List the organisations which have been consulted about the proposal and 
outline their main views. 
6.1. In the context of the Social Dialogue and their Joint Opinion on 
ways of facilitating the broadest possible effective access to 
training opportunities, of 21 September 1991, the social partners 
have confirmed the priority nature of continuing training. 
6.2. In preparation of the proposal, a tripartite consultation under 
the auspices of the General Directors of Vocational Training has 
taken place at national level in each of the 12 Member States 
(June 91). 
6.3. The statutory ACVT (Advisory Committee on Vocational Training) of 
a tripartite composition has given its advice on the 10/11 
September 1992. 
- 29 -
TABLE 1 
The Qualification Structure of the Workforce in Germany 
1982-2000 (Medium Growth Variant) 
TYPE OF JOB ACTIVITY 
without 
training QUALIFICATION 
(IN PERCENT) 
II III IV 
apprenticeship technical higher 
vocational school education 
Actual 1982 
Structured) 
1. Production crafts 
maintenance 
2. Storage, transportation 
sales 
3. Office (clerical 
secretarial) 
4. Managerial, Research, 
Development 
5. Janitors, Domestics, 
Catering, Waiting 
6. Service Jobs, 
Liberal Professions 
Teachers, Health Care 38,1 
30,1 
21,8 
9,7 
63,3 
19,5 54,0 
64,3 
71,9 
50,1 
34,0 
39,4 6,9 
3,6 
3,6 
16,6 
2,0 
7,4 1,0 
2,0 
2,7 
23,6 
0,7 
33,7 
TOTAL 1982 32,0 52,9 6,6 8,5 
The projected year 
2000 structure 
1. Production crafts, 24,4 
maintenance 
2. Storage, transportation 16,8 
sales 
3. Office (clerical 11,6 
secretarial) 
4. Managerial, Research 2,3 
and Development 
5. Janitors, Domestics 49,3 
Catering, Waiting 
6. Service jobs, 14,7 
Liberal Professions, 
Teachers, Health Care 65,8 8,3 1,5 
76.8 2,9 3,5 
75,4 3,4 9,6 
53.9 16,1 27,7 
44,6 2,6 3,5 
33,6 4,2 47,5 
TOTAL 2000 19,8 58,7 6,7 14,8 
(1) partly, estimated 
Source : von Rothkirch/Weidig (1985) 
- 30 -
TABLE 
Labour Force Employed and Self-employed According to 
Educational Attainment (in 1000s) in Germany 
Without vocational 
training 
Completed vocational 
training 
(qualified worker) 
Middle level skill base 
With completed higher 
education degree 
Total 1975 
Number 
8 851 
13 410 % 
34,4 
52,1 1985 
Number 
7 239 
14 782 % 
27,2 
55,5 
1 643 
1 848 
25 752 6,4 
7,2 
100 2 009 
2 597 
26 626 7,5 
9,7 
100 
Source : Deutsches Institut fur Wirtschaftsforschung (German Institute for 
Economic Research), Wochenberichte (Weekly Report), No. 7, Berlin 
1988. 
- 31 -
TABLE 3 
Participation in Continuing Training According to 
Size and Firm and Occupational Status in France. (1988) 
Number of Employees 
Non-skilled and 
semiskilled workers 
Skilled workers 
Employees 
Technicans and middle-
management 
Engineers and managers 
Total 
Source : Doc. annexe a 10-19 
% 
1,9 
4,8 
10,2 
14,5 
16,5 
14,6 
la Loi 20-49 50-499 
% % 
3,4 8,4 
6,2 14,3 
12,8 22,0 
19,0 23,8 
21,7 37,1 
16,3 25,6 
de Finance, 1990 500-1999 
% 
15,3 
23,2 
32,9 
49,6 
57,7 
35,1 more than 2000 
% 
23,8 
40,9 
43,3 
68,1 
67,2 
48,8 
- 32 -
TABLE 4 
Outlays for Accredited Continuing Activities Training in France According to 
Size of Firm (in Absolute Figures and in Per Cent of Wage Bill) (1989) 
Number of 
Employees 10-19 20-49 50-499 500-1999 more than Total Enter-
2000 prises with 
more than 10 
Expenditure 
(million FF) 584 991 6229 5778 16256 30838 
Expenditure 
as per cent of 
wage bill 1,34 1,44 2,01 2,91 4,68 2,97 
Source : Doc. annexe à la Loi de Finance, 1990 
- 33 -
TABLE 5 
Participation in Continuing Training According 
to Occupational Status in Germany (1988) 
EMPLOYMENT STATUS PERCENTAGE OF WORKFORCE 
Unskilled and semiskilled 6% 
Skilled workers 16% 
Employees with simple responsabilities 20% 
Employees with higher level 31% 
responsabilities 
Managers 32% 
Source :: Berichtsystem Weiterbildungsverhalten (p. 54) 

- 34 -
ISSN 0254-1475 
COM(92) 486 final 
DOCUMENTS 
EN 04 
Catalogue number : CB-CO-92-611-EN-C 
ISBN 92-77-51078-1 
Office for Official Publications of the European Communities 
L-2985 Luxembourg