COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COVIVIUNITIES 
C0M(93) 686 final - SYN 494 
Brussels, 21 December 1993 
Proposal for a 
COUNCIL DECISION 
ESTABLISHING AN ACTIOS PROGRAMME 
FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF A EUROPEAN COMMUNITY 
VOCATIONAL TRAINING POLICY 
LEONARDO DAVlNQ 
(presented by the Commission) 
EXPLANATORY MEMQPANPUM 
INTRODUCTION 
1. The Treaty on European Union establishes a general objective of 
contributing to the development of quality education and training and to 
the flowering of the cultures of the Member States, based on Articles 126 
and 127. 
2. As stated in the working paper on guidelines which the Commission 
adopted on 5 May 19931, the essential aim of Community action on 
education and training must therefore be the fulfilment of European 
citizens in order to enhance their capacity for initiative and creativity and 
allow them to take a fully active part in society and the building of 
Europe. This objective is based on the gradual establishment of an open 
European area for education and training. 
3. It is now widely recognised that the development of human potential is a 
precondition for attaining the economic, social and quality of life 
objectives the Community has set. The quality of human resources and the 
continuous adaptation of manpower skills are a comparative advantage for 
Europe when it comes to international competition. They are also a key 
factor in the fight against social exclusion and unemployment. Broadening 
out access to education and training should contribute to better social 
cohesion between the Member States and equality of opportunities between 
Working paper "Guidelines for Community action in the field of education and training" 
COM(93) 183 final. 
people. AH of which contributes to building up a European culture which 
is forward and outward looking, to putting flesh on the bones of European 
identity and citizenship, particularly among young people, and is a 
powerful factor in rallying citizens around the construction of Europe. 
Education and training have new roles to play in the process of industrial 
and socio-economic change which Europe has to contend with. This will 
mean deep-seated changes in the education and training systems of the 
Member States. This ever greater pace and scale of change will bring forth 
the need for individuals and workers to be able to gain access to lifelong 
education and training to enable them to be part of society and remain 
competitive within the economy. These systems will therefore have to 
come up with fresh answers which are more flexible and more diversified 
to cater for this need. 
In the light of the experience gained to date, the Community's future 
policy on vocational training must consolidate and build on the solid 
achievements of the cooperation programmes in the fields of education and 
vocational training undertaken in recent years if it is to respond to the new 
challenges facing it and its Member States: 
a return to balanced growth and effective action on unemployment 
presuppose putting together a workforce which is better trained and 
better educated; 
it is crucial to improve the capacity to keep abreast of changing job 
content and qualification requirements, particularly through 
interfaces and cooperation between the different players concerned; 
better access to continuing training and proper linkage with broad-
based initial training are essential in promoting the updating of 
workers' skills, sustaining the competitiveness of firms -
particularly SMEs - and facilitating the organising of work in ways 
which provide opportunities for skill enhancement; 
the links between research and training have grown substantially 
and are a key factor in competitiveness and effective investment; 
and the transfer of technological innovation - particularly to SMEs 
- is of strategic importance; 
cooperation between the education and business worlds must be 
enhanced, particularly at university level, in the interests of quality 
education and training; 
the European dimension of education and training must be 
developed in order to give young people particularly, but also all 
European citizens, a sense of fitting into the political perspective 
opened up by the European Union, and to facilitate mobility so that 
they can take advantage of the opportunities opened up to them by 
the single market. 
On the basis of Article 127 of the Treaty, the Commission is accordingly 
putting before the Council a proposal for a decision to establish an action 
programme to develop the European Community's vocational training 
policy. The purpose of this programme is to secure the pursual of 
Community action in the field of vocational training, the general principles 
of which were laid down by the Decision of 2 April 1963 and which is 
now implemented through four action programmes: PETRA, FORCE, 
EUROTECNET AND COMETT2, to enable it to rise to the challenges of 
the 1990s and to ensure that it develops within the new legal framework 
established by the Treaty on European Union. 
This proposal is set in the general context established by the White Paper 
on Competitiveness, Growth and Employment which has just been 
examined by the European Council on 10 and 11 December 1993. 
The courses of action mapped out in the White Paper, and in particular 
action to promote employment, must be underpinned by increased 
cooperation between the Member States to create a real European area for 
occupational qualifications which will provide a decisive push towards the 
upgrading and evolution of skills and qualifications and a new dynamic in 
employment systems. The action taken and the clear objectives of the 
Community's vocational training policy can have an important catalytic 
effect and achieve significant leverage at a time when Member States and 
firms, in a tight budgetary environment, could be tempted to curtail their 
investment in human resources in favour of shorter-term considerations, 
which would be at variance with the objectives laid down in the White 
Paper. 
See the following texts: 
Council Decision 63/266/EEC of 2 April 1963 laying down general principles for implementing 
a common vocational training policy (Official Journal, English Special Edition, 1963-1964, p.25); 
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) (OJ L 214 of 2.8.1991, p. 69); 
Council Decision 90/267/EEC of 29 May 1990 establishing an action programme for the 
development of continuing vocational training in the EC (FORCE)"*(OJ LI56 of 21.6.1990, p. 1); 
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 EC 
(EUROTECNET) (OJ L 393 of 30.12.1989, p. 29); 
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 
(COMETT IT) (OJ L 13 of 17.1.1989, p. 28). 
I WHAT COMMUNITY ACTION HAS ACHIEVED TO DATE 
Common political concerns 
8. The Commission's intention when it published its memorandum on 
vocational training in the EC in the 1990s3 was to open the broadest debate 
possible among all the players involved on the importance and implications 
of vocational training policies in the Member States individually and at the 
Community level. 
9. The criticisms which emerged from this debate that the approach had been 
overly based on economic concerns should provide a platform for opening 
up the perspective and giving greater consideration to societal factors. 
Arguments and proposals for actions related to competitiveness and 
economic growth should be linked with those on stemming the rising tide 
of unemployment and social exclusion. Even with regard to skill and job 
content, the methodological, relational or social aspects prompt a 
reassessment of the objectives and the methods of vocational training and 
their relationship with possible changes in the configurations of work 
organisation. The interfaces to be established between education and 
training will play a capital role in this context. 
10. The discussions prompted by the memorandum have also brought out the 
major trends which stand as pointers for defining the objectives of future 
Community action. These trends do not reflect an identity of factors but 
rather questions to which the Member States have to face jointly4: 
a - reiteiation of the fundamental importance of basic education and initial 
training as a precondition for integration into the labour market and for 
further vocational advancement. The plight of those who have failed at 
school and the economic and social marginalisation originating in the 
shortcomings of initial training, along with the need to drastically reduce 
functional illiteracy, are structural factors and account for a substantial 
share of public intervention in all the Member States to promote 
integration. 
Commission Memorandum on Vocational Training in the European Community in the 
1990s - COM(91) 397 final of 12 December 1991 
Summary report on responses to the memorandum on vocational training - TFRH - 1993 
b - die need for training facilities to take on board the deep-seated changes 
which are taking place in skills and qualifications. Member States are hard 
pressed by the changes needed in their training systems in order to adapt 
training to the rapid and possibly increasingly radical changes taking place 
in job content. There will have to be growing emphasis on interpersonal, 
methodological and social skills and on individual potential for coping with 
ongoing change, taking charge of one's own development (learning to 
learn), and facilitating transferability of qualifications, inter alia within the 
European area. 
c - increasing the capacity to anticipate. The current economic uncertainty 
and the variable effects of factors which determine the definition of types 
of training (e.g. technological innovation) are a source of growing concern 
for all the players concerned. However, the debate is wide open as to 
which methods and instruments will really develop the capacity for 
anticipation which calls for increased cooperation at Community level. 
d - the increased role of firms and sandwich training. Strengthening the 
links between training and industry is a constant and the development of 
sandwich training is the subject of an agreement by the two sides of 
industry. 
e - customising training supply. The individual-centred approach to 
problems in terms of analysing requirements, defining learning programmes 
and syllabuses and selecting the type and method of training which is the 
most appropriate, seems to be gaining ground and elicits the question as 
to financial arrangements. 
f - the increasing recognition of the regional element In a context of 
widely differing organisational patterns of training systems, the local means 
of matching up supply and demand for training play an increasingly 
important role. 
g - recognition of the role of the social players. It is a sign of the times 
that there is increasingly widespread recognition of the plurality of 
responsibilities of the players concerned and the need for them to 
cooperate more in establishing regulations. 
General principles and guidelines 
11. The Council Decision of 2 April 1963 laying down general principles for 
a common vocational training policy pursuant to Article 128 of the Treaty 
of Rome is a non-binding reference text offering common guidelines 
towards which the policies and systems of the Member States can 
converge. 
12 The Council decisions at the basis of the current programmes establish for 
each field of action common frameworks of objectives or guidelines 
decided by the Council and taken by the Member States as objectives to 
be attained to their own policies: 
for initial training of young people, the objective is to secure broad-
based and recognised qualifications for all young people by 
enabling them to have one or, if possible, two years of vocational 
training after compulsory schooling5. 
as regards continuing training, the objective is to encourage a bigger 
and more effective investment input into continuing vocational 
training of employees and a better return, particularly by developing 
partnerships designed to make public authorities, firms -particularly 
SMEs - the social partners and individual workers more aware of 
the benefits deriving from investment in continuing vocational 
training6. 
- as regards training for the transfer of technological innovation, the 
objective is to use properly structured cooperation between 
universities and industry to encourage the transfer of the results of 
R&D to firms likely to be able to create high added-value jobs with 
a strong technological content, inter alia by greater involvement of 
higher education in continuing training7. 
13. Article 127 of the Treaty on European Union sets out five specific 
objectives for vocational training, reflecting issues of capital importance 
for the Community, and giving it specific responsibility in this connection 
to: 
- facilitate adaptation to industrial changes, in particular through 
vocational training and retraining; 
- improve initial and continuing vocational training in order to facilitate 
vocational integration and reintegration into the labour market; 
- facilitate access to vocational training and encourage mobility of 
instructors and trainees and particularly young people; 
- stimulate cooperation on training between educational or training 
establishments and firms; 
- develop exchanges of information and experience on issues common to 
the training systems of the Member States. 
see Decision 91/387/EEC of 22 July 1993, Art. 1 and Decision 87/569/EEC, Art. 2 
See Decision 90/267/EEC of 29 May 1990, Article 5 
See Decision 89/27/EEC of 16 December 1988, Article 3(1) 
Significant operational achievements 
14. The current action programmes are not all at the same stage of 
implementation, they were launched at different dates and, more to the 
point, were allocated different levels of financing. These two factors were 
duly taken into account by the Commission in a preliminary horizontal 
assessment of the programmes and the added value they represent8. Major 
achievements can be identified with a view to the new proposal. It builds 
on them as regards networks which can be mobilised, the results of 
cooperation partnerships, exchanges, understanding and knowledge of 
systems and patterns of cooperation between the Commission and the 
Member States: 
- various types of transnational exchange and cooperation networks have 
been set up in the wake of the stimulus provided by the action 
programmes. They provide continuity in cooperation and make it possible 
to capitalise on the results. 
- the network of PETRA national coordination units which is responsible 
for the implementation and operational running of the programme in the 
Member States has become a back-up tool for transnational cooperation 
and innovation in the context of initial training and, more generally 
speaking, the social and vocational integration of young people. 
Downstream, the network of trans-European training partnerships for young 
people, or the network of national centres for vocational guidance, provide 
a preliminary Community linkup which is extremely useful in promoting 
further cooperation. 
- Thanks to the COMETT programme 205 University-Enterprise Training 
Partnerships (UETP) have been set up. These UETPs are interfaces, as it 
were, between higher education and industry. Certain UETPs have a 
regional basis, others a sectoral basis, being specialised in one 
technological sector in particular. They cooperate closely and provide very 
useful instruments for identifying the best available skills in Europe in a 
given context of training requirements for the transfer of technological 
innovation. Through the UETPs, COMETT has helped to initiate a process 
which was hitherto virtually non-existent: a European university-enterprise 
dialogue in the field of education and training, thus permitting the tailoring 
of training more closely to actual supply and requirements. 
- The preparation, fine tuning, organisation and development of 
transnational pilot projects have now yielded significant results in terms of 
experience. 
Report from the Commission to the Council, the European Parliament and the Economic 
and Social Committee: EC education and training programmes 1986-1992. Results and 
achievements: an overview. COM(93) 151 final. 
- Under PETRA, over 700 projects, 14 000 teachers or trainers and 85 000 
young people have taken part in the network's activities since 1988 to 
develop and try out new and innovative training products. 
- The 430 FORCE projects are targeted at the training and qualifications 
requirements of the firms which make up the majority of the 3 500 
partners in these projects. They pursue three lines of action to adapt to 
industrial change through training: training as a means of preventing 
unemployment by strengthening and diversifying employee skills, training 
as a means of developing new configurations of work organisation which 
are needed for the survival or growth of firms, and training as a means of 
development, inter alia through adaptation to new technologies. 
- EUROTECNET has boosted the development of flexible new solutions 
to the problems of training in order to disseminate them through the 
project network: conceptual developments on current and future trends as 
regards the development of technologies (capacity for self-teaching, the 
"learning organisation" of work, key qualifications/skills), case studies to 
illustrate these conceptual models, study analyses of training requirements 
based on an inter-sectoral approach and the development of tools and 
instruments to disseminate results. 
- The 7 000 training courses organised with COMETT II support in the 
most diverse technology fields should reach a public of over 200 000 
people, 140 000 of whom will come from industry. The 3000 training 
products developed or under development should reach over 500 000 
people in Europe. The courses organised under COMETT II have drawn 
a wider audience than COMETT I, particularly among women. Several 
projects have illustrated the impact of the use of new training materials, 
notably multimedia, as compared with the traditional methods. 
- The vocational training action programmes are not mobility programmes 
as such. Exchanges are aimed at strategic populations and provide a back­
up or even a part of the training process itself. 
- 20 000 young people have benefitted from training placement or a work 
experience in another Member State in 1992 and 1993 under PETRA. 
These placements bring a real Community dimension into the training 
young people receive through the national systems. 
- The FORCE programme encourages the mobility of trainers and, more 
generally speaking, people responsible for human resources and training in 
firms, and social partners who have responsibilities in the field of 
continuing vocational training: 400 human resources directors, 430 trainers, 
130 staff representatives and 40 members of trade unions were mobile in 
1991 and 1992 through exchange programmes designed to pass on 
innovations rapidly, to establish solid partnerships and to organise 
continuing training actions. 
- The 28 000 placements of students supported under COMETT represent 
only a small part of actual demand (which is approximately five times 
higher). These training periods are greatly sought after because they 
provide young people with an effective introduction to working life and 
considerably enhance their chances of finding a job. These training periods 
have also helped to strengthen cooperation between universities and 
industry. The 1Ô00 exchanges of staff between universities and European 
firms have also helped to improve technology transfer between the world 
of academia and that of industry, inter alia through the principle of "tacit 
knowledge", i.e. the knowledge acquired through experience. 
- In order to cope with the diversity of initial and continuing training 
systenis and understand how they work, a corpus of comparable data is 
essential to improve exchanges of information and experience between the 
Member States. 
- FORCE has compiled synoptic tables on the information available on in-
company continuing training. A statistical survey conducted in conjunction 
with Eurostat is now in progress and will for the first time provide 
information which is comparable at the Community level on training 
actions and costs in European firms, and an objective idea of the quantity 
and quality of training which firms provide for their Employees. 
- Three sectoral surveys (the retail trade, the agri-food industry and car 
repairs) have made it possible to gauge the situation as regards training 
practices which are significant in those sectors at the European level. A 
fourth sector (road transport) is currently being launched. All these surveys 
are a start to European sectoral networks (research institutes, firms, social 
partners) which involve the players in the twelve Member States. 
- The analysis of collective bargaining practice has made it possible to 
take stock of joint actions, agreements and collective consultation by the 
two sides of industry oh continuing training. The social partners can thus 
be involved more closely as players in the vocational training of employees 
throughout'the Community. 
Linkage with national actions 
15. Assessing the linkage with, and impact of, Community action on national 
action has become a question which is central to this first phase of the 
programmes. In addition to general considerations to do with subsidiarity, 
this linkage could be improved by putting greater emphasis on the 
procedures and structures set up. This trend could be gradual: 
- The programme committees and the advisory committee have provided 
forums for discussing the impact of Community actions and their 
contribution to the conduct and direction of national policies. In certain 
programmes a number of Member States have, significantly, taken it upon 
themselves to pursue these discussions in national forums, and the 
conferences organised at the time the memorandum on vocational training 
was debated have increased the interest of the different players concerned 
in these aspects. 
- The preparation of the national reports on the implementation of the 
programmes and the development of implementing machinery is the second 
instrument to have thus emerged. These procedures do raise 
methodological and logistic problems but they are invaluable in developing 
reference instruments for assessing underlying changes and trends in the 
national systems and in attuning Community actions to support them 
accordingly; 
- "The bilateral meetings" organised for planning and selecting projects 
between the Commission and national representatives (ministries, national 
technical assistance bureaux, the two sides of industry) also provide an 
ideal forum for understanding emerging trends and the degree of 
concordance between transnational projects and national priorities. 
10 
II A NEW CONTEXT 
The competences established by the Treaty 
16. In a context of shared responsibility between the Community and the 
Member States, Article 127 of the Treaty brings radical changes in relation 
to the legal situation defined in Article 128 of the Treaty of Rome: 
- the text stipulates that the Community is responsible for implementing 
a vocational training policy which supports and complements the policies 
of the Member States, while the Community's role hitherto was to establish 
the general principles for a common vocational training policy; 
- the decision-making system has been changed, for henceforth the Council 
will decide in this context on the basis of a qualified majority, and no 
longer by simple majority, after a cooperation procedure with the European 
Parliament; 
- the text stipulates explicitly that Community action excludes 
harmonisation of legal and statutory provisions in the Member States and 
confirms their responsibility for the content of programmes and the 
organisation of their systems. The diversity of the systems and the 
responsibility of the Member States for the organisation and content of 
training are thus recognised as the mainstays of Community policy which 
must permit increased cooperation and convergence of action freely taken 
by the different players concerned. 
17. The Treaty is based on acknowledgement of the fact that the main role in 
the financing and implementation of vocational training is a matter for the 
public authorities in the Member States and the two sides of industry. The 
Community's role is to provide impetus and innovation. Community action 
must encourage voluntary convergence and enhance the effects of quality 
and the capacity for innovation on the systems. The Community can, using 
a common framework of objectives, provide support for the development 
of transnational actions to promote the coherent development of training 
policies in the Community. 
The link with other policies 
18. The analysis of the challenges of the 1990s which the Commission carried 
out in its memorandum has illustrated the complexity and complementarity 
of the factors at work. The vocational training policy must therefore be 
linked with other levels of Community action when it is implemented. 
19. Vocational training must be seen in conjunction with the labour market 
policy (Article 123), and particularly adaptation to industrial changes - an 
objective which is common to Articles 123 and 127, cooperation on 
11 
education (Article 126), action on the competitiveness of industry 
(Article 130), research and technological development policy (Article 130h) 
and freedom of movement (Article 57). It must help to achieve combined 
action and coherence between measures which depend on the policies 
concerned, for training must be linked with the objectives of these different 
contexts if it is to be effective. 
20. There is a special need for operational synergy with the Structural Funds, 
including Community initiatives, and also with the socio-economic chapter 
of the 4th framework programme for research and technological 
development. 
Complementarity between education and training 
21. The new elements to do with vocational training policy and the 
introduction of a specific article on education (Article 126) for the first 
time call for an integrated approach to education and training at the 
Community level, even if the levels of competence and the procedures 
remain different. The link between these two fields is as important as the 
definition of the specific measures for each of them; it must make it 
possible to transcend the previous debates on the border between education 
and training and to develop the new political concept of "lifelong learning" 
as a prospect for the Community in conjunction with the construction of 
a European citizenship. 
22. This complementarity of the two contexts must be reinforced and be given 
tangible expression in the arrangements and actions proposed. 
Operationally speaking, Community-backed actions must strengthen cross-
fertilisation of education and training arrangements through the approaches 
of the institutions concerned. Coordinated actions could be pursued for this 
purpose on themes of common interest to both fields, e.g. language 
training, open and distance learning, career guidance, lifelong learning and 
the monitoring of occupations and skills. 
23. The universities are players in the development of continuing training and 
main players for the transfer of technological innovations, and for the 
objective of quality in vocational training and cooperation with the 
business community. Complementarity must be pursued ai other levels in 
the education systems, whether we are talking about occupational and 
social integration of young people or the continuing training of adults. 
24. As regards vocational guidance, the programme must serve as a vehicle for 
introducing a European dimension. It will cover all areas of vocational 
training and permit significant broadening of the Community actions 
pursued so far in this field. This action is presently based essentially on the 
PETRA programme which concerns young people and sets an age limit of 
27 on participants. The new programme will make it possible to extend 
this action to all target groups: young people and adults, employees and 
12 
job-seekers. It will then be possible to develop career guidance measures 
to accompany individuals throughout their occupational lives and not only 
during the first phase, and to help them to choose the most appropriate 
training channels in the light of labour market requirements and.their own 
occupational progress, and of the emergence of a European training 
market. 
25. By implementing this programme the Community will also help to 
encourage open and distance learning (ODL), as advocated in the 
Commission Memorandum of December 1991, the conclusions of the 
Ministers of Education meeting within the Council in June and December 
1992, and the Resolution adopted by the European Parliament in July 
1993. This encouragement will focus on the specific advantages distance 
learning brings in the pursuit of the objectives laid down in the Treaty, 
with particular emphasis on the flexibility it gives training, its capacity to 
reach many users - especially those who have problems of access to 
vocational training -, the enhancement it brings by extending and blending 
in with traditional methods, the guarantee of quality it offers, and the 
establishment of training networks enabling citizens to avail themselves of 
the opportunities it offers in terms of customised training. Which is why 
all actions may include measures to encourage and promote the use of 
ODL as a method which is particularly suited to the programme's objective 
of disseminating its results as widely as possible. 
26. The problem of anticipating needs also warrants specific attention and a 
transversal approach within the programme. Identifying changes in skills 
and occupations is today a necessity and the single market is the reason 
why this requirement is a reality not only within each country but at 
European level as well. Implementation of the programme will accordingly 
be made easier by work on the evolution of occupations and occupational 
qualifications in the Community in conjunction with CEDEFOP in order 
to ensure a better knowledge and better circulation of information on 
changing occupations. One of the tasks will also be to identify needs, to 
build up a system of technology monitoring to warn of changes under way 
in job content and their consequences for training, and to facilitate the 
transfer of forecasting methods and know-how between the Member States 
and the different players concerned. 
Subsidiarity 
27. The subsidiarity issue broached by the memorandum is dealt with firstly 
in Article 127 of the Treaty on European Union, which rules out the 
harmonisation of national systems, recognises that the Member States 
themselves are fully responsible for the organisation and content of 
training, and gives the Community the responsibility for implementing a 
vocational training policy which supports and supplements action by the 
Member States. Implementation of these provisions must provide better 
linkage between the Community's innovatory and catalytic action and the 
13 
national systems, particularly by bringing about a greater degree of linkage 
between Community actions and the fundamental elements and determining 
factors of change in the Member States' systems. 
28. Moreover, Community action must accordingly be centred on the 
development of transnational cooperation at all relevant levels in order to 
bring visible added value to action undertaken by the Member States and 
by the players involved in the training market. The added value of 
Community action must be consolidated and strengthened to keep step with 
the open European area for vocational training and qualifications which 
will gradually emerge from the completion and operation of the single 
market. The measures proposed support and supplement actions pursued 
by and in the Member States and enable them to use the input from 
transnational operations in order to improve the quality and effectiveness 
of their systems and arrangements. 
29. Future actions must demonstrate a "positive" linkage between the 
complementary action of the Community and national training policies. 
Furthermore, at the appropriate levels in the field of training due account 
must be taken of the links between the public authorities' mechanisms of 
intervention and the contribution of the two sides of industry. 
14 
30. This approach makes it possible to optimise the effectiveness of the actions 
and policies implemented, including those at Community level. The 
discussions on the Council Recommendation on access to continuing 
training9 have shown that by taking account of the responsibilities which 
the two sides of industry can assume and, more broadly speaking, of 
vocational training action by the social players (firms, training 
organisations) both at Community and national levels, Community action 
can achieve a broader, more realistic and more effective impact, improving 
complementarity and achieving synergy between public action and 
collective bargaining. 
The institutional process 
31. The decision-making procedure as regards the instruments to be 
implemented will be that stipulated in Article 189 C of the Treaty. This 
gives the European Parliament a bigger say in the adoption of texts under 
the procedure for cooperation between the Council and European 
Parliament for proposals based on Article 127. 
32. The Economic and Social Committee must be consulted on proposals on 
vocational training and in most cases it will also be useful to obtain the 
opinion of the new Committee of the Regions in view of the 
responsibilities of local authorities in matters concerning vocational 
training. 
33. The Advisory Committee on Vocational Training (ACVT), a tripartite 
statutory committee, could fulfil a dual function of monitoring the 
coherence of the overall Community policy on vocational training, in view 
of the broad spectrum of action it entails, and of monitoring subsidiarity, 
inter alia in order to improve the linkage between Community policy and 
national action. The Commission will therefore regularly inform the 
ACVT of developments in the programme, particularly regarding: 
(a) general policy guidelines in the field of vocational training 
(b) general monitoring of the common framework of objectives 
(c) the general report on vocational training and 
(d) the general assessment of the programme 
34. The creation of a Social Dialogue Committee should make it possible to 
pursue and extend the very profitable work carried out by the two sides of 
industry within the education-training group which started up in 1989 and 
considerably improve the consistency of Community action with the 
process of agreements between the two sides of industry at European level, 
in tine with their agreement of 31.10.1991. 
Council Recommendation on access to continuing training. 93/404/CEE of 30 June 1993. 
15 
m PRESENTATION OF THE PROPOSAL 
35. On the basis of experience in implementing the existing Community 
vocational training programmes (COMETT, PETRA, FORCE, 
EUROTECNET) and of other actions and pilot projects in the same area, 
the main aim of the programme is to ensure the implementation of a 
vocational training policy which will support and supplement the action of 
the Member States, and to foster cooperation between Member States so 
that an open European area for vocational training and qualifications can 
be gradually achieved. To this end, the programme will aim to: 
- contribute to the improvement of the effectiveness and quality of 
systems; 
- promote quality in methods and products; 
- support innovation in vocational training; 
- use vocational training as a vehicle for promoting and 
disseminating technological innovation; 
- develop the European dimension throughout all levels of training; 
- encourage the intellectual mobility of knowledge, in particular 
through distance learning. 
36. The draft proposal for a Council Decision respects the principle of 
subsidiarity and includes two complementary parts: 
- a common framework of objectives to promote the coherent 
development of vocational training in the Community. 
- a set of Community measures to support and supplement action taken 
by and in the Member States. 
37. The common framework of objectives is designed to promote greater 
cooperation between the Member States so that a Community vocational 
training policy can gradually be introduced and so that coherent 
development of vocational training in the Community can be ensured. The 
Member States will, on their own initative, refer to this common 
framework of objectives in implementing their vocational training policies. 
The guidelines of the COMETT, PETRA, FORCE and EUROTECNET 
programmes are incorporated into the common framework of objectives set 
out in the proposal. 
38. With regard to the Community measures, the Commission's proposal is 
intended to simplify the multiplicity of current actions, to ensure better 
transparency and better targeting of Community action, and to improve its 
impact. 
if 
The programme concerns all the players in the field of vocational training, 
be it public authorities, private training bodies, firms or social partners. 
Its aim is to enable these players, whether in terms of policy orientation, 
definition of needs or design of measures, to improve their methods and 
practice on the basis of the results of transnational cooperation. 
Three strands of action, each with its specific objectives, are foreseen for 
the implementation of the programe's general objectives, leading to the 
gradual emergence of an open area for training and qualifications in the 
Community: 
Strand 1: measures to sustain the quality of Member States' systems, 
arrangements and policies; 
Strand 2: measures to support innovative capacity in actions on the 
training market; 
Strand 3: network and accompanying measures - promotion of the 
European dimension. 
39. The first strand is intended to provide Community support for projects 
which have a direct impact on national vocational training systems and 
arrangements. If the quality of the services dispensed by these systems is 
to be improved, there must be greater efficiency of investment and public 
expenditure committed. Experience of the previous programmes, and in 
particular PETRA for initial training systems, has shown that transnational 
cooperation can help national systems to evolve towards greater efficiency. 
In the context of a tight squeeze on national public budgets, the economies 
of scale and the transfer of innovation made possible through Community 
action have an increasingly important role to play. 
On themes such as qualifications or vocational guidance, which should be 
regarded as central to this first strand, the transnational cooperation 
developed by the programme makes it possible to introduce a real 
European dimension which is essential from the point of view of free 
movement and the mobility of individuals for the purposes of training and 
employment. 
40. The second strand caters for the providers of training activities or products 
on the market. All categories of players are concerned: training bodies, 
firms, social partners, universities. 
Projects will aim on the one hand to promote and develop innovation in 
vocational training activities so as to increase their effectiveness and, on 
the other hand, to promote and facilitate the transfer of technological 
innovations. 
H-
41. The third strand is aimed at developing the European dimension in 
vocational training by means of Community support for the rationalisation 
and coordination of the national bodies and operational structures which 
underpin the construction of transnational pilot projects and placements in 
another Member State; this will make it possible to improve and extend 
the European network for the promotion of transnational cooperation, 
ensure that the programme is transparent and increase its induced effects 
by enhancing the dissemination of products and the results of pilot projects 
to other operators, in particular through the activities of the European 
network. 
This third strand also incorporates the aspects of language audit and 
transnational language projects for firms and socio-economic circles, 
corresponding to the old Action III of the LINGUA Programme. 
42. Special attention will go to balancing resources and disseminating results 
between the two strands of the programme. It would indeed be particularly 
counter-productive for there to be a rigid barrier between strands I and II 
or for a marked imbalance to emerge in the number of projects backed and 
therefore of practitioner interest. Whatever the organisation of national 
systems, there is reason to believe that dynamism and innovation depend 
on complementarity between the two pillars, i.e. public systems and the 
market. Community action must therefore endeavour to encourage this 
overall dynamism and lower the barriers which have emerged on occasion 
and restricted the scope of transnational cooperation. 
43. The measures to be supported under the vocational training programme 
deal essentially with the preparation of training activities, the development 
of innovative methods and products and the dissemination of results. The 
programme only marginally aims to support the implementation of training 
activities as such. As a result, expenditure eligible for Community support 
mainly relates to the cost of design and preparation of measures and not 
the cost of providing training (payment of trainers or beneficiaries, training 
expenses). This aspect increases the complementarity between the action 
programme and financing from the Structural Funds, including the 
Community Initiatives which are mainly centred on costs linked to the 
implementation of training activities logically following the preparation 
and design stages. 
44. The Community's additional specific actions on vocational training will be 
all the more effective insofar as increased transparency, easier access and 
greater dissemination of results can be secured between the different 
vocational training systems, organisations and practitioners in the Member 
States and action taken by the Community. It is up to the Member States 
within the proper exercise of their responsibilities to ensure that this 
linkage is achieved by taking the necessary rationalisation and coordination 
measures in the light of the experience of the national promotional bodies 
and operational structures already set up within the framework of 
18 
Community vocational training programmes. At operational level and on 
the ground, it will also be necessary to ensure active complementarity 
between the structures of the network and operators covered by the 
programme and those responsible for the implementation of the Structural 
Funds. 
45. The European vocational training network made up of the national bodies, 
the operational support structures for projects and operators themselves is 
a key element of the added value of Community action. By going beyond 
support for innovative but isolated operations, the dynamic resulting from 
the networking of activities and partnerships should be a leading criterion 
for Community support, taking due account of the responsibility of 
Member States for the organisation and coordination of operational 
structures and authorities. The impact of the transnational nature of 
operations is reinforced by the fact that innovative action and partnerships 
are integrated in a European network which provides fruitful opportunities 
for dissemination, visibility and impact. 
46. The Commission will be assisted for the implementation of this vocational 
training programme by a programme committee comprising two 
representatives chosen by each Member State and six representatives each 
from two sides of industry as observers. This committee is an advisory 
committee and will assist the Commission as regards: 
(i) priorities for Community action and the resulting annual work 
programme; 
(ii) the financial assistance to be provided by the Community for the 
different measures (amount, duration and beneficiaries), 
(iii) the breakdown between the different actions; 
(iv) the arrangements for selection, assessment methods and 
arrangements for dissemination and transfer of results. 
47. In partnership with the Member States, the Commission will support 
operational complementarity between action under the programme and the 
Structural Funds, including the Community initiatives in the field of 
human resources in areas such as dissemination of relevant comparative 
information, dissemination of methodologies, instruments, products and 
experience, conduct of transnational training actions, etc. The Commission 
will also support operational synergy with the fourth framework 
programme for research and technological development particularly in 
order to promote the transfer of technological innovation and to enhance 
the capacity of training and qualification systems to take on board the 
results of R&D, particularly with a view to : 
promoting comparative research on vocational training systems and 
arrangements; 
encouraging the transfer of technological innovation through high-
quality vocational training; 
n 
enhancing the capacity of training and qualification systems to 
respond to research findings; 
developing innovation in open and distance learning and training 
approaches. 
48. In order to further the social dialogue between the social partners at the 
Community level, the Commission will establish in partnership with them 
appropriate operational links with the programme in order to enable them 
to make better use in their dialogue of the outcome of the different 
measures. 
49. An overall information drive on the actions and results of the programme 
will be carried out in partnership between the Commission and the 
Member States in order to meet the need for greater transparency and 
impact of Community action. To this end also, the Member States will at 
the halfway stage and at the close of the programme forward a report on 
the activities undertaken under the programme. The social partners, in 
accordance with national practice, will be fully associated in the activities 
of monitoring, preparation of reports and assessment of the programme. 
The Commission will on this basis submit to the European Parliament, to 
the Council and to the Economic and Social Committee an interim report 
by 31 December 1997 and a final report by 30 June 2000. 
50. In accordance with the agreement on the European Economic area (and its 
additional protocol, and in particular Protocol 31) concluded between the 
European Communities and their Member States and the countries of 
EFTA, Community initiatives, activities, cooperation and programmes in 
the field of vocational training will be open from 1 January 1995 to 
participation by EFTA countries which accede to the EEA. 
51. The Commission will reinforce its cooperation with the OECD, the 
Council of Europe, the ILO and UNESCO, in particular within the 
framework of the development of the exchange of information and 
experience on issues common to the Member States' training systems. 
52. To assist it in the implementation of the programme, the Commission will 
secure the support of the European Centre for the Development of 
Vocational Training under the conditions laid down in the Regulation10 
establishing that Centre, and that of the European Training Foundation11 
so as gradually to develop appropriate cooperation with the countries of 
central and eastern Europe. 
10 Council Regulation (EEC) N° 337/75 of 10 February 1975 establishing a European centre 
for the development of vocational training (OJ N° L39, 13 February 1975) 
Council Regulation (EEC) N° 1360/90 of 7 May 1990 establishing a European Training 
Foundation (OJ N° L131, 23 May 1990) 
20 
Conclusions 
53. Community action in the field of vocational training through programmes 
due to end at the close of 1994 has already borne fruit in terms of 
partnerships, pilot projects, exchange of experience and networking. These 
encouraging results have illustrated the worthwhile nature and added value 
of broader and more systematic cooperation. The rationalisation advocated 
by the Commission in its proposal in terms of both objectives and actions 
should significantly increase the impact and understanding of Community 
action in this field and its complementarity with other Community action. 
This approach is all the more important as vocational training must play 
a greater part in giving a fillip to European competitiveness and in 
reversing the rising tide of unemployment. The boost to the quality of 
systems and to the capacity for innovation which Community action will 
provide must be the driving force in a context dominated by severe 
budgetary constraints in the Member States. 
1\ 
LINKS BETWEEN CURRENT PETRA, FORCE, IRIS, EOROTECNET AND COMETT AND 
THE THREE STRANDS OF THE NEW VOCATIONAL TRAINING PROGRAMME 
PETRA 
STRAND I 
* Design projects 
* Multiplier effect projects 
* Placements for young people 
undergoing initial training 
* Placements for young workers 
* Exchanges for decision-makers 
* Surveys, analyses, exchange 
of comparable data 
Strand II 
* "Innovation" design projects 
* "Transfer of innovation" 
design projects 
* Multiplier effect projects 
* Placements in firms for young 
people undergoing initial 
training 
* Placements in firms for young 
university graduates 
* Exchanges for decision-makers 
* Surveys, analyses, exchange of 
comparable data 
STRAND III 
* National network 
* Regional or sectoral network Joint modules 
Placements 
Placements 
Study visits 
Studies-Research 
Strands 
IVT Reports FORCE 
NCU Study visits 
Stat. Survey 
Cont. Training 
(CVTS) 
CVT Reports 
Pilot projects IRIS 
Projects 
Pilot projects Study visits EUROTECNET 
Projects COMETT 
Study visits 
Exchanges 
Sect, surveys 
Ana. contract. 
policy 
NCU Studies 
NADU Applied 
research 
NADU Pilot projects 
Pilot projects 
Continuing 
training course 
Placements 
Placements 
Info. Centre 
Regional or 
sectoral UETPs 
J.X 
Proposal for a 
COUNCIL DECISION 
ESTABLISHING AN ACTION PROGRAMME 
FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF A EUROPEAN COMMUNITY 
VOCATIONAL TRAINING POLICY 
LEONARDO DA VINO 
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, 
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular 
Article 127 thereof, 
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission1, 
In cooperation with the European Parliament2, 
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee3, 
1. Whereas the Treaty gives the Community the responsibility of implementing a 
vocational training policy which supports and supplements the action of the Member 
States; 
2. Whereas this policy needs to be implemented while fully respecting the responsibility 
of the Member States for the content and organisation of vocational training, and 
excludes any harmonisation of the laws and regulations of the Member States; 
3. Whereas the Council, in its Decision 63/266/EEC, adopted the general principles for 
implementing a common vocational training policy, and application of those general 
principles is the responsibility of the Member States and the competent institutions 
of the Community4; 
OJ 
OJ 
OJ 
OJ, English Special Edition 1963-1964, p. 25. 
21 
4. Whereas the Council, by Decisions 86/365/EEC5 and 89/27/EEC6, adopted the two 
phases of the COMETT programme designed to strengthen cooperation between 
universities and industry regarding training in the field of technology; 
5. Whereas the Council, by its Decision 89/657/EEC7, adopted the EUROTECNET 
action programme to promote innovation in the field of vocational training resulting 
from technological change in the European Community; 
6. Whereas the Council, by its Decision 90/267/EEC8, adopted the FORCE action 
programme for the development of continuing vocational training in the European 
Community; 
7. Whereas the Council, by its Decision 87/569/EEC9 amended by its Decision 
91/387/EEC10, adopted and then amended the PETRA action programme for the 
vocational training of young people and their preparation for adult and working life; 
8. Whereas, according to the evaluation reports covering the Community action 
programmes COMETT, EUROTECNET, FORCE and PETRA, as reviewed in the 
Report from the Commission to the Council, the European Parliament and the 
Economic and Social Committee11, Community cooperation on vocational training 
injects real added value into the actions conducted in and by Member States; 
9. Whereas the Commission in its recommendation 87/567/EEC n on vocational 
training for women encouraged Member States to strengthen measures to promote 
the equality of opportunities, and in the Third Medium Term Action Programme 
(1991-1994) on equal opportunities for men and women13 the Commission undertook 
to pursue exchanges of experience and know-how through the IRIS network and 
develop this network to better identify the training needs of women, promote 
innovative training and develop a European methodology on the subject; 
10. Whereas the Council, in its resolution of 11 June 199314, noted the need to improve 
the quality of vocational training in the Member States in order to encourage 
continuing opportunities for individuals to develop their knowledge and skills and 
thus contribute to increased economic and social cohesion as well as to the 
competitiveness of the European economy; 
5 
6 
7 
8 
9 
10 
11 
12 
13 
14 OJ No L 222 of 8.8.1986, p. 17. 
OJNoLBof 17.1.1989, p. 28. 
OJ No L 393 of 30.12.1989, p. 29. 
OJ No L 156 of 21.6.1990, p. 1. 
OJ N° L346 of 10.12.1987, p. 31. 
OJ No L 214 of 2.8.1991, p. 69. 
COM(93) 151 final of 5.5.1993. 
OJ No L 342 of 4.12.1987, p. 35 
COM(90) 449 final of 6.11.1990, confirmed by Council Resolution of 21.5.1991 (91/C 142/01) OJ 
NoC 142/01 31.5.1991, p.l. 
OJ N° CI86 of 08.07.1993, p. 3. 
24 
11. Whereas the Council, in its recommendation of 30 June 1993 on access to continuing 
vocational training15, recommended that Member States adjust their vocational 
training policies to ensuring that every worker of the Community be able to have 
access to continuing vocational training without any form of discrimination and to 
benefit therefrom throughout his or her working life. 
12. Whereas the Commission, in its working paper on the guidelines for Community 
action in the field of education and training16, stated that its aim was to rationalise 
and streamline the action programmes in the vocational training field into a single 
programme, whilst reinforcing those aspects which appear to be most promising in 
terms of the European added value and stimulus they can offer; 
13. Whereas the added value of Community action must be consolidated and reinforced 
in the course of the progressive establishment of an open area for training and 
vocational qualifications which is linked with the creation and operation of the 
Single Market; 
14. Whereas the synthesis of Member States' contributions arising from the 
Memorandum on vocational training in the 1990s17 highlighted the major trends 
jointly faced by the Member States in the said open area for training and vocational 
qualifications; 
15. Whereas the European Council of 10 and 11 December 1993 concluded that because 
of the institutional, legislative and contractual peculiarities of each Member State, 
the Community's action must focus on defining objectives, while leaving Member 
States free to choose the means appropriate to their situation within a general 
framework defined in common, and mat in order to strengthen the capacity of the 
European economy, Member States should draw on suggestions from the 
Commission White Paper on the medium term strategy for growth, competitiveness 
and employment; 
16. Whereas, in order to promote a coherent development of vocational training, it is 
necessary to establish a common framework of objectives which will serve as a 
reference for Member States' policies; 
17. Whereas, in order to raise the effectiveness of Community action, different types of 
measures need to be organised within three principal strands, the first aimed at 
providing support for the quality of Member States' systems, arrangements and 
policies, the second at supporting innovation in actions on the training market and 
the third at the gradual implementation of a network to support the European 
dimension in vocational training; 
15 
16 
17 OJN°L181 of 23.7.1993, p.37. 
COM(93) 183 final of 5.5.1993. 
COM(91) 397 final of 12.12.1991 
1$ 
18. Whereas the three types of measures involved in the programme (pilot projects, 
placements, surveys and analyses) are all aimed at transnational cooperation which 
clearly injects added value into the actions undertaken by the Member States or by 
the players in the training market, while respecting the principle of subsidiarity; 
19. Whereas there is a need to encourage operational links between the action 
programme in the vocational training field and the intervention of the Structural 
Funds, especially Community Initiative Programmes. 
20. Whereas there is a need to ensure continuous monitoring and systematic evaluation 
of the programme and measures in partnership between the Commission and the 
Member States; 
HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS: 
%> 
Article 1 
(Establishment of the Programme) 
This Decision establishes an action programme for the implementation of a European 
Community vocational training policy, hereinafter referred to as the "programme 
LEONARDO da Vinci". The programme shall enter into force on 1 January 1995. 
The .programme establishes: 
1) a Common Framework of Objectives for Community action, aimed at promoting a 
coherent development of vocational training, described in Annex I; 
2) a set of Community measures, described in Article 4 and in Annex II, to be 
implemented on the basis of the Common Framework of Objectives described in 
Annex 1, to support and supplement activities undertaken by and in the Member 
States. 
llr 
Article 2 
(Definitions) 
For the purposes of this Decision, the term : 
(a) "initial vocational training" is used in a general sense to denote any form of initial 
vocational training of non-university level, including technical and vocational training 
and apprenticeship, which enables young people to gain a vocational qualification 
recognised by the competent authorities of the Member State in which it is obtained; 
(b) "continuing vocational training" is used in a general sense to denote any vocational 
training engaged in by a worker in the European Community throughout his/her 
working life; 
(c) "firm" is used to denote large, medium-sized and small undertakings, regardless of 
their legal status or the economic sector in which they operate, and all types of 
economic activity including the social economy; 
(d) "worker" is used to denote any person having active links with the labour market, 
including the self-employed; 
(e) "social partners" is used to denote the employers' organisations and trade unions 
recognised in each Member State for the purposes of collective bargaining, and/or 
their inter-industry organisations and/or national organisations involved in joint 
action. 
(f) "training body" is used to denote all types of public, semi-public or private 
establishment engaged in vocational training, further training updating or retraining 
activities, regardless of the way in which they are referred to in the Member States. 
The term also covers autonomous economic organisations, in particular chambers of 
commerce and industry and/or their equivalents, and professional associations; 
(g) "university" is used to denote all types of higher-education establishment which 
provide qualifications or diplomas of that level, whatever they may be called; 
(h) "open and distance learning and training" is used to denote any type of non-
traditional training, including the use of new information and communication 
technologies and services and involving advice on training and individualised 
tutoring; 
<2£ 
Article 3 
(Actions to be undertaken at national level) 
The Common Framework of Objectives described in Annex I will serve as a reference 
for the development of Member States' policies, bearing in mind the internal legal powers 
of the parties concerned and the respective responsibilities of the competent public 
authorities, firms and the social partners. 
Article 4 
(Community measures) 
1. The Commission shall implement the Community measures specified in Annex II 
during the period from 1 January 1995 to 31 December 1999. 
2. Decisions shall be taken in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 5 
œncerning : 
(a) the priorities in the Community measures described in Annex II and the 
annual work programme resulting from it; 
(b) the financial support to be provided by the Community (amounts, duration and 
beneficiaries); 
(c) the breakdown among the various strands; 
(d) procedures for selection, evaluation, dissemination and transfer of results. 
<H 
Article 5 
(Committee) 
The Commission shall be assisted by an Advisory Committee composed of two 
representatives from each Member State and chaired by the representative of the 
Commission. 
Twelve representatives of the social partners, appointed by the Commission on the basis 
of proposals from the organisations representing the social partners at Community level, 
shall participate in the work of the Committee as observers. 
The Commission representative shall submit to the Committee the draft measures to be 
undertaken. The Committee shall deliver its opinion on the draft, within a time limit 
which the Chairman may lay down according to the urgency of the matter involved, by 
taking a vote if necessary. 
The opinion shall be recorded in the minutes; in addition, each Member State shall have 
the right to ask to have its position recorded in the minutes. 
The Commission shall take the utmost account of the opinion delivered by the 
Committee. It shall inform the Committee of the manner in which its opinion has been 
taken into account. 
%> 
Article 6 
(Consistency and complementarity) 
1. The Commission shall strive to ensure overall consistency between the programme 
and the Community programme on education. 
2. The Commission, in partnership with the Member States, shall foster an element of 
complementarity between the operation of the programme and the intervention of the 
Structural Funds, especially Community Initiative Programmes. It will strive, in 
particular, to ensure that Community measures implemented in this programme shall 
contribute to improving the structural interventions in the field of vocational training, 
with a view to: 
(a) disseminating and enhancing the relevant comparative information on vocational 
training systems and arrangements; 
(b) stimulating the implementation of transnational actions related to vocational 
training, based on the results of the programme's pilot projects; 
(c) promoting greater synergy with policies to promote employment and which 
support equal opportunities for access to initial and continuing training for 
disadvantaged groups. 
3. The Commission, in partnership with the Member States, shall encourage the 
coordination of activities between the programme and the Fourth Research and 
Development Framework Programme. 
4. The Commission, shall set up the appropriate operational links between the 
programme and the activities within the Social Dialogue Framework at Community 
level. 
5. In implementing the programme, the Commission shall be assisted by the European 
Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (CEDEFOP) §. 
'8 Council Regulation (EEC) No 337/75 of 10 February 1975 establishing a European Centre for the 
Development of Vocational Training - QJ No L 39 of 13.2.1975, p. 1. 
Article 7 
(Monitoring, evaluation and reports) 
1. The programme shall be continuously monitored on a partnership basis involving the 
Commission and the Member States. This shall be done by means of reports drawn 
up by the Member States and of specific activities, thus enabling the programme to 
be redirected in the light of the needs identified. 
Monitoring, financial management and control of the transnational measures shall be 
the task of the Commission. 
2. The programme shall be evaluated at regular intervals through a partnership 
involving the Commission and the Member States. 
The results of Community measures shall be evaluated by outside bodies at regular 
intervals. 
3. The Member States shall forward to the Commission a report on vocational training 
on 31 December 1995 and every two years thereafter. 
This shall include: 
any appropriate information on existing systems and arrangements in the 
Member States for promoting and funding vocational training; 
a description of any activities undertaken to give tangible form to the Common 
Framework of Objectives described in Annex I; 
a description of any complementary operational links established at national 
level between activities under the programme and the interventions of the 
Structural Funds, especially Community Initiative Programmes. 
4. The Commission shall submit to the Council, the European Parliament and the 
Economic and Social Committee before 30 June 1998 an interim report on the launch 
phase, and before 30 June 2000 a report on implementation of the programme. 
Done at ., 
For the Council 
For the President 
TO-
ANNEX I 
COMMON FRAMEWORK OF OBJECTIVES 
Bearing in mind that the Member States should pay particular attention to the following 
measures: 
improving vocational training systems. Continuing training is, in particular, to be 
facilitated so as to ensure ongoing adjustment of skills to the needs of 
competitiveness and to combating unemployment; 
specific measures œncerning young people who leave the education system without 
adequate training, 
the Common Framework of Objectives shall combine: 
1. Facilitating adaptation to industrial changes, especially, through vocational training 
and retraining 
and, in particular: 
a) promoting anticipation and forecasting of requirements in terms of skills and 
training; 
b) promoting the acquisition of new qualifications and key competences; 
c) developing continuing training with regard to the results of research and 
technological development programmes; 
d) encouraging training of executives and managers of SMEs, focusing on the 
mechanisms governing internationalisation of the economy, the rules of the 
single market, the new technologies and their implications. 
2. Improving initial vocational training and continuing training in order to facilitate 
integration and reintegration into the labour market 
and, in particular: 
a) promoting the vocational training of young people and their preparation for 
adult and working life1, developing continuing vocational training2 and 
supporting innovation in the field of vocational training resulting from 
technological change3; 
Article 1, paragraph 1 of Council Decision 91/387/EEC and Article 2 of Council 
Decision 87/569/EEC-PETRA 
Article 5 of Council Decision 90/267/EEC FORCE 
Article 4 of Council Decision 89/657/EEC-EUROTECNET 
b) supporting the consolidation of vocational guidance arrangements and the 
diversification of training courses on offer; 
c) supporting the development of high-quality training for the designers, planners 
and managers of training policies; 
d) developing the freedom of training bodies to provide services in the Community, 
and exchanges of information and experience on obstacles to the creation of an 
open European area for training. 
3. Facilitating access to vocational training and encouraging mobility of instnictois and 
trainees, and especially young people 
and in particular : 
a) providing all young people in the Community, who so wish, with access to one, 
or if possible, two or more years of initial vocational training following on from 
their compulsory schooling on a full-time basis and leading to a vocational 
qualification recognised by the competent authorities in the Member State in 
which it is obtained4; 
b) implementing common guidelines on access to continuing vocational training, 
the basic principle being that every worker should be able to gain access to 
continuing training without any form of discrimination and to benefit from it 
throughout his or her working life5; 
c) promoting effective equality of access to continuing training for women thereby 
helping to open up new areas of work to them and encouraging them to return 
to work after a break; 
d) developing the Community dimension in training through transnational 
placements and promoting the mutual recognition and /or validation of the skills 
acquired; 
e) encouraging the development of open and distance learning and training to 
facilitate access to training. 
5 Article 1 of Council Decision 91/387/EEC-PETRA 
Council Recommendation 93/404/EEC 
3<V 
4. Stimulating cooperation on training between training establishments and firms 
and, in particular: 
a) developing a European dimension into cooperation between universities and 
firms as regards training in technology, their application and transfer6; 
b) improving cooperation links between initial and continuing training in order to 
develop an approach based on life-long learning. 
5. Supporting exchanges of information and experience on issues common to the 
training systenis of the Member States 
and, in particular: 
providing support to promote applied research into vocational training and to develop 
exchanges of information and experience on training systems and arrangements and 
on qualification and certification systems. 
6 Article 3 of Council Decision 89/27/EEC-COMETT II 
3>s 
ANNEXH 
œMMUNTIY MEASURES 
Part A : Measures 
The measures draw on the experience gained in implementing the Community's 
COMETT, EUROTECNET, FORCE, PETRA and IRIS programmes. 
They cover initial and continuing training systems, policies and actions as defined in the 
Member States, and are based on strengthened cooperation between the various players 
in vocational training, in particular between firms and universities or training bodies. 
These measures are divided between three main strands : 
Strand I: Measures to support the quality of Member States' systems, arrangements and 
policies; 
Strand II: Measures to support innovative capacity in actions on the training market. 
Strand III: Network, Language Knowledge and Support measures. 
-2><o 
STRAND I: MEASURES TO SUPPORT THE QUALITY OF MEMBER STATES' 
SYSTEMS, ARRANGEMENTS AND POLICIES 
This first strand is designed to furnish Community support for projects with a direct 
impact on national vocational training systems and arrangements. The aim is to 
contribute to greater effectiveness and quality of vocational training systems and 
arrangements and their ability to respond to the training needs of individuals and firms 
and promote the quality of vocational training methods, processes and tools. 
Projects aimed at supporting the quality of systems shall be submitted to the Commission 
upon a proposal from the Member States. 
They shall be coordinated by a public operator, by a partnership involving private 
operators, public operators or the social partners, or, finally, by a non-public operator with 
direct responsibility in the structuring and development of the Member State's system, 
arrangements or policy. 
LI Transnational pilot projects 
(a) Design projects 
Assistance in devising, developing and experimenting with transnational vocational 
training pilot projects. 
Community support shall be forthcoming, in particular, for projects involving : 
the improvement of initial vocational training through the implementation of 
training programmes and modules, the recognition of acquired skills in the 
national systems and the training of instructors and tutors; the training of 
vocational qualification specialists or analysts; the implementation of projects 
in the vocational guidance field, including networking of vocational guidance 
centres; the training of guidance counsellors and specialists; 
equal opportunities between men and women in vocational training; 
the training of planners and managers of vocational training arrangements; 
the training of socio-economic players involved in contractual policy on 
vocational training; 
Î1 
(b) Multiplier-effect projects 
Assistance in dissemination and transfer of training methods, products, results and 
tools arising from the design projects into the training systems and arrangements, 
including the setting up of open and distance learning and training drawing on new 
information and communication technologies and leading to transferable training 
products, such as those developed in the context of the "General interest telematic 
systems - Flexible and distance learning" of the Third Framework Programme for 
Research and Technological Development. 
L2 Transnational placement and exchange programmes 
(a) Placement programme for young people undergoing initial training 
Assistance for transnational placement programmes for young people undergoing 
initial vocational training, with priority being given to occupational sectors most 
affected by change, particularly in the context of completing the single market. Such 
placements shall be for short periods, from three to twelve weeks, or for long periods 
from three to twelve months, where the latter form an integral part of transnational 
training agreements including the recognition of acquired skills. 
(b) Transnational placement programme for young workers 
Support for transnational placement programmes for young workers or for young 
people available on the labour market, aimed at equipping them with validated 
vocational experience or an additional qualification. Such placements shall normally 
last three months, and at most twelve months. 
(c) Transnational exchange programme for decision-makers 
Assistance for exchange programmes for national or regional public decision-makers 
and organisations representing the social partners designed to foster mutual 
understanding of how vocational training systems and arrangements work, and the 
transfer of experience. 
This action shall be integrated into the study visit programme run by CEDEFOP on 
the Commission's behalf. 
L3 Surveys, analyses and exchanges of comparable data 
a) Surveys and analyses on the quality of training systems and arrangements 
Community support will be provided for work developped on a transnational basis, 
on issues common to the Member States related to implementation of the Common 
Framework of Objectives set out in Annex I. 
32 
The aim here shall be to help the public authorities to raise the quality and 
effectiveness - through a reference framework at Community level - of their 
activities in the field of vocational training. 
It will involve: 
the setting up of general systems for anticipating training and qualification 
requirements; 
new training methods for SMEs; 
new types of apprenticeship or sandwich courses and of cooperation between 
firms and training bodies or universities; 
new methods and tools for evaluating the quality of training on offer; 
new training curricula for training designers and planners; 
the transparency, recognition and validation of vocational qualifications; 
the development of the right to training (youth credits, etc.); 
the accounting of training expenditure in national and corporate accounts, 
especially from the point of view of investment in training. 
b) Exchange of comparable data 
In close cooperation with EUROSTATs "Education and Training Statistics" Working 
Party, the Commission shall systematically collect data existing in Member States, 
shall develop comparable concepts on the basis of work done at national level, shall 
consolidate the Community surveys under way (Labour Force Survey, Continuing 
Vocational Training Survey, etc.) and draw up a joint overall methodological 
framework which can be used in all Member States. 
Zc\ 
STRAND H: MEASURES TO SUPPORT INNOVATIVE CAPACITY IN 
ACTIONS ON THE TRAINING MARKET 
This second strand is targeted at vocational training market operators and players offering 
training measures or products. The aim is to support innovation in vocational training 
management, methods and materials, promote and transfer technological innovation 
through vocational training, improve the capacity of vocational training and qualification 
systems to respond to change, and promote the development of open and distance 
learning and training. 
On proposals from the various players involved in vocational training, firms, the social 
partners, universities and training bodies, projects for supporting innovative capacity shall 
be submitted to the Commission. 
II. 1 Transnational pilot projects 
a) Design projects 'support for innovation in training" 
Assistance for devising, developing and experimenting with transnational pilot 
projects promoting innovation in training, in terms of instruction, content, 
tutoring, methods, tools, equipment, and methods of anticipating needs and 
assessing training. 
Community support shall be forthcoming for: 
the implementation of projects related to adaptation to industrial change and 
changes in production systems; 
- the implementation of projects in contractual policy on continuing 
vocational training; 
- the implementation of projects in the field of personal development, 
individual career plans or skills assessment; 
- the implementation of projects related to anticipation of needs in terms of 
qualifications, skills and training within occupational or technological 
sectois; 
the development, via transnational networks and partnerships, of transferable 
methods, content and products for continuing vocational traimng of 
employees; 
the implementation of projects related to training of executives of SMEs. 
1*0 
b) Design projects "training to promote the transfer of technological innovation" 
The emphasis shall be on: 
- the development of highly qualified human resources through quality 
training based on strengthened cooperation between firms and universities; 
- the quality and effectiveness of innovation and technology transfer support 
services; 
- the improvement of industry's capacity to absorb new technologies, in 
particular SMEs and traditional sectors of industry. 
Community support shall take the form of assistance for devising, developing 
and experimenting with transnational pilot projects to promote innovation in 
respect of training instruction, content, tutoring, methods, tools and equipment. 
It shall be forthcoming for: 
- projects for training in technology jointly operated by firms , from at least 
three different Community Member States, in conjunction with universities, 
in fields related to new technologies and their applications; 
- joint projects for management training on transfer of innovative 
technologies; 
arrangements for open and distance learning and training making use of new 
training technologies and leading to transferable training products; they shall 
also include promotion of the activities of European centres for distance 
training and self-learning. 
c*l 
c) Multiplier-effect projects 
Community support shall be forthcoming for: 
- dissemination and transfer of training methods, products, results and tools 
developed by transnational partnerships; 
intensive short courses in training in technology, having a European 
dimension for rapid application of new technologies through 
firms/universities cooperation; 
- activities aimed at producing courses and materials for open and distance 
learning and training, as well as the linguistic and cultural adaptation of 
high-quality courses to allow them to be used in Member States other than 
that in which they originate. 
IL2 Transnational placement and exchange programme 
a) Transnational programme of placements in firms for young people undergoing 
university training 
Support for programmes of placements in firms for young people undergoing 
university training, within a firm in another Member State, in connection with 
a transnational vocational qualification project supported by cooperation between 
firms and universities in several Member States in the new technology field. 
Such placements shall normally last six months, and at most twelve months. 
b) Transnational programme of placements in firms for young university graduates 
Support for programmes of placements in firms for young people who have 
completed their university curriculum and young graduates working in their first 
job, within a firm in another Member State, in connection with an innovation 
project for SMEs forming part of the development strategy of the firm, groups 
of firms or SME resource centres. Such placements shall normally last six 
months, and at most twelve months. 
c) Transnational programme of exchanges between firms 
Support for programmes of exchanges between firms, primarily of people in 
charge of training or human resources (on a part-time or full-time basis) and 
tutors in firms, connected with the development plans of SMEs or groups of 
SMEs involving the use of new technologies or production processes. Such 
exchanges shall normally last two weeks, and at most eight weeks. 
H.3 Surveys, analyses and exchange of comparable data 
Surveys and analyses on the innovative capacity of players in the training market 
^2 
Assistance for comparative work on common issues connected with the creation of 
an open area for vocational training and qualifications, with the central aim of 
supporting innovation in training and enhancing the transfer of innovation through 
training, for the benefit of all players in the vocational training market. 
Community support shall be forthcoming for work carried out on a transnational 
basis concerning: 
new methods and tools for human resource audits for SMEs and for training 
in SMEs; 
new forms of work organisation designed to promote the acquisition of skills; 
sectoral surveys on firms' continuing training plans and on new methods of 
assessing skills at the workplace; 
analysis of contractual policy on training and of the role played by the social 
partners in training; 
improving knowledge and circulation of information on the evolution of 
occupations and skills, in cooperation with the CEDEFOP; 
the definition of criteria for and ways of measuring quality, of cost-benefit 
analyses and of analyses on the cost-effectiveness of training. 
i*3> 
STRANDffl NETWORK, LANGUAGE KNOWLEDGE AND SUPPORT MEASURES 
This third strand includes all the activities in strands I and II and is designed to enhance 
the European dimension in vocational training : support for the European network of 
national organising bodies and operational structures to enhance its capacity to support 
and act as an interface, development of language knowledge and information, monitoring 
and evaluation actions to enhance the visibility and impact of the programme. At 
operational level and on the ground it will be necessary to set up active complementarity 
between the network structures and operators of this Programme and those responsible 
for the implementation of the Structural Funds. 
ULl European network 
a) Support for initiatives taken by Member States to ensure the openness of the 
programme, facilitate access to it, strengthen trie dissemination of its results and 
coordinate the national organising bodies and operational structures set up under 
the COMETT, EUROTECNET, FORCE, PETRA and IRIS programmes. 
b) Establishment of telematic communications, a databank covering the various 
projects, surveys, analyses, results and products, as well as an electronic mail 
system. Progressive extension, both regionally and sectorally, of the European 
network to further promote transnational cooperation, ensure the openness of the 
programme and boost dissemination of its results. 
c) Implementation of European coordinating activities. 
ÏIL2 Action on the development of language knowledge 
Assistance for the design and multiplier function of transnational projects aimed 
at drawing up large-scale linguistic audits for firms or for socio-economic 
groups, joint curricula, innovative teaching aids and/or recognising linguistic 
accomplishments achieved through the implementation of these curricula. 
m.3 Support measures : information, monitoring and assessment 
a) Implementation of an overall information action on a partnership basis 
encompassing the Commission, the Member States and the Programme's 
operational structures. 
b) Monitoring and continuous assessment of the Community measures. 
c) Technical assistance required for the smooth operation of the programme, in 
particular support, monitoring and continuous assessment of the programme; 
development of transnational expertise; dissemination and transfer of the 
methods, products and tools devised and the results obtained. 
^ 
Paît B : THE COMMUNITY'S FINANCIAL CXmRffiUTlON 
The Community shall contribute to the funding of expenditure connected with the 
measures planned for Strands I, II and 111. 
A. The Community's financial contribution to transnational projects may amount to 75% 
of expenditure, with a ceiling of ECU 100 000 per year and per project for: 
design projects under "support for the quality of systems" (Action 1.1 .a), which 
may last three years at most; 
design projects under "support for innovation in training'1 (Action IL La) and 
design projects under "training for the transfer of technological innovation" 
(Action II. Lb), which may last two years at most; 
multiplier-effect projects (Actions I. Lb and II.Lc), which may last one year at 
most. 
B. The ceilings for the Community's financial contribution to the placement and 
exchange programmes shall be as follows: 
ECU 5 000 per beneficiary for placement of a young person undergoing initial 
training (Action I.2.a), a young worker (Action I.2.b) and a young person at 
university (Action II.2.a); 
ECU 10 000 per beneficiary for placement of a young person who has 
completed his/her university curriculum or a young graduate working in his/her 
first job (Action II.2.b); 
ECU 5 000 per beneficiary for an exchange between firms (Action H.2.c). 
C. The Community's financial contribution may vary between 50 % and 100 % of 
expenditure for the network (Action III.l) and may amount to 100 % of expenditure 
•for surveys and analyses (Actions 1.3 and II.3), actions related to language (Action 
III.2) and support measures (Action III.3). 
AS 
FINANCIAL STATEMENT 
1. TITLE OF OPERATION 
Vocational training 
2. BUDGET HEADING INVOLVED 
B - 102 - Vocational training 
Formerly headings B3-1020/B3-1021/B3-1022/B3-1023/B3-1024. 
3. LEGAL BASIS 
Council Decision No / /EC of (OJ L ...) 
4. DESCRIPTION OF OPERATION 
4.1. General objective 
On the basis of experience acquired through the implementation of the 
Community programmes COMETT, EUROTECNET, FORCE and PETRA, 
and of other operations and pilot projects carried out in the field of 
vocational training, the main objective of the programme is to ensure the 
implementation of a vocational training policy to support and complement 
operations by Member States. More specifically, the programme is 
intended to promote cooperation between Member States with the aim of 
working towards an open area for vocational training and qualifications. 
In proposing this action programme, the Commission is following a policy 
which is in line with the objective of rationalising and coordinating 
vocational training operations as set out in its working document 
"Guidelines for Community action in the field of education and training". 
In this context, the main objectives of the programme are as follows: 
a) To help improve the effectiveness and quality of vocational training 
systems and their capacity to respond to the training requirements 
4-b 
of individuals and businesses, particularly SMES, and to improve 
the qualiity of training methods, curricula and tools, 
b) To support innovations in vocational training management, 
methodology and facilities, promote and disseminate technological 
innovations and developments in production systems through the 
medium of vocational training and improve the ability of vocational 
training and qualification systems to respond to these changes and 
promote progress in open and distance learning; 
c) To develop the European dimension in training at all levels, 
particularly in the learning and dissemination of Community 
languages and support the European vocational training network; 
In support of these general objectives, the programme makes provision for 
Community assistance for three types of transnational cooperation: pilot 
projects enabling knowledge and experience to be exchanged and shared, 
training periods (placements) in a company or training institute in another 
Member State in order to support the transfer of experience through 
physical mobility, and Community studies and analyses to develop 
common concepts and references. 
4.2. Period covered and arrangements for renewal or extension 
Five-year action programme (1995-1999). 
Renewal on the basis of results obtained following an evaluation of the 
programme. 
5. CLASSIFICATION OF EXPENDITURE OR REVENUE 
5.1. Non-compulsory expenditure 
5.2. Differentiated appropriations 
5.3. Type of revenue involved 
None. 
6. TYPE OF EXPENDITURE OR REVENUE 
100% subsidy: yes, for subsidies and surveys. 
- Subsidy for joint financing with other sources in the public and/or 
private sector: yes, projects are normally jointly financed to a 
maximum of 75%. 
*r\ 
7. FINANCIAL IMPACT 
7.1. Method of calculating total cost of operation (definition of unit costs) 
Set out in accordance with the Annex to the proposal for a Council 
Decision. 
\* 
7.2. Approximate itemised breakdown of cost 
in current ECU million 
Breakdown Budget 
1995 19% 1997 1998 1999 TOTAL 
Strand I 
Support for system quality 
and policies of Member 
States 
- Pilot projects 
- Exchanges 
- Surveys, analyses and 
exchanges of 
comparable data 
Sub-total 
Strand 11 
Support for innovation in 
training operations 
- Pilot projects 
- Exchanges 
- Surveys, thematic 
analyses 
Sub-total 
Strand III 
Networks and 
accompanying measures 
- Network 
- Knowledge of 
languages 
- Accompanying 
measures 
- Monitoring 
Sub-total 
TOTAL 12.2 
24.2 
5.7 
42.1 
42.0 
21.8 
4.8 
68.6 
13.0 
8.7 
5.8 
3.4 30.9 
141.6 13.3 
25.4 
5.9 
44.6 
44.6 
23.0 
5.1 
72.7 
13.7 
9.2 
6.2 
3.6 
32.7 
150.0 14.4 
26.6 
6.1 
47.1 
47.0 
24.2 
5.4 
76.6 16.5 
27.8 
6.3 
50.6 
50.6 
25.8 
5.8 
82.2 
14.5 
9.6 
6.5 
3.8 
34.4 
158.1 18.8 
29.0 
6.5 
54.3 
54.4 
27.5 
6.2 
88.1 
15.7 
10.4 
7.0 
4.1 
37.2 
170.0 16.7 
11.1 
7.5 
4.4 
39.7 
182.1 72.5 
133.0 
30.5 
23&7 
238.6 
122.3 
27.3 
388.2 
73 6 
49.0 
33.0 
19.3 
174.9 
801.8 
The breakdown of the appropriations requested according to the three strands and 
according to the different headings will depend on the total amount allocated by the 
budgetary authority. 
Notes: 
The 1995 budget may be reconciled with the 1994 budget (final year of the PETRA, 
FORCE, EUROTECNET and COMETT programmes which are consolidated by the 
action programme) on the basis of the figures for the 1994 PDB as follows: 
PDB 1994 (headings B3-1020 - B3-1024) 107.5 
49 
Components transferred from the vocational 
training programme to the 
Youth for Europe III programme - 1.5 
Inclusion of the former Action III of the LINGUA 
programme + 8.1 
Total 114.1 
The difference between this amount of ECU 114.1 million and the 1995 budget 
(ECU 141.6 million) is accounted for by the quantitative and qualitative progress expected 
from the new action programme in relation to the programmes from which it follows on, 
namely: 
- ECU 14 million to be added to pilot projects supporting innovation in operations 
carried out in the training market to finance the extension of projects into new fields, 
as set out in the programme (access to continuing training, adjustment to industrial 
changes); 
- ECU 6 million added to Section C (Network) to strengthen initial and continuing 
training aspects; 
- the trend towards increases under each of the three strands of the programme; 
5o 
7.3. Indicative schedule of appropriations 
7.3.1. Schedule for proposed new operation 
Commitment 
appropriations 1995 
141.6 1996 
150.0 1997 
158.1 1998 
170.0 1999 and 
subsequent years 
182.1 TOTAL 
801.8 
Payment 
appropriations 
1995 
1996 
1997 
1998 
1999 and 
subsequent years 
TOTAL 113.3 
28.3 
141.6 120.0 
30.0 
150.0 126.5 
31.6 
158.1 136 0 
34.0 
170.0 182.1 
182.1 113.3 
148.3 
156.5 
167.6 
216.1 
801.8 
8. FRAUD PREVENTION MEASURES AND THE RESULTS OF MEASURES TAKEN 
All contracts, agreements and legal undertakings by the Commission make 
provision for the possibility of spot checks by the Commission and by the 
Court of Auditors. Among other things, beneficiaries of actions are obliged 
to provide reports and financial statements which are analysed with regard 
to the content and the eligibility of expenditure, in accordance with the 
aim of Community financing. 
9. 
9.1. ELEMENTS OF COST-EFFECTIVENESS ANALYSIS 
Specific and quantified objectives; target population 
The aim of the proposal for the action programme to implement a 
Community vocational training policy is to increase the effectiveness and 
transparency of Community action in this field. The proposed approach is 
not merely an addition to operations carried out hitherto under the four 
action programmes but introduces a true element of rationalisation between 
the various measures. 
At a time when the development of vocational training has a strategic role 
to play in controlling the processes of industrial and socio-economic 
change facing the Community, the Commission wishes to ensure maximum 
S\ 
impact and the greatest possible multiplier effect for its operations to 
support and complement the policies and systems of Member States. 
There are three strands, each with its own specific objectives, for 
implementing the general objectives of the programme and contributing to 
the progressive achievement of an open area for training and qualifications 
within the Community: 
Strand 1: Measures aimed at supporting quality in the systems and policies of 
Member States; 
Strand 2: Measures aimed at supporting innovation in operations in the training 
market; 
Strand 3: Network and accompanying measures - Promotion of the European 
dimension. 
The programme involves all those involved in vocational training, whether public 
authorities, private training institutes, businesses, management or workers. The aim is to 
provide guidelines for these groups to help them improve their methods and practices for 
defining requirements and designing operations on the basis of results obtained from 
transnational cooperation. 
STRAND I MEASURES AIMED AT SUPPORTING QUALITY IN THE SYSTEMS AND POLICIES 
OF MEMBER STATES 
The aim of this strand is to provide Community support for projects with a direct impact 
on national vocational training systems. Improving the quality of operations under these 
systems presupposes increased effectiveness in terms of investment and the level of public 
expenditure involved. The experience of previous programmes, in particular PETRA 
(initial training systems), has shown that transnational cooperation enabled national 
systems to become more efficient. At a time of great pressure on national budgets, the 
economies of scale and the transfer of innovations which become possible under 
Community operations have an increasingly important role. 
For subjects such as qualifications or careers guidance, which should be considered 
central to this first strand, the transnational cooperation developed under the programme 
makes it possible to introduce a true European dimension, which is essential from the 
point of view of freedom of movement and mobility for individuals for training and 
employment purposes. 
A. Specific objectives 
Transnational cooperation on the design, development and testing of 
transnational pilot projects for initial training programmes and modules, 
the training of instructors and tutors, qualifications specialists, vocational 
guidance, equal opportunities, contractual policy, general systems for 
SX 
forecasting requirements, the introduction of distance learning systems, the 
definition of criteria and measures relating to quality and methods of 
recognition or joint validation; 
Transnational cooperation on pilot projects for the dissemination and 
transfer of training system methodologies, products, results and tools; 
Transnational cooperation on the placement of young people in initial 
vocational training; 
Transnational cooperation on exchanges of young workers, with the aim 
of acquiring valid vocational experience or an additional qualification; 
Transnational cooperation on exchanges of public sector decision-makers 
at national and regional levels and of employers' and employees' 
representatives; 
Transnational cooperation on the training of people at Community level 
who develop and administer Structural Fund operations; 
Transnational cooperation on studies and comparative analyses of systems 
and trends. 
B. Target groups 
This first strand is directed at all those involved in national vocational training 
systems, whether initial or continuing training. However, account must be taken 
of the fact that public sector systems in Member States are concerned primarily 
with initial vocational training for young people, giving them a privileged status, 
particularly with regard to placements. 
C. Budget for Strand I 
30% of total credits (29.6%) are to be allocated to Strand I (quality of 
systems) over the course of the programme; 
Assessment of the credits allocated to Strand I must take account of the 
following: 
a) Promoting and raising the quality of systems, particularly for initial 
training, is essential, given the need to give all young people basic 
training and to reduce the risks of youth unemployment, which 
correlates closely with a lack of qualifications or of suitable 
qualifications. 
b) The first phases of the PETRA programme have shown the impact 
of transnational cooperation on the quality of initial vocational 
training for young people. Under PETRA there have been more 
than 700 projects, and 14 000 instructors and 85 000 young people 
S3 
have taken part in the network's activities since 1988. Such 
cooperation, and the dissemination of the results of transnational 
operations (joint training modules or programmes) have led a 
number of Member States to develop their own initial training 
systems. 
c) The first transnational measures in the field of continuing training 
under the FORCE programme have also shown the impact on state 
intervention systems in terms of quality, particularly in the search 
for synergy between public and private financing. 
d) The first synopses of continuing training systems have been 
produced and must be supplemented and refined in order to provide 
comparable data. A statistical survey is now being carried out in 
association with Eurostat, and on the basis of a systematic 
gathering of existing data, Community surveys will be consolidated 
and a common, global methodological framework will be 
established for use in all Member States. Building on the work 
carried out, significant progress still needs to be made in order to 
reconcile the various sources, cover all fields of vocational training 
and give decision-makers comparable and reliable references to 
enable them to tackle cost-effectiveness in the various national 
systems. 
Consolidating these various operations and placing them on a systematic footing 
requires the availability of significant financial resources to make the most of the 
added value which transnational cooperation brings to improving the quality of 
training systems. 
Pursuing Community action is even more important in terms of added value given 
that the period 1995-99 is likely to see increased pressure on national budgets at 
precisely the time when training requirements, particularly for young people, are 
recognised as having top priority. 
STRAND II MEASURES AIMED AT SUPPORTING INNOVATION IN OPERATIONS ON THE 
TRAINING MARKET 
This second strand is aimed at all those involved in offering training operations or 
products, i e. training establishments, companies, management, social partners and 
universities. 
Projects are intended on the one hand to support and develop innovation in vocational 
training in order to increase its effectiveness, and on the other hand to develop training 
operations aimed at encouraging and facilitating the diffusion of technological 
innovations. 
»* 
A. Specific objectives 
Promotion of transnational cooperation for the design, development and 
testing of pilot projects with the objective of introducing innovations into 
teaching (content, tutoring, methods, tools and facilities), in order to 
produce transferable products, anticipate requirements, provide vocational 
guidance for adults, adapt to industrial changes, improve contractual policy 
with regard to vocational training and define criteria and measures relating 
to quality; 
Development of transnational cooperation on training projects for the 
diffusion of technological innovations, management of their transfer, 
dissemination of research results, training in specific technologies and 
development of multilateral systems; 
Transnational cooperation on transnational placements in businesses for 
young university students or graduates; 
- Transnational cooperation on inter-company exchanges of those 
responsible for training or human resources; 
- Transnational cooperation on surveys and analyses relating to matters of 
common interest connected with the establishment of an open area for 
training and qualifications. 
Transnational cooperation should make it possible to design innovative projects, 
and also to achieve a more intensive transfer and multiplier effect at Community 
level. With regard to the diffusion of technological innovations, training operations 
are to be linked to Community operations in the field of research and 
development. 
B. Target groups 
The second strand is aimed primarily at those involved in the training market, 
including private or public training establishments, companies, universities, 
chambers of trade and commerce and employers' and employees' organisations. 
Training operations organised by them and benefitting from the impact of the 
Community operation are intended for individuals who are working and are 
integrated into the labour market. 
C Budget for Strand O 
- Nearly 50% of the total budget for the programme (48.4) is allocated to 
this strand; 
- It should be borne in mind that several thousand operators, several 
thousand products and several hundred thousand beneficiaries are involved, 
and that the resources being mobilised are in line with the objective of 
achieving an adequate threshold effect in a context in which businesses 
themselves are experiencing significant pressure on their investment in 
training and, in particular, the requirements associated with updating 
qualifications, transforming and developing skills and introducing new 
technologies and production methods into the organisation of work are 
expanding at an ever-increasing rate; 
The action programmes, particularly FORCE (continuing training) and 
COMETT (training in the transfer of technological innovations), have 
shown operators to be extremely active in this field; the number of high-
quality projects presented was always far in excess of the number which 
could actually be financed; 
Community support is granted following a Community expert report on the 
projects and on the basis of criteria developed at Community level, 
particularly concerning the importance of the innovatory and multiplier 
effects of products or operations; 
The external evaluations of the FORCE and COMETT programmes have 
also shown that, on the one hand, these cooperative projects could not be 
carried out without support from the Community and that, on the other 
hand, cooperation between operators involved in a pilot project extends to 
other areas, such as technology and economic or business relations. 
STRAND in NETWORK AND ACCOMPANYING MEASURES - EUROPEAN DIMENSION 
A. Specific objectives 
To provide Community support for the rationalisation and coordination of 
national bodies and operational structures which form the basis for 
transnational pilot projects and placements in another Member State; 
- To improve and extend the European network in order to promote 
transnational cooperation and ensure the transparency of the programme; 
To increase the induced effects of the programme by reinforcing the 
dissemination of products and of the results of pilot projects to other 
,i operators, particularly through the activities of the European network; 
To introduce a global operation including information on the programme 
and monitoring and assessment of measures. 
B. Target groups 
Operational support structures for project promoters at regional or sectoral level 
and national bodies in Member States. 
Particular attention must be paid to extending the competence and support 
capability of the operational structures in order to enable them to participate fully 
.^fc 
in the objective of rationalisation and coordination and to intervene in all areas 
covered by the programme without creating new structures. 
The experts' report on the launching of transnational projects is of great value in 
the development and transfer of qualify and innovation provided for in the first 
two strands, and must be used to this end. 
The quality of intervention by the network of operational structures is a direct 
guarantee of the quality of the partnerships established, of their extension to a 
larger number of countries and of the benefits of the projects put forward with a 
view to receiving Community support. 
C Budget 
The third strand, which represents approximately 22% of all programme 
resources (21.7%), will benefit from a substantial new input of ECU 6 
million to consolidate and structure the European network; 
As a general rule, Community funds are supplemented by national or 
regional budgets to cover structure and network operating costs, and in 
most cases a multiplier effect of three to four times the Community's 
financial contribution is obtained; 
The evaluation reports, particularly for COMETT, have shown that 
Community support was a precondition for introducing synergy into the 
financing provided by public or private sector operators, particularly at 
regional level; 
Information policy and accompanying measures will be developed by the 
Commission and Member States acting in partnership; 
Monitoring and assessment of measures and programme impact will also 
be done by the Commission and Member States acting in partnership; this 
represents an important element in the visibility of Community operations. 
9.2. Grounds for the operation 
9.2.1. The development of vocational training is recognised by the European 
Union as a necessity, both for reasons associated with economic 
competitiveness on the world market, where competition is increasingly 
intense, and for its social cohesion, i.e. reduction of the risks of dislocation 
associated with unemployment and marginalisation on the labour market. 
9.2.2. The Community wished to give a new impetus to this development by 
including in the Treaty on European Union a specific article on the 
implementation of a Community vocational training policy and laying 
down the precise objectives. 
£?-
9.2.3. The Member States and the Council have indicated their interest in and 
support for the development of Community action in this field by deciding, 
a few years ago, on the current action programmes and by taking an active 
part in the implementation and monitoring of operations and in the use of 
results. 
9.2.4. The European Parliament has given constant support to the development 
of these activities and has stated its support for the Commission's plan to 
rationalise and coordinate action programmes. 
9.2.5. It is important to note that the various measures set out under the 
programme are all directed towards one objective, namely transnational 
cooperation, which clearly provides an added value to operations 
developed by Member States or those involved in the training market. 
9.2.6. This Community added value must be consolidated and reinforced through 
the progressive establishment of an open European vocational training and 
qualifications area in association with the completion of the Single Market. 
9.2.7. The approach put forward by the Commission follows the guidelines on 
education and vocational training set out in its working document, which 
aimed to consolidate vocational training operations in a single programme 
on the basis of Article 127 of the Treaty on European Union. 
9.2.8. In the light of experience acquired under current programmes, 
rationalisation leads to the proposal of major operational strands, one of 
them being support for high quality in systems in response to requests 
from public operators or those having a structuring role within the systems, 
and another being support for innovation on the market, relating primarily 
to private operators and businesses. 
9.2.9. The proposed measures support and complement operanons carried out by 
Member States and enable them to use the contributions and results of 
transnational operations to improve the quality and effectiveness of their 
systems. 
9.2.10. Community action in implementing the programmes, which run until the 
end of 1994, has already yielded valuable and specific results in terms of 
partnerships, pilot projects, exchanges of experience and networking. These 
promising results have shown the value of more highly developed and 
more generalised cooperative operations. Given their organisational and 
operational diversity, national systems can use transnational cooperation 
to inspire new trends in development. 
9.2.11. An important part of the rationalisation approach proposed,by the 
Commission is the reduction of duplication of operations and results. On 
the basis of a given amount of investment, this makes it possible to take 
wider-ranging action on the practices of vocational training operators and 
on the products and methods used by them. 
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9.2.12. The Community budget for vocational training is modest compared to 
those of Member States or businesses. It must be borne in mind here that 
national budgets are largely earmarked for operational expenditure or for 
making up the remuneration of trainees during training. They make only 
limited provision for innovation and experimentation with new methods or 
products and, given the pressures on public financing, this trend is 
increasing. The Community's relatively modest contribution is crucial for 
the modernisation and development of systems because it is concentrated 
on dynamic action and progress. 
9.2.13. A similar observation must be made with regard to the synergy between 
operations under the programme and those forming part of structural 
policy, in particular those under the European Social Fund. The 
multiplication of innovations and new practices as part of the pilot projects 
and partnerships under the programme within the most significant 
structural policy operations represents a powerful impetus for the 
development of systems and practices in the Member States. 
9.2.14. The activities supported under the framework of the vocational training 
programme mainly involve actions for the preparation of training, the 
design of innovative methods and products and the diffusion and 
multiplication of the results. The programme targets training actions as 
such in only a marginal way. On account of this, expenditure eligible for 
Community support involves mainly expenditure linked to the design of 
and preparation of actions and not the costs of the provision of training, 
(the salaries of trainers or of beneficiaries, training costs). This element 
increases the interest of the complementarity between the action 
programme and the finance contributed within the framework of the 
European Social Fund which is mainly devoted to costs linked to the 
realisation of training actions subsequent to their design and preparation. 
9.2.15. The largest share of programme financing should be allocated to the design 
and implementation of transnational pilot projects on vocational training. 
Transnational cooperation is thereby applied to a specific objective and the 
implementation of joint vocational training operations. 
9.2.16. With regard to transnational placements, assessment of current 
programmes, particularly COMETT, has shown that they form a "fast lane" 
for the transfer of experience and know-how not only for the direct 
beneficiary but also for the originating and host institutions. Integrating 
placements into a specific company development project should be a new 
way of reinforcing this characteristic. 
9.2.17. Decision-makers in the field of vocational training, whether representatives 
of public authorities at national or regional levels, are seeking Community 
reference points in order to improve their practices. Placements allowing 
a direct comparison with, and specific experience of, existing practices in 
another Member State make it possible to transfer practices at low cost. 
&\ 
Multiplication in the originating institution and system is another important 
characteristic in this case. 
9.2 18. Perception of Community operations is developed firstly within universities 
and in the world of research, with significant results being obtained 
through cooperation. The labour market and businesses have become 
involved more recently in cooperating at Community level on vocational 
training. The current economic situation gives vocational training policies 
a decisive role in reestablishing favourable conditions for economic 
competitiveness and employment. Training professionals, and above all 
businesses, are indicating a strong demand for increased cooperation in 
order to increase the effectiveness of their training investments, to 
disseminate experience and best practice and improve the cost-effectiveness 
of their spending. 
9.2.19. It is also important to stress the role of surveys and analyses at Community 
level. Member States develop systems which differ widely, having little in 
common from the point of view of the concepts and methods used. Studies 
and surveys carried out at Community level provide a reliable and 
homogeneous picture of the reality of vocational training expenditure and 
operations within the Community. A common Community frame of 
reference is thereby provided. 
9 2 20 Initial vocational training systems are being widely developed to counteract 
the difficulties experienced by young people in integrating into the world 
of work, with the objective of rooting out the economic marginalisation 
associated with underachievement at school, particularly with regard to the 
most disadvantaged young people. Improving the quality of systems, the 
objective of Strand I, represents an important contribution here. Promoting 
high-quality training operations for those young people with the greatest 
difficulties very much increases their chances of integrating into working 
life. 
9.2.21 The multiplier effect relating to the products and results of transnational 
partnerships is a prerequisite for efficiency and economies of scale. It is 
also a factor in ensuring equal access for those sections of society whose 
requirements are insufficiently met by traditional operations. From this 
point of view, emphasis must be placed on the priority given by the 
programme to the development of training measures in and for SMEs, 
which all too frequently lack the necessary qualifications for overcoming 
the current socio-economic changes. 
9.2.22. With regard to continuing training, the various measures under the 
programme, particularly those relating to pilot projects and surveys, require 
involvement and active participation by management and workers. This 
constitutes an element of support for Member States with a tradition of 
participation by both management and workers, and an innovation for those 
Member States with little experience of such practices. Bearing in mind the 
structuring role which management and workers are called upon to play 
in order to make vocational training effective, this is a substantial added 
value element for the Community operation. 
9.2.23. A significant proportion of the success and impact of the current 
programmes is due to the presence and networking at European level of 
operational structures with a central role in forming partnerships, 
participating in the preparation of projects and ensuring the dissemination 
and multiplier effect of results. Improving the operation of this European 
network, mainly by means of information and communications technology 
and capitalising on the expertise within these structures must be an 
important factor in the rationalisation process. 
93 Monitoring and evaluation of the operation 
9.3.1 Selected performance indicators 
Quantitative indicators: 
- number of pilot projects; 
- average number of partners per pilot project; 
- total number of participants in placement schemes; 
- total number of beneficiaries of a training measure or product; 
- number of SMEs participating directly in pilot projects; 
- number of transferable products resulting from pilot projects. 
Qualitative indicators: 
- the evaluation should make it possible to measure more exactly the 
impact of the Community operation on the systems or practices of 
operators by means of the following indicators: 
* application of quality criteria and measures in training systems 
and operations; 
* use of Community references for practices; 
* development of training modules arising from pilot projects in 
national systems; 
* definition of a transnational qualification profile, particularly at 
sectoral level. 
All these indicators will form a basis for continuous joint evaluation by the 
Commission and each Member State. 
u 
9.3.2 In accordance with Article 7 of the proposal for a Decision: 
- before 31 December 1997 the Commission will present an intermediate 
evaluation report covering the launching period of the programme; 
- before 30 June 2000, the Commission will present a final report On 
the basis of this report, the Commission may submit proposals to the 
Council and the European Parliament concerning readjustment and 
subsequent development. 
(.$. 
ISSN 0254-1475 
COM(93) 686 final 
DOCUMENTS 
EN 04 
Catalogue number : CB-CO-93-742-EN-C 
ISBN 92-77-63076-0 
Office for Official Publications of the European Communities 
I-2985 Luxembourg 
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