21. 12. 90 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 322/21 
comply with this Directive not later than 31 December 
1992. 
When the Member States adopt such provisions they shall 
contain a reference to this Directive or shall be ac­
companied by such a reference on official publication. The Member States shall lay down the manner in which such 
reference shall be made. 
Article 12 
This Directive is addressed to the Member States. 
Proposal for a Council Decision concerning an action programme for the vocational qualification 
of young people and their preparation for adult and working life 
CC>M(90) 467 final 
(Submitted by the Commission on 15 October 1990) 
(90/C 322/05) 
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, 
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European 
Economic Community, and in particular Article 128 
thereof, 
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission, 
Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament, 
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social 
Committee, 
Whereas the fundamental objectives of the common 
vocational training policy set down in the second principle 
in Council Decision 63/266/EEC (J) refer, in particular to 
the need to guarantee adequate vocational training for all 
and to avoid any harmful interruption between completion 
of general education and commencement of vocational 
training; 
Whereas the tenth principle in Decision 63/266/EEC states 
that special measures may be taken in respect of special 
problems concerning specific sectors of activity or specific 
categories of persons; 
Whereas the Council, by Decision 87/569/EEC (2), 
adopted an action programme for the vocational training 
of young people and their preparation for adult and 
working life (Petra), for a period of five years commencing 
1 January 1988; whereas the Commission has presented an 
interim report on the implementation of this Decision; 
Whereas the Council, by Decision 84/636/EEC (3), 
adopted a third joint programme for the exchange of young 
workers in the Community up to 31 December 1990; whereas the Commission has submitted an evaluation 
report on the programme; whereas the Council, by 
Decision 90/268/EEC (4), extended the programme up to 
31 December 1991 with a view to taking a decision later on 
an overall Commission proposal concerning initial vo­
cational training including follow-up of the young workers 
exchange programme; and whereas it is the responsibility 
of the Member States, under Article 50 of the Treaty, to 
encourage, within the framework of a joint programme, 
the exchange of young workers; 
Whereas the Community Charter of the fundamental social 
rights of workers, adopted at the European Council in 
Strasbourg on 9 December 1989 by the Heads of State and 
Governments of 11 Member States, declares in point 23 
that, 'following the end of compulsory education, young 
people must be entitled to receive initial vocational training 
of a sufficient duration to enable them to adapt to the 
requirements of their future working life; for young 
workers, such training should take place during working 
hours'; 
Whereas the conclusions of the Council and Ministers of 
Education, meeting within the Council of 14 December 
1989 (5), stressed the importance of the issues at stake in 
technical and vocational education and initial training and 
asked the Commission to propose ways in which cooper­
ation can be achieved in this area; 
Whereas the European Parliament adopted, on 15 March 
1989, a resolution on the social dimension of the internal 
(!) OJ No 63, 20. 4. 1963, p. 1338/63. 
(2) OJ No L 346, 10. 12. 1987, p. 31. 
(3) OJ No L 331, 19. 12. 1984, p. 36. (4) OJ No L 156, 21. 6. 1990, p. 8. 
(5) OJ No C 27, 6. 2. 1990, p. 4. 
No C 322/22 Official Journal of the European Communities 21. 12. 90 
market (!) in which it emphasizes the need to encourage 
transnational vocational training initiatives; 
Whereas the European Parliament, in its resolution of 
16 February 1990 on Community education and training 
programmes (2), expressed concern about the fact that 
young people do not have equal opportunities in this area 
since existing Community programmes are geared mainly 
to university students rather than young people at school or 
following vocational training courses, who are in the 
majority; 
Whereas, by their joint opinion of 26 January 1990, the 
social partners, in the framework of the Social Dialogue, 
emphasized the importance of high-quality educaton and 
initial vocational training leading to recognized qualifi­
cations as an essential and irreplaceable condition for 
successful integration of young people into working and 
economic life; 
Whereas, in response to the requests of both the Council 
and the European Parliament, there is a need to strengthen 
and extend the Community's experience in the field of 
initial vocational training with the aim of supporting the 
development of national policies in, and of adding a 
European dimension to, this field; 
Whereas there is a need to stimulate exchange of experience 
between Member.States, and diversified forms of practical 
transnational cooperation between training institutions, 
including periods of training or work experience abroad, as 
a contribution to the achievement of the internal market 
and the elimination of barriers to the free movement of 
persons in the Community, and to the creation of trans-
European networks in a frontier-free Europe; 
Whereas there is a need to respond to new challenges facing 
initial vocational education and training, in particular by 
raising its status, adapting its content, increasing its 
coherence and flexibility, stimulating cooperation between 
its providers, strengthening apprenticeship and work-
based training, improving vocational guidance and 
attracting more girls and young women into technical and 
scientific fields; 
Whereas this action programme should be organized in 
such a way that it interacts with the tasks and actions of the 
European Social Fund (3) as well as with the other 
vocational training programmes; 
Whereas this action programme should, in its implemen­
tation, take account of the specific problems of the different 
(!) OJ No C 96, 17. 4. 1989, p. 61. 
(2) OJ No C 68, 19. 3. 1990, p. 175. 
(3) OJ No L 185, 15. 12. 1988, p. 9. regions and target groups by ensuring a balanced 
development of the measures; 
Whereas the Commission has adopted a memorandum on 
the rationalization and coordination of vocational training 
programmes at Community level, 
HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS: 
Article 1 
Decision 87/569/EEC is hereby amended as follows: 
1. Article 1 is replaced by the following: 
'Article 1 
1. A programme is hereby adopted for a three-year 
period from 1 January 1992 to support and supplement, 
through measures at Community level, the policies and 
activities of the Member States in doing their utmost to 
ensure that all young people in the Community who so 
wish receive two or more years' vocational training 
leading to recognized vocational qualifications, in 
addition to their full-time compulsory education. 
2. The programme is also intended to: 
(a) raise the standards and quality of technical and 
vocational education and initial training, diversify 
vocational training provision so as to offer choice for 
young people with different levels of ability, and 
enhance the capacity of vocational training systems 
to adapt to rapid economic, technological and social 
change; 
(b) add a Community dimension to vocational qualifi­
cations, taking account of the need to promote 
comparability of these qualifications between the 
Member States; 
(c) stimulate and support practical cooperation and the 
development of training partnerships, both trans­
national^ and within each Member State, between 
training providers, industry and other promoters of 
local and regional development, so as to achieve a 
more effective use of training resources, improve the 
transfer of experience and increase awareness of the 
European aspects to be taken into account in the 
development of initial vocational training; 
(d) develop opportunities for young people in technical 
and vocational education or other forms of initial 
training, and for young workers, to benefit from 
periods of training or work experience in other 
21. 12. 90 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 322/23 
Member States, so as to add a European dimension 
to their training and to increase their mobility at 
Community level; 
(e) introduce a European dimension into the systems 
and processes of vocational information and guidan­
ce.' 
2. Articles 3 and 4 are replaced by the following: 
'Article 3 
In order to achieve the objectives stated in Article 1 and 
to support and complement the activities of the Member 
States referred to in Article 2, the Commission shall 
make a contribution by means of the following 
measures, which are aimed at adding a Community 
dimension to the design and implementation of 
vocational training policies in the Member States: 
1. support for transnational cooperation between 
initiatives of the kind set out in Article 2, including 
specific assistance to those involving young people in 
their planning, organization and implementation, 
which encourage the personal and vocational 
development of young people in vocational and 
technical education or other forms of initial training, 
and of young workers, who have left the education 
and training system, through cooperative or in­
tegrated vocational education, training and gui­
dance measures. Such cooperation shall in particular 
promote within the Community: 
— vocational training or work experience place­
ments abroad for young people in initial training 
and young workers, 
— joint training of trainers, and 
— joint development of European training modules, 
and of qualifications and certificates related to 
them; 
2. support for measures aimed at introducing a 
European dimension into the processes and systems 
of vocational information and guidance, in par­
ticular by: 
— supporting national contact points or centres, to 
create a network for the exchange of guidance 
data, and to explore effective methods for the 
transfer of up-to-date guidance information 
throughout the Community, 
— providing training for guidance counsellors/ 
specialists on European aspects of guidance; 3. technical-assistance, as necessary, in the implemen­
tation of this programme, comparative studies on 
vocational education and training issues, including 
surveys on the effectiveness of youth training 
programmes, and review of the evolution of 
vocational qualifications. 
The Commission shall implement the programme in 
accordance with the provisions set out in the Annex. 
The Commission shall draw upon the assistance of 
the European Centre for the Development of 
Vocational Training in the implementation of this 
programme, subject to the conditions laid down in 
Council Regulation (EEC) No 337/75 of 10 Feb­
ruary 1975 establishing a European Centre for the 
Development of Vocational Training (*). 
(*) OJ No L 39, 13.2.1975, p. 1. 
Article 4 
1. The results of the measures taken pursuant to 
Article 3 shall be subject to objective external assess­
ment, consisting of: 
(a) an interim evaluation during 1994, and 
(b) a final evaluation during 1995. 
2. Before 30 June 1993 and before 30 June 1995, the 
Member States shall send to the Commission a report 
on the steps taken to implement the common frame­
work of guidelines laid down in Article 2, including 
information on current arrangements to promote initial 
vocational training. 
3. The Commission shall present an interim report 
before the end of 1993 and a final report before the end 
of 1995, including an overall evaluation of the 
implementation of this programme, to the Council and 
the European Parliament, as well as to the Economic 
and Social Committee and to the Education Committee 
set up under the Resolution of 9 February 1976 of the 
Council and of the Ministers of Education, meeting 
within the Council (**). 
{**) OJ No C 38, 19.2.1976, p. 1.' 
3. The following Articles 5 and 6 are added: 
'Article 5 
As from the 1992 budgetary year, the appropriations 
necessary to finance the Community contribution to the 
actions provided for in Article 3, including measures to 
ensure technical assistance at central or decentralized 
No C 322/24 Official Journal of the European Communities 21. 12. 90 
level, continuing monitoring and evaluation, and other 
supplementary measures concerning information on the 
programme and concertation with policy makers and 
the social partners, shall be authorized in the annual 
budgetary procedure. 
Article 6 
1. The Commission shall be assisted by a committee 
of an advisory nature composed of two representatives 
from each Member State and chaired by a representative 
of the Commission. Twelve representatives of both 
sides of industry, appointed by the Commission on the 
basis of proposals from the organizations representing 
both sides of industry at Community level, shall 
participate in the work of the committee as observers. 
2. The representative of the Commission shall submit 
to the committee a draft of the measures concerning: 
(a) the general guidelines governing the programme; 
(b) the general guidelines on the financial assistance 
provided by the Community (amounts, duration and 
recipients of assistance); (c) questions relating to the overall balance of the 
programme, including the breakdown between the 
various actions. 
3. 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, if necessary by 
taking a vote. 
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 
question delivered by the committee. It shall inform the 
committee of the manner in which its opinion has been 
taken into account.' 
Article 2 
This Decision shall take effect on 1 January 1992. 
ANNEX 
COMMUNITY ACTION PROGRAMME ON THE VOCATIONAL QUALIFICATION OF YOUNG 
PEOPLE AND THEIR PREPARATION FOR ADULT AND WORKING LIFE (PETRA) 
INTRODUCTION 
1. This Annex sets out the measures required in Article 2 of the Decision, in particular for the consolidation of 
the existing Community action programme, known as 'the Petra programme', which was set up under Council 
Decision 87/569/EEC of 1 December 1987 and which shall be extended until 31 December 1994. 
These measures are to be implemented at Community level by the Commission, respecting the principle of 
subsidiarity, to support and complement initial vocational training policies in the Member States and to add a 
Community dimension to their activities in this field. They are of two kinds: 
A. Support for transnational and transfrontier training projects; 
B. Support for measures aimed at introducing a European dimension into the processes and systems of 
vocational information and guidance; 
In addition, the Commission will take the complementary measures and provide the technical assistance which 
are required to implement the programme. 
The Commission's support for the measures mentioned above, and for the technical assistance, will be financed 
from its specific budget for education, vocational training and youth policy. 
21. 12. 90 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 322/25 
ACTION A 
I. SUPPORT FOR TRANSNATIONAL AND TRANSFRONTIER TRAINING PROJECTS 
1.1. Scope 
2. The Community will extend its financial and technical support for transnational and transfrontier 
cooperation between initiatives implemented in the field of initial vocational training which, in accordance with 
the objectives set out in Article 1 of the Decision, aim to: 
(a) raise the standards and quality of technical and vocational education and initial training, diversify 
vocational training provision so as to offer choice for young people with different levels of ability, and 
enhance the capacity of vocational training systems to adapt to rapid economic, technological and social 
change; 
(b) add a Community dimension to both the supply of, and demand for, vocational qualifications, taking 
account of the need to promote comparability of these qualifications between the Member States of the 
Community; 
(c) stimulate and support practical cooperation and the development of training partnerships, both 
transnationally and within each Member State, between training providers, industry and other promoters of 
local and regional development, so as to achieve a more effective use of training resources, improve the 
transfer of experience and increase awareness of the European aspects to be taken into account in the 
development of initial vocational training; 
(d) develop opportunities for young people in technical and vocational education or other forms of initial 
training, and for young workers, to benefit from periods of training or work experience in other Member 
States, so as to add a European dimension to their training and to increase their mobility at Community 
level; 
(e) introduce a European dimension into the systems and processes of vocational information and guidance. 
In the implementation of these objectives and of these actions, specific problems of the different regions and 
target groups will be taken into account through ensuring a balanced development of the programme. In this 
perspective, particular attention will be given to actions: 
— promoting equal opportunities for young women by reinforcing girls' and young women's access to 
vocational training in industrial, technical and scientific fields, 
— improving training opportunities for disadvantaged young people, 
— ensuring a balance in the flow of exchanges of young people between the Member States of the Community. 
3. In accordance with the different systems in the Member States, the term initial vocational training shall 
refer to: 
(a) all forms of vocational training, below university level, following the completion of the period of full-time 
compulsory education, or general education at (upper) secondary level, and providing a structured training 
programme, part of a programme or complementary elements to it, in order to enable young people to gain a 
recognized vocational qualification; 
(b) complementary action, including the provision of practical work experience, to improve the preparation of 
young people for working and adult life, motivating and enabling them to develop their competences in an 
active way and to practise their skills, and fostering their sense of enterprise and initiative. 
4. Such training can be offered in different forms (full-time or part-time) and by different providers 
(education, training or other authorities in the Member States; firms; other private or public training bodies), 
involving in particular: 
(a) technical and vocational schools, or colleges; 
(b) training centres or training workshops; 
(c) apprenticeship or systems of alternance-based training; 
(d) programmes offering practical work experience for young people, related to the vocational field in which 
they are being, or have been, trained; 
No C 322/26 Official Journal of the European Communities 21. 12. 90 
(e) other training and vocational preparation measures, including youth initiative projects which provide an 
alternatively structured, participative learning context, and in which young people themselves are actively 
involved in the planning, organization and implementation. 
5. The transnational and transfrontier cooperation supported under the programme shall be aimed at the 
following target groups: 
— young people in technical or vocational education, apprenticeships, or other forms of initial training leading 
to a recognized qualification, 
— young workers up to the age of 25, i.e. young people who are already in employment and who wish to 
complement their initial training with a period of work experience abroad. 
The programme does not concern young job seekers and young unemployed as they represent major target 
groups for actions implemented within the framework of the Community's structural policies and, in 
particular, the European initiative. 
1.2. Activities 
6. The Community's support is aimed at stimulating transnational cooperation in particular through: 
— training or work experience placements abroad for young people in initial training and their trainers, and 
for young workers, 
— joint training of trainers, and 
— joint development of European training modules, and of qualifications and certificates related to them. 
Training initiatives participating in the programme will be working in one or more of these activity fields. The 
training or work experience placements abroad constitute the major part of action A of the programme as they 
absorb 70% of the financial contribution foreseen for this action. 
1.2.1. Training or work experience placements for young people abroad 
7. In the case of young workers, the implementation of training and work experience placements in another 
Member State shall build on the experience of the third joint programme for exchange of young workers. In 
particular, these placements shall provide new vocational or training experience for the participants which will: 
— develop their vocational knowledge and enrich their practical experience, 
— promote their awareness of the problems of the working world, and 
— bring them into contact with the working environment of the host country. 
The placements shall also provide the participants with the opportunity to improve their knowledge of life, 
work and society in the host country and to learn more about the objectives of the European Community and 
the way in which it functions. 
The duration of such placements shall normally be three months, but they may last up to one year where, by the 
nature of the work experience and its training objectives, a longer period is required. 
8. In the case of young people who are still in the vocational training system, training or work experience 
placements abroad shall normally form an integral and recognized part of their training process, and must 
embody clear training objectives which have been mutually agreed between the trainee and the sending and the 
hosting organizations. The duration of such placements should not be less than three weeks, in order to meet 
these objectives. In order to facilitate the integration of such placements into the training process, they should be 
based on specific vocational sectors which relate to the training needs of participants. 
Particular emphasis shall be placed on ensuring that each placement involves a significant added training value, 
e.g. experience of new training methods or equipment, new content, new forms of training partnerships, etc., so 
as to maximize the benefits of exchanges within the Community and to foster the transfer of innovation know-
how and good practice. 
21. 12. 90 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 322/27 
9. It is the responsibility of the training institutions/initiatives or, in the case of young workers, the young 
people themselves or their employers, to organize their exchanges/placements. Member States shall make the 
necessary arrangements to assist in the identification of potential partners or placements, to help match supply 
and demand and to ensure adequate preparation, organization and 'on-the-spot' support. Each Member State 
shall designate one (or more) competent agency (agencies) responsible for coordinating and implementing this 
part of the programme at national level, in accordance with specific guidelines agreed at Community level. 
1.2.2. Joint training of trainers 
10. Community assistance shall be granted to support bilateral or multilateral transnational partnerships 
aimed at the training or retraining of trainers, and teachers in the field of technical or vocational education, on 
aspects of common concern. Such partnerships shall be established with regard to the aims set out in 
paragraph 2 above and could involve, for example, joint training seminars, exchanges or joint development of 
training material. 
I.2.3. Joint development of European training modules, and of qualifications and certificates related to them 
II. Community assistance shall be granted, in the first place, for training institutions or projects wishing to 
engage, on a bilateral or multilateral basis, in medium or long-term cooperation on the development and 
implementation of European training, especially the development of new qualifications and vocational profiles, 
involving: 
— training units (modules or courses) and methods of assessment which can be adapted for use by, or 
integrated into, existing training provision in different Member States, or 
— training units to form distinct components of integrated transnational training programmes, i.e. 
programmes in which certain complementary elements of a total training course are provided by (a) training 
institution(s) in another (or several) Member State(s). 
1.3. Community financial contribution 
12. For the implementation of training or work experience placements abroad, the Commission will provide 
financial aid to the individual Member States, as a Community contribution towards covering: 
— subsistence costs for young people during the placement abroad, 
— justified travel costs, up to 75%, 
— the costs of preparatory language training, 
— the cost incurred for the preparation, organization, monitoring and publicizing of placement programmes in 
each Member State. 
13. In calculating the aid to each Member State, quantitative objectives will be assigned in relation to the 
number of young people from 15 to 25 years in its population. Inspired by models applied in the Erasmus and 
Comett programmes and taking into consideration the need to ensure a balanced flow of exchanges in the 
Community, the calculation will also take account of: 
— the gross domestic product of each Member State, 
— the geographical distance between Member States. 
14. Applications for grants shall normally be received and processed by the designated agencies in the 
Member States. 
15. For other cooperative training activities, the Commission will provide a financial contribution, normally 
for two years, averaging ECU 30 000 per year, towards the costs incurred by each individual training institution 
involved in a transnational or transfrontier partnership on: 
— preparatory activities, 
— joint training of trainers, 
— joint development of European training modules. 
No C 322/28 Official Journal of the European Communities 21. 12. 90 
ACTION B 
II. SUPPORT FOR MEASURES AIMED AT INTRODUCING A EUROPEAN DIMENSION INTO THE 
PROCESSES AND SYSTEMS OF VOCATIONAL INFORMATION AND GUIDANCE 
II.1. Scope 
16. The Community will support links and active cooperation between Member States' services for 
vocational information and guidance of young people, aimed at ensuring: 
— that all young people receive suitable information, practical advice and, if necessary, individual counselling 
and help, to make them aware of the vocational training options available to them, enable them to assess 
their strengths and make informed choices, motivate them to strive for vocational qualifications and 
facilitate their access to initial training, 
— that, as part of this process, all young people and their parents are given the means to obtain up-to-date 
information on training opportunities and guidance services available in other Member States, and that they 
are encouraged and helped to use this information. 
The Commission will ensure close coordination with relevant ongoing work of Cedefop and other Community 
initiatives in this field; especially with a view to linking European guidance activities for young people with 
those aimed at adults. 
II.2 Activities 
17. The Community's contribution is aimed at developing materials, methods and procedures which can 
facilitate practical cooperation between the guidance services, especially through: 
— networking the exchange of European guidance data. This involves, in particular, the establishing of a 
European network of national contact points or centres which will develop and update data for use by 
guidance services in all Member States, 
— providing support for the training of guidance counsellors/specialists, on European aspects of guidance. 
Such training could take the form of bilateral or multilateral training seminars, initially involving trainers of 
guidance personnel from different Member States. 
II.3. Community financial contribution 
18. The Commission will provide financial support to projects proposed by the Member States, up to a total 
of ECU 1,4 million in 1992, and up to ECU 1,7 and 2 million in 1993 and 1994, respectively. The allocation of 
project grants shall be decided by the Commission after individual assessment of suitable proposals. 
COMPLEMENTARY MEASURES 
19. The Commission will take the necessary complementary measures. This will include information on the 
programme and the dissemination of its results, by means of publications, seminars, etc., as well as the 
continuation of support for transnational cooperation in studies on specific issues in initial vocational training. 
In addition, the Commission will provide the technical support required for the implementation of the 
programme and the coordination and evaluation of the actions supported under it. As necessary, the services of 
specialized institutions and organizations will be called on to provide technical support, both within the 
Member States and at Community level.