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COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 
Brussels, 29.11.1995 
COM(95) 590 final 
WHITE PAPER ON EDUCATION AND TRAINING 
TEACHING AND LEARNING 
* * * 
TOWARDS THE LEARNING SOCIETY 

"We must have the courage to examine 
everything, discuss everything and even to 
teach everything" 
Condorcet 
FOREWORD 
This White Paper is part of a process designed simultaneously to provide an 
analysis and to put forward guidelines for action in the fields of education and 
training. It takes forward the White Paper "Growth, competitiveness, employment", 
which stressed the importance for Europe of intangible investment, particularly in 
education and research. This investment in knowledge plays an essential role in 
employment, competitiveness and social cohesion. This White Paper whilst looking 
forward to the Madrid European Council meeting, draws upon the conclusions of 
the Cannes European Council of June 1995, which state that: "Training and 
apprenticeship policies, which are fundamental for improving employment and 
competitiveness, must be strengthened, especially continuing training!'. 
Articles 126 and 127 of the Treaty establishing the European Community stipulate 
respectively that "the Community shall contribute to the development of quality 
education by encouraging cooperation between Member States and, if necessary, 
by supporting and supplementing their action" and that "the Community shall 
implement a vocational training policy which shall support and supplement the 
action of the Member States". 
These articles are the clear basis for the debate which the Commission, in 
presenting this White Paper, intends to launch in 1996, the year which the Council 
and the European Parliament have chosen as the European Year of Lifelong 
Learning. 
After describing what is at stake and analysing the changes which need to be 
considered, while respecting the principle of subsidiarity, the White Paper sets out 
the action to be taken in the Member States and the support measures to be 
introduced at Community level. The main lines of action at the European level 
envisaged for 1996 include objectives to: 
encourage the acquisition of new knowledge; 
bring school and the business sector closer together; 
combat exclusion; 
develop proficiency in three European languages; 
treat capital investment and investment in training on an equal basis. 
CONTENTS 
INTRODUCTION 
PART ONE: THE CHALLENGES 
THE THREE FACTORS OF UPHEAVAL 5 
A The impact of the information society 6 
B. The impact of internationalisation 7 
C The impact of scientific and technological knowledge 7 
A FIRST APPROACH: 
FOCUSING ON A BROAD KNOWLEDGE BASE 9 
A. Grasping the meaning of things 10 
B. Comprehension and creativity 11 
C. Powers of judgement and decision making 11 
A SECOND RESPONSE: 
DEVELOPING EVERYONE'S EMPLOYABILITY 
AND CAPACITY FOR ECONOMIC LIFE 12 
A. What are the skills required ? 12 
B. How can a person become employable ? 14 
IV. DIRECTIONS FOR THE FUTURE 22 
A. The end of debate on educational principles 22 
B. The central question: towards greater flexibility 23 
C. Action in the Member States 23 
D. New developments 25 
PART TWO: BUILDING THE LEARNING SOCIETY 28 
I. FIRST GENERAL OBJECTIVE : 
"ENCOURAGE THE ACQUISITION OF NEW KNOWLEDGE" 32 
A. Recognition of skills 32 
8. Mobility 33 
C. Multimedia educational software 33 
II. SECOND GENERAL OBJECTIVE : 
"BRING SCHOOLS AND BUSINESS CLOSER TOGETHER" 36 
A. Apprenticeship/Trainees schemes 37 
B. Vocational training 38 
III. THIRD GENERAL OBJECTIVE : "COMBAT EXCLUSION" 40 
A. Second chance schools 40 
8. European voluntary service 42 
IV. FOURTH GENERAL OBJECTIVE : 
"PROFICIENCY IN THREE COMMUNITY LANGUAGES" 44 
V. FIFTH GENERAL OBJECTIVE : 
"TREAT CAPITAL INVESTMENT AND INVESTMENT IN TRAINING 
ON A EQUAL BASIS" 47 
GENERAL CONCLUSION 50 
Annex 1 : Some data and figures 52 
Annex 2 : Examples of Community programmes in the field of education 
and training , 55 
Annex 3 : The educational world of Alyat Hanoar 60 
Annex 4 : The experience of "Accelerated schools" in the USA 62 
INTRODUCTION 
Much of the effort made in recent years to stem the rise of unemployment in 
Europe has not had lasting effects. Jobs created in the wake of a return to periods 
of higher growth have not reversed the long term trends. Long term unemployment 
continues to increase and the spread of social exclusion, particularly among young 
people, has become a major problem in our societies. 
Education and training have now emerged as the latest means for tackling the 
employment problem. It may be surprising that the realisation of the role they can 
play has come so late and that it has taken an economic recession to bring it 
about. Yet it is unfair to expect education and training alone to make up for every 
failure: education and training cannot solve the employment problem on their own 
or, more generally, the problem of the competitiveness of industries and services. 
Moreover, while it is true that the Treaty on European Union has opened up scope 
for Community action in these areas, it also states explicitly that the role at 
European level is to support and supplement action taken by the Member States. 
Be that as it may, the countries of Europe today have no other option. If they are 
to hold their own and continue to be a reference point in the world, they have to 
build on the progress brought about through closer economic ties by more 
substantial investment in knowledge and skills. 
The Commission established the general framework for its analysis in its White 
Paper "Growth, competitiveness and employment", drawn up on the initiative of 
Jacques Delors, which stressed that the development of education and training is 
one of the conditions for the development of a new model of more employment-
intensive growth. 
The Essen European Council of December 1994 confirmed this in its conclusions 
and re-affirmed them in Cannes in June 1995, in the light of the report from the 
Advisory Group on Competitiveness. 
There are two major challenges: firstly, providing immediate solutions to current 
education and training needs; secondly, preparing the future and outlining an 
overall approach capable of assembling the efforts of the Member States and 
those of the European Union, each acting within its area of competence. 
Since the 1960's, Community action in education and training has had significant 
results in terms of cooperation, exchanges of experience, supporting innovation 
and the development of training products and materials. It has also boosted 
decisively European mobility of students and people in training. It has also 
contributed to the promotion of learning Community languages and to the 
development of communication between European citizens (see annex 2). 
The basis of this White Paper is the concerns of every European citizen, young 
or adult, who faces the problem of adjusting to new conditions of finding a job and 
changes in the nature of work. No social category, no profession, no trade is 
spared this problem. 
- 1 -
The internationalisation of trade, the global context of technology and, above all, 
the arrivai of the information society, have boosted the possibilities of access to 
information and knowledge for people, but at the same time have as a 
consequence changed work organization and the skills learned. This trend has 
increased uncertainty for all and for some has led to intolerable situations of 
exclusion. 
It is clear that the new opportunities offered to people require an effort from each 
one to adapt, particularly in assembling one's own qualifications on the basis of 
'building blocks' of knowledge acquired at different times and in various situations. 
The society of the future will-therefore be a learning society. In the light of this it 
is evident that education systems - which means primarily the teachers - and all 
of those involved in training have a central role to play. The social partners, in 
exercising their responsibilities, including through collective bargaining, have a 
particularly important role, as these developments will condition the working 
environment of the future. 
Education and training will increasingly become the main vehicles for self-
awareness, belonging, advancement and self-fulfilment. Education and training 
whether acquired in the formal education system, on the job or in a more informal 
way, is the key for everyone to controlling their future and their personal 
development. 
Education and training remain one of the determining factors in equality of 
opportunity. Education systems have already played an essential role in the 
emancipation and the social and professional advancement of women. Education 
can and must contribute further to the crucial equality between men and women. 
Immaterial investment and getting the best out of our human resources will 
improve competitiveness, boost jobs and safeguard social achievements. The 
individual's place in relation to their fellow citizens will increasingly be determined 
by their capacity to learn and master fundamental knowledge. 
The position of everyone in relation to their fellow citizens in the context of 
knowledge and skills therefore will be decisive. This relative position which could 
be called the 'learning relationship" will become an increasingly dominant feature 
in the structure of our societies. 
The ability to renew and innovate will depend on the links between the 
development of knowledge in research and its transmission through education and 
training. In all this, communication will be essential both for generating and 
disseminating ideas. 
The future of the EU and its development will depend largely on its ability to 
manage the progress towards this new society. The objective is to make it into a 
just and progressive society based on its cultural wealth and diversity. There is a 
need to whet society's appetite for education and training throughout life. There 
needs to be permanent and broad access to a number of different forms of 
knowledge. In addition, the level of skill achieved by each and everyone will have 
to be converted into an instrument for measuring individual performance in a way 
which will safeguard equal rights for workers as far as possible. 
-2-
There is no single pattern for all to follow throughout their working lives. Everyone 
must be able to seize their opportunities for improvement in society and for 
personal fulfilment irrespective of their social origin and educational background. 
This particularly applies to the most disadvantaged groups who lack the family and 
social environment to enable them to make the most of the general education 
provided by school. These groups should be given the chance not just to catch up, 
but to gain access to new knowledge which could help to bring out their abilities. 
Given the diversity of national situations and the inadequacy of global solutions in 
this context, proposing a model is not the answer. This would be doomed to failure 
given the pivotal role of the individual in the construction of the learning society 
and the social and cultural diversity of the Member States. The purpose of this 
White Paper is to plot out the route to this new society by identifying the options 
available to the EU in education and training. Its suggestions, guidelines and aims 
are intended to support and supplement education and training policies, the 
responsibility for which rests first and foremost with national, regional and local 
authorities. The objective is not to impose common rules, but rather on the basis 
of a broad debate to identify the points of convergence and the actions capable 
of meeting the current challenges. 
The diversity of the education systems of the EU notwithstanding, there is a 
European approach to education based on common historic roots, from which 
stems the success of cooperation between higher education establishments, for 
example, in the ERASMUS programme which has provided mobility for 500,000 
young students. 
In the new context of the internationalisation of the economy, dissemination of new 
technologies and the risk of cultural uniformity, Europe more than ever before is 
an appropriate level for action. This will in the future be amply borne out by the 
impact of the free movement of people, which will make it essential for national 
education and training systems to consider the European dimension. 
To examine education and training in the context of employment does not mean 
reducing them simply to a means of obtaining qualifications. The essential aim of 
education and training has always been personal development and the successful 
integration of Europeans into society through the sharing of common values, the 
passing on of cultural heritage and the teaching of self-reliance. 
However, this essential function of social integration is today under threat unless 
it is accompanied by the prospect of employment. The devastating personal and 
social effects of unemployment are uppermost in the minds of every family, every 
young person in initial training and everyone on the labour market. The best way 
for education to continue to exercise this essential function is to seek to provide 
a convincing response to alleviate these concerns. The very foundations of any 
European society purporting to teach its children the principles of citizenship would 
be undermined if this teaching were to fail to provide for job prospects. 
In the face of unemployment and technological upheaval, training must go beyond 
the framework of initial education and develop an on-going capacity for the 
renewal of the technical and vocational skills of workers around a solid, broad 
knowledge base. 
This White Paper takes the view that in modern Europe the three essential 
requirements of social integration, the enhancement of employabiiity and personal 
fulfilment, are not incompatible. They should not be brought into conflict, but 
should on the contrary be closely linked. Europe's assets in the area of science, 
the depth of its culture, the capacity of its business, industry and institutions 
should enable it both to pass on its fundamental values and prepare for 
employment. This presupposes that European society stays tuned to the 
underlying trends at work within it. 
On this basis, the White Paper considers in turn: 
- the importance of education and training to Europe in the current context 
of technological and economic change; and 
- the guidelines for action in the pursuit of objectives to build up high-quality 
education and training. 
-4 
PART ONE: THE CHALLENGES second is designed to build up 
abilities for employment and 
economic life. 
As this century draws to its close, we 
can see that the causes of change in 
society have been diverse and have 
affected our education and training 
systems in different ways. 
Demographic trends have increased 
life expectancy radically changing at 
the same time the age structure of 
the population, thereby increasing the 
need for lifelong learning. The 
substantial rise in the number of 
working women has altered the 
traditional place of the family in 
relation to school and the upbringing 
of children. Expansion of technical 
innovation in all areas has generated 
new knowledge requirements. 
Consumption patterns and lifestyles 
have changed. In addition, people 
have been alerted to environmental 
problems and the use of natural 
resources and this has affected both 
education and training systems and 
industrial activities. 
Three major, profound and wide-
ranging factors of upheaval have 
emerged, however, which have 
transformed the context of economic 
activity and the way our societies 
function in a radical and lasting 
manner, namely: the onset of the 
information society; the impact of the 
scientific and technological world; and 
the internationalisation of the 
economy. These events are 
contributing towards the development 
of the learning society. They bring 
risks, but also opportunities which 
must be seized. 
The construction of this society will 
depend on the ability to respond in 
two important ways to the 
implications of these events. The first 
response focuses on the need for a 
broad knowledge base and the Establishing the learning society will 
also depend on how those involved 
and the institutions in education and 
training pursue the developments 
already under way in the Member 
States. 
I. The three factors of upheaval 
Like the rest of the world, Europe has 
to face up to the effects of the 
widespread dissemination of 
information technologies, pressure on 
the world market and a relentless 
onward march of science and 
technology. These challenges 
represent a step forward by placing 
people in a closer relationship with 
another. 
Europe has been confronted by 
global technological and economic 
developments in a context of 
unemployment levels higher than in 
other parts of the world and an 
increase in social exclusion. This has 
led some to consider technology as 
an intrinsic and definitive obstacle to 
employment growth, while others 
believe that the level of social 
protection in those countries hardest 
hit has generated fixed costs which 
need to be seriously reconsidered. It 
has forced others back into a 
nationalistic shell which can be 
interpreted as an inability to devise 
and build a new model of society. 
This White Paper considers that 
European society is in a transitional 
phase towards a new form of society 
beyond current short term forecasts. 
A. The impact of the information 
society 
The report "Europe and the global 
information society (May 1994), 
produced by the high-level group 
chaired by Mr Bangemann, stressed, 
"that throughout the world, 
information and telecommunications 
technologies are bringing about a 
new industrial revolution which 
already looks to be as important and 
radical as those which preceded it". 
This revolution like previous ones will 
have consequences for work and 
employment. 
It has not been demonstrated that 
new technologies reduce employment 
levels. Some technologically 
advanced countries have created 
around the new information related 
activities, a number of jobs 
comparable, indeed in some cases 
higher, than those lost in other areas. 
It is however certain that information 
technologies have radically changed 
the nature of work and the 
organisation of production. These 
changes are currently affecting 
deeply European society. 
Mass production is declining and 
making room for a more customized 
type of production. The traditional 
pattern of growth in paid employment, 
i.e. full time and permanent, appears 
to be on the decline. Production 
relationships and conditions of 
employment are changing. Corporate 
organisation is increasingly turning 
towards flexibility and 
decentralisation. The search for 
flexibility, the development of 
networked-based cooperation, the 
increased use of subcontracting, the 
development of work in teams, are 
some of the consequences of 
information technology. Information technology is contributing 
to the disappearance of routine and 
repetitive work which can be codified, 
programmed and automated. Work 
content will increasingly be made up 
of intelligent tasks requiring initiative 
and the ability to adapt. 
Although it makes the 
decentralisation of tasks easier, 
information technology coordinates 
these tasks in interactive on-line 
communication networks which 
function equally well across 
continents as from one office and 
floor to another. The result is 
simultaneously a higher level of 
individual autonomy for workers, but 
a less clear perception of the context 
of their actions. The new technologies 
have a twofold effect. On the one 
hand, they considerably increase the 
role of the human factor in the 
production process, while on the 
other make workers more vulnerable 
to changes in work organisation 
because they are mere individuals 
within a complex network. 
Information technologies are making 
significant inroads into production-
related activities and into education 
and training, thus bringing the 
'learning system' and the 'producing 
system' closer together. There is a 
marked convergence between the 
world of work and the world of 
learning/training as far as the 
capacities required are concerned. 
Change connected with information 
technology has wide economic and 
social consequences for the 
development of: self-employment; 
service industries; new forms of work 
organisation known as the "learning 
organisation"; management 
decentralisation; and flexible working 
hours. 
-6 
The information society, 
notwithstanding the new knowledge 
techniques it heralds, raises the 
question of whether the educational 
content it carries will enhance or, on 
the contrary, diminish the knowledge 
of the individual. The focus up to now 
has been on the potential offered by 
information highways, through the 
revolutionary quasi-
instantaneousness that the 
INTERNET, for instance, brings to 
contacts between firms, researchers 
and academics. The fear is the risk 
that the quality of multi-media 
products, particularly in educational 
software, could lead to knowledge of 
the "lowest common denominator" in 
which people lose their historical, 
geographical and cultural bearings. 
This is why the Commission, 
particularly at the G7 meeting on the 
information society in Brussels in 
February 1995, stressed the need to 
stimulate European production of 
educational software. The information 
society is going to change teaching 
methods by replacing the excessively 
passive teacher/pupil relationship with 
a new - and seemingly promising -
interactive relationship. At the same 
time, however, changing teaching 
methods does not affect the content 
of the material taught. 
B. The impact 
internationalisation o f 
The internationalisation of the 
economy is the second factor of 
upheaval, which has given rise to 
unprecedented freedom of movement 
for capital, goods and services. 
Sooner than is generally believed, a 
global and distinctive labour market 
will emerge. Large and small 
companies, and even the mobile 
professions, are already using "teleporting" to have work done on­
line in low-wage countries. 
In its White Paper "Growth, 
competitiveness and employment" the 
Commission opted clearly for a 
Europe open to the rest of the world 
but stressed that its future 
developments should have a distinct 
European dimension, placing 
particular emphasis on the 
preservation of the European social 
model. Internationalisation thus 
simply strengthens Europe's position 
on the world stage. In a changing and 
uncertain world, Europe is a natural 
level of organisation. This has been 
shown through trade policy, technical 
harmonisation, environmental 
protection, solidarity between the 
regions and through real progress in 
the field of education and training, 
e.g. in the ERASMUS programme. 
Yet, Europe still needs to 
demonstrate to ordinary people that it 
is not there just to make regulations, 
but that it is close to their everyday 
concerns. 
This option, involves improving the 
competitiveness of our economies, 
and will increase the quality of life 
through more efficient distribution of 
resources in the world. It 
nevertheless implies major 
adjustments in every country. 
There is a risk of a social rift with all 
the adverse and even drastic 
consequences this may entail. 
C. The impact of scientific and 
technological knowledge 
The developments and dissemination 
of scientific and technical knowledge 
is accelerating. 
A new model of production of 
knowledge and know-how is 
emerging, combining extreme 
specialisation and cross-disciplinary 
creativeness. Industry relies 
increasingly on science to develop 
new products (e.g. special alloys for 
sports equipment, biological 
processes for environmental 
industries) and scientific research 
needs equipment with a high degree 
of technical sophistication (e.g. 
supercomputers, high-performance 
communications networks, human 
genomes). 
But instead of celebrating progress as 
was the case a century ago, public 
opinion often perceives scientific 
ventures and technological progress 
as a threat 
These growing anxieties are a 
significant feature of the end of this 
century. Paradoxically, whereas 
science is making significant progress 
(limiting, if not overcoming famine 
and many diseases, increasing life 
expectancy, providing faster 
communication etc.), this progress is 
for many people matched by a sense 
of fear which has some parallels in 
the transition from the Middle Ages to 
the Renaissance. 
Media coverage also presents a 
violent picture, re-enforcing these 
anxieties. 
To tackle this crisis better information 
is essential but insufficient on its own. 
It is by disseminating knowledge that 
this irrational climate can be 
overcome. By demonstrating the link 
between science and the progress of 
mankind, while being fully aware of 
its limitations, today's scientific and 
technological world will be accepted 
and in a better position to spread 
widely an innovative culture. 
In many European countries, the 
response is pitched at two levels, 
cultural and ethical. The promotion of a scientific 
and technical culture is the 
subject of a sustained effort by 
the public authorities. 
Activities at national level on 
this issue have, since 1993, 
been enhanced and 
complemented by a timely 
European event, the 
"European week of scientific 
culture", the success of which 
is growing in all the countries 
of the European Union. But it 
is at school that the issue is 
really determined. Scientific 
and technical information is all 
the more rewarding when built 
on a solid foundation of 
scientific education acquired at 
school. 
The second level is ethical. 
The development of 
biotechnologies, man's 
relationship to intelligent 
machines, new approaches to 
procreation, a heightened 
sense of co-existence with 
other species, protection of the 
environment, are all new 
issues which Europe must 
prepare to 'face. The same 
problem arises in relation to 
the information society. The 
'information highways' to which 
young people and even 
children will have increasingly 
easier access, could well find 
themselves inundated with 
messages offending human 
dignity. This clearly raises the 
matter of protecting our 
children. The ethics of 
responsibility must become an 
integral part of basic education 
and the training of 
researchers. 
Throughout Europe, in all Member 
States, these three factors of 
upheaval and their repercussions for 
industry and employment are 
increasingly being taken on board 
and addressed For example, see the 
report of the German Federal 
Government on "The future of 
Germany as an industrial location" 
(Bundesministerium fur Wirtschaft, 
September 1993). At European level, 
the White Paper on "Growth, 
Competitiveness and Employment" 
and the conclusions of the Essen 
European Council, reiterated in 
Cannes, stress the link between 
competitiveness, employment, 
education and training. 
The response to these three factors 
of upheaval is multi-faceted, for it 
entails a radical shake-up of 
European society. 
The ultimate goal of training, to build 
up the individual's self-reliance and 
occupational capacity, makes it the 
linchpin of adaptation and change. 
The two main responses focused 
upon in this White Paper are 
accordingly to give everyone access 
to a broad base of knowledge and to 
build up their abilities for employment 
and economic life. 
II. A first approach: focusing on a 
broad knowledge base 
In the future, individuals will be called 
upon to understand complex 
situations which will change in 
unforeseeable ways, but which 
advances in science should 
nevertheless make it easier to 
control. They will also be confronted 
with an increasing variety of physical 
objects, social situations and 
geographical and cultural contexts. In 
addition, they will have to contend 
with a mass of fragmentary and 
incomplete information open to 
varying interpretations and partial 
analysis. There is therefore a risk of a rift in 
society between those that can 
interpret; those who can only use; 
and those who are pushed out of 
mainstream society and rely upon 
social support in other words, 
between those who know and those 
who do not know. 
The main challenge in this kind of 
society is to reduce the gap between 
these groups whilst enabling the 
progress and development of all 
human resources. 
It is possible to understand the world 
if the way it interacts and functions 
can be grasped and a sense of 
personal direction found. This is the 
main function of school. This is 
particularly appropriate to the building 
of Europe. By imparting a broad 
knowledge base to young people 
enabling them both to pick their way 
through its complexity and to discuss 
its purpose, education lays the 
foundations of awareness and of 
European citizenship. 
By the same token, the development 
of a broad knowledge base, namely 
the ability to grasp the meaning of 
things, to comprehend and to make 
judgements, is the first factor in 
adapting to economic and labour 
market change. The report from the 
Round Table of European 
Industrialists (February 1995) 
stressed the need for flexible training 
with a broad knowledge base, 
advocating a 'learning to learn' 
approach throughout life. It stated 
that, "the essential mission of 
education is to help everyone to 
develop their own potential and 
become a complete human being, as 
opposed to a tool at the service of 
the economy; the acquisition of 
knowledge and skills should go hand 
in hand with building up character, 
broadening outlook and accepting 
one's responsibility in society.". 
This need for a solid and broad 
knowledge base which is literary, 
philosophical, scientific, technical and 
practical, does not only concern initial 
training. There are many examples to 
show that the vocational retraining of 
employees who are under skilled or 
highly specialised on account of the 
Taylorist approach to work depends 
upon the acquisition of this base as 
the foundation for new technical 
skills. When retraining workers, 
training establishments are 
increasingly having to give them a 
general grounding before teaching 
them a new job. 
There is, moreover, an increasing 
degree of convergence between 
business and the world of education 
when it comes to the usefulness of 
reconciling general education and 
specialised training. 
More generally speaking, the forceful 
return of a broad knowledge base as 
the key to understanding the world 
outside the context of education can 
be seen. 
A. Grasping the meaning of 
things 
In an essentially universal society 
based on knowledge, a social and 
cultural identity can only be passed 
on in part. It has to be built up, not 
only by school the role of which 
continues to be irreplaceable, but the 
individuals who draw on the collective 
memory while assimilating the variety 
of information to which they are 
exposed, through their involvement in 
different, vocational, cultural, social 
and family circles. 
The future of European culture 
depends on its capacity to equip 
young people to question constantly 
and seek new answers without 
prejudicing human values. This is the very foundation of citizenship and is 
essential if European society is to be 
open, multicultural and democratic. 
In this regard, the most eminent 
academics stress the importance of 
adequate scientific awareness - not 
simply in the mathematical sense - to 
ensure that democracy can function 
properly. Democracy functions by 
majority decision on major issues 
which, because of their complexity, 
require an increasing amount of 
background knowledge. For example, 
environmental and ethical issues 
cannot be the subject of informed 
debate unless young people possess 
a certain scientific awareness. At the 
moment, decisions in this area are all 
too often based on subjective and 
emotional criteria, the majority lacking 
the general knowledge to make an 
informed choice. Clearly this does not 
mean turning everyone into a 
scientific expert, but enabling them to 
fulfil an enlightened role in making 
choices which affect their 
environment and to understand in 
broad terms the social implications of 
debates between experts. There is 
similarly a need to make everyone 
capable of making considered 
decisions as consumers. 
The radical changes taking place in 
the scientific and technological 
landscape, require individuals (even 
if they do not aspire to a career in 
research) increasingly to be able to 
grasp the meaning of things. 
Individuals must also learn to think 
more in terms of systems and to 
position themselves both as a user 
and as a citizen, as an individual and 
as a member of a group. 
Literature and philosophy fulfil the 
same function in respect to the 
indiscriminate bombardment of 
information from the mass media and, 
in the near future, from the large 
10 
informatics networks. They arm the 
individual with powers of discernment 
and a critical sense. This can provide 
the best protection against 
manipulation, enabling people to 
interpret and understand the 
information they receive. 
It is nevertheless worth stressing the 
educational role the mass media can 
fulfil. Wde-audience TV channels, 
e.g. the BBC in the United Kingdom, 
or more specialised channels e.g. La 
Cinquième in France, offer 
educational programmes, providing 
viewers with a substantial range of 
learning material. 
In conjunction with the public 
authorities, the mass media makes it 
possible to reach attainment targets 
which could not be achieved by 
traditional means. A very successful 
example of this is the BBC's recent 
'Read and write" campaign targeted 
at disadvantaged groups, parents and 
children alike and designed to help 
stamp out illiteracy. 
A broad knowledge base enables 
people to find their way in the 
information society, that is to say to 
be able to interpret in a critical way 
the images and information they 
receive from a variety of sources. 
B. Comprehension and creativity 
The ability to understand is the 
capacity to analyze how things are 
assembled and taken apart. One 
function of this White Paper is to 
draw attention to the crucial matter of 
teaching to promote innovation. 
In fact an excessive standardisation 
of knowledge prevails. It tends to give 
the impression that everything has to 
be taught in a strictly logical order 
and that producing and identifying 
quality is a question of mastering a deductive reasoning system based on 
abstract concepts, in which 
mathematics play a predominant role. 
In certain cases deductive 
approaches can thus make students 
passive and restrict the imagination. 
Observation, common sense, 
curiosity, interest in the physical and 
social world around us and the desire 
to experiment are qualities which are 
often neglected. Yet these are the 
qualities which will enable us to train 
inventors rather than mere technology 
managers. 
In yesterday's Europe, irrespective of 
whether it was rooted in rural life or in 
manufacturing industry, learning was 
naturally directed primarily at the 
acquisition of abstract concepts to 
round off practical skills absorbed 
from day-to-day life outside school. 
The greater part of this practical 
knowledge base has been modified 
and has regressed in our urbanised, 
automated, media-dominated society. 
It needs to be brought back into a 
broader knowledge base as a way of 
preparing individuals to master the 
technical instruments they will have to 
use, so that they, rather than the 
technique, are in charge. 
Developing these aptitudes means 
promoting an appreciation of how 
society has been enriched by 
invention and how such invention 
came about. Any action taken by the 
Member States to introduce the 
history of science and technology into 
schools and to strengthen the links 
between research and basic 
education should be encouraged. 
C. Powers of judgement and 
decision making 
Powers of judgement and the ability 
to choose are the two essential skills 
for understanding the world around 
11 
us. They involve: criteria for making 
choices; remembering the lessons of 
the past; and an ability to assess the 
future. 
The ability to choose is based on 
personal and social values, as well as 
being able to rationalize the world in 
which we live. 
Recalling and understanding the past 
is essential in order to judge the 
present. Knowledge of history 
(including scientific and technological 
history) and geography has a dual 
function as a guide in time andspace 
which is essential to everyone if they 
are to come to terms with their roots, 
develop a sense of belonging and to 
understand others. It is small wonder 
that the hallmark of authoritarian 
regimes and dictatorships has been 
the undermining and falsifying of the 
teaching of history. The penalty 
society pays for forgetting the past is 
to lose a common heritage of 
bearings and reference points, it is 
not surprising that, not knowing the 
history of European civilisation, that 
such expressions as, "being out in 
the wilderness", "having a cross to 
bear", "Eureka!", "the judgment of 
Solomon" or "the tower of Babel" 
have lost trieir meaning. 
In the end, it is by presenting the 
world not as a completed 
construction, but as something to be 
constructed, that an instinct for the 
future will be cultivated. 
School must not only allow for critical 
faculties to be developed at all levels, 
among both pupils and teachers, it 
must also encourage ft Its open 
environment, cooperation 
requirements and duty to prepare 
young people for employment must 
not be allowed to prevent it from 
accomplishing its main function, 
however, whicri is to guide the young people in its care in their personal 
and social development. This White 
Paper contends that in tomorrow's 
society these two demands will be 
even more compatible than at 
present. 
111. A second response: 
developing everyone's 
emptoyabllity and capacity for 
economic fife 
One of the central issues this White 
Paper seeks to answer, is how best 
to use education and training to 
commit European countries to a 
process of job creation, whilst taking 
control of the internationalization of 
the economy and the arrival of new 
technologies 
Two questions follow: what are the 
skills required and how can they be 
acquired? 
A. What are the sJtiDs required? 
In today's world, knowledge in the 
broad sense can be defined as an 
acquired body of fundamental and 
technical knowledge, alfied to social 
skills, It is the balance of this 
knowledge acquired through the 
formal education system, in the 
family, on the job and through various 
information networks, which make it 
the broad and transferable body of 
knowledge which is most favourable 
to employment. 
Bask: knowledge is the foundation on 
which individual employability is built. 
This is par excellence the domain of 
the formal education and training 
system. A good balance has to be 
struck in basic education between 
acquiring knowledge and 
methodological skills whicri enable a 
person to learn alone. It is these 
which today need to be developed. 
-12-
Over the past few years, European 
countries have opted to re-centre 
basic teaching on the "three Rs" -
reading, writing and arithmetic - in 
order to prevent school failure which 
plays a major role in social exclusion. 
An early start in education i.e. at the 
pre-school age is also becoming 
more common. Pupils who receive 
pre-school education are seen to 
succeed on average better during 
their school careers than others. They 
take their studies further and seem to 
integrate more easily. 
Language learning also needs to be 
encouraged. A project entitled 
Euroling is being carried out in this 
context under the SOCRATES 
programme and has produced 
teaching material in three languages 
(Italian, Spanish, Dutch) for nursery 
and primary schools. Early teaching 
of language, starting at nursery 
school, should become part of basic 
knowledge. The European 
Commission believes that it is 
necessary to make proficiency in at 
least two foreign languages at school 
a priority, as is proposed in the 
second part of this White Paper. 
Technical knowledge is knowledge 
which permits clear identification with 
an occupation. It is acquired partly 
within the vocational education and 
training system and partly on the job. 
This knowledge has substantially 
changed with the advent of 
information technology and the 
demarcation lines between 
occupations are breaking down. 
Within this framework of knowledge, 
certain "key skills" are central to a 
number of different occupations and 
therefore essential in order to be able 
to change jobs. Basic training in 
information technology across the 
board has therefore become a 
necessity. However, acquiring technical 
knowledge should not be restricted to 
leading-edge or newly-emerged 
sectors. There are long-established, 
but still efficient sectors of industry, 
with a genuine tradition of 
competence totally in keeping with 
the notion of work-shadowing and 
mentoring. This tradition is still a valid 
source of inspiration and produces 
workers who have mastered all the 
different facets of their craft and who 
are able to pass them on to others. 
Social aptitudes concern inter­
personal skills, i.e. behaviour at work 
and a whole range of skills 
corresponding to the level of 
responsibility held, such as the ability 
to cooperate and work as part of a 
team, creativeness and the quest for 
quality. Full mastery of these skills 
can be acquired only in a working 
environment and therefore mainly on 
the job. 
The employability of a person and 
their capacity to adapt are linked to 
the way they are able to combine 
these different types of knowledge 
and build on them. In this context, 
individuals become the principal 
constructor of their own abilities and 
can combine the skills acquired 
through the traditional institutional 
routes, with those acquired through 
their occupational experience and 
those acquired by virtue of their 
personal training effort 
By diversifying education provision, 
building bridges between various 
channels, increasing pre-occupational 
experience and by opening up the 
potential for mobility as widely as 
possible, people can build up and 
build on their level of employability 
and better control their career. 
13-
B. How can a person become 
employable? 
1. The traditional route: the paper 
qualification 
People today opt for general 
education or vocational training 
routes leading to paper qualifications, 
remaining as long as possible within 
the education system. 
There is indeed a trend in all the 
Member States to lengthen the period 
of study and strong social pressure to 
broaden access to higher education 
and thus raise the level achieved by 
the greatest number. This also 
concerns young people who have 
opted for vocational courses and 
even those who have had work 
experience. This situation raises 
problems for the attractiveness of 
vocational education, which in several 
Member States is considered as a 
'second best' option offering limited 
career prospects. Young people 
therefore tend to go for general 
education at the risk of feeling 
overqualified in their jobs. 
This type of behaviour by young 
people is rational because level of 
study and the paper qualification still 
provide far and away the best 
passport to employment. However, 
from the social point of view this 
raises problems. Young people who 
have lower levels of qualification are 
forced into lower-qualified jobs than 
those to which they hoped to aspire. 
This "domino effect" also affects 
those with few or no paper 
qualifications and becomes a major 
factor of social exclusion. Over-
qualification for jobs also hinders 
career progress. 
In most European systems, paper 
qualifications are designed with a 
view to filtering out at the top the elite which will lead administration and 
companies, researchers and teaching 
staff. In certain countries, they are 
even the quasi-absolute reference 
points for assessing competence, 
which makes it a powerful incentive 
to pursue long-term studies and to 
take one's chance in very selective 
courses. Moreover, a worker's 
occupational status is in many 
countries defined by the diploma 
held. This link between paper 
qualification and status, however 
logical it may be, accentuates the 
internal lack of flexibility of the labour 
market. 
It could be considered that society 
"locks out" in this way much talent 
which is frequently unconventional 
but innovatory and that it therefore 
produces an elite which is not truly 
representative of the available human 
resource potential. This point of view 
is borne out by a number of recent 
surveys which show that over a long 
period the more elitist types of 
training are more often than not the 
prerogative of the upper managerial 
or intellectual strata. 
This is not, of course, to say that the 
paper qualification is not a valid 
route. The substantial efforts made by 
the Member States, and supported by 
the Community through SOCRATES 
and LEONARDO to strengthen initial 
training must of course be pursued. 
But in parallel with this, we need to 
make the best use of skills and 
abilities irrespective of how they were 
obtained and to enhance everyone's 
potential by catering more closely for 
the needs of the individual, business 
and industry. What is needed is a 
more open and flexible approach. 
Such an approach should also 
encourage lifelong learning by 
allowing for and encouraging a 
continuing process of skill acquisition. 
14 
2. The modern route: integration 
within a network which 
cooperates, which educates. 
trains and learns 
If people are to exercise their 
responsibilities to a greater extent in 
shaping their skills and abilities they 
must first be able to enter institutional 
training systems more easily. This 
implies familiarity with them, broader 
access and better mobility between 
the different courses. 
There are two possible answers. 
Either the level of paper qualifications 
is maintained, in which case the 
number of young people having no 
paper qualifications increases, or else 
the number of paper qualifications or 
the number of young people holding 
such qualifications has to be 
increased, thus inevitably placing 
question marks around the quality of 
those qualifications. 
These are questions which recur in 
all Member States, as does the 
question of the high number of young 
people leaving education without 
qualifications and with a feeling of 
personal failure, who are 
consequently vulnerable on the 
employment market through the total 
lack of any recognised skills. 
This White Paper suggests a third 
way forward, which already exists in 
some Member States. This solution 
does not detract from the paper 
qualification, but on the contrary 
helps to maintain its quality and is to 
recognise partial skills on the basis of 
a reliable accreditation system. Those 
rejected by the formal system of 
education would be encouraged to 
cultivate the skills they have. This 
does not mean qualifications in the 
broad sense but skills based on 
specific fundamental or vocational 
know-how (knowledge of a language, a given level in maths, accounting, 
using a spreadsheet, word 
processing, etc.). These partial skills 
could also be possessed by adults 
who have some expertise due to their 
own self-teaching efforts (e.g. 
computer skills) and who could be 
encouraged to hone these skills. 
Accreditation of this kind could, of 
course, lead to the recognition on a 
broader basis of the technical 
knowledge acquired in a firm, which 
is currently more often than not 
evaluated solely for the company's 
use. 
However, whether the knowledge and 
skills are acquired within a formal 
system of education or in a less 
formal way, the individual still needs 
to be assisted. The most efficient 
education and training approaches 
are those which operate within a 
network. These networks may be 
institutional (education and training 
establishments cooperating with 
families or firms) or informal networks 
of knowledge which are rapidly 
springing up (adult education 
establishments, education 
cooperatives, etc.). 
a) Promoting access to education 
and training 
Once the basics have been secured, 
two conditions would appear to be 
necessary if individuals are to be able 
to exercise responsibility in building 
up their abilities: 
adequate information and 
guidance; 
access to training along with 
all the opportunities available 
for mobility. 
15 
i) Information and guidance 
constitute the first condition. 
For a young person seeking to 
find their way, for an adult undergoing 
vocational or continuing training, 
there is the problem of an abundance 
of provision and its presentation. The 
citizen of Europe has better 
information when choosing a hotel or 
a restaurant then when choosing a 
type of training. 
Being better informed means being in 
a position to survey training provision. 
This was stressed in the report of the 
Advisory Group on Competitiveness 
which proposed the setting up of 
'knowledge resource centres' to act 
as an interface between the supply of 
and demand for information on 
training. 
It also implies an independent 
assessment of training, i.e. an 
assessment made outside the 
education system. This assessment 
should be simple, establish a ranking 
and make clear comparisons, making 
it possible to establish the real 
contribution to employability made by 
training. It is also important to 
evaluate how training reduces the 
segregation in the labour market by 
encouraging more women to enter 
traditionally male-dominated 
occupations. Such an assessment 
process would remove the first 
obstacle to guidance. 
The second obstacle to guidance is 
the problem of knowing how 
occupations will develop and what 
skills will be required. Asking this 
question at the European level would 
make it possible to have a 
comparative outlook which is broader 
and which could contribute to finding 
a solution. The third obstacle lies in attitudes. 
Significant progress has been made, 
but social origins continue to mark, 
indeed condition, choices made by 
individuals which can work against 
their social advancement. 
i) The second condition is broad 
and open access serving 
individual aptitudes and needs. 
Fulfilling this condition implies 
mobility between educational 
establishments. This mobility has 
markedly increased in the Member 
States, a trend which is to be 
encouraged. 
Mobility has also increased 
throughout Europe and the 
Community has made a significant 
contribution to this process, 
particularly through the ERASMUS 
programme. Yet mobility levels 
remain unsatisfactory. 
There are two main obstacles to the 
occupational mobility of people, be 
they workers - employees, teachers, 
researchers, unemployed people - or 
those in training, particularly students. 
First of all, there is the major issue of 
securing genuine recognition of 
knowledge within the EU. Mutual 
recognition of diplomas is guaranteed 
for the regulated professions and has 
been confirmed through Community 
case law. But recognition of 
diplomas still comes up against 
restrictions for other occupations. The 
diploma signifies academic 
recognition, but the component parts 
which make up the diploma are not 
recognised, except when it is 
encouraged by the Community 
through cooperation between higher 
education establishments and so 
through Community funding. An 
16 
example is the cooperation between 
over 40 translation/interpreting 
schools within the Tradutech network, 
which has since 1986 provided 
mobility for teachers and students by 
applying the European Course Credit 
Transfer System (ECTS) as part of 
ERASMUS. 
Validation of occupational 
achievements, outside the paper 
qualification, between one Member 
State and another is even more 
difficult to achieve. 
Legal and administrative barriers are 
the second major obstacle to 
transnational mobility. Depending on 
the situation and the Member State 
concerned, these barriers stem from 
social protection provisions 
(particularly as regards pension 
schemes), right of residence 
(especially in the case of persons 
who are legally resident in a Member 
State but are nationals of a non-EU 
country) and fiscal regulations (e.g. 
those applying to study grants or 
research bursaries). The fact that 
national higher education study 
grants are not transferable from one 
country to another is an additional 
barrier to mobility. 
The move towards the learning 
society means doing away With 
barriers to the physical mobility of 
people in Europe in an age when, 
due to the new communications 
technologies, instant non-physical 
mobility is a reality. 
There must be access to 
training throughout life. 
The conclusions of both the Essen 
and the Cannes European Councils 
stressed the need to develop 
continuing training, as have the 
authorities in the Member States and 
the social partners. Yet there is no sign of much progress 
in recent years. On the contrary, the 
bite of the recession, the presence of 
surplus labour market and the arrival 
of overqualified young persons on the 
same labour market have done 
nothing to spur a training drive by the 
business sector, particularly for the 
benefit of the older and less-qualified 
employees. Inequalities in access to 
training between different types of 
companies and groups of employees 
persist. In particular, this works to 
the disadvantage of workers in SMEs 
and under- or unqualified workers. 
This also affects women, either 
because they are under-represented 
in senior management positions and 
in technology-intensive sectors, or 
because of the employment status of 
many of them (for example part-time 
workers). However, some progress 
has been made, for example 
"IDEALS", a project supported under 
the Community's Telematics 
applications' programme, has, in 
conjunction with SMEs and technical 
teaching establishments, made it 
possible to develop training for SMEs 
(data bases of course modules 
tailored to the requirements of the 
different SMEs involved), at the place 
of work or at local teaching centres. 
The overall training effort remains too 
modest The emergence of the 
information society and the resulting 
changes in the content and 
organisation of work nevertheless 
make it urgent to improve workers' 
access to training. They also make it 
necessary to enhance its content, 
which should not stop at mere 
adaptation to a new job. 
All the opportunities offered by 
the information society must 
be seized. 
What is at stake must be seen from 
the point of view of both the 
- 17 
education and the business sector. 
The facts are there. Competition from 
the USA is stiff generally in 
multimedia and in multimedia for 
education in particular. Europe's 
weakness does not lie in a lack of 
creativity. Far from it But European 
inventors and industrialists are 
seriously hampered by the high 
degree of fragmentation of the market 
caused by the cultural and linguistic 
diversity of Europe. It is consequently 
difficult to make local, regional and 
national investment cost-effective, 
hence the.case for encouraging the 
preparation of products which can be 
sold not only in Europe but 
throughout the world. 
Teachers must also be given the 
opportunity to adapt to new 
technologies and to their 
consequences. The penetration rate 
of educational multimedia at school is 
still too slow. There are several 
reasons for this. The quality of the 
products available today is not yet 
good enough to prompt teachers to 
use multimedia techniques. The 
development of multimedia 
educational software which the 
European Commission is supporting 
through the creation of the Task 
Force on educational multimedia 
software is, therefore, particularly 
important In addition, teaching staff 
do not always have the right type and 
the right amount of hardware. Finally, 
teachers are not, in the main, 
sufficiently well-versed in the use of 
educational multimedia techniques. 
The information society also raises 
another question. As stressed by the 
EU's Committee of the Regions in its 
opinion (September 1995) on 
"Education and training in the face of 
technical and social challenge: first 
thoughts" the question is how, "to 
promote equal access to education 
for men and women alike, and to ensure that disadvantaged groups 
(rural communities, the elderly, ethnic 
minorities and immigrants) do not 
become second-class citizens as 
regards access to the new 
technologies and opportunities for 
learning. ". 
The Commission believes that there 
remains too much inequality in the 
access to training and to the labour 
market and that the possibilities 
offered by the information society 
must be fully used to reduce them. 
Information technology will certainly 
permit substantial growth in all forms 
of distance teaching. This was a point 
made by the European Parliament in 
its July 1993 resolution on open and 
distance learning, on the basis of the 
report by Mrs D. Pack. 
The achievements of the Open 
University, which has for many years 
developed distance learning on a 
substantial scale, should also be 
mentioned in this context. 
Lastly, specific career access 
pathways enabling marginal or 
excluded sectors of the population to 
find subsequently either training or a 
work-related activity still need to be 
developed. This White Paper 
considers this to be a priority. There 
has been a substantial effort in the 
Member States to set up specialised 
routes and arrangements for bringing 
marginalized groups back into the 
mainstream. The results, particulariy 
in the problems of re-integrating 
young people, suggest that there is 
need for "second chance" 
arrangements, for which the 
European Union could provide some 
support, as proposed in the second 
part of this White Paper. 
18 
b) Recognition of acquired skills 
In the learning society individuals 
must be able to have their basic, 
technical and occupational skills 
validated, how they were acquired. 
There are already instances of this: 
the driving licence, English (TEFL) 
and maths (Kangaroo test). A 
personal skills card providing a record 
of skills and knowledge accredited in 
this way should be available to all 
those who want one. 
This could be applied to certain 
fundamental areas of knowledge 
which can be easily broken down into 
different levels (languages, maths, 
management, informatics, law, 
economics, etc.). It could also be 
applied to technical areas of 
knowledge which are assessed in 
companies (accounting, financing, 
exporting, etc.) and even to 
occupational areas which cut across 
a number of different disciplines 
(sense of order, certain areas of 
decision-making, etc.). In this way, for 
instance, someone with no paper 
qualifications can approach a 
prospective employer, show that they 
have accredited drafting, language, 
word processing and spreadsheet 
skills, and thus attract interest in the 
range of skills they have put together, 
even though they do not have the 
piece of paper giving them the status 
of a qualified secretary. There are 
other examples, such as 
management and computing. 
A number of skill accreditation and 
assessment systems developed for 
their own purposes by companies in 
Europe, could also be adopted for 
general use subject to validation by 
experts. 
An accreditation system of this kind, 
on a voluntary basis, widely available 
in Europe and involving universities, chambers of commerce and specific 
business sectors, would complement 
the formal qualifications systems and 
would in no way be a replacement. 
The introduction of new methods of 
validating skills, as proposed in the 
second part of this White Paper, 
would be a step towards the learning 
society. 
c) Positioning the individual 
within a supporting cooperative 
network 
While reliance on a single institution 
to build up employability is an 
increasingly unsatisfactory option, 
people cannot be left to fend for 
themselves either. The indications are 
that it is by being positioned in co­
operative a network that people will 
be best served in educational terms. 
i) Cooperation between 
institutions and others 
concerned. 
Adapting and improving 
education and training systems has to 
be strengthened through 
partnerships: no single institution, 
school or company can claim to be 
able to develop the skills needed for 
achieving employability. 
In early childhood, it is cooperation 
between school and family which best 
secures the acquisition of basic 
knowledge. Special attention must be 
devoted in this connection to the role 
of the family, particularly in the 
disadvantaged areas. Families must 
be closely associated in the operation 
of "second chance" institutions and 
be provided with support 
programmes. 
At a later stage, this cooperation 
takes place between education 
19 
institutions and enterprises. In many 
Member States on-and-off-the-job 
training is being developed, 
particularly apprenticeship, which is 
still the most effective form of this 
cooperation: Apprenticeship should 
be encouraged at European level and 
apprenticeship pathways made 
possible between the Member States. 
In the second part of this White 
Paper it is accordingly proposed to 
develop apprenticeship/traineeshipat 
European level. 
Generally speaking, it is to be hoped 
that partnerships between companies 
arid education establishments can be 
established. 
Cooperation of this type is catching 
on, particularly through the 
contribution of Community action in 
the COMETT programme. Mention 
can be made of ECATA (European 
Consortium for Advanced Training in 
Aeronautics), a transnational project 
bringing together seven universities 
from several countries and eleven 
European manufacturers within a 
partnership to train young engineers, 
with the training being certified by a 
diploma. There is also Biomerit, 
involving some thirty-three partners -
universities, firms, particularly SMEs -
from seven European Union 
countries. 
The challenge of cooperation 
between education establishments 
and enterprises is to accept 
enterprises as full partners in the 
training process. It is no longer 
possible to consider the company's 
role as solely that of recruiter of 
trained individuals or supplier of extra 
training. The enterprise is a major 
generator of knowledge and new 
know-how. 
It should be noted that trends in 
training processes (particularly in the transversal areas: environment, 
health, consumption) is increasingly 
accompanied and sustained by a very 
broad partnership involving, for 
instance, local authorities, consumer 
associations and specialised bodies 
(tourism, energy, environment). 
ii) A network which is teaching-
oriented and is itself a learning 
system. 
As stressed by Carnoy and 
Castells (in "Sustainable flexibility: a 
prospective study on work, family and 
society in the information age" of the 
School of Education, University of 
Stanford, Berkeley University, April 
1995), this condition applies to 
cooperation within organisations, 
cooperation between networks of 
organisations and cooperation at local 
level. 
Internal training networks 
In an enterprise it is acknowledged 
that working as a member of a team 
which has been given responsibility, 
makes it possible to improve the 
quality of production. Quality circles, 
job enrichment, plans bringing 
together workers, production and 
marketing managers, have all 
enabled working groups to learn and 
to teach, bringing benefits to 
everyone. On the basis of 
occupational experience, such 
cooperation has made it possible to 
transform automatic know-how into a 
capacity for autonomy, i.e. into a 
genuine form of knowledge. 
This is becoming more widespread 
even outside quality circles. One 
example, concerns a leading 
European car manufacturer's plant in 
which a problem of blistering on car 
roofs was solved by having the 
workers themselves do the statistical 
20 
surveys, monitoring and analysis of 
the problem (FORCE programme). 
This cooperation is beginning to bring 
about a radical change in the nature 
of vocational training in enterprises, 
which is increasingly taking place on 
the basis of a training plan which the 
workers themselves and their 
representatives have been involved in 
preparing. In the most progressive 
and most efficient companies, this 
training is organised less and less 
around the acquisition of skills for a 
specific task or even a clearly-defined 
job. Such specific type of training is 
now more generally used to complete 
the training of young people entering 
the company straight from school or 
university. 
Teaching methods in teaching 
establishments should also move in 
the direction of learning how to 
cooperate. 
There have already been some 
notable achievements. For instance, 
the European School Project' initiated 
by the Centre for Technical and 
Collaborative Innovation at the 
University of Amsterdam, involves 
400 schools. It uses the "teletrip" 
principle, an educational project 
designed by teaching staff working 
together and covering information 
research, the exchange of results and 
problem solving. Several hundred 
"teletrips" have taken place in a 
number of different languages, 
involving thousands of students. 
External cooperation networks 
Throughout Europe, there is a move 
towards local cooperation (in science 
and technology parks, urban multi-
site technology zones, etc.), based 
on the exchange of information and 
training between research institutes, 
companies and teaching establishments. In involving all the 
key interests, particularly national 
and local authorities, such local 
networks represent another factor 
promoting individual employability! 
Similarly, the networks linking 
individuals and collective bodies 
involved in local development, 
particularly those active in community 
life, often enable jobs to be found, 
which, although they are of low 
added value, help to prevent the 
problem of exclusion. In general, 
these networks aim not only to find 
constructive employment for young 
people and others excluded from the 
labour market, but to teach them to 
communicate, to do something useful 
and to change their social 
environment. Their motives are 
altruistic, generally unrelated to paid 
employment but give them an 
opportunity to acquire the key skills in 
the learning society. 
Regional and local cooperation is 
therefore of prime importance in 
enhancing employability. It enables 
the creation of jobs with high added 
value to be combined with the 
development of policies to help 
marginalised groups to integrate. It is 
also one of the main ways of 
generalising vocational training and 
strengthening cohesion in the 
European Union. 
Local knowledge exchange networks 
are spreading across Europe, in 
France, Germany, Austria, Belgium, 
Spain, Switzerland, enabling people 
to share skills and train themselves 
by 'exchanging knowledge', everyone 
taking their turn to be first teacher, 
then pupil. There is a wide variety of 
areas which are conducive to 
exchange, ranging from informatics to 
languages and even chess games. 
Significantly, these networks are in 
general involved in eliminating 
-21 
illiteracy and providing support for 
school work. This has served as the 
platform for the development of an 
informatics-based method for 
managing skills, designed to develop 
group training. This method is 
currently being tried out by several 
enterprises. 
IV. Directions for the future A. The end of debate 
educational principles on 
Heated debates concerning the 
organization of education and training 
systems - including debates on 
content and training methods - have 
taken place over the last few years. 
Most of these debates now appear to 
have come to an end. 
The crucial problem of employment in 
a permanently changing economy 
compels the education and training 
system to change. The design of 
appropriate education and training 
strategies to address work and 
employment issues is, therefore, a 
central preoccupation. 
Everyone is convinced of the need for 
change, the proof being the demise 
of the major ideological disputes on 
the objectives of education. 
The central question now is how to 
move towards greater flexibility in 
education and training systems, 
taking take account of the diversity 
of people's demands. Debate within 
the Union must now focus on this 
priority issue. 
The diversity of current educational 
practice within the Member States 
shows that responses to this 
question are already emerging. 
Major developments inJhe adaptation 
of education and training are taking 
place in the following three main 
areas: greater autonomy for those 
involved in training; awareness of the 
need to evaluate the effectiveness of 
education; and the realization that 
disadvantaged groups need special 
attention. A broad knowledge base and 
training for employment are no 
longer two contradictory or 
separate things. There is 
increasing recognition for the 
importance of general 
knowledge in using vocational 
skills. 
Bridges are being built 
between school and the 
business sector. These show 
that the ideological and 
cultural barriers which 
separated education and 
enterprise are breaking down, 
benefiting both. In line with the 
traditions in the Member 
States, this cooperation is 
reflected In initial and 
continuing training. 
The principle of equal rights in 
education is being applied 
increasingly in the context of 
equality of opportunity, 
including positive 
discrimination in favour of 
those at a disadvantage in 
order to prevent under-
achievement at school. 
The dawning of the information 
society, which initially caused 
misgivings within the teaching 
profession, has now revealed 
new demand for education and 
training and has started to 
renew teaching approaches, 
22 
B. while facilitating the 
development of contacts and 
links between teachers and 
institutions on a European 
scale. 
The central question: towards 
greater flexibility 
The current structure of education 
and training institution must change 
to meet the needs of different groups. 
These institutions remain too rigid to 
educate and train citizens or workers 
for permanent employment. Even 
though some institutions or teachers 
are experimenting with new 
approaches, they remain too isolated. 
There needs to be a commitment to 
greater flexibility to meet greater and 
more diverse demands. 
How can this be achieved? An urgent 
debate on this issue is needed based 
on some key questions. 
How can the development of 
schooling and access to higher 
education for more people, be 
reconciled with maintaining 
quality in education? 
How can the purposes of 
education be adapted to the 
diversity of demands, whilst 
their remains some reluctance 
in education to differentiate 
between its clientele? 
How can the status of 
teachers and trainers be 
maintained and improved 
whilst motivating them to meet 
the manifold needs of the 
learning society? 
How can teachers and trainers 
be prepared for the 
development of the purposes of education and the 
consequent transformation of 
teaching methods and tools? 
How can the conditions for life­
long learning be created, 
namely, the on-going access 
to the renewing of skills and 
the acquisition of new 
knowledge? 
C. Action in the Member States 
Significant developments are taking 
place throughout Europe. All 
education systems are seeking to 
improve quality, to develop training 
provision, to provide life-long 
learning, and to improve the use of 
financial resources. 
1. The search for quality 
In initial education, the focus is 
shifting back to acquiring and 
mastering basic skills, particularly the 
"three Rs" - reading, writing and 
arithmetic. There is also a general 
movement towards advanced learning 
of foreign languages. Member States 
are also seeking to familiarise young 
people with new information 
technologies. 
Teachers and trainers are developing 
new innovative approaches both 
inside and outside the institutional 
education system. At school, this 
involves various methods e.g Decroly 
(Belgium), Steiner (Germany), 
Montessori (Italy), and Freinet 
(France). Innovatory methods are 
also emerging for adult education, 
e.g. the adult education schools or 
'Outward Bound' courses as 
developed in the United Kingdom, 
offering exercises and approaches 
which transform the content of 
traditional continuing training by 
seeking to adapt behavioural patterns 
rather than abstract knowledge. 
23 
All these experiments show teachers 
and trainers possess genuine 
creativeness waiting to express itself. 
Teachers and trainers in the field are 
usually ahead of the education 
systems and it is among their ranks 
that the pioneers of the learning 
society are to be found. 
At higher education levels, trends 
towards longer studies and wider 
access for a greater number, are 
clear signs of an overall increase in 
the quality of human capital. 
However, all higher education 
systems face the problem of tackling 
this sudden numerical increase, 
while maintaining the quality of their 
qualifications. 
2. The search for new types of 
qualifications 
All Member States consider the links 
between education and training as 
being of key significance. Some 
Member States are seeking to 
provide for the acquisition of basic 
skills within the education system 
placing an emphasis on 
trainee/apprenticeship schemes. 
Some have opted for twinning 
arrangements between schools and 
businesses. The main concern being 
both to place young people in a "work 
situation" while maintaining the 
quality of teaching. Other Member 
States prefer to delay the initial 
vocational training phase. 
The involvement of businesses and 
the social partners in organising 
initial training and young people's 
transition to working life appears to 
be an established trend, notably in 
the form of on-and-off-the-job training 
(for instance in the "dual" system). 
Some Member States are trying to 
develop "re-integration" or 
"guaranteed training" structures, which aim is to provide young job-
market entrants lacking qualifications 
with another opportunity to acquire 
indispensable vocational and basic 
skills. 
Several Member States are debating 
the processes of certification, 
validation and recognition of skills 
acquired, in particular those obtained 
in a work situation, as traditional 
processes are often too formal and 
rigid. 
3. The development of continuing 
training 
The concept of key skills is spreading 
throughout training. Occupations and 
qualifications are becoming more 
flexible. All Member States believe 
that the separation between 
education and vocational training is 
becoming less and less clear. 
The widespread growth of social 
exclusion and the mid-term 
demographic outlook, have prompted 
most Member States develop their 
adult education, particularly at local 
level. 
Ln several Member States, training 
arrangements are emerging on the 
basis of a joint approach between the 
social partners, involving discussion, 
negotiation and even management of 
training issues. In view of the shared 
interests in, for instance, on-and-off-
the-job training and arrangements 
combining working time and training, 
the collective agreement approach at 
different levels is becoming more 
noticeable in a number of Member 
States. 
4. New methods of funding and 
evaluation 
Some Member States are trying out 
new methods for funding education 
24 
and training. These range from 
educational vouchers to co-funding of 
continuing training, where those 
involved themselves bear some of the 
cost (through tax allowances, 
subsidised loans or the introduction of 
a "training fund"). 
The search for new forms of funding 
for education and training is set in a 
context where, even though they 
occupy a major position in public 
spending, there has been a certain 
retrenchment over the past few years. 
The debate now in progress in 
Member States on the public funds 
and resources to be devoted to 
education and training is being 
accompanied by an increased desire 
for greater transparency of the 
systems and, above all, for evaluation 
of the cost effectiveness of public 
expenditure in this field. The problem 
is to obtain reliable reference 
benchmarks and, above all, data on 
private funding (households, 
companies, etc.). At a time when the 
discussion on transfers of funds is 
picking up speed in all Member 
States, those in positions of 
responsibility are showing increasing 
interest in improving cost-benefit 
appraisal methods. 
D. New Developments 
In the light of these changes and 
experiences, new developments can 
be seen clearly to be going in three 
main directions. can adapt better to meet modern 
needs. 
There is the question of whether to 
give greater autonomy to schools. 
Experience has shown that the most 
decentralised systems are also the 
most flexible, the quickest to adapt 
and hence have the greatest 
propensity to develop new forms of 
social partnership. 
In the field of continuing training, this 
necessary autonomy must be part of 
the process of negotiation between 
the social partners at various levels 
(company, sectoral, regional, inter-
sectoral), the essential aim being to 
ensure that all workers, particularly 
employees in the SMEs, have access 
to training. 
The second new development is 
evaluation, which is needed to justify 
the essential increase in funding. 
Evaluation is equally relevant in 
ascertaining how effectively education 
and training cater for the needs of 
target groups as well as in the search 
for ways of improving achievement at 
school, integration into working life 
and vocational retraining. Education 
can also help to tailor more effectively 
both initial and continuing vocational 
training to the requirements of the 
employment market, characterised as 
it is at present by a high rate of 
unemployment and a shortage of 
labour in certain sectors and certain 
trades. 
The first concerns the increase in 
autonomy for those involved in 
education and training. 
It is by giving greater autonomy to 
those responsible for education and 
a clear understanding of its purpose 
that education and training systems Evaluation can enable continuing 
training to be considered as an 
investment made by enterprises and 
by workers. In addition, money spent 
on in-company retraining or 
apprenticeship, for example, 
constitutes an asset for the company 
alongside its other fixed assets e.g. 
research equipment. Such 
25 
Investment should therefore be 
treated in the same way for tax 
purposes without prejudicing the free 
movement of workers. This is 
proposed in the second part of this 
White Paper. 
Evaluation can also help to publicise 
and disseminate experience and best 
practice, which is why in the second 
part of this White Paper setting up an 
observation system to monftor 
innovatory vocational training 
practices is proposed. 
Finally, the third new development 
concerns the attention being given to 
disadvantaged groups. 
It is becoming increasingly clear that 
those not integrated into society 
should receive special attention, so 
as to give them basic skills, and 
cultivate fundamental values. As the 
European Parliament stressed in its 
initial resolution of March 1993, 
based on Mrs Dûhrkop-Dùhrkop's 
report on the schooling of immigrant 
children, school plays a vital role in 
social integration-
Positive discrimination in favour of 
those at a social disadvantage is 
essential, particularty in the problem 
suburbs and inner-city areas. 
Otherwise, the risk is that the social 
rift widens even further. These areas 
must benefit from increasing public 
aid and the concentration of 
institutional means to implement 
policies based on local administration 
and the social fabric, in particular 
local associations. They should be 
given the most highly qualified 
teachers - not inexperienced or 
temporary staff - using new 
information technology. Support at 
school must be strengthened in close 
conjunction with families. Moving towards the learning society 
is a twofold challenge. 
The first challenge is economic. The 
EL), as the world's leading exporter, 
has quite logically opted to open up 
to the international economy. This 
means it has to continually strengthen 
its economic competitiveness as the 
route to achieving the "...sustainable 
and non-inflationary growth 
respecting the environment. ,n and the 
"high level of employment and of 
social protection..." set out in Art. 2 of 
the Treaty establishing the European 
Community. 
As stressed in the Commission's 
White Paper "Growth, 
competitiveness and employment" its 
human resources constitute the EU's 
main economic asset. More recently, 
the Commission Communication "An 
industrial competitiveness policy for 
the European Union" clearly set out 
the terms of the issues at stake: "The 
European Union's greatest asset for 
boosting its industrial competitiveness 
is its capacity to generate and use 
knowledge, with the aid of the great 
potential of its labour force and the 
social consensus laying the 
foundation for harnessing it." 
Europe must invest in education to 
raise the general level of skills of 
employees and the working 
population, through basic education 
and by fostering the acquisition of 
new knowledge throughout life. This 
intangible investment must make it 
possible to meet the challenge posed 
by developments in the labour market 
i.e. the mismatch between 
qualifications sought and 
qualifications available, demographic 
change, the growth of service sector 
activities and changes in the 
organisation and content of work. 
-26-
All this is accompanied on the social 
front by an urgent need to avert a rift 
in society. Social exclusion has 
become widespread in Europe in 
recent years and there is no need to 
dwell on the consequences of this 
situation. 
Clearly, a special effort has to be 
made for the most vulnerable 
sections of the population, particularly 
in the urban areas hardest hit by 
unemployment. This effort depends 
on initial and continuing training, as 
well as measures to give young 
people leaving school with no 
qualifications a second chance. 
Naturally, everything starts at school, 
which is where the learning society 
has its roots. If this White Paper has 
placed so much emphasis on the role 
of individuals as the main protagonist 
in that society, through his self-
reliance and the thirst for knowledge 
which will enable them to take charge 
of their own future, it is only to 
highlight the role of school in this 
process. School has to adapt, but 
nevertheless remains the 
irreplaceable instrument of everyone's 
personal development and social 
integration. Much is asked of it 
because it has such so much to offer. 
27 
PART TWO: BUILDING THE LEARNING SOCIETY 
Action guideline proposals 
The learning society will not come about overnight. It cannot come about by 
declaration. It has to emerge from an ongoing process. This White Paper does not 
purport to present a package of measures. The Commission neither has nor 
proposes any miracle solution. The White Paper merely offers a basis for thorough 
consideration and outlines some courses of action. 
The scale of the changes in progress nonetheless requires an all-round effort if 
Europe wishes to make the urgent need to invest more and more efficiently in 
knowledge something more than a mere slogan. 
What is now needed is a different approach for three reasons: 
giving priority to quality in education and training has become vital to the 
EU's competitiveness and to the preservation of its social model; indeed 
Europe's very identity over the next millennium depends on this; 
the demand for education and training is continually increasing; on the 
supply side, the emergence of the information society is providing a new 
potential; 
social exclusion has reached such intolerable proportions that the rift 
between those who have knowledge and those who do not, has to be 
narrowed. 
Efforts are being made in all Member States to improve the general level of skills, 
starting with an effort to give back to school its crucial role in society and to 
strengthen its role in providing equality of opportunity, in particular between 
women and men. The European Union has done its utmost within its limited 
budgetary and legal framework. No one can question the success of programmes 
like ERASMUS, COMETT and LINGUA which have served hundreds of thousands 
of Europeans well and which have helped to bring about a radical change of 
attitude, particularly among the young, for whom Europe has become a reality. 
The guiding principles for these programmes when they were launched in the 
1980s have been carried through to the LEONARDO and SOCRATES 
programmes. In addition, the reforms to the Structural Funds - particularly 
Objective 4 - has made it possible to develop Community initiatives in the form of 
specific programmes such as EMPLOYMENT and ADAPT, which have boosted 
education and training efforts. In addition, the 4th framework research programme 
for the first time makes financial provision for research into education and training. 
The point is not to make a clean sweep of local, national and European 
achievement, and still less to advocate reform of the education systems, but rather 
instead to attempt to put those involved - trainers, companies, public authorities -
on the same wavelength as regards new courses of action which could quickly 
be turned into practical measures. 
-28 
It is for this reason that this White Paper will to launch in 1996, the European 
Year of Lifelong Learning, a debate which, in pursuing common objectives, will 
conform to the principle of subsidiarity and make it easier to distinguish between: 
action to be carried out at local and national level; 
action to be carried out at European level; 
cooperation and support between the EU and its Member States. 
The Commission intends to present the conclusions of this debate and will 
propose guidelines for further action. 
Based on these respective competencies, the principle of subsidiarity is an 
essential part of this forthcoming debate for the following reasons: 
Firstly, the authors of the Treaty state explicitly in Articles 126 and 127 that 
Community action in education and training is to complement and support 
action taken at national level, as responsibility for the content and 
organisation of their education and vocational training systems rests with 
Member States. 
* Secondly, the principle of subsidiarity whereby decisions should be taken 
at the most appropriate level must be a major feature of any action taken 
in education and training and is a major principle of the Treaty. 
* More generally, this principle is particularly appropriate, as the highest 
political level, thus the furthest away from the area of application, should 
only act when individuals, families, and political authorities at all other levels 
cannot. As is shown in the analysis carried out in the first part of this White 
Paper, the move to the learning society must be centred on the individual. 
The Commission is, moreover, fully aware that in several Member States 
responsibility for action lies with the regional or other decentralised 
authorities. 
Let us not forget, however, that to a greater extent than before, promoting the 
European dimension in education and training has become a necessity for 
efficiency in the face of internationalisation and to avoid the risk of a watered-down 
European society. If it is to preserve its diversity, its wealth of traditions and 
structures, Europe has to become - and increasingly so as successive 
enlargements come about - a focal point of action through the essential 
cooperation in these fields between the EU and its Member States. 
As far as procedures are concerned, the Commission hopes that appropriate fora 
can be established in 1996 to discuss fully all the issues arising from the 
establishment of the learning society. One such forum could, for instance, be a 
"Jumbo" Council of Ministers bringing together not only the Ministers of education 
but also those responsible for social affairs and industry. 
The Commission notes with interest that there is a shift in the government 
structures of a number of Member States to bring together the ministries of 
-29-
education with those of research and training, a move which has taken place 
within the Commission itself. 
As far as the funding of future action is concerned, the Commission obviously has 
no intention of interfering with internal decisions of,the Member States, while at the 
same time hoping that priority continues to be given to investment in education 
and training. 
As far as the Community is concerned, the Commission is also aware that in view 
of the financial perspective, additional funding has to be ruled out for the time 
being. It accordingly stresses that the measures proposed generate little cost -
although this does not detract from their innovatory nature - and will be-financed 
by reallocating funds within existing programmes. Wth reference in particular to 
SOCRATES and LEONARDO, a plan of action will be submitted in 1996 around 
the objectives set out in the second part of this White Paper. 
Against this background, the second part of this White Paper presents ideas for 
action to facilitate cooperation between all those concerned or to complement their 
activities, leaving each to exercise their full responsibilities: 
Member States are responsible for shaping and developing the structure, 
organisation and content of their educational and vocational training 
systems. They therefore have a crucial role to play in bringing about the 
learning society; 
educational and training establishments must be strengthened and actively 
participate in setting up cooperation networks involving others concerned; 
enterprises must have an increasing role in training and -must help to 
disseminate any new skills developed from their experience; 
individuals must also be able to enjoy permanent access to a whole range 
of better targeted and more clearly identifiable education and training 
provision, which complements general knowledge and can be acquired 
outside formal systems. 
In order to promote these ideas and to implement practical action, the Commission 
has identified five general objectives which are to: 
encourage the acquisition of new knowledge 
bring schools and the business sector closer together 
combat exclusion 
develop proficiency in three Community languages 
treat capital investment and investment in training on an equal basis. 
For each of these objectives this document puts forward guidelines, suggestions 
and measures which the Community could undertake to complement and support 
-30-
national action. It fonnulates for each general objective a significant and 
experimental project (see box in the text) to point the way forward. 
This project could initially be started up under the SOCRATES and LEONARDO 
programmes and subsequently be fully implemented under the structural initiatives, 
particularly "EMPLOYMENT' (YOUTHSTART) and "ADAPT". As regards 
European-level support, proposals are grouped by theme rather than area 
(education, training). Jhe legal reference basis for each of these proposals will be 
defined if and when a proposal for an appropriate instrument is submitted, 
depending on the reactions from the Member States, the European Parliament and 
other parties interested in this White Paper. 
-31 
I. First general objective 
"ENCOURAGE THE ACQUISITION 
OF NEW KNOWLEDGE" 
Enhancing knowledge - by which we 
mean individuals' general level of 
knowledge - ought to be the top 
priority. To achieve this a large 
number of measures - analyzed in 
the first section of this document - are 
needed, and Member States have 
the main responsibility for putting 
these in place. 
One general and universally 
acknowledged principle must be 
observed: the advent of the learning 
society involves encouraging the 
acquisition of new knowledge. 
A multitude of incentives to learn 
must be provided. 
The improvement of information 
about existing training will be 
facilitated by setting up creation, in 
the countries "Knowledge Resource 
Centres" as proposed in the Ciampi 
report. 
Harnessing the knowledge acquired 
by individuals throughout their life 
must be based on opening up new 
methods of recognising skills, over 
and above paper qualifications and 
initial training, starting at national 
and local level. 
Support for mobility also plays a part 
in encouraging the enhancement of 
knowledge. Geographical mobility 
broadens the individual's horizon, 
stimulates intellectual agility and 
raises the general level of learning. It 
can only reinforce the ability to learn, 
which is so necessary to develop. 
Finally, education and training must 
draw on the new communication 
technologies and harness their full potential. In the long run every class 
should have the necessary equipment 
allowing young people access to the 
world of computers. This means, in 
particular, that Europe must adopt 
new high-quality teaching instruments 
adapted to its educational and 
cultural traditions. 
This White Paper therefore proposes 
launching the following support 
actions at European level: 
A. Recognition of skills 
All European countries are attempting 
to identify "key skills" and the best 
ways of acquiring, assessing and 
certifying them. It is proposed to set 
up a European system to compare 
and disseminate such definitions, 
methods and practices. What does 
this entail? 
The underlying idea (involving 
cooperation between all the European 
players concerned) is as follows: 
first, to pinpoint a number of 
well-defined areas of 
knowledge of a general or 
more specialised nature 
(mathematics, informatics, 
languages, accountancy, 
finance, management, etc.); 
second, devise validation 
systems for each of them; 
third, introduce new, more 
flexible, ways of 
acknowledging skills. 
In complementing formal qualification 
systems, this approach would provide 
individuals with greater independence 
in putting together their own 
qualifications. It will awaken a new 
thirst for education in those not 
wishing or unable to learn in a 
conventional teaching setting. 
32 
If we manage to set up this 
knowledge accreditation system - on 
a voluntary basis - at European level, 
we will have taken a huge stride 
towards the learning society. 
A project will be launched concerning 
the "personal skills cards". This 
document should allow individuals to 
have their knowledge and know-how 
recognised as and when they are 
acquired. It is important to discover, 
through studies and pilot projects, 
what type of data is relevant and to 
consider how individuals could use 
such a card. The aim is not to devise 
a uniform card and impose it on 
Europe, but to contribute to the 
development of such tools, so as to 
progressively arrive at joint standards, 
including standards that cut across a 
number of occupations. 
A European accreditation system 
covering technical and vocational 
skills will be set up (see box) based 
on a cooperative venture involving 
higher education establishments, 
businesses, vocational sectors, local 
chambers of commerce and the 
social partners. 
Finally, support will be given to 
concluding a whole range of 
agreements - at company, branch 
and regional levels etc. 
incorporating the principle of the 
personal skills card. 
B. Mobility 
Student mobility will be made easier. 
In line with the Resolution of the 
European Parliament and the 
Conclusions of the Council of 
Ministers (1993), any students 
obtaining a grant in their own country 
must be able, if they wish, to use it in 
any higher education establishment in 
another Member State prepared to accept them. The Commission will 
submit a proposal to this effect. 
New "masters" level courses will be 
devised, in cooperation with several 
higher education institutions through 
pooling human and material 
resources; these will lead to mutually 
recognized qualifications responding 
to the skill needs of the single 
market. 
Mutual academic and vocational 
recognition will be developed by the 
generation of the system of "credit" 
transfers (European Credit Transfer 
System - ECTS) and the application 
of equivalent methods to vocational 
training. The aim is to obtain mutual 
recognition of training modules, giving 
preference to agreements between 
education and training establishments 
and between economic sectors. 
The obstacles (administrative, legal 
and those connected with social 
protection) acting as a brake on 
exchanges of students, trainees, 
teachers and researchers must be 
removed; the Commission will work 
out specific proposals on the basis of 
guidelines in a Green Paper on 
these matters included in its work 
programme. 
C. Multimedia educational 
software 
As part of the European Year of 
Lifelong Learning (1996), and in 
conjunction with the "multimedia 
educational software" Task Force, 
software development will be 
supported through: 
launching joint calls for 
proposals for the relevant 
Community programmes 
(SOCRATES, LEONARDO, 
ESPRIT, TELEMATIQUE, 
MEDIA II, INFO 2000); 
33 
setting up a mechanism to 
enhance and brand 
educational software and 
European products for use in 
education and training in order 
to facilitate their dissemination. 
34-
Aims Example N°1 
Opening up new avenues for validating skills 
Generate education and training demand from young people or adults 
unable or not wishing to enter either a formal system leading to paper 
qualifications nor to undergo initial vocational training. 
Render it possible for each individual to have partial skills recognised 
under a flexible and permanent system (to be used by each individual 
as desired) for validating knowledge units. 
Identify, assess and reach a common agreement on such knowledge 
units. 
Encourage individuals to assemble their qualifications themselves, 
notably through accreditation of such knowledge units. 
Methods 
Support European cooperation in pinpointing ways of breaking down 
the broad discipline fields into basic units. 
Set up European networks of vocational training centres, businesses 
and vocational sectors making it possible to identify the technical and 
vocational knowledge in greatest demand, the content of essential 
"key skills" and ways to obtaining them. 
Determine the best ways of accrediting knowledge (widely used 
evaluation software packages, evaluators, tests, etc.). 
Unify the projects undertaken along these lines within the overall 
framework of a European accreditation system which will award a 
European label. 
Devise formats for the personal skills card. 
35 
II. Second general objective 
'BRING SCHOOLS AND THE 
BUSINESS SECTOR CLOSER 
TOGETHER" 
Schools and businesses mutually 
complement one another as places of 
learning and they should be brought 
closer together. This happened in a 
number of European countries a long 
time ago. In others it happened late 
and gradually, or not at all and the 
separation of the worlds of learning 
and production continues. 
Building or reinforcing bridges 
between schools and businesses can 
do nothing but good, for both sides, 
and helps underpin equal 
employment opportunities. With 
respect to the world of learning in the 
widest sense, stretching from primary 
to higher education, training courses 
must be better matched to 
employment opportunities. As for the 
business sector, it stands gain 
workers possessing technical 
qualifications, basic skills and a 
general cultural upbringing who are 
able to think for themselves and are 
receptive to change. This approach 
increases the job prospects for all 
trainees. 
Therefore, bringing schools and the 
business sector closer together is a 
priority in which the social partners 
must play their role and which 
involves three conditions. 
Firstly, education must be opened up 
to the world of work. Without reducing 
the point of education solely to the 
purpose of employment, an 
understanding of the world of work, a 
knowledge of enterprises and an 
insight into the changes which mark 
production processes are some of the basics which schooling must take into 
account. 
Secondly, companies must be 
involved in the training drive, not only 
as regards workers but also young 
people and adults. Training cannot be 
seen purely as a way of supplying 
skilled labour to firms; enterprises 
bear a responsibility, i.e. that of giving 
a chance - often in the forrri of a job -
to those who were failed by the 
traditional education systems. 
Companies need to grasp this more 
clearly. Some have made substantial 
efforts to reskill their staff, thus 
enabling them to cope with 
technological innovation, while others 
have not, throwing onto the streets 
workers who clearly could be re­
trained. 
Thirdly, cooperation must be 
developed between schools and 
firms. 
Reinforcing the links between schools 
and the business sector must be 
based primarily on 
apprenticeship/trainee schemes. This 
approach is suitable for all 
qualification levels and is catching * 
on in higher education, following 
initiatives by engineering or business 
schools. For example, after 
incorporating this method into its own 
training approaches, a major French 
business school, the ESSEC, is now 
helping to promote it at European 
level in cooperation with other 
European higher education 
establishments such as the London 
Business School, the Université 
Bocconi in Milan, or the University of 
Mannheim. 
Apprenticeship/trainee schemes are 
able to provide young people with 
both the required knowledge plus 
experience of life and work within 
companies. By providing them with 
-36-
their first contact with the world of 
work, it places them at a considerable 
advantage for entering the job 
market. Promotion of 
apprenticeship/trainee schemes at 
European level will provide added 
value for both young people and 
companies. 
Closer links between the worlds of 
education and work should also make 
it possible to promote and revamp, 
both initial and continuing vocational 
training. This covers all employees. 
One thing cannot be denied : Europe 
needs skilled production workers if it 
is to remain a major industrial power; 
it must uphold its great tradition of 
skilled workmanship while adapting it 
to new production conditions such as 
the mastering of new technologies, 
the importance of maintenance and 
backup activities, worker 
empowerment for independent 
working, team working, involvement 
in top-quality research, etc. More 
generally, Europe needs a type of 
vocational training no longer broken 
down into small specific areas and 
compartments, but which allows 
everyone to understand, and thus to 
rrlaster, the job they do and even to 
improve themselves in their job. This 
means, for instance: 
allowing technicians to 
become engineers by 
supplementing their training 
with more general instruction 
in organisation, management 
and line authority, etc.; 
* 
allowing engineers - as well as 
workers - to understand the 
process as a whole, from 
production to sales and final 
use of the product (installation, 
maintenance). 
As the Commission's Communication 
on "The Craft Sector and Small Enterprises: keys to growth and 
employment in Europe" (Com(95)502 
final) shows, the service sector, the 
craft sector and small enterprises are 
key to job creation. The emergence 
of new on-and-off-the-job training, 
matching new job profiles arising in 
the service sector needs to be 
encouraged and training on how to 
set up in business supported. 
Innovation in the vocational training 
sector must also be stimulated: 
innovation in training will engender 
innovation in the wider world. 
Against this background the White 
Paper proposes the following 
measures: 
A. Apprenticeship/trainee 
schemes 
Apprenticeship/trainee schemes in 
Europe will be based and developed 
along the lines of the ERASMUS 
model (see box). Support funds will 
be made available by redeploying 
current programmes, particularly 
LEONARDO. 
The aim is to improve opportunities 
for young people returning to some 
extent, throughout the Union and in 
the most diverse of occupations, to 
the "journeyman" spirit, which 
contributed so much to the quality of 
European products and has 
demonstrated how important mobility 
is in acquiring knowledge and know-
how. 
A major effort should be undertaken 
to set up the necessary work-
shadowing/mentoring arrangements 
and provide apprentices with 
someone to tutor them. This is a vital 
prerequisite for developing this 
approach, but is sometimes difficult to 
achieve. 
37-
Finally, a European apprentice/trainee 
charter needs to be drawn up in the 
light of the Green Paper on obstacles 
to the transnational mobility of 
people in training. 
Parallel to this, more widespread 
opportunities for undertaking periods 
of in-company training at European 
level are to be provided, through a 
European agreement involving 
business confederations. 
B. Vocational training 
Training for the new occupations in 
the service sector is to be 
encouraged, emphasising the need 
for it to be multidisciplinary. For 
example, training for jobs in the 
tourism and environmental protection 
fields, which are now fully coming into 
their own, needs to be promoted. 
Support will also be provided for 
training service-sector engineers and 
technicians. Production, installation, 
maintenance/servicing, repair, advice 
to users - services are everywhere. 
The emergence of new consumer 
goods, particularly in the computer 
and communications technology 
fields, is increasing considerably the 
demand for. services which 
manufacturers' or distributors' after-
sales service departments are not 
always able to satisfy. In areas such 
as these, service training cannot be 
separated from production. Therefore, 
the aim must be to train engineers 
and technicians more specifically 
geared to service activities and 
consumer needs, through 
interdisciplinary courses provided, in 
part, within a company and leading to 
a diploma or certificate for service-
sector engineers or technicians. 
Training in how to set up in business 
is to be fostered. The best ways of 
encouraging people, young ones in particular, to start up a small 
business will be examined with the 
Member States and social partners. 
The Green Paper on Innovation will, 
however, show that a lot still needs to 
be done to simplify the bureaucracy 
required for enterprise creation. 
A European observation system to 
survey innovatory vocational training 
practices will be set up within the 
Commission to facilitate the exchange 
and dissemination of good practice 
and innovative projects within the 
European Union. 
In the same vein, arrangements will 
be put in place for forecasting needs 
in terms of skills, qualifications and 
new occupations. 
-38-
Aims Example N°2 
Developing apprenticeship/trainee schemes in Europe 
Develop all forms of apprenticeship/trainee schemes (on-and-off-the-
job training courses, etc.) at all levels across Europe by facilitating 
mobility between various European apprenticeship/trainee centres for 
meaningful periods. 
Revive the traditional "journeyman" system to provide in-training 
vocational and educational experience within various cultural and 
company environments. 
Promote new forms of tutoring and mentoring arrangements, taking 
account of the European dimension. 
Methods 
Set up and consolidate networks of apprenticeship/trainee centres 
covering various European countries. 
Foster apprentice/trainee mobility along the lines of ERASMUS. 
Establish a European apprentice/trainee charter as part of the follow-
up to the Green Paper on obstacles to transnational mobility of 
trainees. 
39 
III. Third general objective 
XOMBAT EXCLUSION" 
The development of our economies 
and the constraints of 
competitiveness have led to several 
categories of the population being left 
by the wayside (young people without 
qualifications, older workers, long-
term unemployed, women re-entering 
the job market). The analysis in the 
first part of the White Paper shows 
that these groups are even more 
vulnerable since access to knowledge 
is crucial to fitting into society and 
finding employment 
In order to curb this process of 
marginalisation, Member States have 
launched a series of measures, 
based mainly on increasing the 
number of training or back-to-work 
schemes and various measures 
aimed at reintegrating those facing 
the greatest difficulty and centring on 
action by local groupings. One can, 
thus, see the use of enterprise 
initiatives and workshops and other 
methods of re-integration through 
vocational activities, clearly structured 
and leading to a qualification. 
Funding such measures weighs very 
heavily on the public purse and the 
Community has made a major 
contribution via the Structural Funds. 
To supplement all the above 
measures this White Paper 
emphasizes the need to promote two 
types of pilot scheme to point the way 
forward, of a type already underway 
in some Member States to combat 
exclusion and develop a sense of 
belonging, namely "second chance" 
schools and voluntary service for 
young people. A. Second chance schools 
The basic idea is simple; provide 
youngsters excluded from the 
education system, or about to be, 
with the best training arid best 
support arrangements to give them 
self-confidence. 
As school is indeed a "first chance" 
giving every individual the opportunity 
to integrate into society, it has to be 
said that, unfortunately, this is no 
longer the case for the rnost 
disadvantaged, who quite often do 
not have a suitable family and social 
setting to enable them to benefit from 
the general-education provided at 
school. Young people excluded from 
the school system can now be 
counted in tens of thousands in the 
major conurbations. Without 
qualifications, they have little hope of 
finding a job and thus of integrating 
into society. 
Pilot projects undertaken in Member 
States clearly show that a second 
chance must not mean "ghetto-
schools". To an increasing degree 
schools located in problem areas are 
offering a second chance, or new 
centres of learning are being set up, 
equipped with additional resources 
depending on where they are located. 
The task of such schools is to 
improve access to knowledge through 
employing the best teachers, if 
necessary paying a higher than 
normal salary, through customising 
the pace of teaching, providing new 
incentives, arranging in-company 
training, using multimedia and 
running classes containing fewer 
pupils (see box). 
Another aim must be to turn the 
school - in problem areas where 
social and family values are generally 
collapsing - into an educational 
40 
meeting place for the community 
where teachers are present outside 
school hours. 
Second chance schemes are 
intended for the entire school 
population of a deprived area, without 
differentiating between those able to 
attend a traditional type of school and 
those not able to do so, so as to 
avoid any form of segregation. 
It should be noted that many projects 
aimed at providing a "second chance" 
have long been in existence. In the 
USA, 500 "accelerated schools" (see 
annex 3) have been set up in urban 
areas and use consolidated and 
accelerated teaching methods. During 
the G7 information society meeting 
held in Brussels last February, the 
Americans explained that young 
people dropping out of the traditional 
training system had found their way 
back to learning when provided with 
computers and the best teachers. 
They had quickly taken to the idea of 
interactivity, in contrast to the 
passivity they had shown in a 
conventional teaching setting. Such 
schools should, as far as possible, 
combine pupils whose schooling has 
been interrupted and pupils capable 
of being taught by traditional 
methods. 
In Israel, even before it became a 
State, a novel education system was 
developed as part of the "societies for 
the young" set up in village 
communities, making it possible to 
receive and integrate child refugees 
from Europe whose family ties had 
been severed. This educational 
approach - known as Alyat Hanoar 
(see annex 4) - has successfully 
integrated young people from 
Morocco, Russia, Ethiopia, etc. Since 
its inception this system has 
educated and integrated into Israeli 
society more than 300,000 youngsters, with a drop-out rate 
much lower than the national 
average. 
In a totally différent context, but also 
to tackle a crisis situation, it is not 
surprising that local authorities in 
Europe, with the support of other 
groups, are reverting to the idea, 
initially started in Europe between the 
wars, of offering a second chance 
through schools. In problem suburban 
areas, pilot second chance projects 
are being undertaken, involving 
greater resources (in terms of 
teachers and infrastructure) and 
drawing inspiration from the earlier 
models as the first step towards 
reintegration. This is the case in the 
Netherlands, Spain and France, 
where measures are being taken at 
local level. Of the many European-
level projects, one under the 
COMENIUS programme involves five 
major European cities (Antwerp, 
Bologna, Bradford, Marseilles and 
Turin), which have set up an 
educational partnership aimed at 
socially integrating the children of 
immigrant families through successful 
school careers. 
Some governments have given 
significant financial support to second 
chance projects in big-city suburbs 
and have positive discrimination 
measures setting up specially 
designated local environments of the 
'free zone' type. 
The Commission intends - notably -
under the SOCRATES and 
LEONARDO programmes - to provide 
support for such second chance 
schemes via the co-funding of a 
certain number of pilot projects, the 
networking of projects under way and 
the dissemination of pedagogical 
approaches (see box). Through this it 
aims to begin a debate to discover 
whether the time is ripe to encourage 
-41 -
the establishment of second chance 
schools on a wider scale. 
B. European voluntary service 
Voluntary service initiatives exist in a 
number of Member States. Without 
substituting for military service, it 
provides young people with a chance 
to engage in an activity serving the 
common good, either in their own 
country or in a developing one. 
The European Union has also made 
a modest contribution - on an 
experimental basis - through the 
"YOUTH FOR EUROPE" programme. 
Parallel to this, the YOUTHSTART 
programme contains provision - under 
the heading of vocational training - for 
funding measures supporting 
initiatives to integrate youngsters 
lacking qualifications. 
All these activities, although 
interesting, are limited in scope. 
Furthermore, they have not led to 
genuinely multilateral projects. Since 
no rules exist governing such 
voluntary service, they are fraught 
with many obstacles as regards free 
movement, taxation and social 
security. 
The European Parliament, several 
Member States and some voluntary 
sector organizations have recently 
made an increasing number of 
requests for the adoption of practical 
measures which aim to promote 
voluntary service at European level to 
complement actions at national level, 
in accordance with the principle of 
subsidiarity. 
This is the spirit behind the ad hoc 
committee "A Citizen's Europe" 
(Adonnino report, 1985) and the 
European Parliament Resolutions of 
22 September and 5 October 1995. 
The idea of creating a "European voluntary service for humanitarian 
aid", has also been taken up the 
intergovernmental conference study 
group. 
To promote the development of 
European voluntary service, the 
Commission will: 
launch a support measure 
within the framework of the 
existing "YOUTH FOR 
EUROPE" programme (already 
adopted by the Council and 
Parliament) for a significant 
number of young volunteers to 
undertake a variety of public 
service tasks outside their own 
country. This voluntary service 
could be carried out inside the 
Community, in particular in 
problem neighbourhoods and 
outside the Community in 
multinational teams working in 
developing countries; 
examine the possibility of 
establishing a legal and 
financial framework on the 
basis of Articles 126 and 127 
of the Treaty establishing the 
European Community, to 
facilitate the development and 
coordination of national and 
Community projects in the field 
of European voluntary service, 
in particular by eliminating 
certain obstacles to the free 
movement of young 
volunteers. 
42 
Aims Example N°3 
Providing a second chance through school 
Reintegrate young people without paper qualifications and living in 
deprived areas in major conurbations through schemes offering a 
second chance of obtaining an education, by refashioning schools 
already located in such areas or setting up new centres of learning. 
Provide pupils with highly competent teachers, deploying especially 
qualified staff, paid as well as those in the most reputable 
establishments. 
Develop, among young people, motivation, the ability to learn how to 
learn, basic knowledge and social skills. 
Reduce class-sizes. 
Methods 
Assemble additional European funds to support national or regional 
funding for setting up pathways to integration. 
Introduce measures involving consultation and partnership with the 
economic players so as to augment opportunities for integration into 
employment when training pathways have been completed. 
Arrange, at the start of any training pathway, personal sponsorship by 
a local SME or major company, if possible backed up by a promise of 
employment if the relevant qualifications or skills recognition are 
obtained. 
Adopt teaching approaches customised in terms of pace and drawing 
on the new educational technologies. 
Network second chance schemes and spread pedagogical methods. 
Closely associate families with the school's activities and approach. 
Make full use (in association with companies) of information and 
multimedia technologies. 
Develop, on an intensive basis, sports.and cultural activities. 
43 
IV. Fourth general objective 
'PROFICIENCY IN THREE 
COMMUNITY LANGUAGES" 
Proficiency in several Community 
languages has become a 
precondition if citizens of the 
European Union are to benefit from 
the occupational and personal 
opportunities open to them in the 
border-free Single Market. This 
language proficiency must be backed 
up by the ability to adapt to working 
and living environments characterised 
by different cultures. 
Languages are also the key to 
knowing other people. Proficiency in 
languages helps to build up the 
feeling of being European with all its 
cultural wealth and diversity and of 
understanding between the citizens of 
Europe. 
Learning languages also has another 
important effect: experience shows 
that when undertaken from a very 
early age, it is an important factor in 
doing well at school. Contact with 
another language is not only 
compatible with becoming proficient 
in one's mother tongue, it also makes 
it easier. It opens the mind, 
stimulates intellectual agility and, of 
course, expands people's cultural 
horizon. Multilingualism is part and 
parcel of both European 
identity/citizenship and the learning 
society. 
The European Union, for its part, is 
contributing to the development of 
language learning as part of LINGUA, 
now integrated in the SOCRATES 
and LEONARDO programmes. 
It is no longer possible to reserve 
proficiency in foreign languages for 
an elite or for those who acquire it on account of their geographical mobility. 
In line with the resolution of the 
Council of Education Ministers of 31 
March 1995, it is becoming necessary 
for everyone, irrespective of training 
and education routes chosen, to be 
able to acquire and keep up their 
ability to communicate in at least two 
Community languages in addition to 
their mother tongue. The Commission 
regrets the fact that the importance of 
this commitment was reduced, the 
Member States limiting its effect by 
using the words "if possible". 
In order to make for proficiency in 
three Community languages, it is 
desirable for foreign language 
learning to start at pre-school level. It 
seems essential for such teaching to 
be placed on a systematic footing in 
primary education, with the learning 
of a second Community foreign 
language starting in secondary 
school. It could even be argued that 
secondary school pupils should study 
certain subjects in the first foreign 
language learned, as is the case in 
the European schools. Upon 
completing initial training everyone 
should be proficient in two 
Community foreign languages. 
Vocational training - initial and 
continuing - must place great stress 
on language learning. This is of dual 
significance for working life because 
it constitutes a major element in a 
person's general cultural development 
and is an advantage when it comes 
to obtaining a job, either inside one's 
home country or when taking up the 
option of mobility available within the 
Union. 
All this presupposes the availability of 
top-quality education drawing on 
modem materials, equipment and 
methods customised to meet the 
needs of the diverse groups involved. 
44 
In keeping with this, the White Paper 
proposes the following support 
measures at European level: 
Community support for the 
introduction of assessment 
systems (including elaboration 
of quality indicators) and 
quality guarantee systems, 
covering the methods and 
materials used to teach 
Community languages. 
Definition of a 'European 
quality label" and its award to 
schools meeting certain criteria 
regarding promotion of 
Community language learning 
(see box). 
Support for exchanges of 
language-teaching materials 
suitable for different groups 
(adults, the low-qualified, 
young children, etc.). 
Encouraging the early teaching 
of Community languages, 
notably through the exchange 
of teaching materials and 
experience in this area. 
45 
Example N°4 
'European quality label" 
Aims 
Promote the learning of at least two Community foreign languages by 
all young people. 
Encourage innovatory language-teaching methods. 
Spread the daily use of European foreign languages in schools of all 
levels. 
Foster awareness of Community languages and cultures, and their 
early learning. 
Methods 
Mobilising schools to provide learning of at least one Community 
foreign language as early as primary school. 
Define a "European quality label" quality label which would be 
awarded according to the following criteria: 
- genuine use by all pupils of one Community foreign language 
at primary school and of two at secondary school. 
- involvement of teaching staff from other EU Member States. 
- use of methods promoting self-learning of languages. 
- creation of an organisation for contact between young people 
from different Member States (including via information 
technologies). 
Promotion of this label will make it possible to assemble additional 
funding from the Member States (including local authorities). 
Networking establishments having obtained this label. 
Systematically encouraging mobility to allow teachers to teach their 
mother tongue in schools in another country, as permitted by 
Community law and the ensuing changes made in civil service 
structures. 
-46 
V. Fifth general objective 
'TREAT CAPITAL INVESTMENT 
AND INVESTMENT IN TRAINING 
ON AN EQUAL BASIS" 
The White Paper acknowledges that 
investment in skills is a prime factor 
in competitiveness and employability. 
In order to put this guideline for 
action into practice two items have to 
be analyzed in order to produce 
proposals for action: 
investment inputs in human 
capital; 
accounting and fiscal 
approaches to training 
expenditure. 
On the first, it should be noted that 
expenditure on education and training 
is severely affected by the economic 
cycle and fluctuations in the levels of 
activity. This is particularly true in the 
case of companies which, as 
recession bites, cut back substantially 
on their expenditure in this area. As 
regards public expenditure, the 
context of austerity and reduction of 
public sector deficits calls for greater 
attention to maintaining public 
investment in education and training. 
As regards the accounting and fiscal 
approach, labour is not considered as 
an asset. It is an operating cost and 
is included as such in the company 
balance sheet in the form of 
remuneration and taxes. The 
approach to be explored is how to 
consider know-how and skills 
acquired by employees during the 
course of their duties as adding value 
to the company, so that part of the 
expenditure on training and salaries 
during the training period can be 
considered as depreciable intangible fixed assets and transferred 
accordingly on the balance sheet. 
A priority task is to consolidate the 
funding levels agreed in connection 
with education and training (which 
implies measuring them), to develop 
direct and indirect incentives 
promoting investment in human 
resources and to improve accounting 
and expenditure monitoring 
arrangements. 
It is especially desirable, as the 
Commission has already proposed in 
its Communication on "An industrial 
competitiveness policy for the 
European Union" (COM 94/319 final), 
to introduce arrangements whereby 
companies which have made a 
special effort in training can enter 
some of this investment in their 
balance sheet as part of their 
intangible assets. In addition, 'training 
fund' schemes should be devised for 
those who wish to update their 
knowledge or to re-embark upon 
training after having earlier 
interrupted their studies. 
Development of the information 
society already involves putting in 
place a growing number of new 
goods and services which will play an 
increasingly important role in 
enhancing knowledge. The fiscal 
systems in many Member States 
already have some provisions 
allowing individuals to offset against 
tax certain types of expenditure on 
their training. The time has come to 
ask whether such systems should be 
reviewed and rapidly expanded to 
take account of technological 
progress and to allow citizens to 
devote the highest possible 
investment to ongoing improvement 
of their knowledge. 
47-
The White Paper proposes the 
following support measures at 
European level: 
measurement of investment in 
education and training on the 
one hand; and 
promotion of investment in 
human resources on the other. 
General management charts (tableau 
de bord) will be drawn up for the EU 
showing public and private 
investment in education and training. 
A survey of the arrangements for 
aiding and encouraging investment in 
education and training in Europe will 
be carried out, the aim being to 
spread knowledge and understanding 
about them. 
On the basis of a study covering the 
different fiscal and accounting 
approaches to companies' and 
individuals' training expenditure, 
consultation will be initiated with 
Member States on promoting 
investment in human resources as a 
fixed asset (see box). 
48 
Example N°5 
Promoting investment in human resources 
Aims 
Promote the perception of training as an investment and not as 
operating expenditure. 
Encourage people to invest in their own training along "training fund" 
lines. 
Foster cooperation between national systems from the point of view 
. of the accounting and fiscal approach to training expenditure. 
Bring the fiscal and accounting approaches to intangible investment 
closer together, particularly as regards research and training 
expenditure. 
Methods 
Identify the different arrangements for fiscal and accounting handling 
of training expenditure by companies and individuals. 
Assess the financial implications for Member States and companies. 
Build up Community expertise in ways of handling training 
expenditure as an investment for companies and individuals. 
Joint examination with the Member States and the social partners of 
the legal and administrative arrangements for treating training 
expenditure by companies as investments. 
49-
GENERAL CONCLUSION 
The world is going through a period of transition and profound change and the 
signs are that in Europe, as elsewhere, a new age is about to dawn which is more 
variable and unpredictable than those which went before. 
There is no doubt that this new age - one of internationalisation of trade, of the 
information society, of scientific and technical upheaval - brings uncertainties and 
concerns, primarily because it is difficult to see the direction of the future. 
These uncertainties and concerns are without doubt stronger in Europe than 
elsewhere. European civilisation has a long history and is very complex. It is today 
divided between a deep thirst for research and knowledge, the legacy of a tradition 
which made Europe the first to bring about a technical and industrial revolution 
and thus change the world, and a deep-seated call for stability and collective 
security. This is a perfectly understandable aspiration for a continent so long torn 
apart by wars and divided by political and social conflicts. Unfortunately, it is also 
one which can engender a reactionary reflex to change. 
Yet this age of change is a historical opportunity for Europe, because such 
periods in which one society gives birth to the next are the only ones conducive 
to radical reform without violent change. The increase in trade across the world, 
scientific discoveries, new technologies, in fact open up new potential for 
development and progress. 
An eminent European historian, co-director of the "Annales" and well-placed to 
compare this period of change with those that preceded it, particularly the 
transition from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance, said1 : 
"The Europe of the Middle Ages and post-medieval times had to face up to the 
Byzantine world, the Arab world and the Ottoman Empire. The struggle today is 
fortunately set in a more pacific context. Nevertheless, the existence of 
protagonists in history gigantic by their size or by their economic strength, or 
indeed both, means Europe has to achieve a comparable scale if it is to exist, 
progress and retain its identity. Facing up to America, Japan and soon China, 
Europe must have the economic, demographic and political mass capable of 
securing its independence. 
Fortunately, Europe has the weight of its civilisation and its common heritage 
behind it. Over 25 centuries European civilisation has, in successive stages, been 
creative; and even today, as one slogan goes, Europe's main raw material is 
unquestionably its grey matter. 
It is in the European dimension that a forward-looking society can be built, capable 
at the same time of helping to change the nature of things globally and of 
maintaining full awareness of itself. 
Jacques LE GOFF - IJH vieille Europe et la nôtre - 1994 - Paris, Editions du Seuil. 
- 50 -
This White Paper contends that it is by building up the learning society of Europe 
as quickly as possible, that this objective can be attained. This move entails 
radical change. All too often education and training systems map out career paths 
on a once-and-for-all basis. There is too much inflexibility, too much 
compartmentalisation of education and training systems and not enough bridges, 
or enough possibilities to let in new patterns of lifelong learning. 
Education and training provide the reference points needed to affirm collective 
identity, while at the same time permitting further advances in science and 
technology. The independence they give, if shared by everyone, strengthens the 
sense of cohesion and anchors the feeling of belonging. Europe's cultural diversity, 
its long existence and the mobility between different cultures are invaluable assets 
for adapting to the new world on the horizon. 
Being European is to have the advantage of a cultural background of unparalleled 
variety and depth. It should also mean having full access to knowledge and skill. 
The purpose of the White Paper is to make it possible to exploit these possibilities 
further; the recommendations it contains cannot claim to provide an exhaustive 
response to the question. 
Their aim is much more modest, namely to help, in conjunction with the education 
and training policies of the Member States, to put Europe on the road to the 
learning society. They are also intended to pave the way for a broader debate in 
the years ahead. Lastly, they can help to show that the future of Europe and its 
place in the world depend on its ability to give as much room for the personal 
fulfilment of its citizens, men and women alike, as it has up to now given to 
economic and monetary issues. It is in this way that Europe will prove that it is not 
simply a free trade area, but an organised political entity, and a way of coming 
successfully to terms with, rather than being subject to, internationalisation. 
- 51 
Annex 1 
Some data and figures 
Note: 
1. The data and figures given below are taken from a number of documents 
produced by the European Commission or the OECD. As is the case with 
all statistics, all the more so when they are of a comparative nature, they 
should be treated with caution, especially since most of them refer to the 
1991/92 year. 
2. The data and figures on vocational training relate mainly to continuing 
training (partly because in several Member States initial training comes 
under the national education system, for example in France, and is 
generally called technical training). What is more, to the extent that 
continuing training is mainly a matter for companies (and economic 
sectors), it is difficult to obtain precise and overall figures. 
EDUCATION 
=» In 1993 there were nearly 117 million under-25s in the Union's Member 
States, i.e. 32% of the population. Ireland has most young people in relative 
terms (43%), i.e. one and a half times more than Germany, which has the 
lowest percentage. Since 1973 the percentage of under-25s in the 
population has decreased in all Member States. Several countries with the 
highest percentage of under-25s (Spain, Finland, Netherlands, Portugal), 
experienced the greatest decrease. It should be noted, too, that the 
percentage of under-25s in the population is very unevenly distributed: from 
over 35% in southern Portugal, southern Italy, northern half of France or in 
Ireland for example, to less than 29% in the northern regions of Italy and 
the new Lander in the Federal Republic of Germany. 
=* During the 1991/92 academic year there were 67 million pupils and 
students in the European Union, i.e. almost one-fifth of the total population 
(based on Europe of the 12). Almost 60% of the under-25s were enrolled 
in an educational establishment. If one takes into account the pupils 
enrolled in pre-school education, then almost 77 million under-25s were in 
education in 1992 throughout what was Europe of the 12, i.e. near on 70% 
of that population group. 
In 1991/92, the European Union (12 Member States) had over 22 
million young people in primary education, i.e. over a third of the 
population in education. 
52 -
Nearly 35 million pupils were enrolled in secondary education 
establishments in the European Union in 1991/92, i.e. 52% of all 
youngsters in education. The corresponding percentages vary only 
slightly between the countries: from 44% in Portugal to almost 60% 
in Germany. Throughout the Union (particularly in Germany, Italy, 
Netherlands, Austria and Sweden) there are more young people in 
technical secondary education than in the general academic sector 
(almost 79% in Germany). 
Nearly 10 million youngsters attended a higher education 
establishment in 1991/92, i.e. 14% of all youngsters in education: 
this percentage was highest in Denmark and lowest in Portugal. It 
should be noted (still with reference to 1991/92) that 5% of the 
students were non-nationals (here again with large variations 
between Member States - 10.4% in Belgium and 1.4% in Greece). 
Not all young people necessarily leave school with a qualification: the ratio 
between the number of certificates awarded and the number of 18 year-
olds was 0.81 in the European Union in respect of secondary education; the 
ratio between the number of certificates awarded and the number of 23 
year-olds in the European Union for that same year (1990/91) was 0.23. In 
both cases the situation varied greatly from one Member State to another. 
There were over 4 million teachers in the European Union in 1991/92 (not 
counting higher education). 
Most educational establishments throughout the European Union are within 
the public domain: over 70% of establishments come directly under the 
public sector. Italy has the largest percentage of totally independent private 
establishments (i.e. private and receiving less than 50% of their resources 
from the public sector). 
Over 20% of under-25s not in education were unemployed in March 1995, 
this rate varying from 6.5% in Luxembourg to over 45% in Spain. In all the 
Union countries, apart from Germany, unemployment among young people 
is significantly higher than the labour force as a whole. 
As a general rule (except for Greece and Italy), there is a direct relationship 
between level of education and unemployment rate: the higher the former, 
the lower, the latter among young people: in Belgium, Denmark, Germany, 
Spain, France, Ireland, Italy, Finland, Sweden and the United Kingdom this 
rate amounted to or exceeded 15% for young people not continuing past 
the first level of secondary education, whereas in the same Member States 
it was below 10% for those who had completed some form of higher 
education. 
Expenditure on education accounts for a very large proportion of public 
spending. Finland earmarks the largest percentage of GNP to education 
(1992 figure), i.e. near on 8%. For the countries where data were available, 
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this figure varies between 7.9% and 5% (Germany, Netherlands). Except 
for the Netherlands, where the proportion of private establishments is fairly 
high (3.3% of GNP), almost all spending on education goes to 
establishments in the public sector. There is not necessarily a direct link 
between the percentage of GNP allocated to education and expenditure per 
pupil relative to GNP per capita. 
At present, more than 500 000 students are enrolled in higher-level 
distance education in Europe, i.e. some 7% of the population in higher 
education. 
VOCATIONAL EDUCATION AND TRAINING 
=» 60% of young people were engaged in vocational training at upper 
secondary level (63% of males and 58% of females) in 1991/92. The United 
Kingdom is the only country where there are more females in vocational 
training (59%) than males (52%). 
=• Public expenditure on vocational training programmes was 0.5% of GDP in 
1993 as compared to 0.25% in 1985. It is estimated that employers spend 
approximately 1.5% of the total wages and salary bill on vocational training. 
=> It is estimated that every year in the EU at least 20% of the economically 
active population is engaged in continuing vocational training/ education of 
various kinds for two weeks on average. According to a survey carried out 
in 1993 in 12 Member States, some 5% of male employees and 6% of 
female employees aged over 25 had undergone vocational training in the 
four weeks prior to the survey. 
=» The private sector is playing a larger role than ever as a training provider. 
The number of training practitioners in the European Union is put at over 
60 000. 
=> Although there are over 3 000 establishments of higher learning in the 
European Union, their role in continuing training is modest In terms of 
persons involved, higher education establishments in France account for 
5%, the corresponding figure in Germany is 2 to 3%, whereas in 
Scandinavia and the United Kingdom it is over 10%. 
=* Participation in continuing vocational training is linked to level of education. 
The figures, for Member States where the information was available, 
indicate that people having undergone upper secondary education 
participate more in continuing training throughout their working life than 
those who left the system after lower secondary education. 
54-
Annex 2 
Examples of Community programmes in the field of education and training 
1. Examples of mobility 
ERASMUS (students) 
Council Decision: 1987 
Numbers concerned: 1987-88: 3 000 students who received grants 
1995-96: 170 000 students who received grants 
COMETT II (university-enterprise cooperation and traineeships in industry for 
students) 
Council Decision: 1988 
Numbers concerned: 1990: 4 400 students in transnational 
traineeships 
1994: 8 700 students in transnational 
traineeships 
75% of companies participating in Comett projects were SMEs 
PETRA II (young people in initial training and young workers) 
Council Decision: 1991 
Numbers concerned: 1992-94: 23 566 young people in initial VT 
° 13 053 young workers 
FORCE (continuing training in Europe) 
Council Decision: 1990 
Numbers concerned: 5 000 European partnerships, roughly 3 000 of which 
being companies or consortia (inc. 70% SMEs) and 
900 European training partnerships involving the social 
partners in 720 projects 
55 
2. Examples of projects within the Socrates programme 
Higher Education Diploma in Administration and Management (Hedam). 
This was the fruit of academic cooperation. The course lasts for three 
years, 20% of the time being spent learning two languages. 300 students 
are currently working for the qualification. There are 22 partner institutions. 
Distance learning project put forward by the European Federation for the 
Education of the Children of Occupational Travellers (Etecot). This brings 
together 40 national associations and groups responsible for the education 
of children whose parents are in itinerant jobs (bargees, fairground 
entertainers, circus artistes, etc.). The project is also aimed at parents. 
Euroling computerised teaching material for elementary and intermediate 
courses in Italian, Spanish and Dutch. Can be used independently or in 
groups. The project involves eight European universities. 
• Polyphonia (European music network - ERASMUS): 12 musicology faculties 
and European academies have formed a network for cooperation to 
encourage student and teacher mobility (joint courses and intensive 
programmes, joint examination boards). This network has given rise to a 
chamber orchestra and a brass ensemble. 
Tradutech (European network of translation/interpreting schools - Erasmus): 
over 40 such European schools have since 1986 been cooperating on of 
student and teacher mobility. A technical back-up instrument for translation, 
Tradutech is one of the fruits of this cooperation. All the partners use the 
ECTS (European course credit transfer system). The learning of the 
European languages less widely used and taught has been stepped up and 
a project which is unique in Europe in the field of interpreter training in sign 
language is currently being developed. 
Diecec (European network of cooperation between towns in the area of 
intercultural education - COMENIUS): in order to head off deskilling and 
unemployment, five major European cities (Marseilles, Antwerp, Bradford, 
Bologna and Turin) have created an education partnership to promote the 
integration of the children of immigrant persons by improving the rate of 
success at school. 
Adèle (Apprentissage de la dimension européenne en langues étrangères -
LINGUA): by setting up transnational working parties involving four 
countries (France, Portugal, Spain and Greece), multimedia training 
modules are prepared jointly in order to introduce the European dimension 
into education, backed up by teaching method sheets for foreign language 
teachers. 
Merthal (Initial teacher training and the European dimension - COMENIUS): 
this network (whose name means "working together" in Gaelic) has since 
1990 being bringing together for a one-month period around a specific 
-56-
theme ("art in Europe" in 1994) teachers and future teachers from 12 
establishments from eight European Union countries, the aim being to 
foster exchange and reflection on the European dimension in the initial 
training of teachers. 
3. Examples of projects within the Leonardo programme 
Quality system (FORCE): a consortium of Spanish, Irish and Portuguese 
companies has organised a training programme tailored to the needs of 
European SMEs as regards implementing quality programmes .seeking to 
incorporate quality into the management strategy of companies and as a 
human resource management instrument. This project has also contributed 
to the dissemination of ISO 9 000 quality standards. The product is 
available in four languages on CD Rom. 
International programme for placement of young people in initial training in 
the metal ihdustries-(PETRA): organisation in Denmark as part of an 
exercise managed by the joint committee for the metal industries of a basic 
training programme which contains a compulsory placement period abroad 
in all types of training. Similar developments have followed through 
regulations in the Netherlands, Italy and Spain. 
Euskal-Herria (COMETT): University-Enterprise Association for Training 
(UETP) involves ten companies, seven universities and eighteen trade 
federations from the Basque country and other European regions and has 
endeavoured to develop training and retraining courses to improve the 
quality of the labour market for workers needing retraining or workers who 
are unemployed: 
• Preparation and validation of a new workshop occupational profile - the 
'expert technician' (FORCE): this project targets highly qualified employees; 
the partnership involves European car manufacturers, dealers and training 
centres in several countries and has led to the development of two 
multimedia educational software packages relating to noise control 
techniques in cars and the airbag. 
Biomerit (European network in the field of biotechnology training -
COMETT): this involves some 33 partners from 7 European Union 
countries. Biomerit has in three years organised nearly 15 training seminars 
involving around 900 participants. One of the main achievements of 
Biomerit is to have familiarised both students and researchers with work in 
European networks and companies in order to introduce biotechnological 
innovations in farms and SMEs. 
Setting up business abroad (PETRA): business schools in Denmark, 
Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Portugal work as a partnership on the 
simulation of setting up transnational businesses as part of an initial training 
network. Projects for setting up businesses abroad are pursued in each 
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training centre. These projects have a specific aim and are scrutinised by 
local assessment boards (chambers of commerce, companies) at a 
"business fair". 
Ecata (COMETT): a transnational training project in advanced aeronautics 
technology. Seven universities from several countries and eleven European 
manufacturers cooperate within this partnership targeting young engineers. 
The training is certified by a diploma and over 2000 hours of training have 
been provided since 1990. 
4. Examples of projects under the telematic project programme 
• Learning through exploration and discovery: two consortia of companies 
and educational institutions have set up two training schemes - one for 
medical students and the other for technical secondary students - based on 
. intense use of simulated practical work. The students are given integrated 
educational support providing them with guidance and explanations on 
request. This approach stresses inductive reasoning and should engender 
knowledge which is deeper and more easily transferable (COAST and 
SERVIVE projects). 
• Inter-university cooperation to promote new educational services: it is not 
enough to provide access to vast knowledge resources, they must be 
structured to match the target populations' needs, be attractive to students 
and motivate them. This concept - of a "hot house" for knowledge defined 
and fed by a consortium of universities (ARIADNE project) - is currently 
being validated in a group of companies to check its economic and social 
pertinence. A second consortium of universities is trying out distribution of 
services via hybrid networks combining cable TV, public 
telecommunications and research networks (ELECTRA project). 
• Training at SMEs: a consortium made up of technical education institutions 
and SMEs is helping to develop a database covering training course 
modules. Training service providers adapt standard modules to their 
customers' specific needs. Users have access to the training resources 
either via a company work station or a local training centre (IDEALS 
project). 
• Training at home: this type of distance training is the more usual one, since 
advances in telematics allow top-quality pedagogical support to be 
provided, coupled with improved trainer-trainee interaction and a media-rich 
environment. The DOMITEL project is experimenting with cable TV while 
TOPI LOT has opted for a solution customised for migrant workers based 
on mobile data communications technology. 
• Specialised training networks: a growing number of training courses in 
leading-edge technologies are not available at university, either because 
there is not enough local demand to economically justify creation of an 
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advanced course, or because the research in question is principally 
conducted by companies. Europe is the most suitable level at which to 
organise such types of training. Two consortia are assessing new training 
approaches adapted to these new needs. The first is run by a network of 
microelectronic research laboratories (MODEM) and the second by a 
network of national meteorological institutes (EUROMET). 
59 -
Annex 3 
The educational world of Alyat Hanoar 
Alyat Hanoar is an institution in Israel specialising in education of youngsters 
exposed to especially acute problems during adolescence because of specific 
family, social or cultural problems, which prevent them from growing into 
responsible adults. 
Initially launched in Germany in 1932 to save the children of Jewish families 
suffering from discriminatory measures, mainly in the employment field, this 
undertaking aimed at transferring groups of such young people to Palestine and 
providing them with education and training as part of "communities of independent 
young people" in certain kibbutzim. 
For nearly 30 years this organisation has continued, in particular, to educate 
adolescent immigrants, more particularly traumatised child survivors of the 
concentration camps and then adolescent emigrants, without parents,, from the 
Maghreb and Iran. From the early 60s on Alyat Hanoar became increasingly 
involved with adolescents from what is known as "Second Israel", i.e. the vast 
numbers of people - from Morocco in particular - who never integrated properly. 
In 1985 it again steered a new course, when it was given the task of organising 
the adaptation, education and integration of all youngsters among the 50 000 
Ethiopian Jews transferred to Israel under particularly traumatic and testing 
circumstances. 
The keystone in this educational venture to achieve the psychological, cultural and 
social reintegration of such individuals is the "village of the young", or more 
precisely a network of such villages. Such villages consist not only of adolescent 
students (aged from 14 to 18) but also of teachers, support staff ("mothers" or 
"fathers", educators, instructors, psychology counsellors, social workers, etc.) and 
technical/administrative personnel, many of whom also live on campus, often with 
their families. 
Social matters within this set-up are decided by a number of bodies composed of 
students (student boards, various committees, households and so on). Adult staff 
regularly attend meetings with the village director where they are provided with 
guidance on setting a good example for the adolescents, being someone with 
whom the latter can identify, from whom they can receive support and with whom 
they can interact. 
The education provided within such villages has three main aims, namely, to: 
1. Foster individuals' independence and consolidate and develop their 
personality through interaction among the students themselves and 
between students and staff. 
60 
2. Expand upon the educational curricula laid down by the Ministry of 
Education, by taking a wider perspective and developing whatever talents 
students possess - in the field of sport, art, music, etc. - by means of 
courses, workshops, visits and other complementary activities. 
3. Foster the individual students' sense of responsibility towards their group 
as such and society as a whole by delegating jobs to each of them (taking 
turns to work in the refectory, library, sports/playing fields, tidying up living 
quarters, etc.) or specific tasks (giving extra teaching lessons, 
accompanying a student to the community clinic, hospital, etc.). 
The most remarkable feature of all, without any doubt, is that this educational 
system operates with hardly any recourse to the usual sanctions imposed by 
teachers or parents. Social pressure takes over this role in the "village of the 
young" and is much more effective. 
The results achieved by this model are impressive. Not only has it turned out a 
large number of leading figures, but the proportion of drop-outs from this type of 
education is much lower than the national average (3% as against 10%) despite 
the fact that a good many of such adolescents had dropped out several times 
before. The flexibility of this approach and its ability to overcome major cultural 
differences and deep-seated prejudices have also been borne out by the 
impressive results obtained, in less than ten years, in integrating young immigrants 
from Ethiopia. 
Since it was set up Alyat Hanoar has educated over 300 000 youngsters. 
Nowadays, the sixty or so villages it operates contain over 17 000 adolescents, 
i.e. one third of the young people studying in a similar framework, or 10% to 12% 
of students in the age group in question. 
The average annual cost per student in such villages is relatively modest at 
FF 35 000 to FF 45 000, teaching costs included. 
-61 -
Annex 4 
The experience of "Accelerated schools" in the USA 
A success story in the USA, "accelerated schools" constitute one of the best 
solutions Americans have found to the crisis faced by their education system, 
confronted with under-achievement by near-on one third of primary and secondary 
pupils. 
Such under-achievers, or "pupils at risk"*', are usually two years behind the others; 
over half of them leave school without any paper qualifications; most of them are 
from deprived and poor areas and belong to ethnic minorities not speaking 
English; many of them also come from single-parent families. 
These accelerated schools are based on the conviction that all pupils in the same 
age group are capable of reaching the same level of academic achievement by 
the time they are of school-leaving age. This means that under-achievers have to 
be made to work at an accelerated pace as compared to better-off pupils, which 
is done by providing schools of excellence for the former. 
The concept underlying these schools is that the teaching provided for "gifted" 
children is also suitable for all children. This means not viewing under-achievers 
as slow on the uptake and incapable of learning within the usual time frames, but -
on the contrary - setting them ambitious objectives to be achieved within firmly 
fixed periods. 
Every pupil, each parent, every teacher must be convinced that failure is not 
inevitable. Those involved are called on to work together, in cooperation with 
teaching staff, as a responsible community which has taken full possession of all 
rights and powers. After drawing up a common vision of what the school should 
be like, this school community sets out to build an accelerated school, firmly 
resolved to respond, on its own, to any problems as and when they arise. 
Such a community needs to be founded on the generally under-used .talents 
everyone has. The process of transforming the school changes attitudes and 
creates a new culture. 
The process takes about five months to come to fruition, necessitating many hours 
of meetings and consultation between the teaching staff, parents and pupils. 
Schools pursuing this path must not be left with the feeling that they are out on 
their own. They must receive support within a network of schools adopting the 
same approach. In the USA they have the support of teams at universities, 
Stanford University in particular. 
Several hundred such projects have been successfully undertaken in the USA and 
form the object of studies and publications encouraging their continuation. 
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