Opinion on the proposal for a Council Decision establishing an action programme for the implementation of a European Community vocational training policy (Leonardo da Vinci) (94/C 148/03)

On 21 February 1994 the Council decided to consult the Economic and Social Committee, under Article 127 of the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, on the abovementioned proposal.

The Section for Social, Family, Educational and Cultural Affairs, which was responsible for preparing the Committee's work on the subject, adopted its Opinion on 3 March 1994. The Rapporteur was Mr Nierhaus.

At its 314th Plenary Session (meeting of 23 March 1994), the Economic and Social Committee adopted the following Opinion unanimously.

1. General comments

1.1. In the Committee's view this proposal for a Community action programme (Leonardo), submitted in accordance with Article 127 of the European Union Treaty, primarily fulfils two formal objectives: (a) together with the Socrates programme it places the Community's education and training policy on a new, coherently planned footing (on the basis of Articles 126 and 127 EUT) and (b) it follows on directly from the earlier, on the whole successful, individual programmes such as Comett, Eurotecnet, Force, Petra, etc, building on their achievements and continuing to pursue their objectives.

1.2. In the final analysis, however, the acid test for any assessment of the Commission's proposals and their priorities will be their actual contribution to the development of quality education (Art. 126 EUT) and a high level of qualifications (Art. 127 EUT) in the Member States, in such a way as to foster the harmonious development of the Union as a whole.

1.3. In this respect the Committee stresses that it regards Article 127 EUT as a thoroughly solid legal basis for the action programme.

1.4. Basically the Committee also welcomes the Commission's initiative because

- it will encourage a broad debate at national and Community level on the Community' new responsibilities in the field of vocational training policy in the post-Maastricht era, and

- by bringing together the Community's basic vocational training activities in one comprehensive programme, it can shed more light on individual projects and their overall relationship to each other.

1.5. While fully respecting the responsibility of the Member States for the content and organization of vocational training, the primary goal of Community policy must be to ensure that everyone in the Community receives a high-quality education and that standards rise. Of equal importance are (a) the individual's right to an education in keeping with his or her abilities and motivation and (b) safeguarding the competitiveness of the Member State economies, and hence the economic prosperity of the Community. The Community's particular contribution in this context is to encourage cooperation between Member States so as to develop the European dimension.

1.6. The practical measures taken by the Community to achieve this goal can only act as a stimulus for the training policies of the Member States, which for their part must initiate the necessary activities.

1.6.1. Consequently the Committee calls upon the Member States - especially during the present phase of cyclical and structural economic problems, accompanied by a frightening growth in unemployment - to invest in education and vocational training; this is a sine qua non for securing, over the medium and long term, the economic competitiveness of the Community on the world market and for political stability in the Member States.

1.7. Community action and support programmes can only achieve lasting results in the Member States if national training policies are determined by more than just short-term budgetary considerations and constraints. This applies - and not just because of the additional funding required - especially in the case of the present programme.

1.8. It is the duty of the social partners to make a greater contribution, commensurate with their vocational training responsibilities and following the customary procedures, to shaping the requisite activities of the Member State governments and thus continuing the social dialogue at national level. Furthermore, the social partners, who have responsibilities with regard to training measures, must be involved in the support arrangements.

1.9. In the Committee's view, the Community's aid policy under its Social Fund should be coordinated with the objectives laid down in Article 127 EUT, since only by recourse to these funds (substantial in comparison with those for this action programme) will the Community be able to mount an effective vocational training policy.

1.10. Although the Committee acknowledges that the programme's funding of ECU 141 million for 1995 is better than that for the preceding programmes, it nevertheless calls for a further review of the proposed Financial Statement and for an increase in funding; this will be particularly necessary if the right to participate in the programme is to be extended.

1.11. The Committee calls on the Commission to ensure that overall the funding for the proposed programme is equal to that provided for the programme on general and university education.

1.12. Finally, the Committee would also like to see the opportunities offered by the Structural, Regional and Cohesion Funds used in the implementation of the programme.

2. Specific comments

2.1. When a common framework of objectives for EC vocational training policy is established (Art. 1), prominence should be given to the following general objectives which demarcate the scope of Community policy and provide guidelines for the training policies of the Member States so as to ensure coherence. The Committee regards the two main objectives of a Community-wide vocational training policy as of equal importance, i.e.:

- enabling all young people who so desire to have access to initial vocational training leading to qualifications;

- ensuring that all workers are entitled to and have access to further training by providing comparable opportunities, in terms of quality and quantity, in all Member States.

2.1.1. Ensuring a smooth transition between initial and further training is a sine qua non for 'lifelong education' in all fields.

2.1.2. Here the Committee would point to the great importance of high-quality career guidance before embarking on working life; among other things it:

- is the most rational way of meeting the skill requirements of firms;

- helps to prevent individuals from making a mistake in the choice of career;

- can make a substantial contribution to matching further vocational training to skill demands.

2.1.3. The Committee considers that in future initial vocational training must give more weight to providing both a broadly-based vocational grounding and a 'European dimension'.

2.1.4. This includes, among other things, providing an adequate knowledge of other Community languages besides the mother tongue. The Committee notes that a knowledge of foreign languages is included only in strand III of the Community measures. An adequate command of one or more foreign languages is also very important for the quality of vocational training.

As the promotion of foreign language learning in vocational training would not appear to be possible under the draft Socrates programme proposed by the Commission, the Committee calls for its express inclusion in the Leonardo programme.

2.1.5. A link-up between the two programmes would also be desirable in order to promote the vocational training functions of universities, which the Commission assigns to the sphere of general education.

2.1.6. Generally speaking further training must fulfil the following functions, though priorities and the emphasis will vary:

- further development of technical and personal skills after completion of education and vocational training - which will above all strengthen the competitiveness of firms too;

- remedying deficiencies in previous stages of education (basic education, further education, initial vocational training);

- safeguarding employment and improving career prospects through specialization and adaptation to new qualification requirements (e.g. brought about by technological change);

- retraining in more promising areas of employment;

- reintegration of unemployed persons into working life;

- reintegration of women and men into working life during and after the family-raising stage;

- reintegration of workers who have been excluded from gainful employment for some time on health grounds;

- increasing the sectoral, vertical and regional mobility of workers, which would also further equal career opportunities.

2.1.7. Although these objectives should be generally accepted in all Member States, they require a further improvement in conditions in the Member States. The action programme can do no more than help to bring about this improvement.

2.2. The Committee acknowledges and welcomes the Commission's efforts to lay down clear definitions (Art. 2), which will go a long way to furthering understanding between experts from the various national training systems.

2.3. In view of the fundamental importance of such definitions, which have a relevance beyond the present programme, it must however be pointed out that:

- the term 'worker', which has an equivalent in all Community languages and is clearly understood, should not be extended to include the 'self-employed'; this only serves to muddy the definition. Insofar as the self-employed are covered by the action programme - and in the Committee's view this would clearly seem to be indicated at several points in the document - this should be mentioned separately for the sake of clarity;

- autonomous economic organizations, such as chambers of industry and commerce, are not training bodies. Article 2(f) should therefore read: 'The term also covers the training bodies and training work of autonomous economic organizations, trade unions and professional associations, ...';

- the present definition of the term 'open and distance learning and training' excludes the traditional correspondence course which consists of a combination of written work material, a correction service and possibly direct instruction. This does not seem right, especially as the EEC Treaty does not impose this restriction.

2.4. The Committee further notes that the organization of parts of Annexes I and II is in need of revision, e.g. the 'placement and exchange programmes' would be better in strand II, while 'projects in contractual policy' should come under strand I.

2.5. Arts. 126 and 127 EUT are based on full respect for the responsibility of the Member States for the content and organization of vocational training and exclude harmonization of legal and administrative provisions through Community measures; this means that it will become increasingly important to develop exchanges of information and experience on training systems and arrangements, on career guidance facilities and on qualification and certification systems, with a view to the freedom of movement and mobility of workers as the integration of the Member States advances (Annex I.5). To this end the exchanges of information on vocational training should be stepped up, e.g. through programmes of fact-finding visits and exchanges of experts.

2.6. To ensure that freedom of movement can become a reality, maximum transparency in qualifications systems is required so that the content and level of the qualifications of workers, including the self-employed, who wish to work in another EU country can be demonstrated to potential employers in all the Member States. In this respect CEDEFOP has a crucial role to play in the implementation of the action programme; this should be taken into account in the forthcoming reorganization of CEDEFOP.

2.7. One means of achieving greater transparency would be a European vocational training passport in which the initial vocational training courses completed would be set out in a standardized form (entry qualifications, organization, duration and content of course), along with professional experience and any further training. The Committee urges that the work on creating such a document, in consultation with the competent national bodies and the social partners, be speeded up.

2.8. Finally, the Committee considers it particularly important that this embryonic Community vocational training policy be accompanied by a dialogue between the social partners at national and European level (in accordance with Articles 2 and 6(4) of the Commission document). The purpose of such a permanent dialogue at all levels should be to review the results achieved in each phase of the action programme's implementation.

2.9. Consequently the Committee particularly welcomes the participation of representatives of the social partners in the work of the Advisory Committee provided for in Article 5; in addition to its purely advisory role, this committee must also be allowed to take part in the organizational and decision-making process (including delivering reports) [cf. also Article 6(4)]. The social partners must, however, have the same number of representatives (i.e. one employers' and one workers' representative from each Member State) as the governments (possibly on the lines of other Commission bodies, such as the Advisory Committee on Vocational Training). Their participation merely as observers would not seem to be in keeping with the key role which the social partners play in formulating vocational training policy in many Member States. They must consequently be accorded voting rights.

Done at Brussels, 23 March 1994.

The Chairman

of the Economic and Social Committee

Susanne TIEMANN