l^oC18uB48 COfficialjournal of the European Communities 8.7.87 
17.8. The Committee welcomes thegradual move 
fromproject financing to programme financing.This 
new system has the potential to solve many problems^ 
in the preparation and finalization of measures^ in the 
involvement of the various tiers of authority^ in the 
participation of the two sides of industrymn additional 
ity^and in the coordination of the various policies. 
The Community programmes merit l^een interest and 
priority treatment. It is to be hoped that their number 
will increase. 
Done at Brussels^ 13 May 1987. 
1. Introduction 
LI. Economic development in the highlydndustriaP 
ized countries is characterised on the one hand by an 
increasingshortageofjobsforlower-skilled workers 
— due in the main to the deployment of new technoL 
ogies — and on the other byarelative increase in the 
demandfor welPtrained andskilled specialists in all 
sectors of the economy. It is this^ plus the related 
fact that human tasks (particularly those at lower-skill 
levels) are being replaced by electronic information and 
communication systems in almost all areas of adminis 
tration andproduction^ which largely contributes to 
the high level of structural unemployment seen today. 
An alarmingly high proportion of such unemployment 
is accounted for by youngsters on the threshold of 
^Oi^De^^.t^D^ 17.9. The actual results of the operations carried out 
with ERDE support must be measurable^ and must be 
madeknown to those involved and to thepublic at 
large. 
This need cannot go unmet.Of courses there are many 
obstacles to the collection of data and preparation of 
conclusions^ but these must be overcome. 
Lastly^it is desirable that the third periodic report on 
the situation of the regions should provideacomplete 
picture of the economic environment in which regional 
policy operates. 
o^^E^o^o^^^^o^^Co^^r^ 
working life. Relatively speakingmt is still young people 
withagood school education andavocationalqualifi 
cation who stand the best chance of finding a job. 
Vocational training itself however^ should not be con 
fined to imparting purely specialist knowledges but 
should also haveasocial content. 
In cases in which general school education does not 
include a practical understandingof such subjects as 
social security^ health and environmental protections 
ta^ and money managements then ways must be found 
of including these within the content of vocational 
training, 
1,2, Eor the rest of this Opinion on the proposal for 
aCouncil Decision adopting an action programme for 
the training and preparation of young people for adult 
and working life^ we have agreed on the following 
definition of ^training^ or more precisely ^vocational 
trainings Opiniononthe proposal for aCouncilDecisionadoptinganactionprogramme for the 
training and preparation of young people for adult and working life(^) 
(87BC18uBloE 
On ^ April 1987 the Council decided to consult the Economic and Social Committees 
under Articlel28 of theTreatyestablishingtheEuropean Economic Community^onthe 
abovementioned proposal. 
The Economic and Social Committee decided to appoint Mr, l^ierhaus rapporteur-general 
to prepare work on the matter. 
At its 246th plenary session (meeting of 14 Mayl987) the Economic and Social Committee 
adopted the following Opinion unanimously^ 
8. 7. 87 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 180/49 
— Vocational training (Berufsausbildung) is provided 
after completion of general school education and 
is the period of initial vocational preparation for 
employment in a particular occupation. It can be 
given in private or public-sector firms but also in 
universities or other state or private educational 
establishments, and generally ends with a vocational 
qualification. 
1.3. The European economy will not be able to com­
pete at all on world markets unless Europe's human 
potential is fully exploited and well-trained specialists 
are turned out at all levels and in all branches of the 
economy and society. Accordingly there is no alterna­
tive but to pursue the following vocational-training 
policy objectives — which the Commission also 
endorses — in the Member States of the Community: 
— the creation of sufficient training places to enable 
every young person who so desires to receive 
vocational training for at least one to two years, 
— a constant improvement in the quality, and continu­
ous updating of the form, content and objectives of 
existing training schemes, and the introduction of 
new training courses geared to changing needs, 
— greater 'transparency' of vocational training 
schemes for young people through improvements in 
the types of information provided and comparable 
end-of-course examinations recognized at both 
national and Community level. 
1.4. At Community level there is broad agreement 
between the two sides of industry and national govern­
ments about these European vocational-training policy 
objectives. A realistic examination of the problems 
involved, however, shows that the following factors 
cannot be left out of consideration: 
— To move closer to achieving these objectives, sub­
stantial financial resources need to be found; but 
because of the size of the sums involved and the 
present structure of the Community, by far the 
greater part of the funds will have to be raised by 
the Member States. What makes matters worse is 
the fact that in some cases there are still considerable 
differences between the Member States in terms of 
the development of an efficient vocational training 
system. The Commission should therefore give pri­
ority to funding training activities which concern 
the structurally weaker regions of the Community. 
— Vocational training comes under different regulat­
ory systems in the Member States and legislation 
on the matter varies greatly in form and degree of 
detail. Vocational training is provided by many 
different state and private establishments, by 
schools, universities as well as by public and private-
sector firms. Because of this, the state's powers 
and responsibilities for promoting and regulating 
vocational training are often less clear-cut than they 
are in the case of general school education. On the 
other hand the multiplicity of vocational training 
facilities and the range of courses on offer are a 
guarantee of flexibility. Flexibility, however, does not preclude state regulation of such things as con­
ditions of access to vocational training and compar­
able end-of-course examinations. 
— Comparable vocational qualifications recognized 
throughout the Community are of vital importance 
if a single domestic market is to be established and 
workers are to enjoy freedom of movement within 
the Community. But, in turn comparable qualifi­
cations cannot become a reality unless the objectives 
and content of vocational training have first been 
harmonized so that the different forms and estab­
lishments of vocational training (e.g. firms, state, 
schools, private establishments) can compete with 
each other in terms of quality. Achieving this goal 
requires single-minded determination on the part of 
all those involved (national governments, the two 
sides of industry, Community bodies). In this con­
nection the Community has a vitally important role 
to play in the fields of coordination, the dissemi­
nation of information and the promotion of appro­
priate initiatives to help secure Community-wide 
acceptance for additional vocational qualifications. 
2. General comments 
2.1. The Committee by and large agrees with the 
Commission's analysis of the present situation and 
shares its evaluation of vocational training require­
ments in the Member States of the Community. It also 
approves in principle the proposal for a Decision along 
with the planned measures appended thereto. 
2.2. The Committee nevertheless also recognizes the 
very limited scope of the proposed measures in terms 
of achieving the abovementioned general objectives of 
a widely-recognized vocational training policy in the 
Member States, or the beginnings of a coordinated 
Community policy. The Committee would therefore 
appeal to the Member States to look beyond the pro­
posal for a Decision and make every effort to seek 
quantitative and qualitative improvements in 
vocational training opportunities for young persons, 
harmonizing them at the highest possible level. The aim 
is to secure the mutual recognition of end-of-course 
qualifications. 
2.3. We would emphasize, however, that the tran­
sition from vocational training to the labour market 
poses particularly difficult problems for a large number 
of young people. Indeed, however apparent the need 
for practical and high-quality vocational training, this 
still cannot solve the quantitative problems of the lab­
our market (particularly that of youth unemployment) 
especially since the latter is also bound up with the 
regional economic structure in question. Vocational 
training policy can therefore neither dispense with, nor 
replace, an active labour-market policy. 
2.4. The Committee would strongly emphasize that 
the vocational skills imparted must also be related 
to labour-market needs, just as they must also take 
particular account of regional possibilities and require­
ments. Success in imparting vocational skills often 
depends on the background against which the training 
takes place. 
No C 180/50 Official Journal of the European Communities 8. 7. 87 
3. Specific comments 
3.1. The Committee sees in the Committee to be set 
up under Article 3 of the draft Decision a particularly 
good opportunity (a) to embark on a high-level 
exchange of information about vocational-training sys­
tems and requirements in the Member States, (b) to 
develop proposals aimed at securing qualitative and 
quantitative harmonization, and (c) to ensure that the 
experiences of individual Member States can be used 
to the benefit of others. 
3.2. With regard to the proposed 'partnership initiat­
ives', support should be given in particular to the estab­
lishment of links between highly developed and disad­
vantaged regions of the Community with the aim of 
initiating an intensive exchange of ideas that can be put 
to practical use. Another aim of transfrontier partner­
ships might be to draw up proposals on the further 
development of national regulatory systems covering 
vocational training. 
3.3. A particular problem is posed by the fact that 
vocational-training facilities and regulatory systems are 
highly developed and structured in some regions of the 
Community but less so in others. This means that not 
only funds but also information and specialist advice 
in particular are needed if vocational training oppor­
tunities for young people are to be further developed 
and gradually harmonized. The Committee therefore 
regards as particularly important and promising the 
proposal that specialist assistance be provided through 
the sending of teams of advisers. Success nevertheless 
depends on intensive planning and a clear statement of 
the innovatory objectives of the projects. 
3.4. The Committee also calls for the inclusion of 
activities which are likely to reduce language barriers 
in the Community, thereby facilitating the Community-
wide use of vocational-training qualifications. 
3.5. The proposed review of vocational qualifi­
cations should clearly revolve round comparisons of 
curricula and course content. The aim of the review 
should be to harmonize end-of-course vocational quali­
fications so that they are recognized across national 
borders. 
3.6. In the context of the proposed action pro­
gramme the Committee would generally expect to see 
Done at Brussels, 14 May 1987. clear priorities for implementing the fundamental objec­
tives of a Community-wide vocational-training policy 
aimed at improving and also harmonizing at the highest 
possible level the financial, legal and pedagogical par­
ameters for national vocational-training policies. In the 
case of the proposed projects, however, it is not always 
clear what the priorities are — apart from the fact that 
there is altogether a blatant incongruity between the 
problems that have to be surmounted in the field of 
vocational training in the Community, and the actual 
size of the funds earmarked for Community action. 
3.7. The Committee considers that one of the most 
effective ways of boosting employment is to promote 
training activities which create job opportunities in 
small and medium-sized enterprises and give people 
greater motivation to set up in business on their own. 
3.8. Young women in almost all countries of the 
Community are particularly affected by vocational 
training and labour-market problems. The Committee 
therefore welcomes the measures to be taken by the 
Commission to help this particular target group. Such 
measures must be given high priority. 
3.9. The form and content of vocational-training 
courses can only be of maximum effectiveness if instruc­
tors are sufficiently well qualified. The measures to 
improve instructor training provided for in the Com­
mission programme are therefore strongly supported 
by the Committee. 
3.10. The Committee considers that it makes 
extremely good sense to involve Cedefop in (a) provid­
ing the necessary scientific and statistical data for the 
Commission's activities, and (b) monitoring the compa­
rability of vocational qualifications. The Committee 
also assumes that Cedefop has already accumulated 
experience which may be extremely important from the 
point of view of achieving the Commission's objectives 
within the framework of the action programme. 
3.11. The Committee requests that it also be sent the 
interim and final reports referred to in Article 4 of the 
draft Council Decision. 
The Chairman 
of the Economic and Social Committee 
Alfons MARGOT