No C 12/16 Official Journal of the European Communities 18. 1. 90 
Proposal for a Council Decision proposing the adoption of a Community action programme for 
the development of continuing vocational training 
COM(89) 567 final 
(Submitted by the Commission on 20 November 1989) 
(90/C 12/08) 
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, 
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European 
Economic Community, and in particular Article 128 
thereof, 
Having regard to the Commission proposal, 
Having regard to the opinion of the European 
Parliament, 
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and 
Social Committee, 
Whereas the fundamental objectives of a common vo­
cational training policy set forth in the second principle 
of Decision 63/266/EEC (') refer, in particular, to the 
need to promote basic and advanced vocational training 
and, where appropriate, retraining, suitable for the 
various stages of working life; whereas the 10th principle 
of Decision 63/266/EEC states that special measures 
may be taken in respect of special problems concerning 
special sectors of activity or specific categories of person; 
Whereas the European Council affirmed that completion 
of the internal market must go hand in hand with 
improved access to vocational training (Hanover, 27 and 
28 June 1998); whereas it stressed that Community 
action should help to develop available human resources 
and the preparation of future changes and technical 
adjustment; whereas the reform of training systems, 
including continuing vocational training, will play a vital 
role in achieving these objectives (Rhodes, 2 and 3 
December 1988); whereas it noted the agreement 
reached by the Council on continuing vocational training 
(Madrid, 26 and 27 June 1989); 
Whereas on 15 March 1989 the European Parliament 
adopted a resolution on the social dimension of the 
internal market (2) in which it emphasized investment in training and making the most of human resources; 
whereas, in particular, it considered that vocational 
training and the management of human resources are 
decisive factors in the adaptation of undertakings and 
their capacity to respond to change, and that conse­
quently it is essential to encourage them to invest in 
these areas; 
Whereas in its resolution of 5 June 1989 on continuing 
vocational training (}) the Council stressed that 
continuing vocational training plays an important role in 
the strategy for achieving, by 1992, both the internal 
market, including its social dimension, and economic and 
social cohesion, as a determining factor in economic and 
social policy; whereas it considered that all workers 
should, in the light of requirements, have access to 
continuing vocational training, and benefit therefrom; 
whereas it requested the Member States, with due regard 
for the powers under national law of the parties 
concerned, to take or promote a number of measures; 
whereas it requested the Commission to lay before it as 
soon as possible an action programme on continuing 
vocational training; 
Whereas the acceleration of technical, economic and 
industrial change against a background of increased 
competition and the advent of the completion of the 
internal market demand at this juncture reinforcement of 
the anticipatory and adaptational role played by 
continuing vocational training and the reinforcement of 
existing measures; 
Whereas equality as regards access to continuing vo­
cational training is essential to promote equal treatment 
for men and women; 
Whereas the monitoring of changes in qualifications is 
an essential factor in developing initial and continuing 
vocational training operations adapted to the 
requirements of the labour market; 
(') OJ No 63, 20. 4. 1963, p. 1338/63. 
O OJ No C 96, 17. 4. 1989, p. 61. O OJ No C 148, 15. 6. 1989, p. 1. 
18. 1.90 Official Journal of the European Communities NoC 12/17 
Whereas cooperation between Member States is likely to 
enable them to reinforce continuing vocational training 
arrangements open to all workers, to contribute to 
developing human resources through training and 
investment in human resources, to make a significant 
contribution to access to continuing vocational training 
for all workers, and to promote the European dimension 
so as to give vitality to the functions of anticipation, 
adaptation and the promotion of social advancement 
through continuing vocational training; whereas such 
cooperation should be based on existing measures in 
force in the Member States, while respecting the 
diversity of national legal systems and national practices, 
and the powers under internal law of the parties 
concerned and contractual autonomy; 
Whereas the Community can make a significant contri­
bution to cooperation between Member States by 
developing an action programme with the aim of 
supporting and supplementing the policies and activities 
developed by and in the Member States in the area of 
continuing vocational training; whereas this action 
programme should be organized in such a way that it 
interacts with the tasks and actions of the European 
Social Fund ('), the Eurotecnet (2) and Comett (3) 
programmes, the IRIS network (4) on vocational training 
for women with a view to 1992, and experimental 
schemes promoted by the SMEs (5); 
Whereas this programme should be designed to 
mobilized all the parties concerned in the development of 
continuing vocational training and promote the 
coherence of new measures introduced by and in the 
Member States; whereas it should therefore include two 
complementary parts, a common framework of general 
principles and a number of transnational measures; 
whereas the common framework of general measures is 
designed to promote the coherence of measures adopted 
by the public authorities in the Member States, especially 
with a view to bringing about a significant improvement 
in access to continuing vocational training; whereas the 
transnational measures are intended to give a significant 
Community impetus to the Member States' efforts to 
promote the development of continuing vocational 
training and make sure that the Community makes a 
significant contribution to the activities developed by and 
in the Member States in this field; 
(') OJ No L 185, 15. 12. 1988, p. 9, and 
OJ No L 374, 31. 12. 1988, p. 21. 
(') OJ No C 186, 25. 6. 1983, p. 1. 
(J) OJ No L 13, 17. 1. 1989, p. 28. 
(4) OJ No L 342, 4. 12. 1987, p. 35. 
(5) OJ No L 239, 16. 8.1989, p. 33. Whereas on 6 March 1987 the two sides of industry at 
Community level (UNICE, CEEP, ETUC) adopted a 
joint opinion on training and motivation; whereas they 
are presently working on a new joint opinion setting out 
their policy as regards continuing vocational training; 
whereas, accordingly, it is appropriate to associate them 
closely with the implementation of the action programme 
with a view to establishing synergy with work on the 
social dialogue, 
HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS: 
Article 1 
An action programme for the development of continuing 
vocational training in the Community is hereby adopted 
for the period 1 July 1990 to 31 December 1993. Its aim 
is to support and complement the policies and activities 
developed by and in the Member States in the area of 
continuing vocational training. It is so designed as to 
involve all the parties concerned (undertakings, training 
bodies, the two sides of industry and public authorities) 
and to make their efforts on the following objectives 
converge. 
Every European Community worker must have access to 
vocational training and be able to benefit from it 
throughout his working life. The conditions of access to 
such training may not include discrimination on grounds 
of nationality. 
The public authorities, undertakings or the two sides of 
industry, each within their own sphere of competence, 
must set up continuing and permanent training systems 
enabling every individual to undergo retraining, more 
especially through leave for training purposes, to 
improve his skills or to acquire new skills, particularly in 
the light of technical developments. 
Article 2 
The objectives of the programme are: 
(a) to encourage greater investment in continuing vo­
cational training and an improved return from it, in 
particular by developing innovatory partnerships 
designed to encourage greater awareness among the 
public authorities (especially in the regions), under­
takings (in particular SMEs), the two sides of 
industry and individual workers, of the benefits 
accruing from investment in training; 
(b) to support innovations in training management, 
training methods and training facilities, particularly 
with a view to developing training schemes for those 
categories of workers, economic sectors or regions 
of the Community which are currently lagging 
No C 12/18 Official Journal of the 
behind in terms of participation and training 
investment; 
(c) to promote the strategic planning and design of 
schemes which take account explicitly of the conse­
quences of the completion of the internal market, in 
particular by supporting transnational and trans­
frontier partnerships and the exchange of infor­
mation and experience; 
(d) to contribute to greater effectiveness of training 
mechanisms and their capacity to respond to changes 
in the Community labour market, by reinforcing 
measures at all levels to monitor and analyse the 
development of continuing vocational training, 
identifying better ways of forecasting requirements in 
terms of qualifications and occupations and ensuring 
a general and effective dissemination of information 
on these trends. 
Article 3 
The programme includes two complementary parts 
which respect the principle of subsidiarity: 
(a) a common framework of general principles designed 
to support and complement the policies and 
measures adopted by the Member States, bearing in 
mind the responsibilities of the parties concerned 
under national law, with a view to promoting the 
development of continuing vocational training, as set 
forth in Article 5; 
(b) a number of transitional measures implemented at 
Community level, designed to support and 
complement activities developed by and in the 
Member States, as described in Article 6 and the 
Annex. 
Article 4 
For the purposes of this decision: 
— the phrase 'continuing vocational training' is used in 
a general sense to denote any vocational training 
engaged in by a worker in the European Community 
throughout his working life. The training operations 
are intended to perform one of three functions, 
within an undertaking or outside it, as appropriate: 
— to ensure permanent adaptation to the changing 
nature and content of occupations, and hence the 
improvement of skills and qualifications 
imperative for strengthening the competitiveness 
of European undertakings and their staff, European Communities 18. 1. 90 
— to promote social conditions to enable large 
numbers of workers to overcome their lack of 
qualifications and thereby to improve their 
situation, 
— to anticipate the consequence of the completion 
of the internal market and to overcome the diffi­
culties arising in sectors of undertaking 
undergoing economic or technological restruc­
turing, 
— the word 'undertaking' is used to denote all types of 
economic activity, including large and small busi­
nesses, regardless of their legal status or the 
economic sector in which they operate, 
— the phrase 'training body' is used to denote all types 
of public, semi-public or private establishment 
engaged in vocational training, further training, 
updating or retraining activities, regardless of the 
way in which they are referred to in the Member 
States. By extension, the phrase 'training body' also 
denotes professional associations and autonomous 
economic organizations (in particular Chambers of 
Commerce and Industry and/or their equivalents) 
which organize training courses for third parties, 
— the word 'worker' is used to denote any person 
obtaining an income from their employment, 
including the self-employed. 
Article 5 
1. The common framework of general principles and 
the transnational measures provided for in Article 6 
contribute to promoting the convergence of measures, 
provisions and new initiatives adopted by the Member 
States, in accordance with their national legal systems 
and practices, bearing in mind the responsibilities of the 
parties concerned under national law, while respecting 
contractual bargaining systems, which seek: 
(a) to promote the European dimension of schemes to 
give impetus to the functions of anticipation, adap­
tation and social advancement assured by continuing 
vocational training; 
(b) to ensure, in concertation with labour and 
management, that the least qualified workers, 
whatever their status, benefit from continuing vo­
cational training measures, enabling them to obtain a 
basic qualification; 
(c) to promote real equality of opportunity for men and 
women as regards access to continuing vocational 
training; 
(d) to strengthen incentives for undertakings, 
particularly small businesses, to invest in continuing 
vocational training; 
18. 1.90 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 12/19 
(e) to seek, after consulting management and labour, to 
improve at all levels the forecasting of trends in 
qualifications and to achieve greater convergence 
between the objectives of vocational training and 
employment; 
(f) to improve, by procedures adapted to national 
conditions and customs, and, if necessary, in stages, 
the supply of continuing vocational training and to 
reinforce existing arrangements for continuing vo­
cational training, in order to meet the specific needs 
of small and medium-sized businesses and the 
demands of labour and management at all levels in 
relation to the development of new forms of part­
nership; 
(g) to ensure that all workers who are nationals of 
Member States are afforded equal treatment as 
regards access to continuing vocational training; 
(h) to promote the individual right to continuing vo­
cational training according to conditions to be laid 
down by each Member State. 
2. Within two years of the date of this Decision and 
subsequently on an annual basis, the Member States shall 
send to the Commission a report on the steps taken to 
implement this common framework of general principles, 
including information on current arrangements to 
promote continuing vocational training, the levels of 
such training and financing methods. These reports and 
summaries thereof will be assessed with the national 
authorities in consultation with labour and management. 
Article 6 
In order to give a significant Community impetus to the 
efforts of the Member States to develop continuing voca­
tional training and to ensure a genuine Community 
contribution to the activities developed by and in the 
Member States, the Commission shall implement the 
following transnational measures: 
1. support for innovation in continuing vocational 
training; 
2. analysis, monitoring and evaluation of the devel­
opment of continuing vocational training and improved access to it; forecasting of changes with 
regard to qualifications and occupations; 
3. supplementary back-up measures. 
Detailed provisions regarding these measures are set out 
in the Annex. 
Article 7 
From 1 January 1991, the annual appropriations needed 
to cover the Community contribution to the schemes 
provided for in the programme will be set out in the 
annual budgetary procedure. These appropriations are 
intended for the financing of various schemes set out in 
detail in the Annex, including the appropriate measures 
taken to ensure technical assistance at Community level, 
continuous monitoring and evaluation of the programme. 
The appropriations considered necessary to cover the 
first two years of the programme will form part of future 
budgets in accordance with the financial perspectives for 
1988 to 1992 (decided in June 1988 by the three 
Institutions jointly) and their adjustments. 
Article 8 
1. The Commission shall secure the cooperation of 
the European Centre for the Development of Vocational 
Training (Cedefop), on the terms set out in Council 
Regulation EEC No 337/75 (»). 
2. Before 30 June 1992 the Commission shall present 
to the Council, the European Parliament, the Economic 
and Social Committee and the Advisory Committee on 
Vocational Training an interim report on the launch 
phase and, before 30 June 1994, a final report on the 
implementation of the programme. 
Article 9 
The Commission shall implement the programme in 
accordance with the provisions set out in the Annex. 
Article 10 
This Decision is addressed to the Member States. 
0) OJ No L 39, 13. 2. 1975, p. 1. 
No C 12/20 Official Journal of the European Communities 18. 1. 90 
ANNEX 
COMMUNITY ACTION PROGRAMME FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF CONTINUING 
VOCATIONAL TRAINING 
The following measures are to be implemented: 
ACTION I 
Support for innovation in continuing vocational training 
(a) Achieving synergy in innovation 
The Community could support activities at Community level and the operation of a European network 
of transnational operations with a view to stimulating all possible forms of partnership between the 
parties concerned, to improve the design, organization and assessment of continuing vocational 
training operations with particular reference to the general objectives of the programme and to 
encourage the transfer of knowledge and know-how in the Community. It is up to the Member States 
to ensure the establishment and financing of the transnational operations as such and to present in the 
Community support frameworks measures to be financed jointly by the European Social Fund. The 
aim of assistance from the programme is to develop and improve links between operations at 
Community level through animation and collaboration activities and dissemination of information and 
experience. Under the heading of organization, Community assistance could be granted for: 
(i) an exchange scheme to promote the rapid dissemination of innovations in continuing vocational 
training while promoting the European dimension of certain training operations aimed at bringing 
about a significant improvement in access to continuing vocational training; the Community could 
provide support in the form of grants for training courses in firms or training bodies in another 
Member State, for full-time instructors, staff, in human resources departments, staff representatives 
in firms and training specialists in regional consortia; 
(ii) preparatory work on the design and development of transnational or cross-frontier continuing 
vocational training pilot schemes, in close liaison with firms and groups of firms in various Member 
States with a view to promoting the transfer of information and know-how in the Community, 
while giving priority to the needs of small businesses, and explicitly taking into account the conse­
quences of completing the internal market, in particular: workers' geographical mobility; 
promotion of equal opportunities for men and women; forecasting of trends in occupations and 
qualifications and development of training at Community level. 
(b) European sectoral surveys of training plans 
The Community could support sectoral surveys of training plans which would examine the following 
topics: methods of drawing up training plans at firm level; cost-effectiveness evaluation of training at 
firm level; firm-level agreements and practices; techniques used to develop training and improve the 
access of workers who have few qualifications; are working part-time and on an insecure basis. 
(c) Community financial contribution 
The contribution will be limited to the costs directly incurred under (a) and (b). The Community could 
cover the management costs of the European network and cooperation activities (conferences, seminars 
and workshops) and the dissemination of knowledge (publications, video); and with respect to organiz­
ational activities: grants for training courses — the Community contribution would be limited to the 
direct costs of mobility and could not exceed a ceiling of ECU 7 500 per grant and per beneficiary for 
training courses of up to three months. Preparatory work on the design and development of transna­
tional or cross-frontier continuing vocational training pilot schemes: the Community contribution 
would be limited to 50 % of eligible expenditure incurred up to a celling of ECU 100 000 per year and 
per project for transnational or cross-frontier projects for a maximum of two years. 
The Community could cover the design, implementation and assessment costs of sectoral surveys, up to 
a celling of ECU 0,5 million, throughout their duration. 
18. 1.90 Official Journal of the European Communities NoC 12/21 
ACTION II 
Analysis, monitoring, assessment and forecasting 
(a) Analysis and monitoring mechanism on the implementation of the common framework of general principles 
In support of reports presented by the Member States on the implementation of the common 
framework of general principles, through Eurostat the Community, while improving existing statistical 
instruments and data collection, plans to launch a survey on training and continuing vocational 
training. This survey should provide inter alia basic information on the number of beneficiaries of 
training, length of courses, level of qualifications, costs of training and methods of financing. 
(b) Analysis oj contractual policy on continuing vocational training 
The Community plans to support the preparation of a coherent table for the analysis of practices, 
contractual arrangements and collective agreements on continuing training agreed at all levels 
concerned in collective bargaining in the Member States. It will be used to identify and disseminate 
innovatory contractual agreements. 
To encourage the dissemination of innovatory contractual agreements the Community could award 
support grants for exchanges of those involved in the social process (members of socio-professional 
organizations) to employers'/workers' organizations or joint bodies in other Member States. 
(c) Forecasting trends in qualifications and occupations 
Drawing on work developed by Cedefop in this field, and with its assistance, a network of highly 
specialized experts in the analysis and forecasting of trends in qualifications and occupations could be 
made responsible for work aimed at promoting the comparability and convergence of methodologies 
relating to the analysis of training needs and changes on the labour market, and the development of a 
common analysis table. 
(d) Community financial contribution 
This will be limited to the direct costs entered into under (a), (b) and (c). The Community could cover 
the cost of the Eurostat survey analysis tables on contractual agreements and forecasting trends in 
qualifications and occupations. With respect to grants for exchanges, the Community financial contri-t 
bution will be limited to the direct costs of mobility and must not exceed ECU 7 500 per grant per 
beneficiary, for exchanges of up to three months. 
ACTION III 
Supplementary accompanying measures 
The accompanying measures will concern monitoring the implementation of the programme, technical 
assistance and assessment of the achievement of the general objectives of the programme and concertation 
with those responsible for training within the public authorities, the two sides of industry and firms. 
The Community financial contribution could cover up to 100 % of actual expenditure incurred.