WRITTEN QUESTION E-0915/97 by Mihail Papayannakis (GUE/NGL) to the Commission (12 March 1997)

Subject: Funds for vocational training

Given the importance of the funding for vocational training in the second CSF for Greece and the fact that the organizational and functional systems for training centres in Greece have for a long time been practically inoperative, can the Commission provide the following information:

1. What progress has been made by efforts to establish a reliable and efficient system of vocational training in Greece?

2. How did the certifications system for vocational training centres, which was introduced in the summer of 1995 and promised to be basically trustworthy and reliable, operate or fail to operate, as the case may be?

3. What steps will the Commission take in view of the fact that the continual legal and administrative changes are making life difficult for viable vocational training centres which have scrupulously complied with the existing statutory framework and which are now facing serious problems because of the snags encountered by the certification procedures?

4. Has expenditure to date on vocational training programmes been assessed?

5. In connection with the forthcoming review of the second CSF what steps will the Commission take to safeguard the level of funding earmarked for human resources in Greece?

Answer given by Mr Flynn on behalf of the Commission (25 April 1997)

1. In the framework of the partnership between the Commission and the Member State, a new certification system has been elaborated and was recently adopted by the Greek Parliament. This new institutional framework constitutes a significant step towards the establishment of a more efficient and transparent system as well as being a key element in the development of better quality actions.

In establishing objective qualitative criteria and a better assessment of training needs, the accreditation centre will contribute, through a considerable reduction in the number of vocational training centres (KEKs), to the improvement of the training programmes.

2. On July 1996, the monitoring committee of the operational programme 'Continuing training', proposed a new ministerial decision concerning the certification procedures of KEKs.

This decision has not been implemented and no certification has taken place, as a result of the irregularities in the functioning of the national accreditation centre which the Commission checks revealed.

3. In order to ensure continuity of actions in 1997, the Commission is ready to discuss with the ministry of Labour the establishment of a transitional programme for this year, on the basis of a relevant proposal to be submitted by the Greek authorities. It was agreed that for this transitional programme:

- there would be no provisional certification;

- the implementing agencies would be selected on the basis of commonly agreed, clearly defined and objective criteria;

- the ministry of Labour and the manpower employment organisation will ensure the necessary structures for the management monitoring and control of relevant actions.

4. The ministry of Labour within the next few weeks will publish two calls for tender for the selection of evaluators for the operational programmes 'Continuing training' and 'Combatting exclusion'.

5. The Commission has obtained the firm commitment of the respective Greek ministers that all necessary steps will be taken, in order to give the human resources actions the necessary priority and therefore, all the existing financial resources will be fully allocated accordingly.