WRITTEN QUESTION P-2925/02

by Konstantinos Hatzidakis (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(9 October 2002)

Subject: Effectiveness of training programmes in Greece

According to information in the report from the European Commission's Enterprise Directorate-General entitled Benchmarking Enterprise Policy Results from the 2001 Scoreboard, only 1 % of the population aged between 15 and 64 in Greece has participated in training and education programmes. In contrast, other Member States have much higher rates, approaching 20 %. This is despite the fact that for the 1994-1999 period, the budget for credits in Greece, through the second CSF, from the operating programmes Life-Long Learning and Employment Promotion, Combating Exclusion from the Labour Market and Education and Initial Training amounted to EUR 3 411 million.

Why do we in Greece have this disastrous shortfall in the numbers of people trained despite generous Community funding, and what steps has the Commission taken to ensure that better use is made of Community aid?

Answer given by Mrs Diamantopoulou on behalf of the Commission

(8 November 2002)

In the Enterprise DG's report entitled Benchmarking Enterprise Policy Results from the 2001 Scoreboard, to which the Honourable Member refers, the section on human resources shows the percentage of the population in the 25 to 64 age-group which participated in training measures in all the EU Member States. Training aimed at this age-group is mainly concerned with lifelong learning.

This policy has only recently been put in place in Greece, which accounts for the low percentage figures for 1997 and 2000. However, the policy of developing lifelong learning is now a priority within the current Community support framework (CSF) and is a particular focus of attention for both the Member State concerned and the Commission.

The sum mentioned in the parliamentary question, on the other hand, refers to the total budget of three specific operational programmes in the period 1994 to 1999: the programmes on continuing training and employment promotion, on combating labour market exclusion, and on education.

According to the information contained in the final claims for payment under these programmes, it appears that 731 040 people were provided with initial or continuing training, making an average of 146 208 people a year. Given that the active population (aged 15 to 64) comprised 3 767 980 persons (national statistics), the average percentage of people taking part in training and education programmes in the period from 1994 to 1999 was 4 %. The total sum earmarked for these programmes by the European Social Fund was EUR 2 952,8 million.

However, it should be stressed that during this period, national priorities were focused on improving arrangements and structures in education and the jobs market on the one hand, and on tackling unemployment and social exclusion on the other. Much of this funding was therefore used in pursuit of these objectives. This is why the proportion of unemployed people who took part in training (45 584 persons a year on average) was only 10 % of the total number of persons registered as unemployed (an annual average of 460 760).

Given that many of the arrangements and structures in the fields of education, training and employment were put in place in the period from 1994 to 1999, the main priority in the current programming period 2000-2006 is on back-up measures for the European employment strategy (tailored approach, active employment measures, lifelong learning, equal opportunities). The number of persons provided with training thus rose to 311 601 in 2001, i.e. around 7,1 % of the active population. Furthermore, it is expected that this figure will increase to 454 987 in 2002.