Final report on the implementation of the PETRA Programme - Action programme for the vocational training of young people and their preparation for adult and working life
Date: 1997-07-22
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU programme, action programme, vocational training, young person, youth unemployment

COMMISSION  OF THE EUROPEAN  COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 22.07.1997 
COM(97) 385  final 

FINAL REPORT ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF 
THE PETRA PROGRAMME 

Action programme for the vocational 
training of young people and their preparation 
for adult and working life 

(presented by the Commission) 

INTRODUCTION 

1. IMPLEMENTATION  OF THE  PROGRAMME 

, 

1.1. Council Decision 
1.2. Implementation and results of the  actions of the Programme 
1.3. Management and Consultation Procedures 
1.4. Financial Resources 

2. POLICY  DEVELOPMENTS AT MEMBER STATE LEVEL 

2.1. Enhancing participation 

2.1.1.  Fixing  quantitative  targets  for  participation  in initial  vocational 

training 

2.1.2. Establishment  of an entitlement  or right to obtain  a  vocational 

qualification  or to take part in vocational training 

2.1.3. Extending provision of initial vocational training 
2.1.4. Raising the status and attractiveness of vocational  training 
2.1.5. Vocational guidance 
2.1.6. Promoting equal opportunities for young men and women 
2.1.7. Disadvantaged persons 

2.2.  Raising quality of Vocational Training and Adapting to change 

2.2.1.  Promoting  creativity,  initiative  and  enterpreneurial  spirit  in 

young people 

2.2.2. Qualifying  teachers and training staff 
2.2.3. Certification  of qualifications 
2.2.4.  Reinforcement  of  links  between  training  establishments  and 

industry 

2.2.5. Involving social partners 
2.2.6. Decentralisation - local and regional focus 
2.2.7. Modular organisation of training 

2.3. Transnational  cooperation 

2.3.1. European dimension 
2.3.2. Mobility 
2.3.3. Vocational  language skills 

3. CONCLUSION AND PERSPECTIVES 

ANNEXES 
Annex  1 : Allocation of financial  resources 
Annex 2: Statistical background 
Annex 3: References 

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INTRODUCTION: NATURE AND STRUCTURE OF THE REPORT 
Our society  is faced  with a number of major  challenges, such as the internationalisation  of the economy, the  effects 
of  scientific  and  technological  progress  and  the  changes  brought  about  by  the  information  society.  In  order  to 
respond  appropriately  to these changes  it becomes  more and  more important to foster  qualities  like flexibility,  the 
capacity  to  learn  and  curiosity, and to develop  specialised  and transversal  skills. The challenge  is to master these 
developments and  in this context education  and training play a crucial role. How can workers be equipped with the 
necessary  knowledge  and  skills  to  adapt  quickly  to  new  developments  ? How  can  individuals  acquire  the basic 
skills and qualities, which will serve them throughout their lives ? 

It is clear that these challenges cannot merely be addressed  at national level. Some of the trends in the evolution of 
society  are  international.  Already  in  the  I980's  programmes  on  education  and  training  were  launched  at 
Community  level.  The  awareness  that  action  at  Community  level  "shall  implement  a vocational  training  policy 
which  shall  support  and  supplement  the action  of the  Member  States, while  fully  respecting the responsibility  of 
the  Member  States  for  the  content  and  organisation  of  vocational  training"  is  stated  in  the  Treaty  on  European 
Union, article 127. 

This report aims to give a global analysis of the experiences  from  the PETRA  programme  and to give an impetus 
to  the  implementation  of  the  LEONARDO  DA  VINCI  programme  (Council  Decision  of  06.12.94,  94/I89/EC), 
which  continues the measures of several  Community  programmes  on Vocational  Training  launched  in the  1980's 
and to the  large action  supported  by the  European  Social  Fund  in this  field.  The PETRA  Programme has already 
been the object of an ongoing process of monitoring and evaluation: internal monitoring and evaluation was earned 
out at  programme  level  (Interim  report  of the Commission  and  the present  report),  at  project  level  (each  partner 
handed  in a final  report as well as a financial  statement and relevant  products)  and at participant  level (e.g. young 
people in placements had to evaluate this experience). External evaluation  of the Programme carried out twice with 
art interim  report  in  1993 and a final  report  by the end of the Programme. The evaluation report made by Coopers 
& Lyhrand is available  from  the Commission  services  on request. Ongoing  assessment  also took  place  at various 
seminars  and  very  interesting  conclusions  were drawn  at the closing  seminar  of the PETRA  Programme,  held  in 
Killiney in  1995. ("Report on the closing seminar of the PETRA  Programme'1). 

This final  report  is part of the evaluation  of the PETRA  Programme and has been prepared by the Commission to 
take stock  of the development  of the  PETRA  Programme  from  its beginning  in  1988 to  December  1994, thereby 
fulfilling  the  obligation  of  Article  8  of  the  Council  Decision  91/387/EEC.  It  illustrates  the  progress  made  in 
fulfilling  the  main  function  of  the  PETRA  Programme,  which  was  to  support  and  supplement  policies  and 
activities  in the Member States aimed at achieving a number of specific  objectives  set  out in the Council  Decision 
of  1.12.1987 (87/569/EEC) and amended by the Decision of 22.07.1991 (91/387/EEC). 

This report  will  have two  main  chapters. One deals  with  the  implementation  of the  PETRA  Programme,  and  the 
other gives recent developments  in Member States' policies and legal structure aiming to raise the standard, quality, 
attractiveness and responsiveness of initial vocational training. Finally conclusions and perspectives are stated. 

The chapter on "Policy developments at Member State level" is the most difficult  and ambitious part of this report, 
since it aims to describe measures taken at Member State  level to improve and  innovate  initial  vocational  training 
and  also  to  compare  measures  newly  introduced  in  Member  States  with  the  objectives  set  out  in  the  PETRA 
Programme.  The  aim  is  not  a description  of  national  systems,  but  an  indication  of trends  and  evolutions  in  the 
period  1988-1994 within  the Community.  Due to the  number of themes to  be treated  the  report  can  merely  give 
indications, not a thorough analysis of each theme. 

The main sources for this are the national reports on the development of Member State's systems concerning initial 
vocational  training. These reports were presented  by the Member States  in June-December  1995 as required  under 
the terms of Article  8 of the Council  Decision. To supplement  information  from  the national  reports as well  as to 
provide  relevant  information  from  Spain,  Italy and  the Netherlands, which  did  not submit their  national  report to 

Cuï 

the Commission, other sources were used, notably the Country reports  from  the CEDEFOP: "Vocational education 
and  training  in {Country)", OECD-studies and  a joint  publication  of the CEDEFOP  and  EURYDICE:  "Structures 
of tha  liducation  and  Initial Training  Systems  in the  European  Union".  Earlier  publications  within  the  framework 
of  ihe  PETRA  Programme  have  also  been  used  as  sources,  notably  the  Final  Evaluation  Report  of  the  PETRA 
Programme, phase  1, the interim  report  of the PETRA  Programme, phase  11, and thematic publications  concerning 
the PETRA Programme. 

On) 

I. 

IMPLEMENTATION  OF THE  PROGRAMME 

1.1.  Council  Decision 
The PETRA programme was launched  in  1988 on the basis of the Council Decision of  1  December 
1987  concerning  an  action  programme  for  the  vocational  training  of  young  people  and  their 
preparation  for adult and working life. It was initially intended to run for five years (1 January 1988 
until  31  December  1992). However, during  the  initial  phase of the  Programme,  it became evident 
that the  issue of  initial  vocational  training was attracting  increasing attention  in the policy  agenda 
of  the  Community.  Therefore,  in  November  1990,  the  Commission  submitted  a  proposal 
concerning  an  extension  and  development  of  the  PETRA  Programme,  including  the  previous 
Young  Workers  Exchange  Programme  to  the  Council.  This  proposal  formed  the  basis  for  the 
Council  Decision  of  22  July  1991 which  provided  a consolidated  framework  for  a new  phase  of 
PETRA  to run  from  I January  1992 until  31  December  1994. PETRA  provided the first  practical 
example of the Commission's  strategy to rationalise and coordinate Community action  in the  field 
of vocational  training. This strategy  has been carried  on by the adoption  of the Leonardo da Vinci 
Programme and  by the  implementation  of the programmed  action  of the European  Social  Fund in 
the field  of initial vocational training in particular in objective  I regions and also on a transnational 
level through the Employment-Youthstart Community Initiative. 

The  PETRA  Programme  aimed  at  ensuring  that  all  young  people  had  the  opportunity  to  receive 
one, two or more years of vocational training  leading to a recognised qualification  also inspired the 
Youthstart  proposal  in  the  White  Paper  on  growth,  competitiveness,  employment.  The  main 
activities  supported  by the  Programme  which  are  reflected  in the cuirent  Employment-Youthstart 
Initiative include: 
- 

the  further  introduction  of transnational  work  experience  placements  in training  programmes 
as  a  measure  to  increase  the  esteem  for  training  in  general,  and  to  motivate  participants,  in 
particular; 

-  opportunities  offered  to young  people to take  part  in  self-managed  Youth  Initiative  Projects 
which,  in  a  a  significant  number  of  cases,  encouraged  participants  to  re-enter  mainstream 
education  or training and helped them to establish  a "projet de vie" or their career objectives; 
the development of diversified  training and guidance  provision and of materials reflecting  the 
different  levels of ability of young people through transnational  partnership. 

- 

The development  of training  provision  for  disadvantaged  young people  was  a continuing  theme 
throughout  the  life  of  the  Programme  and  thus,  modules,  approaches  and  materials  which  are 
relevant  in relation  to Employment-Youthstart,  can be found  within the PETRA  legacy. 

Implementation  and  results  of the  actions  of the  Programme 

1.2. 
The  results  of  the  PETRA  programme  consist  of  two  types:  Studies (see  list  of  publications  in 
appendices)  and  the estahlishmeni of networks. There are five groups of networks : - Network  of 
National Coordination  Units (NCUs); - Networks  in Action  f (Placements); - Networks  in Action II 
(Training  Partnerships  and  their  results  and  products);  -  Networks  in  Action  III  (Vocational 
Guidance) and - Research Networks.  The PETRA programme envisaged  four main types of action: 

Action  I:  Support for  training and  work  experience placements  in  another  Member  State,  for 
young people  in  initial  vocational training, young  workers and young  unemployed, and young 
people in advanced programmes. A database on placements and beneficiaries  was set up and  from 
1992  to  1994  a  total  number  of  33.719  young  people  took  up  placements  in  Action  Î.  These 
placements  were  organised  in  a decentralised  way  and  managed  by National  Coordination  Units 
(NCUs)  who  reported  to the Commission.  Several  studies have been  carried  out concerning  these 
placements and their conditions (cf annex 3 : References). 

Certain  National  Coordination  Units  look  the  initiative  to  hold  thematic  seminars  on  Action  I, 
involving all actors in placements. Following one of these seminars, a manual was developed  called 

"Basic  communicative  skills  and  cultural  knowledge  for  transnational  vocational  placements" on 
linguistic and cultural  preparation of young people before departure for the placement. 

Several  networks were set up since the operation  of this Action was decentralised and administered 
by  NCUs,  they  constituted  the  main  Action  I  European  level  network  within  the  programme. 
Through  the network  of NCUs, a partner-finding  service was organised, as was the processing of 
multilateral  application  which required a decision by four or more NCUs. 
Another  European  Network  which  was  associated  with  Action  I  was  the  Informal  Network  of 
Organisers  of  Work  Experience  Placements.  This  was  a  network  which  existed  prior  to  1992 
when the Young Workers Exchange Programme was incorporated  into Action I of PETRA. 

Action  II: Support for  transnational cooperation to link innovative training projects from different 
Member  States,  including  Youth Initiative Projects  (YIPs), in  a  European Network of Training 
Partnerships (ENTP) 

European Network of Training Partnerships (ENTPs): 
Throughout  the  whole  period  (1988-1994)  approximately  1,000  projects  joined  the  Network, 
involving  approximately  160,000 and 30,000 teachers and training staff.  Since  1992, the activities 
of the Network focused  more sharply on the joint development and transfer of training modules, the 
joint  training  of trainers  and  on new thematic  and  sectoral  priorities. The work  carried  out  in this 
field  has given the following results: 

The Compendium  (global overview of the products and training modules of the ENTPs) 

-  The PE7RASYS Database (information  on projects) 

Interactive Follow-up (reports, visits...) 

-  Thematic meetings (exchange of ideas and capitalisation of positive experiences) 

Youth Initiative Projects  (YIPs): 
In addition to the training projects  involved  in the ENTP, almost  1,000 YIPs were supported by the 
Programme  in  the period.  YIPs were  innovative  projects  in which  young  people themselves  were 
mainly  responsible  for  the  planning  and  organisation,  and  which  focused  on  information  on  the 
transition  from  school  to vocational  training and  working  life, and/or encouraged the development 
of  entrepreneurial  skills,  creativity  and  responsibility  among  young  people.  The  total  number  of 
young people directly  involved  in the YIPs since  1988, reached a figure of 25,000. 

Action  HI:  Support for  national  systems  for  the  exchange of  vocational guidance  data  and 
experience, and examples of good practice in vocational guidance, through the establishment of a 
Community network of national contact points and the  training of guidance counsellors/specialists 
on Community aspects of guidance. 

During the  first  phase of  PETRA, Action  III did not exist as an independent action  area. However, 
transnational  cooperation  on the development of new curricular approaches to vocational  guidance 
was the focus  of more than one hundred  projects  involved  in the ENTP. It was therefore  estimated 
that  this  kind  of  projects  should  be one of the  main  actions  of the  PETRA  II  Programme.  In this 
way, since  1992, a more structured  Community  framework  was  implemented  for consultation  and 
cooperation  between the Member States' vocational guidance systems, including 4 measures:. 

•  28  National  Resource  Centres  were  set  up  as  reference  points  and  resource  agencies 

for  guidance  counsellors. 

»  Three  large  transnational  partnership  projects  were  set  up,  which  focused  on  the 
joint  development  of  training  material  and joint  training  activities  for  guidance  experts 
to  increase  awareness,  knowledge  and  experience 
•  Each  national  guidance  centre  was  also  involved 

in  one  or  more  multilateral, 
transnational  development  projects  to  work  out  solutions  to  common  problems  or 

needs,  especially  with  regard  to  the  Community  dimension  of  vocational  guidance. 
For example:  networking  existing databases  in different  Member  States; enhancing  the 
role  of  firms  and  social  partners  in  the  vocational  guidance  process;  cooperation  in 
improving  the quality  of guidance material  and  products. 

•  Finally,  Action  III  promoted  the  dissemination  and  use  of  relevant 

information 
material  prepared  at  Community  level,  e.g.  the  European  Handbook  for  Guidance 
Counsellors,  and  comparative  information  on  the  structures  and  functioning  of 
vocational  guidance  systems  in all Member  States. 

Action 4: Complementary  measures, including support for  the dissemination of the results of the 
Programme; transnational cooperation in research on  the  vocational training of young  people; 
and  technical  assistance  at  Community level,  and  in  Member  States, for  the implementation, 
coordination and evaluation of the programme 

•  Activities  to facilitate  the operation  of the  Programme/information  events 
Since  1988, the  PETRA  Programme  was  presented  at, or contributed  significantly  to. more  than 
200  major  information  events  at  Community  or  national  level  (including  launching  conferences, 
thematic  seminars,  national  and  international  training  fairs)  and  numerous  regional  events.  This 
activity  was  supported  by  the  provision  of  information  material  (e.g.  Vademecum,  project 
directories, thematic publications, leaflets, PETRA Yearbook) and sendees offered  by the media. 

«  Activities  to Support  Cooperative  Research  and  Studies / Research  Networks 
The PETRA Programme provided  for transnational  bilateral and multilateral  research  partnerships, 
involving more than 70 research institutes nominated by the national authorities, to work on a set of 
specific  themes directly related to the objectives of the PETRA Decisions. These partnerships have 
now completed their work, and their results are being made available to underpin  Community-level 
cooperation  in the provision of vocational training and to support further development in policy and 
practice. Several major  studies were completed, with expert assistance from  all Member States (cf 
point  Action  I), on  the  social  and  legal  status  of young  people  involved  in transnational  training 
placements,  on  the  recognition  and  certification  of  transnational  work  experience  and  training 
placements,  and  finally  on  improving  and  completing  information  on  the  participation  of  young 
people in vocational training. 
The  PETRA  Programme  also provided  technical  and/or  financial  assistance to a number  of  other 
networks which were concerned with topics of relevance to the Programme's aims and  objectives, 
including  the  European  Forum  of  Technical  and  Vocational  Education  and  Training;  European 
Secondary Headteachers Associations; and the European Work Experience. 

«  Development  of statistical  indicators 
As part of cooperation with  EUROSTAT, a study was carried out on the development of statistical 
indicator ("Development  of Statistics on  initial vocational training -final  report"). The work in this 
field is  being  continued  in the  Leonardo  da  Vinci  Programme,  Strand  III.2.b: ("Development  of 
knowledge  in  the  field  of  vocational  training,  exchange  of  comparable  data  in  the  sphere  of 
vocational training"). 

•  Study  Visit  Scheme 
Complementary  measures were also taken to ensure close coordination  with the study visit scheme 
for  practitioners  and  policy-makers  in the field of vocational  training which  was  administered  by 
CEDEFOP  (European  Center  for  the  development  of  Vocational  Training),  on  behalf  of  the 
Commission. These visits were organised on a thematic basis and were undertaken  in small groups 
each  comprising  participants  from  several  Member  States.  By  June  1993,  nearly  800  training 
specialists from  ail Member States had benefited  from  visits which had a special thematic  focus on 
the  priorities  of  PETRA.  Work  in  this  field  is  being  continued  within  the  framework  of  the 
Leonardo da Vinci  Programme: Strand  III.3.b: "Development of the dissemination  cf  innovation in 

the  field  of  vocational  training;  transnational  exchange  programmes;  study  visits".  Study  visits 
continue to be administered by CEDEFOP on behalf of the European Commission. 

1.3.  Management  and  Consultation  Procedures 
The  European  Commission  had  responsibility  for the overall  management of the Programme. The 
Commission  worked with two bodies, set up by the Council Decision to ensure the  implementation 
of the  Programme: the  Advisory  Committee and the National  Coordination  Units. In addition, the 
Commission  called  upon  experts  when  necessary  and  the  Commission  was  also  assisted  by  a 
Technical Assistance  Office. 

1.4.  Financial  Resources 
Financial  support  from  the  Community,  provided  within  the framework  of  PETRA  I (1988-1991 
amounted  to  39.99  Million  ECU. The  amount  available  for  PETRA  II (1992-1994)  was  105.318 
Million  ECU.  The  increase  in  the  financial  resources  of  the  programme  over  the  years  was 
particularly  important,  evolving  from  8 Million  ECU  in  1988 to a budget  of 40 Million  ECU  in 
1994. This progression  was due, to a large extent, to the continuing  support of the Programme by 
the  European  Parliament.  However,  the  financial  resources  of  the  Programme  have  not  been 
sufficient  to satisfy  the increasing demand for participation  in its different  activities, (annex  1  for a 
table on the allocation of financial resources to the various actions of the programme). 

POLICY  DEVELOPMENTS  AT  MEMBER  STATE  LEVEL 

2. 
The purpose of this chapter  is to draw the attention to trend in policy developments in the Member 
States which are compatible with and contribute to the achievement of the objectives of the PETRA 
Programme.  The  thematic  method  of  presenting  changes  in  national  systems,  as  opposed  to  a 
"country  by"  approach,  has  been  chosen  despite  of  the  differences  in  the  organisation  of  initial 
vocational  training  at  national  training.  Even  though  systems  may  seem  different,  the  challenges 
met by the Member States are very much alike, such as high unemployment rates for young people, 
(see  annex  2,  Fig. 2 and  Fig.  5) problems  concerned  with  the  insertion  of young  people  into the 
labour  market  and  a  growing  need  for  a  skilled  work  force.  Initial  vocational  training  systems 
throughout  the  Community  vary  considerably,  according  to  each  national  current  economic 
situation,  culture  and  traditions.  Generally  all  countries  are  continuously  adapting  their  national 
systems  for  initial  vocational  training  and  this  chapter  explains  these  changes  briefly.  Some 
countries  made  great  progress  in  their  aspiration  for  change  and  have  made  major  structural 
reforms  to  their  systems,  notably  Denmark,  Greece,  Spain,  France,  Ireland,  Portugal  and 
Luxembourg.  Other  countries  have  chosen  to  adjust  their  systems  where  necessary  without 
changing the basic system. 

2.1.  Enhancing  participation 
The first principal  objective  of the  PETRA  Programme was  "to support the policies and activities 
of the Member States that are aimed at ensuring that all young people  in the Community who so 
wish receive one year's, or if possible, two or more year's vocational training,  in addition to their 
full-time  compulsory education, and  leading to  a  recognised qualification" and  these  objectives 
should  be  seen  in the  context  of the employment  situation  for  young people. (For  a comment on 
basic statistics, please cf. annex, 2) 

The  statistics  reflect  both  demographic  trends and the tendency of young people to stay  longer in 
education  and  training.  It  should  be  noted  that  school-leavers  without  a qualification  continue  to 
form  a group of young people for whom  the risk of unemployment  is up to four times higher than 
for  those  with  a  qualification.  There  is  no  doubt  that  successful  basic  education  and  initial 
vocational  training  provide  the  key  to  young  people's  integration  to  the  labour  market,  in  all 
Member States. Training systems will therefore  have to pay special attention to the development of 
opportunities for young people leaving compulsory school with low levels of achievement. 
Moreover,  it should  be born  in  mind  that  growth  in employment  and opportunities  for  vocational 
careers  occur  primarily  in  more  highly  skilled  occupations.  Within  occupational  sectors,  a trend 

towards increased skills requirements is evidcnffor  most jobs. It is becoming widely acknowledged 
that  initial training systems need to place more emphasis on developing a wide-ranging set of core 
skills,  including  the  capacity  of  learning  to  learn,  autonomy,  initiative,  self-employment  and 
adapting to new requirements. 

Fixing quantitative  targets  for  participation  in initial  vocational  training 

2.1.1. 
Quantitative  targets are among the concrete  goals  set  for  initial  vocational  training  set by  several 
Member States, notably when  major  reform  has been  introduced  into their national  systems. There 
is a political desire to accelerate the upgrading of the labour force to meet the structural changes in 
business and industry. 

For example, it is the overall goal of the plan "Education and Training for all" in Denmark, that in 
the year  2000, 95% of young  people  in  any  year  group  will  start  a youth  education  programme, 
(93%  in  1990). The plan will ensure that 90-95% of young people  in any year group will actually 
finish  youth education (77% in  1990) and attention  is given to decreasing the number of drop-cuts. 
The  Act on  Active  Labour  Market  Policy  (1994)  has as  its aim  to  contribute to  ensuring  a well-
functioning  labour  market  through  an  active  labour  market  policy  targeted  at  persons  seeking 
employment or training.  Behind  the  Labour  Market  Reform  lies the goal of creating 60.000 extra 
adult educational  and training places before the year 2000. Thus, in  1994, about  10.000 such extra 
places were created. 

In Italy, the new law on upper-secondary education proposes that, by the year 2000, 80% of an age 
group  will  obtain  an  upper-secondary  leaving  certificate  through  completion  of  either  general, 
scientific, technical or vocational courses. 

In Luxembourg a number of measures have been taken to combat school failure. The advancement 
system (from  one year to the next) has been modified,  introducing the possibility of offsetting  poor 
results in specific areas; the option of undertaking training in two phases has been introduced, with 
the CITP (Preliminary  Technical  and  Vocational  Certificate)  leading  on  to  the  acquisition  of  the 
CATP (Technical and Vocational  Proficiency  Certificate). 

In France, the Guidance law (1989) sets a target of 80% of young people reaching level IV by year 
2000,  i.e.  having  completed  three  years  of  upper  secondary  education  (general,  technical  or 
vocational education) beyond compulsory education. 

In Spain, within the context of the recent reform  (LOGSE,  1990), the target for the year 2000 is to 
retain  80% of all  young people  in school, up to the age of  18, and to give them  the possibility  to 
choose  between  a  specific  training  course  (middle  level)  or  the  "bachillerato".  A  new  technical 
"bachillerato"  has  been  created  which  is  very  close,  in  terms  of  content,  to  initial  vocational 
training. 

United  Kingdom:  The  National  targets  were  launched  in  1991  with  support  from  all  major 
political  players.  Progress  towards  the  targets  are  monitored  by  the  independent  employer-led 
organisation  NACETT  (National  Advisory  Council  for  Education  and  Training  Targets)  which 
reviewed  the targets  in  1994. Updated  targets  have been  published  in the May  1995 White  Paper 
"Competitiveness  -  Forging  ahead"  and  are:  1.  All  employers  should  invest  in  employee 
development  to achieve  business  success; 2.  All  individuals  should  have  access to  education  and 
training opportunities, leading to recognised qualifications, which meet their needs ancf aspirations; 
3.  All  education  and  training  should  develop  self-reliance,  flexibility  and  breadth,  in  particular 
through  fostering  competence  in  core  skills. Targets  have  also  been  set  in  quantitative  terms  for 
initial vocational training. 

2A.2, 

Establishment  of  an  entitlement  or  right 
qualification  or to take  part in vocational  training 

to  obtain  a 

vocational 

In France  the  1990-Law (90-579, 4.6.90) on vocational training monitoring and quality establishes 
the right to a qualification  for all workers in the form  of a "crédit formation"  (training entitlement). 
Il  reinforces  the  obligation  incumbent  on  training  agencies  and  their  supervision.  The  right  of 
young  people  to a vocational  qualification  is  inscribed  in the  "Code du Travail" (1991  and  1992) 
and  training  must  lead to a qualification  corresponding  to the  short or medium  term  needs of the 
economy. 

In  1991, the  Dutch  Government  announced  that  everybody,  of any  age,  should  have the  right to 
obtain  a  "starting  qualification", 
i.e.  a  vocational  qualification  at  the  level  of  an  initial 
apprenticeship  course  and  this  is  underpinned  by  action  at  the  lower-secondary  stage  to  prevent 
early  leaving, by  projects  which  aim  to enhance the success  rate of  upper-secondary  training  and, 
within  the  context  of  the  "Youth  Work  Guarantee"  scheme,  by  specific  efforts  to  motivate 
unqualified  leavers to enrol in apprenticeship courses. 

In Portugal, the Government and  the  Social  Partners signed,  in July  1991, a formal  agreement to 
make  every  effort  to ensure  that  young  people  will  receive  at  least  one year  of  initial  vocational 
training,  after  completion  of  their  compulsory  schooling.  The  national  authorities  are  currently 
redesigning  the training courses run under the responsibility  of the Employment Ministry  and will 
no longer organise initial training courses of less than one year's duration. 

In the United  Kingdom, two measures have been  introduced which give an entitlement to obtain a 
vocational qualification  or to take part in vocational training: The Youth Training Programme and a 
system of Youth credits. 

In  Germany,  the  unification  process  involved  the  application,  of  FRG  legislation  on  vocational 
training to the 5 new lander, which  notably  is based on a dual system  of training  in training bodies 
and practical  experience  in undertakings. This meant a radical change of the training system  in the 
new  lander,  which  caused  problems  in  ensuring  adequate  provision  of  training  places  for  young 
people, especially as the collapse of a large number of enterprises resulted  in a serious reduction in 
the number of company-based training opportunities. Major  initiatives were taken, at national level, 
to  counteract  the  impact  on  the  training  situation,  which  had  the  desired  positive  effects;  in 
September  1993, as  in  1991  and  1992, the  overwhelming  majority  of  young  people  who  applied 
had  actually  been  placed  in training, and  the  remaining  small  minority  had  received  a  placement 
offer. 

In  Ireland,  the  Social  Guarantee  /  YouthReach  Training  Programme,  introduced  in  1985, 
envisaged  a  five-year  implementation  programme. This gives  unemployed  young  people the right 
of access  to training  and  work  experience  programmes  that  have  been  specially  designed  to meet 
the identified  needs of this group. 

2,1.3.  Extending  provision  of initial vocational  training 
Greece:  The  provision  of vocational  education  has been  raising  rapidly  over the  last few  years. It 
should  thus be noted that the number of programmes rose by 50.8% and the number of participants 
by  55.1%  compared  to  1990.  This  might  be  the  result  of  Community  support  from  various 
programmes  as  well  as  from  the  European  Social  Fund,  but  another  very  important  impetus  has 
been  the creation of the legal  basis for these new provisions, i.e. the setting up of the new institutes 
for  vocational  training  (IKEs)  which  have  been  set  up  under  the  1992  law  and  cater  mainly  for 
those young people who, after  completion of post-compulsory secondary education, do not proceed 
:o higher education. 

Denmark:  "Education  for  all".  Within  the  framework  of  the  overall  reform  "Education  for  all", 
1993  two  measures  have  been  made  to  address  the  so-called  "rest-group",  i.e.  the  young  people 

(approximately  1/4 of any  age group)  who never  complete  any  kind  of education  or training: the 
EGU  (Basic  Vocational  Training,  adopted  by  law  in  June  1993)  and  Open  Youth Education 
(established  on  1  January  1995). Both  initiatives are addressed  to young people who either cannot 
or  do  not  want  to  participate  in  traditional  youth  education  and  training  courses.  The  aim  is to 
motivate  about  3000  young  people  every  year  to  complete  youth  education,  who  would  not 
otherwise have done so. 

Luxembourg: The Law of 4 September  1990 contains a number of main objectives for the national 
vocational  training  policy  for young  people, one of which  is to ensure that all young  people enter 
into the labour market with a recognised  vocational  qualification.  This is done by diversifying  and 
improving  the  provision  of  training  through  the  development  and  implementation  of  training 
modules; by diversifying  and  improving the provision  of training for disadvantaged  young people; 
and by raising the attractiveness and status of initial training. 

In Spain, young people who  leave secondary  education  without a certificate  and young people up 
to the  age  of  21  without  formal  qualifications,  benefit  from  the  "Programas  de  Garantia  social", 
organized  by the education  authorities. These  programmes  aim  at  preparing  young  people  and  at 
ensuring their integration  into work or their re-integration into education or training. 

2.1.4.  Raising  the status  and  attractiveness  of vocational  training 
Vocational  training should  on the one hand allow weaker groups of young people (who now enter 
the labour market without any qualification)  to obtain  a qualification,  but should on the other hand 
also  attract  resourceful  young  people  (who  now choose  high  school  and  general  education).  This 
can  only  be done  if vocational  education  and  general  post-compulsory  education  have  equality  of 
esteem. This in turn  is a question of job possibilities. It is also important to ensure a horizontal and 
vertical flexibility  in the training systems. One of the aims of the PETRA  Programme was therefore 
to strengthen  the status of vocational  training,  notably through  the placements  and  exchanges  and 
through  new  curricula.  Many  countries  have  initiated  actions  aimed  at  making  the  option  of 
vocational  education  and  training  more  attractive  to  young  people,  by  raising  its  status  or 
facilitating access to it. 

In  Germany  these  objectives  are  reflected  in  a  new  initiative  launched  in  1991, offering  new 
opportunities and special  support to particularly gifted  young people  in vocational  training, and in 
the  discussion  and  implementation  of  new  regulations  facilitating  progression  from  vocational 
training to higher education.  A working group set up by the  Federal  Government  and the  Lander, 
decided  on  10 February  1994, that the attractiveness of vocational  training must  be  increased  and 
the equality of esteem  between  vocational training and post-compulsory  general education  must be 
ensured.  The  group  is  composed  of  representatives  from  the  federal  level,  from  the  lander  and 
social partners. It has made a medium  term work programme, including measures to ensure that an 
adequate  number  of  apprenticeships  are  provided  and  that  quality  in  vocational  training  is 
guaranteed. The dual system should be differentiated  on a broader scale, so that weaker apprentices 
(due to  lack  of motivation,  social  disadvantages)  and  highly  motivated  apprentices  are enabled  to 
achieve a qualification  appropriate to their personal situation. 

In  Belgium,  a  specialisation  year  following  the  third  grade  of  full-time  vocational  training,  has 
been  introduced  to  enable  young  people  to  move  to  higher  education,  thereby  enhancing  the 
equality of status between vocational training and post-compulsory general education. 

In the United  Kingdom, the Government wants academic and vocational  qualifications  to be held 
in  equal  esteem.  The  White  Paper  Education  and  Training  for  the  21st  Century  states  that  the 
government,  following  wide  consultation,  intends  to  establish  a  new  system  of  ordinary  and 
advanced diplomas which enable students to combine General Certificates  of Secondary  Education 
and  vocational  qualifications  at age  15/16 or  A levels, AS  levels  and  vocational  qualifications  at 
age  17/18.  At  the  same  time  the  Government  wants  to  increase  the  number  of  school  students 

studying  for  vocational  qualifications,  permitting  Business  and  Technology  Education  Council 
lower  level  Diplomas to be offered  from  September  1991, and  increasing the rigour of  Certificate 
of Pre-Vocational Education so that it offers  a suitable route to higher level qualifications. 

In Denmark, the  Vocational  upper secondary  education  (HTX,  HIIX) is a valid  alternative to the 
general  upper  secondary  school,  since  it  qualifies  for  admission  to  higher  education  as  well  as 
employment.  It has become  very  popular and  contributed  to the parity  of esteem  between  general 
and vocational  education. 

Italy:  In the  late eighties the  Ministry of Education  launched  a major  initiative, "Progretto 92", to 
make  initial  training  a more  attractive  option  and  to  increase  its  success  rate  by e.g.  introducing 
broader, modular courses. The results have been  so promising that they will be implemented  in all 
vocational  institutes  by  1996,  thereby  catering  for  some  20%  of  the  age  group.  The  work 
undertaken  under  Action  II  of  PETRA  is  recognized  by  the  Italian  authorities  as  having  had  a 
significant  impact on the  introduction  of new training  methodologies and the up-dating of training 
curricula. 

2,1.5.  Vocational  guidance 
Vocational  guidance has a central  role to play  in a rapidly changing and more international  society 
in  facilitating  access  to  vocational  training,  and  in  reducing  the  number  of  drop-outs  from 
education  and  training.  Vocational  guidance  must  be  recognised  as  a key  to  the  development  of 
human  resources,  underpinning  policies  which  strive  for  a  better  match  of  training  provision, 
vocational  qualifications  and  prospective  areas  of  local  or  regional  development.  The  issue  of 
vocational guidance  is attracting growing attention  in all Member States; the need for innovation in 
the guidance  systems and  the development  of existing, or the creation  of new, services  appears to 
be a common  concern. 

In  Germany,  the  PETRA  Programme  has  supported  and  accelerated  decisions  concerning  the 
introduction  of  a  Community  dimension  into  guidance  services,  involving  the  provision  of 
information  on  training  opportunities  in  other  Member  States  and  cooperation  with  relevant 
agencies  in them.  In France the new focus  on  implementing a Community dimension  in guidance 
has also encouraged  cooperation  between the different  competent Ministries and their services, and 
advanced the régionalisation of the guidance service. 

In  the  framework  of  the  implementation  of  the  reform  of  the  Spanish  system,  new  guidance 
departments  are  being  created  in  all  educational  centres, and  in  Ireland  the  need  for  a  complete 
overhaul  of the system of vocational counselling has been recognised. The PETRA Programme has 
given  impetus to this, and in particular, to the use of databases in the guidance system. Moreover in 
Italy,  a  new  National  Council  is  now  concerned  with  the  development  of  educational  and 
vocational  guidance. 

In  Denmark  the  analysis  of  changing  needs  for  guidance  identifies  three  trends:  more 
transnationality  due  to  the  internal  market;  changing job  profiles  and  the  introduction  of  market 
economy  in  the  guidance  centres.  Compared  to  the  information  level  of  4  years  ago  when  the 
activities  under  Action  III  of  the  PETRA  Programme  were  initiated,  there  is now a much  higher 
level  of  awareness  amongst  guidance  counsellors  and  young  people  of  the  possibilities  in  other 
Member States. 

In  The  United  Kingdom,  recent  Government  legislation  now  opens  up management  options  for 
the  provision  of  Careers  Service.  A  phased  process  of  tendering  for  the  management  of  area 
Careers Services has been  introduced to ensure that the resulting services move closer to employers 
and  become  more  responsive  to  local  needs  and  conditions.  The  White  Paper  on  Education  and 
Training  for  the  21st  Century  (1995)  stated  the  Government  intention  that,  building  on  existing 
good  practice,  the Careers  service  should  raise  its standards, draw even  closer to employers, help 

Training and  Enterprise Councils build  up employer commitment  to training, and encourage more 
young people to take up education and training opportunities and aim for higher qualifications.  In 
Scotland the Careers Service is also provided by education authorities. In late 1991 the Government 
held  consultations  on  the  best  way  of  providing  a  strengthened  role  for  employers  in  the 
organisation of the service. 

Portugal.  Since  1993, a network  of 354  Psychology  and Guidance  Services  have been  created  in 
schools  and  their  sphere  of  operation  may  be  extended.  Several  innovative  measures  have  been 
developed  over the past years including a new type of guidance for vocational training applicants, 
which will begin at the job centre and will continue at the training centre and will be developed in a 
coordinated  manner,  i.e.  incorporating  the contributions of various experts workings together  as a 
team. 

The Netherlands: In early  1993 several guidance providing organisations merged  into  18 regional 
level  Careers  Guidance  Offices.  From  1996  they  will  become  independent  firms  selling  their 
services to schools and firms. The policy aim  is to make these services more demand-led and more 
responsive  to  regional  need.  Efforts  are  also  being  made  to  create  a  national  structure  of 
qualifications  for  each  sector  of  industry  with  a  system  of  training  with  related  final  attainment 
levels, certification  units, examinations and diplomas and the rights that go with them. A major  step 
in this direction  is the decision  to  integrate the  Business  Sector Consultations  between  Education 
and  Industry,  which  sets  the  final  attainment  levels  for  senior  secondary  vocational  education 
(MBO)  courses  and  the  national  training  agencies  which  set  the  levels  for  the  apprenticeship 
system. 

The PETRA  Programme: The  implementation  of these national  initiatives draws on, or is being 
influenced  by, the new opportunities for transnational  cooperation  which  are provided  through  the 
European  network  of  guidance  resource  centres,  special  development  projects,  and  training 
activities  for  guidance  staff  which  were established  under  Action  III  of  the  PETRA  Programme. 
This  work  under  Action  III  was  completed  by  other  Actions  of  the  Programme.  Several  ENTP 
projects  worked directly, or indirectly, on different  aspects of guidance and jointly developed  new 
material,  methods  and  practices.  A  large  number  of  YIPS  also  were  concerned  with  providing 
easily accessible, local information  services for young people, outside the institutional  frameworks. 
Some of the transnational  Research Partnerships have also focused on the effectiveness  of guidance 
methods and on new models to meet the guidance needs perceived by young people. 

2.1.6.  Promoting  equal  opportunities  for young men  and  women 
One of the goals of the  PETRA  Programme  was to ensure a higher and  more equal  participation 
rate  of young  women  to  vocational  training  to  promote  a  more equal  gender  participation  at  the 
labour  market.  Indeed  statistics  clearly  demonstrate  the  need  for  this  kind  of  action.  (For  an 
analysis  of  basic  statistics,  please  cf  annex.  2)  Member  States  have  reacted  to  this  situation  in 
several ways. 

Denmark:  AMU-centres  -  regional  training  centres  under  the  auspices  of  the  National  Labour 
Market Authorities, Ministry of Labour - have a number of new training courses directed  towards 
target groups of unemployed unskilled women. 

In  the  Flemish  Community  of  Belgium,  recent  educational  policy  is  aimed  at  promoting  an 
increasing  influx  and  participation  in  the  educational  system  in  general.  For  this  purpose  risk 
groups have been  defined  and  new concepts such  as scope of attention  have been  defined.  Within 
this  general  framework,  specific  attention  is  given  to  a  priority  policy  regarding  girls'  choice  of 
studies in technical education. 

Portugal  has one of the highest rates of female employment  in Europe (42.7%), but two measures 
have  been  developed:  a)  positive  action  measures  in  the  programmes  run  by  the  Institute  for 

Employment  and  Vocational  training;  and  b)  projects  to  train  and  integrate  women  (ex: 
development of women's business initiatives). 

In  Ireland,  the Government's  1995  White  paper  on  Education  indicates  that  the  Government  will 
expect  all  higher  education  instances  to  develop  and  publish  policies to  promote  gender  equality. 
The  Higher  Education  Authority  will  be  responsible  for  monitoring  these  policies  and  providing 
appropriate support at national level. 

The  PETRA  Programme: The theme of  "increasing the participation of girls and young women 
in technical and vocational education and training" has  been  a transversal  theme throughout  the 
life  of the  PETRA  Programme  (1988-94). As a result,  111 projects  out of a total  of  732  projects 
involved  in  the  ENTPs  worked  on  this  theme.  There  was  a  good  quantitative  gender  balance  in 
programmes,  but  nevertheless the sector  involved  tended  to reflect  existing patterns. There was a 
majority  of girls and young women  in the services and commercial sector whereas young men were 
found  in  the  traditional  industrial  branches.  Also  in  the  Leonardo  da  Vinci  programme  equal 
opportunities  take  a  prominent  place:  Vocational  training  should  aim  to  "promote  equality  of 
opportunity  as  regards  access  for  men  and  women  to  vocational  training  and  their  effective 
participation  therein,  in particular so as to open  up new areas of work to them  and encourage them 
to return  to work after  a career break." 

2.1.7,  Disadvantaged  persons 
The reinforcing  of this priority reflected  the Conclusions of the Presidency of the European Council 
in Copenhagen  in June  Î993  which,  urge  for  more  intensive  action  to reduce  unemployment  and 
social  exclusion  in the Community,  especially  where young people are concerned.  Disadvantaged 
young  people  include  many  different  types  of  young  people,  ranging  from  young  unemployed 
people  and  slow  learners  to  persons  with  a  mental  or  physical  handicap.  Action  carried  out  at 
Member State level remains essential and the following developments can be  identified. 

In Denmark,  production  schools have been  set up to offer  training to young  unemployed  persons 
under 25 years with no formal  qualifications  and who are deemed to have no immediate motivation 
or possibility to acquire such qualifications. The schools give the target group the possibility to take 
part in combined training and production programmes. 

In Ireland,  specific  measures  for travellers have been established. These are training workshops to 
help  the  travellers  to  develop  their  full  potential,  to  break  the  cycle  of  illiteracy  and  social 
deprivation  in which they are trapped and to enable them to become self-reliant  and  self-supporting 
members of society. 

In  France, Solidarity employment contracts (contrats emploi solidarité) were  created  in  1990 for 
18-25 year  olds who have difficulty  in finding  employment.  These give a qualification  equivalent 
to vocational "Baccalauréat" or a technical  certificate. 

In Luxembourg, specific  measures directed towards children with difficulties  to learn were carried 
out.  In  1991, the  Ministry  of  National  education  presented  40  measures  which  should  make  the 
integration  of  foreign  children  easier.  However,  these  possibilities  are  mainly  available  at  lower 
levels and it has not yet been possible to introduce this at higher levels of vocational training. 

In  the  United  Kingdom,  apart  from  the  general  Youth  Training  programme  several  measures 
centred on vulnerable groups have been  implemented. These are for young homeless people, young 
residents of inner cities and other deprived areas a Training for Work programme for young people. 

In  the  PETRA  Programme  "young disadvantaged"  people  was a prioritised  target  group, and at 
least  10% of the placements  were destined  for  them. The results  and experience  have proved  that 
placements  are  a  strong  pedagogical  instrument  for  this  group,  and  many  individuals  have 

10 

improved  their  life  situation  partly  as  a  result  of  the  experience  of  mobility.  However,  the 
experience gained has also shown that it is far beyond the aims and means of a programme  like the 
PETRA  Programme  to  take  heavy  responsibility  for  the  young  disadvantaged  in  the  European 
Union. The new Leonardo da Vinci  Programme takes up these challenges and one of its  objectives 
is  to  promote  equality  of  access  to  initial  and  continuing  training  for  persons  disadvantaged  by 
socio-economic, geographical or ethnic factors or by physical or mental disabilities. 

2.2.  Raising  quality  of Vocational  Training  and  Adapting  to  change 
The  national  reform  initiatives  arc  also  aimed  at  raising  quality  and  adapting  initial  Vocational 
Training to changing needs. In the following  chapter major  trends are identified  which are closely 
interlinked  with  each  other  and  which  serve to enhance  participation  in vocational  education  and 
training and to raise the status and attractiveness of vocational training. 

The  Netherlands:  Vocational  education  is  currently  undergoing  significant  changes.  Reform 
began  in  1987.  In  1996 with  a new  law (SVM-wet)  on  vocational  education  and  adult  education 
was  made together  with  a  Restructuring  and  Modernisation  Act  (SMV-wet)  for  senior  secondary 
vocational  education.  Vocational  education  now  covers  senior  secondary  vocational  education, 
apprenticeship and training provided  in the context of schemes for the unemployed,  and  part-time 
senior secondary vocational education and training for specific occupations. The aim of the reform 
process is to introduce a flexible system of retraining and refresher  courses, to align education with 
the labour  market  and  to utilise the educational  infrastructure  for the benefit  of the employed  and 
unemployed. 

Greece: Vocational training  institutes (lEKs) have been established  by the new national  system  of 
vocational education and training. Their aim is to modernise the Greek provision of training to give 
it a higher quality. 

En Portugal  a  particularly  important  step  towards  raising  the  quality  of  vocational  training  was 
made with the development of a new type of vocational  school, the "Escolas Profissionais",  where 
at  the  same  time,  the  old  technical  /  professional  courses  were  replaced  with  new  technological 
courses.  Laws  have  been  made  establishing:  a)  a  legal  framework  for  vocational  training  by 
incorporating  it  into either  the education  system  or the  employment  market  via  legal  previsions 
which  give  it  the  required  uniformity  and  effectiveness;  b)  a  legal  framework  for  vocational 
training related to into the employment  market; c) a system  awarding a vocational qualification  for 
training  related  to  into the employment  market or acquired  through  occupational  experience; d) a 
system  for the creation  and operation  of vocational  colleges; e) the generalisation  of technological 
courses in secondary school. 

Luxembourg:  The  law of 4 September  1990 on  the  reform  of technical  secondary  education  and 
continuing  training  sets  as  an  objective  to  intensify  the  incorporation  of  information  and 
communication technologies in curricula, both as subjects and as a means of learning. 

Ireland:  A wide  range of vocational  education  and  training  programmes  is provided  to  meet  the 
specific  needs  of  individual  pupils  and  the  human  resources  needs  of  the  economy.  The  main 
objectives of the programmes are to improve the responsiveness and flexibility  of the education and 
training  system  to  meet educational,  social  and  economic  needs; to  improve the  attractiveness  of 
Ireland  as  a  location  for  new  enterprises  by  providing  a  highly  educated,  skilled  and  versatile 
workforce;  to maintain  and enhance participation  in vocational  education  and training at all  levels 
in  order  to  promote  equity  and  enhance  industrial  competitiveness;  to  equip  enterprises  and 
workers  with  the  skills  and  competencies  needed  to  cope  with  occupational,  structural  and 
technological  change;  and  to  ensure  the  competitiveness  of  Irish  industry  through  the  supply  of 
skilled manpower at a variety of levels. 

11 

Promoting  creativity,  initiative  anil  enierprensurial  spirit  in young  people 

2.2.1. 
In adapting  initial  vocational  training to meet  new skills requirements, priority  should  be given to 
the  development  of transversal  qualities  and  competencies  rather  than  specific  job-related  skills, 
thereby  promoting  and  fostering  creativity,  initiative  and enterprise  amongst  young  people.  This 
concept is now reflected  in new approaches to youth training in all Member States. 

Denmark  is one of several  Member States where the reform  of the vocational training system has 
placed an explicit  emphasis on the development  of transversal  skills by requiring that one third of 
the subjects  taught  in vocational  education  and training  courses must be general  subjects  aimed at 
strengthening the individual's personal  development and enabling students to play an active role in 
society. 

In  Luxembourg,  one of the objectives  of vocational  training set out in connection  with the 1990 
reform  is to modify  training  methods with  a view to promoting trainee's autonomy  and creativity, 
their  ability  to search  for and find ways  of solving  problems,  their  capacity  for  cooperation and 
ability  to  communicate  orally  and  in  writing  in  the  multilingual  situation  prevailing  in 
Luxembourg. 

In Germany,  in the continuing  reform  or re-organisation  of training curricula - already  completed 
in a number of vocational fields - particular  importance  is attached to improving training methods 
which  value  personal  development,  motivation,  responsibility  and  key  competencies  of  young 
people. 

The  PETRA  Programme  played  an essential  role  in promoting such  approaches, by providing a 
framework  for pilot action and facilitating  extensive transnational  exchange of experience. Central 
to  this  work  was the development  of methods  to  foster  key competencies,  which  prepare  young 
people  to  cope  better  with  the  fast-changing  requirements  on  the  work  place,  new  patterns  of 
employment  and  possibilities  for  self-employment.  Both  the  European  Network  of  Training 
Partnerships and the Youth  Initiative Projects have concentrated very strongly on these aspects and 
developed  a  variety  of  models  involving  specific  forms  of  project  work,  new  methods  of 
assessment,  or  training  of  teachers  and  trainers.  This  work  has attracted  wide-spread  attention 
amongst  vocational  schools,  training  centres  and  firms.  Placements  under  Action  I  provide  a 
valuable  complement  to  these  developments  in  national  training  systems  by  providing  a  real 
environment  for  "putting  theory  into  practice"  which  enhances  the  individual's  acquisition  and 
further  development  of transversal  skills. A specific  Research  Partnership  was set up in  1991 to 
analyse the effectiveness  of different  enterprise training schemes. 

2.2.2.  Qualifying  teachers  and training  staff 
The  principal  factor  determining  standards  in  initial  vocational  training  is  the  quality  of the 
teaching  and  training  staff.  Most,  if not all  of the national  reforms  mentioned  in  this  report are 
accompanied by major efforts to train the teachers and the trainers. 

In  Belgium,  great  emphasis  is put to the continuing training of the  training  staff.  A Government 
decree of  1993 defines the objectives of the training of secondary school teachers as the capacity to 
implement  educational  and  pedagogical  priorities;  the  acquisition  of  personal  behaviour  to 
efficiently  administer  human  relations;  the updating  of competencies  and vocational  aptitudes in 
exercising  their  function;  the acquisition  of knowledge  and capacities  with  a view  to  exercising 
another  function;  the study of societal  problems which  influence the behaviour of young people as 
well  as the understanding  of  social,  economic  and cultural  phenomena;  and the development  of 
communication,  group work as well as the implementation  and development of projects within the 
framework  of teaching establishments. 

Within  the  Department  of  Education  in  Ireland  there  is equally  a recognition  of the need  for a 
cohesive  national  policy  on  and  a  comprehensive  programme  of  in-career  professional 

12 

development  of  teachers.  Thus  a  major  restructuring  of  teachers/trainer  in  service  provision  is 
foreseen  in the Education White Paper from  1995. 

In  Germany,  the  PETRA  Programme  was  the  first  programme  which  organised  transnational 
cooperation  of  trainers  and  which  allowed  these  trainers  to  get  familiar  with  different 
methodologies  and  in some fields with a high  standard  of new technologies  in vocational  training, 
such as multi-media. 

The United  Kingdom: The  implementation  of the NVQ/SVQ (National  vocational  qualifications, 
Scottish  vocational  qualifications)  framework  from  1986  includes  the  establishment  of  standards 
that  form  the substance of training programmes for trainers in all areas and are being embedded in 
NVQs.  Another  important  initiative  is  the  Teacher Placement  Service  (TPS),  which  aims  to 
organise placements  in business for  10% of teachers each years, increasing their self  development 
and that of their students. Awareness of industry and commerce promotes realistic expectations and 
helps  students  to  make  more  informed  decisions  about  future  training  and  career  choices.  More 
than  70,000  teachers  have  been  involved  so  far,  thereby  benefiting  many  thousands  of  young 
people in schools. 

In  1992 the Portuguese Ministry of Education published a new legal arrangement for the in-service 
training of teachers. Under this system, teacher training centres associating  schools of all levels of 
education  are  created  alongside  the  institutes  of  higher  education  responsible  for  initial  teacher 
training.  At  the  present  time  there  are  200  training  centres.  During  their  first  year  of  operation, 
70,000  teachers  received  training  (70%  of  the  overall  total  employed  in  basic  and  secondary 
education).  The  main  fields  comprising  the  standard  source  content  of  training  for  trainers  are: 
social  training,  training  management,  planning  of  training,  organisation  of  training  and  training 
technology. 

In Spain, stricter rules are to be followed  in the process of recognising vocational training teachers, 
in  order  to  improve  the  quality  of  the  teaching  and  training  staff:  A  university  degree  will  be 
required,  the  teacher  must  belong  to  the  Association  of  Teachers  in  Secondary  Education,  and 
finally the trainer must have completed a teacher training course. 

Some  of  the  PETRA  Research  Partnerships  were  focused  on  this  issue,  but  the  widest  range  of 
activity  in this field was developed  within the framework  of  ENTP. The great majority  of  projects 
used the opportunity presented to them through the transnational  partnerships to exchange staff and 
carry  out  staff  training  activities,  with  a  view  to  widening  their  staffs  awareness  of  industrial 
standards,  attitudes  and  practices  in  other  Member  States.  Since  1988  approximately  30,000 
trainers,  tutors  and  teachers  who  have  participated  in,  or  are  still  involved  in,  the  PETRA 
Programme were introduced to the Community dimension and  increased their knowledge about the 
policies,  practices  and  attitudes  in  other  member  States.  They  are  now  able,  in  their  day-to-day 
training  practice,  to  apply  this  European  experience  and  thus  underpin  the  implementation  of 
reform  activities in their respective Member States. 

2.2.3.  Certification  of  qualifications 
The  certification  of  qualifications  and  the  qualitative  improvement  of  training  provision  forms  a 
central part of current reform  or new legislation  launched  in a number of Member States, and some 
of the developments  in this field are set out briefly  below. 

In  Luxembourg,  measures  to  increase  the  success-rate  in  initial  vocational  training  have  been 
introduced,  notably  an apprenticeship  system  with  two  levels of certificates:  One  basic  certificate 
after  2  years  (CITP  =  certificate  d'initiation  technique  et  professionnelle).  A  second  degree  of 
apprenticeship  (CATP = certificate-d'aptitude  technique  et  professionnelle)  can  be  obtained  later. 
Since  this  system  only  entered  into  force  in  the  1994-1995  school  year  it  is  yet  too  early  to 
evaluate. 

13 

Ireland:  The  main  drive  to  improve  the  standards  and  quality  of  training  and  its  overall 
attractiveness  to employers, parents and  young people has been  in the development  of appropriate 
curt i lient ion  as  part  of  general  education  and  the  expansion  of  certificat son  in  post-compulsory 
education  and  training  through  the  National  Council  for  vocational  awards.  Thus,  in  September 
1989,  a  new  two-year  vocational  training  initiative  was  introduced,  which  provides  a  Leaving 
Certificate  Course  giving  each  participant  a grounding  in  specific  technological  areas, a modern 
language,  and  work  experience  (age  17/18).  Work  experience  (minimum  4  weeks)  is  undertaken 
during  the  course.  The  European  Dimension  in  education  will  be  emphasised  in  the  areas  of 
language, technology, work experience and  guidance counselling. The  leaving Certificate  Applied 
programme was available from  September  1995. 

In  Denmark,  all  vocational  education  and  training  courses  lead  to  a  skilled  worker-certificate 
issued by the general Committees which has general validity. 

Greece:  In the  law (1992) reforming  the national  system  of vocational  education  and  training one 
of  the  main  tasks  is  the  formal  certification  of  vocational  training.  It  is  hoped  that  the  OEEK 
(Organisation  for vocational education and training, set up by this law) will develop into a research, 
advisory, executive and supervisory  body for  Education/training programmes as well as an agency 
for the definition  of specifications  for the recognition of diplomas. 

In  the  United  Kingdom,  similar  aims  are  intended  with  the  introduction  of  General  National 
Vocational  Qualification  (GNVQs), which assess whether an individual  is prepared for entry into a 
broad  range  of  related  occupations,  including  the  possibility  that  this  may  entail  progression 
through  higher  levels of education. Scotland: SCOTVEC (Scottish  Vocational  Education  Council) 
completed  a major  reform  of its advanced  level qualifications  in  1993, the central features of which 
are  unitization  of  the  Higher  National  Certificates  (HNC  and  HND)  qualifications  and  the 
introduction  of  two  new  qualifications  (SVQs=  Scottish  Vocational  Qualifications  and  GSVQ= 
General  Scottish Vocational  Qualifications). 

2,2.4.  Reinforcement  of links  between  training  establishments  and  industry 
Some  of  the  most  important  measures  in  forging  closer  links  between  educational  or  training 
establishments  and  enterprises  are  all  forms  of  on-and-off-the-job  training  and  apprenticeships  / 
traineeships,  and  almost  all  countries  have  developed  their  initial  training  provisions  in  this 
direction. An  important trend  is that more emphasis  is put on a dual  system  of vocational training 
and  practical  experience. As a consequence of this growing awareness of the importance of closer 
links between  training establishments and  industry, countries who earlier didn't have a dual system 
of  initial  vocational  training, with  part of the training given  by training  bodies and another part of 
practical  experience  in enterprises,  are  now  introducing  this  form  of  initial  vocational  training. In 
countries  where  the  dual  system  already  existed,  this  is  now  being  reinforced  (e.g.  France, 
Belgium).  It seems  that  there  is a growing awareness  that  practical  experience  is indispensable to 
ease  young  people's  access  to  the  labour  market  by  giving  them  a  first  practical  vocational 
experience. 

Denmark:  There  is  open  admission  to  training  and  education  and  a  free  choice  of  school,  but 
intake  is  limited  by the  number  of training  places  supplied  by companies. To counterbalance  this 
short-term  demand  led model and to make it more attractive to enterprises to create training places, 
the AER (Law on  Employer's apprentice reimbursement  scheme of February  1992) system was set 
up, which  is now the backbone of the Danish alternance training model. 

As it has already  been  mentioned, Germany  has a long tradition  for the dual system  and measures 
are currently being taken  in order to further  strengthen the efficiency  of the system . 

United  Kingdom:  In  September  1995  two  provisions  for  apprenticeship  were  launched  nation 
wide:  Modern  Apprenticeships  which  offer  young  people  a  work-based  route  to  skills  at  craft, 

14 

technician  and junior  management  level,  mainly  aimed  at  16  to  17 year  olds,  and Accelerated 
Modern Apprenticeships for  18 to  19 year olds. 

In France, the apprenticeship system  has been enhanced  in a way which  is very much  in line with 
the alternance system  propagated  by PETRA, and which attaches much  importance to placements. 
A new law on apprenticeship was passed in  1992, with the following  objectives: 
1.  to involve trade sectors and employers more closely in young people's initial training; 
2.  to improve the position  of apprentices, for example by increasing their earnings and taking the 
skills they have already acquired  into account when determining the duration of their articles; 

3.  to adapt apprentice training centres and allow vocational lycées to accept apprentices; 
4.  to  introduce  regional-level  negotiation  on  the  development  of  apprenticeship,  leading  to 

agreements between the State and the regions; 

5.  to extend the scope of the apprenticeship contract to the public sector. 
The French  system  now comprises  alternating training measures for  16 to 25 year olds, which are 
based  on  three  types  of  integration  contracts:  guidance  contracts,  qualification  contracts  and 
adaptation contracts. 

In Luxembourg, one of the objectives of the  1990-reform  is to adapt the content of training to the 
socio-economic  context,  in particular  by promoting  school-industry  links. Another  objective  is to 
adapt  the  aims  of  apprenticeship  in  line  with  economic  and  social  changes  and  the  challenge  of 
Europe. 

The  Netherlands: On August  1,  1993, the  part-time Vocational  Courses Act (WCBO) came  into 
effect,  establishing regulations for the apprenticeship system, part-time senior secondary vocational 
education and training for specific occupations. 

Ireland:  In  1991, the  Ministry  for  Labour  announced  the  introduction  of the  new  apprenticeship 
system which came into effect  in  1993. 

In  all  Member  States,  enterprises  were  encouraged  to  take  an  active  part  in  the  PETRA 
Programme,  and  a number  of  projects,  both  under  Action  I and  in the  ENTPs  were  initiated  by 
firms.  Through  their  involvement  in  transnational  training  cooperation,  and  the  opportunities 
offered  to their young workers or trainees to benefit  from  a training placement  in another  Member 
State, firms were able to develop European experience amongst their staff,  including  SMEs where 
such  opportunities  rarely  exist  because  they  do  not  have  the  resources  needed  for  transnational 
cooperation.  In  Germany,  for  instance,  experience  under  Action  I  has  shown  that  professional 
organisations  and  chambers  of  trade  and  crafts  can  be  instrumental  in  involving  SMEs  in 
transnational training and work experience placements. They can provide an operational  framework 
at  local  and  European  level  which  compensates  for  the  lack  of  organisational  infrastructure  in 
individual  firms,  guarantees  that  the  quality  and  content  of  placements  correspond  to  specific 
needs, and  makes  it possible to capitalise  on transnational  experience  gained  by other  SMEs  in a 
particular sector or local area. In addition, some professional  organisations, chambers and regional 
authorities  use the  framework  provided  by  PETRA  to create, or develop, their  own  networks  for 
transnational  cooperation  and joint exploitation  of training resources, especially  in border regions, 
but also between more remote parts of the Community. 

Involving  social  partners 

2.2.5. 
In order to better adapt national provisions for  initial vocational training to the labour market need, 
closer links with the social partners are created almost in all countries. Indeed, the close association 
of  social  partners  in  the  definition  of training  need  allow  for  a  more  effective  training  of  young 
people. 
The  involvement  of  social  partners  in the definition  of national  training  needs  is  indispensable  in 
order  to better  adapt  training  provisions  to the  needs  of the  labour  market.  This  theme  is closely 
interlinked  with the theme  "Reinforcement  of links  between  training establishments  and  industry" 

15 

but  goes  beyond  it,  since  the  involvement  oï  the  social  partners  include  not  only  dual  training 
methods,  but  also  the  involvement  of  social  partners  in  the  definition  on  training  needs,  and  the 
financing  of certain training provisions. 
The role of social  Partners has been strengthened  in almost all countries, and this aspect has a high 
priority at national  level. 

Denmark:  Traditionally,  the  Social  Partners  have  always  been  closely  involved  in  vocational 
training  provision  and  with  the  reform  of  1989 their  position  within  the  system  has  been  further 
strengthened,  both  at  national  and  at  local  level. The social  partners  participate  extensively  in the 
policy  making and  management  of the system  at central  as well as  local  level, and the system  has 
been designed  to secure that the labour force currently has the skills and qualifications  demanded in 
the labour market. The organisational  structure at national  level involves a new VET Council which 
consider  general  issues.  The  Council  is  an  advisory  board  and  makes  recommendations  to  the 
Minister of Education. It also involves Trade Committees (parity of membership of social partners) 
which  handle curricula-issues. At school  level,  local  education  and training committees  have been 
set  up  to  which  representatives  of  social  partners  must  make  up the  majority.  These  committees 
have  an  advisory  capacity  and  will  strengthen  the  cooperation  between  the  school  and  the  local 
labour market. 

Italy: Over  the past years a series of agreements have been concluded  between  training authorities 
and  national  and  regional  level  associations of employers and  trade unions. As a result, the Social 
Partners  now  share  responsibilities  e.g.  for  identification  of  skills  needs  at  regional  level,  the 
designing  and  delivering  of  training  curricula  and,  in  particular,  for  the  provision  of  work 
experience  places.  Since  1992,  in  both  technical  education  and  vocational  training,  these 
placements  have  become  compulsory.  Both  transnational  placements  under  Action  I  (in  which 
participated  over 3,500 young people  in  initial  training and some 2,000 young workers), and work 
developed  in  the  ENTP  projects  contributed  to  the  integration  of  work  experience  in  the 
curriculum.  The  relevance  of  transnational  placements,  as  developed  in  PETRA,  was  explicitly 
recognised  in the Bill on work experience placements, adopted  by Parliament in  1993. In this Bill it 
is stipulated  that all  regulation, e.g. on the social  and  legal  status on Italian  trainees also pertain to 
foreign  trainees on work experience in Italy, thereby giving them a profound  legal status. 

The  Netherlands:  The  social  Partners  now  bear  the  main  responsibility  to  set  the  standards  for 
initial training: Sectoral  level committees, in which training organisations also participate, have the 
task  to develop training  "attainment  targets", which  are valid  for  both senior  secondary  vocational 
education  and  apprenticeship  courses.  They  also  identify  new  emerging  training  needs.  Social 
Partners  have  seats  in  the  board  of  the  newly  established  Regional  Employment  Committees. 
Finally they  help deliver the training curriculum.  In close consultation  training institutions and the 
social  partners  have to agree on the means to use to achieve the attainment targets for example on 
the role and place of work experience placements. 

In Belgium, a tripartite Flemish  Education  Council  was set up in  1991 to bring together all parties 
concerned  with  education  and training  in a common  approach to identifying  training needs, and to 
feed  relevant  information  to vocational  schools, training establishments  and employment  services. 
Similar  committees  were also set  up a regional  level. This  institutional  effort  was followed  up by 
the  creation  of  the  States  General  for  Technical  Education  in  1993,  which  brings  together 
representatives  of  Education,  Social  Partners  and  the  Government  to  regroup  study  disciplines  in 
certain  areas  and  adapt  training  programmes  to  the  need  of  the  labour  market.  In  the  French 
Community  of Belgium,  the  formal  signature  of the "Apprenticeship  Charter"  in March  1993, by 
the  national  educational  authorities  and  the  social  partners,  marked  the  beginning  of  close 
cooperation  and concertation  between schools and enterprises. 

The Organisation  for  Vocational  Education  and Training,  in Greece,  involves representatives  from 
different  Ministries and the Social  Partners in its management board and is responsible inter alia for 

16 

policy  development,  the  implementation,  planning  and  coordination  of  training  provision  and 
cooperation with national and international bodies. 

In  France,  in  addition  to  the  work  of  the  High  Level  Committee  on  Education  and  Economy 
(MCEE), created  in  1987, a National  Committee on  Education  and  Professions  (CNEP) was set up 
with the participation of the Social  Partners to examine all decisions which concern both areas. The 
1991  law,  which  concerns  the  establishment  of  university  institutes  with  a  vocational  training 
content, embodies the main provisions of the agreement reached by the Social Partners in July 1991 
(greater  participation  on  the  part  on  employers,  extension  of  the  arrangement  to  enterprises 
employing fewer than  10 people, reform  of alternance training, etc). 

In the United Kingdom, many of the detailed  responsibilities for the management of training, and 
the provision of training which meets the skills requirements of a particular geographical area, have 
been  decentralised  to  Training  and  Enterprise  Councils  (TECs)  or  Local  Enterprise  Councils 
(LECs)  in  the  case  of  Scotland.  These  TECs  and  LECs  are  locally  based,  employer-led  bodies 
which provide a focus for cooperation  between education, training and the world of work. 

In Portugal, the agreement on vocational training policy, concluded in July  1991 and signed by the 
Government  and  the  social  partners,  has  reinforced  the  social  dialogue  in the field cf  vocational 
training.  Under  the  agreement,  action  by  the  social  partners  includes  the  following:  definition, 
monitoring and evaluation  of training policy; participation  in the structures for the coordination  of 
training  and  qualification;  and  monitoring  of the  development  of Community  vocational  training 
policies.  The  Social  Partners  are  beginning  to  assume  an  important  and  increasing  role  as 
promoters of training. New training profiles  and curricula and new training programmes have been 
established  in direct association  with  the social  partners. As a resuit of this cooperation, there  has 
been  a significant  increase  in the dissemination  and  recognition  of new offers  of training  and  the 
rate of em payability of young people. 

In  Ireland, the  Social  Partners are  playing  a full  part  in discussions  on  initial  training.  The  Irish 
Business and Employer's Confederation  (IBEC), in their policy statement of June  1992, underlined 
the need for all young people to have the opportunity of a structured training programme organised 
and controlled by industry and providing certification  with national and international recognition. 

In  Luxembourg,  the  new  law  on  technical  and  vocational  education  urges  schools  to  establish 
stronger links with the world of work, through support for cooperative projects with industry. 

In  Spain,  the  "Plan  Nacional  de  Formacion  Profesional"  proposed  by  the  General  Council  for 
Vocational  Training  with  the  participation  of  the  Social  Partners  was  approved  by  Government. 
This  plan  necessitates  a  close  cooperation  and  coordination  between  all  bodies  responsible  (the 
Ministries of Education  and  Employment and the Social  Partners)  in the initial vocational  training 
of  young  people  (formacion  reglada),  training  of  the  unemployed  and  continuing  training  of 
workers (formacion  ocupacional). 

2.2.6.  Decentralisation  - local  and  regional  focus 
Young  people  have  different  training  needs  and  often  require  assistance  in  identifying  which 
particular type of training would  be most suitable for them: fully  school-based  courses, with  work 
experience placements, apprenticeship type courses, combinations of these in long or short courses, 
etc. To suit  these  various  needs, several  Member  States  are  experimenting  with  regional  training 
centres  in  which  different  training  options,  and  sometimes  also  guidance  and  pre-vocational 
options, are provided.  Moreover decentralisation  of responsibility  for  the  provision  of training  has 
especially helped make vocational training more responsive to local and regional requirements. 

In Germany  a pilot project  is currently  running (1990-1996) called  "decentralised  learning". Focus 
is  on  cooperation  between  training  establishments,  undertakings  and  schools.  It  is  build  on  the 

17 

hypothesis  that  in modern, technology  based  work  methods  is has become  possible and  necessary 
to promote  integrative  forms  of relationships  between  work  and  training.  "Decentralised  learning" 
has the advantage of combining real action  in working life and learning by doing with  international 
learning. 

The Netherlands. The decision to create regional bodies for the apprenticeship system  (ROC), for 
vocational  education  and  adult  education  represents  a  major  step  towards  the  integration  of  the 
various sorts  of vocational  training, as  intended  in the new  law on vocational  education  and adult 
education  which  entered  into  force  in  1996  (WEB).  The  ROC  provide  the  following  types  of 
training:  adult  basic  education,  general  secondary  adult  education,  apprenticeship  system,  senior 
secondary vocational education (MBO) and local non-formal  education. 

In  the  United  Kingdom  TECs  (Locally  based  Training  and  Enterprise  Councils)  were  set  up in 
meet  local needs. In May  1994 the Government  announced  new arrangements for contracting with 
TECs in England  based on the provision  of 3 year licences to TECs which meet specified  levels of 
performance  and  capability.  The  first  TEC  licences  were  issued  in  April  1995. All  TECs  must 
achieve  a  licence  by  1997 as a condition  of continued  government  funding.  TECs are  responsible 
for  designing  and  delivering  training  and  enterprise  programmes  that  meet  the  needs  of  their 
particular labour  markets. 

One of the main features of the 20 December  1993 law covering the next five years in France is to 
enhance the role of regions, which are seen as privileged geographical  areas for vocational training. 
This  feature  involves  an  extension  of  the  ongoing  decentralisation  process,  the  elaboration  of  a 
regional  development  plan  for  vocational  training  of  young  people,  and  the  extension  of  the 
competencies  of  the  coordination  committee  for  regional  apprenticeship  programmes  and 
programmes  for vocational training. 

In  Portugal,  the  Ministry  for  Education  was  restructured  in  April  1993,  making  the  regional 
services stronger and the central structure more flexible. 

In the PETRA  Programme,  some of the  Research  Partnerships  worked  on  new models for  more 
effective  planning  of  training  provision  at  regional  level.  The  ENTP  projects,  through  their 
commitment  to  practical  cooperation  with  a variety  of partners  in their  local  or  regional  context, 
underpinned  responsiveness  to  new  needs.  Through  transnational  training  placements  and 
partnerships  projects,  new approaches  were developed  to enhance more  "transversal"  skills which 
increase  young  people's  capacity  to  adapt  to  changing  requirements  in  the  workplace.  New 
experience was gained through the work of the ENTP, in the joint elaboration  and  implementation 
of  training  units  covering  specific  content  topics.  A major  contribution  of  both  the  transnational 
placements and the ENTP projects  is to be seen  in the fact that they have highlighted  practical ways 
of  facing  a  number  of  needs  and  changes  with  regard  to training  in a new, evolving  Community 
context. 

2.2.7.  Modular  organisation  of  training 
The importance of introducing flexibility  to national systems of initial vocational training has been 
acknowledged  widely.  There  is a trend  towards  prolonging  courses  of  initial  vocational  training, 
introducing more general subjects, which will enable young people to become more able to adapt to 
new  situations,  learn  how  to  acquire  new  knowledge,  and  providing  young  people  with  the 
possibility to change from  one area of vocational training to another. 

18 

2.3.  Transnational  cooperation 

2.3.1.  European  dimension 
A  number  of  Member  States  have  deliberately  explored  the  opportunities  offered  through  the 
PETRA  Programme  to  introduce  or  reinforce  a  Community  dimension  in  their  initial  training 
provisions. 

In  Denmark,  two  new  laws  inspired  by  the  PETRA  Programme  were  passed  in  February  1992 
entitling all young people  in vocational training courses to spend all, or part of,  the practical work 
experience  component  in  another  EC  or  EFTA  country.  The  periods  spend  abroad  are  fully 
recognised and accredited and financial support is made available from  a training fund  created by a 
training  levy paid  by employers. The main objective  is to internationalise the aims and content of 
Danish  training  courses  and  despite  the  limited  experience  so  far,  many  vocational  schools  and 
Trade  Committees  would  like  to  see  placements  abroad  as  an  integral  and  compulsory  part  of 
vocational training courses. 

Similarly,  in  early  1992, the  Dutch  Government  published  a discussion  paper  to  outline  its new 
policies for the  internationalisation  of education  and training. Amongst other activities, this policy 
involves the promotion  of a new exchange programme for teachers  and trainers; financial support 
for a national support agency for transnational exchanges. As a result, in  1993, almost all of the 140 
senior  secondary  vocational  education  training  colleges  have participated  in at  least  one  of these 
transnational  programmes. 

United Kingdom: The European  Dimension  is an important feature of the Technical & Vocational 
Educational  Initiative  (TVEI)  from  1987.  TVEI  funds  have  been  used  to  introduce  aspects  of 
European  business  and  culture  into  schools  and  colleges  and  to  facilitate  experience  of  work  in 
other countries. 

In  France,  and  important  number  of  Academies  have  set  as  a  priority  the  development  of  the 
transnational, and  in particular,  European  activities and  thus, all training  bodies are encouraged  to 
participate in Community Programmes . 

Luxembourg: One of the priority lines in the  1990 reform  is to prepare the workforce for the single 
market, through the introduction of a European dimension  in initial vocational training. 

Other Member States have used "their" projects  in the ENTP to provide a "Community window" in 
national  reform  initiatives.  In  Ireland, contact  with  the  initial  training  systems  of  other  Member 
States has been a major positive element which has informed  the debate on the development of the 
Irish system. 

As a clear demonstration of the interest of the Italian authorities in transmitting the importance of a 
European dimension to students in initial training, it was decided to translate the text of the  official 
diplomas  into all other official  EU languages. As they are forwarded  together with a description  of 
their  content,  they  form  an  important  contribution  to the  discussions  about  a  "training  portfolio". 
Participation  in  PETRA  placements,  or  other  similar  activities,  are  explicitly  mentioned  on  the 
diploma. 

By networking  projects  throughout  the territory  of the Community,  the PETRA Programme  has 
also  created  practical  facilities  to  promote  cooperation  between  the  more  advanced  and  the  less 
developed  regions  and  between  Northern  European  countries  and  Southern  ones  Through  the 
PETRA  Programme,  the  Community  has  played  a  particularly  active  role,  since  1988,  in  the 
development  of  transnational  vocational  training  placements  for  young  people.  Compared  to 
general  youth  exchange  activity  or  mobility  oi' university  students  between  the  Member  States, 
opportunities  for  exchange  in  the  field  of  vocational  training  were,  and  still  are,  very  under-

19 

developed;  studies  conducted  during  the  first  phase  of  Ihe  PETRA  Programme  suggest  that  only 
bel ween  0.5%  and  1% of  Ihe young  people  were  benefiting  from  a placement  period  in  another 
Member Stale which  formed  part of,  or completed  their  initial  vocational  training. Since  1992, the 
placement element has been  formalised  in Action  1  and now constitutes a structured  framework  for 
the organisation  of training and work experience placements in another Member State ensuring that 
such  placements  are  undertaken  in  conditions  which  promote  the  development  of  vocational 
knowledge and skills. 

By  publishing  and  providing  financial  and  technical  support  to  transnational  exchanges,  the 
PETRA  Programme  has  provoked  an  upsurge  of  interest,  at  all  levels  in  the  training  world,  in 
Community  aspects of training and  in cooperation  with partners in other Member States. Through 
its  operations,  the  Programme  has  lowered  the  threshold  of  access  to  cooperative  work  in  the 
Community  for  many  training  institutions which  had  little or no previous  experience  in  this field, 
and  has  directed  their  attention  to  the  European  dimension  of  training.  It  has  also  promoted  the 
idea,  amongst  training  establishments,  of  "shopping  around"  for  innovative  training  products 
(methods, materials, courses) and other training support, and of offering,  in turn, their own  specific 
experience  and  practice. To  some  extent,  this  has  fostered  a form  of  entrepreneurial  spirit  in the 
establishments  involved  in transnational  placements or in the ENTP, which was enhanced  through 
their  search  for  partnership  at the  local/regional  level, and  helped  them  to play a more  pro-active 
role on the training market. 
In a large number of training  partnerships, this has  led to the joint  development and application  of 
curricula and  training  materials. In some of the partnerships, where the young people completed  a 
jointly-developed  new training module in another Member State, the results were fully  credited  for 
(part  of)  a  vocational  qualification,  by  all  the  Member  States  participating  in  the  respective 
partnership. 

2.3.2.  Mobility 
Transnational  mobility  is not only a vita! element in providing young people with inside knowledge 
of working cultures in other countries; it is also a rather new element, which meets a wide range of 
obstacles.  (Obstacles  to  transnational  mobility  are  dealt  with  in  the  Commission's  Green  Paper 
"Education - Vocational training - Research: The obstacles to transnational  mobility", cf Annex.3) 
In some Member States, PETRA placements have provided young people with the first opportunity 
to  experience  training  and  work  situations  abroad,  and  they  represent  the  largest  part  of 
transnational  placements  available  to  young  people  from  that  country  (Greece,  Italy,  Portugal), 
while  in  other  Member  States,  they  have  provided  an  important  stimulus  to  improve  further  the 
quality  and  increase  the  number  of  transnational  placements  (Denmark,  Germany  and  the 
Netherlands).  The  Programme  contributed  to  the  broadening  of  experience  in  this  field,  and 
particular efforts  were made to overcome the organisational, linguistic and other obstacles to young 
people's participation  in transnational  placements. NCU  pooled experiences and examples of good 
practice  as  well  as  developed  guidelines  and  material  for  foreign  language  provision  designed  to 
meet the needs of the PETRA Programme and its public. 

In  Belgium  the  Ministry  of  Labour  had  agreed  to  an  exemption  for  young  unemployed  persons 
carrying  out  a  transnational  placement  not  exceeding  three  months.  They  could  leave  Belgium 
without loosing their right to unemployment  benefit and without having to wait for a period of time 
before  starting to receive unemployment  benefit  again  when they returned. This exemption  is also 
agreed within the framework  of the Leonardo da Vinci Programme. 

The French-speaking  Community  in Belgium: The Ministry of Labour has officially  recognised 
PETRA placements in the beginning of  1994, and the right to obtain unemployment benefit may be 
maintained  during  vocational  training  placements  abroad.  This  is a direct  consequence  of a joint 
initiative of the PETRA NCU and the EU Programme EURES. 

20 

In Italy, a new  law "Progrclto 92", which  integrates apprenticeships / mobility measures, is clearly 
inspired by the PETRA Programme. 

Denmark:  In February  1992 two laws were passed, snd it could  be said  that they were  influenced 
by the objectives and the common  framework  of the PETRA Programme, as they concern  mobility. 
According  to  this  new  legislation  young  people  in  VET  courses  may  pass  all  or  part  of  their 
practical work experience in an enterprise in another country and have it recognised on equal terms. 
So  far,  300  students  per  year  have  utilised  this  new  opportunity  and  it  is  hoped  that  the  yearly 
number  will  increase  to  500.  Placements  abroad  are  welcomed  and  supported  legally  and 
financially  In  many  sectors,  notably  the  metal  sector,  the  hotel  and  catering  sector  and  the 
construction  sector which have been very active in facilitating placements abroad. 

Germany: The mobility actions of the PETRA Programme have been an important complement to 
existing mainly bilateral  placement programmes and have raised the number of participating young 
persons  in  this  kind  of  activities  considerably.  Placement  experiences  have  proved  essential  to 
foster key qualifications. 

In  the  United  Kingdom,  the  Teacher  Placement  Service  has  helped  to  establish  placement 
programmes  in  a  number  of  other  Member  States  and  has  developed  a  Euro-wide  network  to 
facilitate reciprocal placements between states. 

Raising  quality  of  vocational  training  is  in the  centre  of all  national  reforms,  many  of  which  lay 
greater  emphasis  on  strengthening  the  link  between  training  establishments  and  industry,  for 
example  by  means  of  work  or  training  placements.  Vocational  qualifications  aside,  there  is  no 
doubt that work or training  placements  have an enormous  impact on the young people  in terms of 
learning other skills. These skills have  in the past years proven to be more  important than  narrow, 
technical  skills, which  might  become obsolete with the rapid  development  in technology.  For this 
reason  the  acquisition  of core  competencies  has  become  one of the  priorities  in the  Leonardo  da 
Vinci  Programme, and  is one of the  five  major  priorities  listed  in the  White  Paper  "Teaching and 
Learning - Towards the Learning Society". Key qualifications  include entrepreneurial  skills such as 
creativity,  initiative, risk-taking, overview and responsibility,  flexibility,  communication,  linguistic 
skills, decision  making,  problem  solving, quality  consciousness,  self-confidence,  social  skills  and 
tolerance, team-building, 
The  acquisition  of  transversal  skills  is  hard  to  measure  -  as  well  as  to  assess.  However, 
transnational  mobility  has  proved  to  be  one  of  the  best  ways  of  conveying  them,  because 
placements  are  made  up of a series of  situations  in which  you  have to apply  transversal  skills  in 
order to survive or to be successful. 

2.3.3.  Vocational  language  skills 
As a complement  to the objectives  of the  PETRA  Programme  it  is evident that adding  vocational 
language skills to the curricula  is very  important.In almost all countries awareness of the necessity 
to  develop  foreign  language  teaching  further  is  increasing,  and  this  is often  seen  in  the  broader 
context  of  furthering  a  European  or  international  dimension  or  in the context  of the  definition  of 
transversal  key  competencies.  Improving  vocational  language  skills,  however  is  seldom  a  high 
ranking priority at national level. 

United  Kingdom:  Awareness  of  the  importance  of  increasing  young  people's  language  skills  is 
rising. Thus the development of young people's understanding of European  and World issues is an 
integral  aspect  of  the  United  Kingdom  national  curriculum.  The  study  of  another  European 
language  is  an  important  part  of  compulsory  education  of  most  young  people.  As  one  of  the 
foundation  subjects  of the national  curriculum,  a modern  foreign  language must be studied  by all 
pupils. 

21 

Luxembourg:  One of  the  objectives  of the  1990 reform  is to  promote  young  people's  autonomy 
and  creativity  and  other  transversal  skills  such  as  the  ability  to  solve  problems,  cooperate  with 
others  and  to  communicate  orally  and  in  writing  in  the  multilingual  situation  prevailing  in 
Luxembourg. 

In Germany, emphasis  is laid on the "European ability" of young people. The further  development 
of  European  cooperation  and  the  dynamic  of  the  Internal  Market  makes  it  necessary  to  make 
German  vocational  training  more  centred  on  European  matters.  In  this  connection,  the  practical 
knowledge  of  foreign  languages  is  indispensable  as  is  the  further  development  of  transnational 
pincements in the framework  of European and bilateral programmes of exchanges. 

The  PETRA  Programme  has, together with the  LINGUA  Programme  backed  up national  efforts 
to promote  vocational  language skills, and  it could  initiate  new national  initiatives  as for  example 
the  development  of  a national  action  programme  to  promote  language  learning  within  vocational 
training.  In  the  framework  of  this  action  programme  a  project  has  been  implemented  which 
promotes  young  workers  coming  from  small  and  medium  size  enterprises  to  learn  languages 
abroad. 

,:>, 

CONCLUSION  AND  PERSPECTIVES 

A number of challenges remain  for the future. This is clear from  the analysis of the actions carried 
out under the PETRA  Programme and the policy development  in the Member States in the field of 
initial  vocational  training.  A  number  of  aspects  should  be  given  further  attention  in  the 
dsvsiopment  of  future  Community  action  in  the  field  of  initial  vocational  training.  It  will  be 
important to give priority to the following  main areas: 

Reducing  the  number  of  young  people  who  enter  the  labour  market  without  a  basic 
qualification. 
Increasing the attractiveness of vocational training 
Introducing a practical Community dimension  into initial vocational training 
Developing core competencies through  initial vocational training 
Reinforcing  vocational guidance provision and adding a Community dimension to it 
Disseminating 
initial  vocational 
transnational^ 

training,  within  Member  States  and 

innovation 

in 

The  Leonardo  da  Vinci  Programme  has  broken  down  the  sharp  division  line  between  initial 
vocational  training  and  continuing  vocational  training  thus aiming  at  furthering  life  long  learning 
and  closer  links  between  training  provisions  at  all  levels.  It  builds  on  the  experience  from  the 
PETRA  Programme  and  other  Community  Programmes  in  the field of  vocational  training  and  is 
thus  an  instrument  to  answer  to  some  of  the  future  challenges  outlined  above. The  Leonardo  da 
Vinci  Programme  was  adopted  on  6  December  1994 and  covers  the  5-year  period  from  1994 to 
1999 and all  18 EEA countries take part in it. 

22 

Annex 1: 

The  allocation  of  financial  resources  to  the  various  Actions  of  the  programme  is  summarized 
below: 

Million l-CU 

1988-1991 

1992-1994  1  1992 

1993 

1994 

1 

Action I:  Transnational 

training 

and  work 

experience 

* 

placements 

-  Young people in initial vocational training 

Young  workers,  young  people  in  advanced  programmes, 
young unemployed 

Sub-total Action 1 

Action 11 

-  ENTPs 
-  YIPs 

15.844 
39.200 

3.699 
13.143 

5.144 
12.557 

7.000 
13.500 

(55.044) 

(16.842) 

(17.702) 

(20.500) 

20.648 
5.031 

29.935 
3J17 

7.953 
1.011 

11.001 
1.106 

10.980 
1.200 

Sub-total  Action 11 

(25.679) 

(33.252) 

(8.964) 

(12.107) 

(12.180) 

Action III:  Cooperation  in the field of vocational  guidance 

** 

National  Resource Centres 
Development projects 
Transnational  projects  on 
counsellors 

Sub-total  Action II! 

Complementary  Measures 

the 

training  of  guidance 

3.548 

2.340 

600 

414 

638 

2.310 

1.396 

530 

(5.888) 

(1.014) 

(2.034) 

(2.840) 

Information  and Dissemination  Activities 
National Coordination  Units 
Community-level Technical  Assistance 
Cooperative research and studies 

Sub-total Complementary measures 

2.823 
3.082 
6.385 
2.021 

(14.311) 

4.239 
4.540 
*** 

2.356 

(11.135) 

719 
1.554 
2.900 
728 

(5.901) 

1.380 
Î.466 
*** 

807 

(3.653) 

2.140 
1.520 
*** 
820 

(4.480) 

TOTAL 

39.990 

105.319 

32.72! 

35.496 

r  40.000 

1 
! 

" 

In the period  1988-1991, transnational  training placements  and exchanges  were organised within the framework  of ENTP 

K*  In the period  1988-1991, activities in the field of vocational  guidance were  included in the work of ENTP. 

"** I'rom  1993 onwards, the allocation  for this assistance is included  in part A of the Commission's  general  budget 

n 

Annex-  2;  Statistical  background 

in  Ihe current  period  of demographic  decline,  vocational  training  institutions  are  facing  increased 
competition  for  young  people  in  the training  age  group.  In  1988, the first operational  year  of the 
PKTRA  Programme, the total  number of  15-19 year-olds  was 26.1  million  in the Community  and 
about one third  of these young people were estimated  to participate  in full-time  or part-time  initial 
vocational  training. 
Forecasts on  the  number of young  people  (not  including  Italy and  Portugal)  in Europe  indicates 
that the number of  15 to  19 year-olds will  increase slightly  in the year 2000 and afterwards  decline 
from  17.7 million  in the year 2000 to  15.8 million  in the year 2020. (cf Fig.  1). This means that to 
retain  only  the  same  number  of  people  with  technical  qualifications  as  in  1995, training  systems 
will need to attract about 37% of the relevant age group in the year 2020; even larger efforts  will be 
required to increase the number of participants in initial vocational training. 

Fig» 1 :  Total number of young people 

(Source Eurostat, EUR-12 figures not including Italy and Portugal: EUR-10) 

Number  of  15-19 years  olds 

18000 
17500 
»  17000 
xt 
g  1S500 
g  16000 
jE  15500 
15000 

14500  M i ll 

2005 

2010 

2015 

1995 

2000 

•EUR-10 

I 

2020 

Year 

The  unemployment  rate  for  the population  as a whole  has been  increasing  during the  last  few 
years  from  9.2  %  in  1991  to  ll.2  %  in  1994  (cf.  Fig.  2).  This  figure  hides  some  important 
discrepancies  between  countries  and  between  various  groups  of  people.  Thus,  unemployment  is 
raising  in all countries over the period  from  1988 to  1994 with the exception  of Denmark, Ireland, 
the Netherlands and the United  Kingdom, where there was a small decrease in unemployment  from 
1993 to  1994. When considering the change  from  1992 to  1994, only Denmark and Ireland showed 
less  unemployment  in  1994.  Moreover  the  overall  unemployment  rate  was  falling  from  1988 to 
1991, whereafter  the unemployment rate rose again (cf.  Fig. 3). 

i<t 

~T~W. 

8,5 
8,9 
9,6 

8,7 
10 
11,2 

8,3 

12,4 
15 

13,3 
"1773 

11,3 
12,1 
11,8 

Fig. 2:  Unemployment  rates, annual averages 

(source  Eurostat) 

EUR 12 

9,8 
8,7* 
10,9 

T 

10,2 
7,5 
10 

Tsr 

6,4 
8,9 
10,1 

7,9 
7,2 
9,5 

6,9 
5 
"~7~ 

5,4 
7,8 
9,1 

iwa 
1881 
10*4 

1868 
1881 
1884 

T T " ~ | — I — | —?— T ~ ^" 
TOTAL MALES AND  FEMALE8 

7,7 
7,7  " 
n.a 

19,4 
16,4 
23 

9.9 
9,5 
11.3 

4.9 
4,8 
n.a 

MALES 

15,2 
12,3 
18,5 

7,6 
7,4 
9.4" 

17,3 
16,2 
17,7 

16.8 
15,6 
16,7 

6,3 
4,2 
6,2 

5,1 
3,7 
5,9 

2_ 

3,3 

1,5 
1,3 

10,1 
11,8 

7,3 
6.8 
8,3 

1888 
1881 
1884 

12,6 
10,9 
12,9 

"  '15>"  "" 
"""  11.4 
14,4 

7,6 
10,2'"" 
11,2 

"  "7,9 
" 4> 

6,7 

12,5 
"  12,8 
n.a 

27,5  "" 
"23,8"""" 
30,9 

12,1 
13,6 

17,3 
19.7 

15,6 
17,8 

2,3 
4,4 

FEMALES 

NL 

7,1 
n.a 

7,1 
5.3 

12,7 
9,8 
n.a 

1888 
1881 
1884 

17,7 
20,2' 

20,3 
J 6,7 
201" 

8,7 
1J,2 
10,6" 

6,8 
3fi 
"5,2 

25,6 
24,6 

40,3 
31,1 

22,1 

23,4 

25 
24,5 
26,4 

UNDER 26 YEARS MALES AND FEMALES 

1888 
1881 
Ï884 

r 

17,4  T"  15,T 
13,6 
16,3 
17,7 
19,3 

ffi" 
10,2  _ 
977" 

6,2 
3,9 
5,6 

UNDER 25 YEARS  MALES 

16,8 

n.a 

34,1 
25,7_ 
34,3 

18,3 
18,1 
21,2 

26,8 
25,9 
27,8 

4,8 
3,2 

14,6 
11,4 

4,4 
3,2 

13,9 
10,6 

28,5 
31,1 

27,6 
24,2 
27,1 

4 
6 ,f 

4 
2.8 

5,7 

9,1 

9.6 
6,5 
9,5 

1888 
1881 
1984 

22A_ 
'19,3 
21,2 

J!L8_ 
20' 
22,4 

9'7. 
T2,4~ 
11,5 

7,4 
3,8 
4,7 

33,5 
n.a 

"47,7" 
37,8 
43,5 

24,6 
25,7 

22,7 
24,7 

39,2 
33,7 
36,1 

5,2 
3,1 
6^1" 

16,4 
12 

17,5 
12,1 

UNDER U  YEARS  FEMALES 

Fig 3:  Unemployment trends for the European  Union (EUR-12, source  Eurostat) 

m I  mm, 
V-*v ^ 

, 

, 
\J0-  \J+  \ «* 

y 

r 
\*+ 

Legend: 
< 25 : F 
< 25: M + F 
< 25 : M 
T  : F 
T  : M + F 
T  : M 

Unemployment  rate for young women under 25 years 
Unemployment  rate for young persons (men and women) under 25 years 
Unemployment  rate for young men under 25 years 
Unemployment  rate for women 
Unemployment  rate for the total population of working age 
Unemployment  rate for men 

2. S 

Some  countries  (cf.  Fig. 4)  have  particularly  high  rates  of  unemployment  (IRL:  17.7% in  1994 and 
E: 23% in  1994) whereas  others  have very  low  numbers  of unemployed  (P: 7.0%  in  1994; L: 3.3% 
in  1994).  This  means  that  unemployment  in  the  countries  with  most  difficulties  (E)  is  nearly  7 
times higher than  in the country  with  least  unemployment  (L). 
Moreover  there  is a higher  unemployment  amongst  women  than among  men. Thus,  unemployment 
for  women  was  13.1%  in  1991  compared  to  only  8.7%  for  men,  and  12.9%  in  1994  compared  to 
only  9.5%  for  men. 

Fig. 4:  UNEMPLOYMENT  PER COUNTRY  (Source Eurostat) 

UNEMPLOYMENT,  PER  COUNTRY 

20 

o 

u 
or 
UJ 
Q-

§* 

• 

— 

1 

laaj 

- f l L _i  ffll 

i ,JM—i—itfHL__JB-

11994 

COUNTRY 

Young  people have  been  particularly  badly affected  by unemployment  during  the whole  period  of 
the  PITRA  Programme  (cf.  Fig.  5). On  average  the  unemployment  rate  for young  people  under  25 
years  is twice as high  as  for  the  population  as a whole, reaching  21.3%  in  1991  and  20.2%  in  1994. 
There  is a slight  tendency  of the  unemployment  of young  people  to approach  that of the  population 
as  a  whole:  the  relationship  between  the  unemployment  of  young  people  and  the  population  of 
working age was 2.03  and  fell  to  1.85 in  1994, but this may  be due to the fact  that  unemployment  is 
generally  increasing. 

Fig 5:  Unemployment  rate: young people & total population of working age (Source Eurostat) 

1987 

1988 

1989 

1990 

1991 

1992 

1993 

1994 

10.5 

8.7 

13.1 

21.3 

19.1 

23.9 

2.03 

2.28 

9.8 

7.9 

12.8 

19.8 

17.4 

22.4 

2.02 

2.29 

8.9 

7.1 

11.8 

17.6 

15.2 

20.3 

1.98 

2.28 

8.3 

6.6 

10.8 

16.8 

14.7 

19.1 

2.02 

2.30 

8.7 

7.2 

10.9 

17.7 

16.3 

19.3 

2.03 

2.22 

9.4 

8.1 

11.3 

18.4 

17.4 

19.5 

1.96 

2.07 

10.5 

9.3 

12.3 

20.1 

19.5 

21 

1.91 

2.00 

10.9 

9.5 

12.9 

20.2 

19.3 

21.2 

1.85 

1.94 

EUR12 

P=M+F 

M 

F 

Y=YNI+YF 

YM 

YF 

Y /P 

Y F /P 

Legend: 
I»: 
M: 
V: 
Y: 
Y M: 
YF: 

Total  population  (male  and  female) 
Total  male 
Total  female 
Total  population  under  25  years  (male  and  female) 
Total  male  under  25  years 
Total  female  under 25 years 

IL 

Relationship between the unemployment  rate for young people and 
the unemployment  rate for the total population of working age 

Y/P 

1987 

1988 

1989 

1990 

1991 

1992 

1993 

1994 

Year 

Here again  we find  important differences  between  countries, with  Luxembourg having only 7.1% 
in  1994  and  Germany  having  only  5.2%  in  1994. Countries  with  high  levels  of  unemployment 
amongst young people are Spain with 38.3% in 1994 and Italy with 31.1% in 1994. 

Equal opportunities: 
Indeed  unemployment  figures  show  that  unemployment  for  women  is  generally  higher  than 
unemployment for  men.  Thus the  unemployment  rate  for  women  was  13.1%  in  1987 (8.7%  for 
men) and  12.9% in  1994 (as opposed to only 9.5% for  men). When we look at the group of young 
women  under 25 year of age, the situation  is even clearer: Young women  have a particularly  high 
rate of unemployment (1994 21.2% of young women are unemployed compared to  19.3% of young 
men and  10.9%> of the population as a whole, cf Figure 2). 
Unemployment  for  young  women  has  largely  followed  the  same  trend as  unemployment of the 
population as a whole:  The rate  falls  slightly  from  1987 to  1991 and  thereafter  raises again. The 
figure  of  unemployment  for  young  women  in  the  Community  hides  very  important  differences 
between  countries:  Unemployment  for  young  women  is particularly  high  in  countries  like  Spain 
(43.5%o  in  1994)  and  Italy  (36.1%  in  1994).  In  Italy  the  unemployment  rate  of  women  (1994: 
17.8%)) is more than  double  of that for  men (1994: 8.3%).  Other  countries  have  remarkably  low 
rates of unemployment for young women, e.g. Germany with only 4.7% in 1994. 
Moreover  it  is  interesting  to  consider  the  relationship between the  unemployment rate for  the 
population as a  whole and the unemployment rate for  young  women (cf.  Fig. 6). We see that  the 
difference  between  the  two  rates  is becoming  smaller:  In  1987 relationship  was 2.27  whereas  in 
1994 it had fallen  to  1.94. The unemployment  rate for young women  remains however, almost the 
double of the unemployment  rate for the population as a whole. Finally, it should be noted, that the 
relationship between the unemployment rate of young women  is approaching that of young people 
in general. 

1} 

Fig 6:  Unsmployment  rate of young women  compared  to the unemployment  rate oTthe 

population  as a  whole (source  Eurostat) 

UNEMPLOYMENT Young {females) / Population  EUR 12 

• Y/P 

•YF/P 

1987 

1988 

1989 

1990 

1991 

1992 

1993 

1994 

Year 

Legend : 
Y: 
YF: 
P: 

Young people under 25 years (men and women) 
Young women under 25 years 
Total population of working age (men and women) 

1% 

Annex 3; References 

PETRA Publications: Office for Official  Publications of the European Communities 

"European Handbook for Guidance Counsellors - Complementary version", 1996 

"Promoting Equal Opportunities for Girls and Young Women in Initial Vocational Training", 1995 

"Promoting Initiative and creativity of young people", 1995 

"Compendium PETRA", 1995 

"The European Dimension in Vocational Guidance", 1995 

"Responding to New Skill Needs - a Regional Perspective", 1995 

"Transnational Placements: Impact and Potential", 1995 

"European Handbook for Guidance Counsellors", 1994 

"Vademecum PETRA - Applicant's guide for  1994", 1993 

"Report on the Implementation of the PETRA Programme 1988-1991", Presented by the 
Commission to the Council, the European Parliament, the Advisory Committee on Vocational 
Training and the Education Committee, June 1992 

f ETRA Research Studies 

"The PETRA Research Partnerships  1989-1993: An overview of research outcomes", Published by 
Instituut voor Toetepaste Sociale Nijmegen, The Netherlands, 1995 

"Strategies to Improve Young People's Access to and their Progression within Initial Vocational 
Training", A study prepared at the request of the European Communities, J. Banks, EN, PR, DE, 
November  1994 

"Recognition and Certification of Transnational Training and Work Experience Placements", 
Synthesis report of national level reports published by SCOTVEC (Scottish Vocational Education 
Council), July 1994 

"Education and Vocational Guidance in the European Community" 
A.G.Watts, J.Guichard, P.Plant, M.L.Rodriquez, July 1993 

PETRA Working Documents 

"Aspects of Evaluation for Transnational Vocational Placements", PETRA Action L Produced by 
the Carl-Duisberg-Gesellschaft, one of the PETRA NCUs in Germany, in cooperation with other 
PETRA NCUs, 1995 

"Training Package for Transnational  Partnerships" Computer based training pack, produced by 
Leargas, Irish PETRA NCU,  in cooperation with other NCUs, 1995 

"Report on the Closing Seminar of the PETRA Programme", Killiney, Ireland, 9-10/02/1995 -
European Commission 

15 

"Basic Communicative Skills and Cultural Knowledge for Transnational Vocational Placements", 
Published by Léargas, Dublin, on behalf of the NCU Working Group on Foreign Languages, June 
1994 

"Catalogue of National Guidance Resources Centres", Commission of the European Communities, 
1994 

"PETRA - Vocational Training in the Agricultural Sector - the Contribution of the PETRA 
Programme", Commission of the European Communities, 1993 

"PETRA - Action I - Placements in figures", European Commission, 1992 

Background Documents 

"Education - Vocational Training - Research: The Obstacles to transnational Mobility", a Green 
Paper by the European Commission 

"Structures of the Education and Initial Training Systems in the European Union" 
1995 - Prepared jointly by Cedefop and Eurydice 
Office  for Official  Publications of the European Communities 

"White Paper: Teaching and Learning - Towards the Learning Society",  1995, European 
Commission 

"Development of Statistics on Initial Vocational Training - final  Report", Anastasia Fetsi 
A study prepared by Eurostat at the request of the Commission of the European Communities, 
1995, 

"Individual  Portfolio Pilot Project  Final Synthesis Report". Prepared for the European Commission 
by the National Council for Vocational Qualifications (NCVQ), David Handley, March 1995 

"L'Europe et la formation  professionnelle des jeunes - transférer  les acquis de PETRA dans 
LEONARDO et EMPLOI/YOUTHSTART", Racine Editions, 1995 

"From PETRA to LEONARDO: European Cooperation in Initial Vocational Training", CIBB's-
Hertogenbosch, Rijksuniversiteit  Leiden, July 1995 

Council Decision of 6 December establishing an action programme for the implementation of a 
European Communitty vocational training policy. 
OJEC L340, Volume 37, 29 December  1994. ISSN 0378 - 6978 

Cedefop publications  1994/1995 

"Reports on Vocational education and training" in France, Belgium, Netherland, Germany, Italy, 
Spain, Ireland, UK, Luxembourg, Greece, Portugal, Denmark, 1994 

National Final Reports on the implementation of the Petra Programme. 1995 
Reports from  Denmark, France, Ireland, Portugal, Luxembourg, UK, Belgium, Greece, Germany 

3o 

ISSN 0254-1475 

COM(97) 385 final 

DOCUMENTS 

EN 

04  13  16 

Catalogue number  : CB-CO-97-388-EN-C 

ISBN 92-78-23016-2 

Office  for Official  Publications of the European Communities 

L-2985 Luxembourg