Special Report No 17/2009 concerning vocational training actions for women co-financed by the European Social Fund
Date: 2009-11-12
Institutions: European Court of Auditors
Subjects: EU control, European Social Fund, adult education, co-financing, vocational training, woman

europeaN  
court of audItorS

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VocatIoNal traININg actIoNS  
for womeN co-fINaNced by the 
europeaN SocIal fuNd

eN

 
 
 
 
Special r eport No 17  2009

VocatIoNal traININg 
actIoNS  for womeN  
co-fINaNced   
by the europeaN   
SocIal  fuNd

(pursuant to article 248(4), second subparagraph, ec )

europeaN  court of audItorS

europeaN  court of audItorS  
12, rue alcide d e g asperi
1615 luxembourg
luXembourg

tel. +352 4398-1
fax +352 4398-46410
e-mail: euraud@eca.europa.eu
Internet: http://www.eca.europa.eu

Special r eport No 17 

 2009

a great deal of additional information on the european union is available on the Internet.

It can be accessed through the europa server (http://europa.eu).

cataloguing data can be found at the end of this publication

luxembourg: publications office of the european union, 2009

ISbN 978-92-9207-592-7

doi:10.2865/80064

© european communities, 2009

reproduction is authorised provided the source is acknowledged.

Printed in Luxembourg

Special r eport No 17/2009 — Vocational training actions for women co-financed by the european Social fund

coNteNt S

3

Paragraph

GLOSSARY

I–VIII 

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

1–14 

INTRODUCTION

1–5 

BACKGROUND

6–14 

RESPONSIBILITIES FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF CO-FINANCED ACTIONS

15–19 

AUDIT SCOPE AND APPROACH

20–44 

OBSERVATIONS

20–31 
20–23 
24–28 
29–31 

32–44 

32–35 
36 
37–38 
39–42 
43–44 

WERE VOCATIONAL TRAINING ACTIONS FOR WOMEN APPROPRIATELY SELECTED?
 bacKgrouNd
obJectIVeS Not baSed upoN  the aNaly SeS
 proJect SelectIoN dId Not taKe SuffIcIeNt accouNt of the aNalySeS of labour  
marKet S Nor of programme obJectIVeS

 DID MONITORING INFORMATION MAKE IT POSSIBLE TO EVALUATE WHETHER VOCATIONAL TRAINING 
ACTIONS FOR WOMEN ACHIEVED THEIR OBJECTIVES?
bacKgrouNd
INdIcatorS  too Narrowly focuSed
targetS Not Set for all meaSureS
moNItorINg data uNrelIable aNd SometImeS INcomplete
 aSSeSSmeNt hampered due  to lacK of  targetS, beNchmarKS aNd relIable data oN  
reSult S aNd Impac t

45–53 

CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

46–50 

SELECTION OF VOCATIONAL TRAINING ACTIONS

51–53 

ACHIEVEMENT OF OBJECTIVES

REPLY OF THE COMMISSION

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gloSSary

4

Benchmarking
Quantitative and qualitative comparison of the performance of an intervention, with that which is 
reputed to be the best in the same domain of intervention or in a related domain.

Effectiveness
measure of the relationship between the effects obtained and the initial objectives set.

European Social Fund (ESF)
one of the Structural  funds which supports measures to prevent and combat unemployment and 
develop human resources and social integration into the labour market in order to promote a high 
level of employment, equality between men and women, sustainable development, and economic 
and social cohesion.

Evaluations
•	

Ex-ante evaluation
a key element in the preparation of the programmes. It is the responsibility of authorities desig-
nated by the member States. It consists mainly in an evaluation of the strengths, weaknesses and 
potential of the member State, region or sector concerned and an assessment of the consistency 
of the strategy and targets selected with the specific features of the regions or areas concerned, 
including demographic trends, and the expected impact of the planned priorities for action.

•	 Mid-term	evaluation

•	

evaluation carried out in the middle of the programme period examining the initial results of the 
assistance, their relevance and the extent to which the targets have been attained. It is carried out 
under the responsibility of the managing authority of the programme concerned, in cooperation 
with the commission.
Ex-post evaluation
evaluation carried out by independent experts, not later than three years following the end of the 
programme period, under the responsibility of the commission, in collaboration with the member 
States and managing authorities. It shall cover utilisation of resources, the effectiveness and effi-
ciency of the assistance and its impact. It shall draw conclusions regarding policy on economic and 
social cohesion, having covered the factors contributing to the success or failure of implementation 
and the achievement of results.

Gender equality
the concept that all human beings are free to develop their personal ability and make choices with-
out limitations set by strict gender roles; that the different needs of women and men are considered, 
valued and favoured equally.

Indicators
•	 Output	indicator

tool for measuring physical outputs (for example: number of training participants) that demonstrate 
the progress made in implementing the actions financed.

•	 Results’	indicator

•	

tool for measuring the immediate effects on the direct beneficiaries of the actions financed (for 
example: number of participants who obtained the required qualifications).
Impact	indicator
tool  for  measuring  longer-term  socioeconomic  consequences  of  the  actions  financed  going  
beyond the immediate effects on the direct beneficiaries (for example: number of people employed 
12 months after the training).

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Managing authority
authority designated by the member State to manage an intervention (operational programme/single 
programme document).

Operational programme (OP) and Single Programming Document (SPD), called ’programmes’ in 
the report
a community support framework — which contains the strategy and priorities for action of the Struc-
tural funds and the member State, their specific objectives, the contribution of the funds and the 
other financial resources — is implemented through various operational programmes.  an op is a 
document prepared at central or regional level in a member State and approved by the commission, 
which takes the form of a coherent set of priorities comprising multiannual measures. the projects 
to be co-financed by the Structural funds must fall within the scope of a measure. under certain cir -
cumstances, a community support framework and an operational programme can be merged to take 
the	form	of	what	is	known	as	’a	single	programming	document’.

Programme period
the multiannual framework within which Structural funds’ expenditure is planned and implemented.

Project promoter
an individual person or an organisation (e.g. local authorities, associations, enterprises, etc.) which 
can propose projects and apply to receive support from the Structural funds.

Segregation (vertical and horizontal) in the labour market
Differences	 between	 men’s	 and	 women’s	 participation	 in	 different	 sectors	 (horizontal)	 and	 in	 deci-
sion- making positions (vertical).

Structural Funds
The	 Union’s	 principal	 policy	 instrument	 in	 support	 of	 the	Treaty	 objectives	 of	 economic	 and	 social	
cohesion.

Vocational training
any form of education which prepares for a qualification for a particular profession, trade or employ -
ment or provides necessary skills for such a profession, trade or employment.

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eXecutIVe 
Summary

I.
o n e   o f   t h e   o b j e c t i v e s   o f   t h e   S t r u c t u r a l 
fu n d s   i s   to   p ro m o te   e q u a l   o p p o r t u n i t i e s 
fo r   m e n   a n d   wo m e n   o n   t h e   e m p l o y m e n t 
m a r k e t .  th e   m a i n   co m m u n i t y   i n s t r u m e nt 
f o r   t h e   p r o m o t i o n   o f   s u c h   e q u a l   o p p o r -
t u n i t y   i s   t h e   eu ro p e a n   S o c i a l   fu n d   (eSf) . 
t h i s   r e p o r t   d e a l s   w i t h   v o c a t i o n a l   t r a i n-
i n g   a c t i o n s   f o r   w o m e n   c o - f i n a n c e d   b y 
t h e   eSf  d u r i n g   t h e   2 0 0 0 – 0 6   p r o g r a m m e 
p e r i o d .   a n   e s t i m a t e d   3   b i l l i o n   e u r o   w a s 
earmarked for vocational training ac tions 
dur in g t his per iod.

II.
Th e 	 Co u r t ’s 	 a u d i t 	 fo c u s e d 	 o n 	 t h e 	 fo l l ow -
in g t wo question s:

( a)  w e r e   v o c a t i o n a l   t r a i n i n g   a c t i o n s   f o r 
w o m e n   s e l e c t e d   a c c o r d i n g   t o   a   c l e a r 
an alysis of la bour mar k et pr ior iti e s?

( b)   was monitoring information sufficient 
to  evaluate  wh eth er  suc h  ac tion s  had 
ac hie ved t heir  obj ec tives ?

III.
th e audit was car r ied out at  t he  commis-
sion and in five m ember States (g er many, 
S p a i n ,   fr a n ce,   I t a l y   a n d   t h e   un i te d   K i n g-
d o m )   i n   t o t a l   a c c o u n t i n g   fo r   7 6   %   o f   e x -
p e n d i t u re   i n   t h i s   a re a .  th e   a u d i t   c o n c l u-
s i o n s   p re s e n t e d   i n   t h i s   re p o r t   a r e   b a s e d 
o n   a n   e x a m i n a t i o n   o f   t h e   e s t a b l i s h m e n t 
of  the   programmes  and  of  a  sam ple   of  f i-
n alis ed projec ts.

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eXecutIVe  
Summary

VII.
as   re g a rd s   t h e   e va l u at i o n   o f   t h e   a c h i e ve -
m e n t   o f   o b j e c t i ve s,   t h e   co u r t   fo u n d   t h a t 
m o n i t o r i n g   i n f o r m a t i o n   d i d   n o t   a l l o w 
such an evaluation because the indicators 
e s t a b l i s h e d   w e r e   t o o   n a r r o w l y   f o c u s e d , 
t a r g e t s   w e r e   o f t e n   n o t   p r o v i d e d   a n d   t h e 
i n f o r m a t i o n   i t s e l f   w a s   u n r e l i a b l e   o r   i n -
c o m p l e t e .   a s   a   r e s u l t   t h e   c o u r t   i s   o f   t h e 
o p i n i o n   t h a t   n e i t h e r   t h e   i m p l e m e n t i n g 
a u t h o r i t i e s   i n   t h e   m e m b e r   S t a t e s   n o r   t h e 
commission were in a position to assess to 
what ex tent the objec tives were attained.

VIII.
t h e   co u r t   n o t e d   t h a t   t h e re   i s   a   n e e d   fo r 
t h e   c o m m i s s i o n   t o   c o n t i n u e   t o   m o n i t o r 
t h e   e s t a b l i s h m e n t   by   t h e   m e m b e r   S t a t e s 
o f   a p p r o p r i a t e   a n d   f e a s i b l e   i n d i c a t o r s 
and that reliable data be collec ted, there -
by allowing meaningful conclusions to be 
drawn on the efficienc y and effec tiveness 
of th e co - finan ced ac tion s.

IV.
o v e r a l l ,   fo r   t h e   i d e n t i f i c a t i o n   a n d   s e l e c -
t i o n   o f   v o c a t i o n a l   t r a i n i n g   a c t i o n s   f o r 
women, it was found that the training ac -
t i o n s   c o n t a i n e d   w i t h i n   t h e   p r o g r a m m e s 
a u d i t e d   w e r e   n o t   s e t   u p   a s   a   d i r e c t   r e -
s p o n s e   t o   t h e   a n a l y s e s   o f   l a b o u r   m a r k e t 
r e q u i r e m e n t s   a n d   t h e   m e a s u r e s   e s t a b -
l i s h e d   t e n d e d   t o   l e ave   a   b ro a d   s c o p e   fo r 
a c t i o n s   to   b e   i m p l e m e n te d,   f a i l i n g   to   fo -
cus sufficiently on specific target groups.

V.
fu r t h e r m o re,   p ro j e c t   s e l e c t i o n   c r i te r i a   i n 
t h e   m e m b e r   S t a t e s   a u d i t e d   d i d   n o t   t a k e 
sufficient account of these analyses of the 
labour market nor ensure that projec ts se -
l e c t e d   h a d   o b j e c t i ve s   w h i c h   we re   i n   l i n e 
with overall programme objec tives.

V I.
t h e   co u r t   re c o m m e n d e d   t h a t   f u t u re   o p -
e r a t i o n a l   p r o g r a m m e s   s h o u l d   b e   e s t a b -
lished in light of an analysis of the labour 
m a r k e t   a n d   t h at   t h e   t y p e   o f   t ra i n i n g   a n d 
o b j e c t i ve s   d e c i d e d   u p o n   s h o u l d   b e   a   d i-
r e c t   r e s p o n s e   t o   t h i s   a n a l y s i s .   fu r t h e r -
m o r e ,   t h e   c o u r t   r e c o m m e n d e d   t h a t   a n 
e f fe c t i ve   p ro j e c t   s e l e c t i o n   p ro c e d u re   b e 
p u t   i n   p l a c e   t o   a p p r o v e   p r o j e c t s   w h i c h 
re s p o n d   b e s t   t o   t h e   p ro b l e m s   h i g h l i g h t-
ed in  th e analysis.

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INtroductIoN 

8

BACKGROUN D

1. 

 ar t i c l e   2   o f   t h e   tr e a t y   e s t a b l i s h i n g   t h e   e u r o p e a n   c o m m u n i t y 
l a y s   d o w n   t h e   p r o m o t i o n   o f   e q u a l i t y   b e t w e e n   m e n   a n d   w o m e n 
a s   o n e   o f   i t s   f u n d a m e n t a l   p r i n c i p l e s .   c o u n c i l   r e g u l a t i o n   ( e e c )  
No 2081/93 1 declared the principle of equal oppor tunities for men 
a n d   wo m e n   o n   t h e   e m p l oy m e nt   m a r k e t   to   b e   a   co m m u n i t y   g o a l 
to which struc tural measures should contribute. equality between 
genders is the possibilit y for women and men alike to par ticipate 
and   b e  rep res ented  eq ual l y   in   t he   e con omy,   in  d eci si on -ma k in g, 
and in social, cultural and civil life 2. the commission repor ts annu-
ally on the situation of equality between women and men, disclos-
i n g   o b s e r ve d   t re n d s   i n   a re a s   w h e re   t h e   m a i n   g e n d e r   g a p s   e x i s t , 
e.g. rates of employment and pay, sec toral and occupational seg -
reg atio n and th e rat io  o f fema le repre s entati on  in  ma n ag em ent 3. 
Figure 1 illustrates the change over time of the gap between male 
a n d   fe m a l e   e m p l o y m e n t   r a t e s.   w h i l s t   t h e re   i s   a   g a p   i n   a l l   m e m -
b e r   S t a t e s ,   i t   n a r r o w e d   f o r   t h e   m a j o r i t y   o f   t h e   e u - 2 7   c o u n t r i e s 
bet ween 2001 and 2007.

1  council regulation (eec)  

No 2081/93 amending  

regulation (eec) No 2052/88  

(oJ l 193, 31.7.1993, p. 5).

2  communication from the 

commission to the council, the 

european parliament, the european 

economic and Social committee and 

the committee of the regions  

’Towards	a	Community	framework	

strategy	on	gender	equality’ 

(2001-05), com(2000) 335 final.

3  the latest report (com(2008) 10 

final) from the commission to the 

council, the european parliament, 

the european economic and Social 

committee and the committee of the 

regions is dated 23.1.2008.

F I G U R E   1

ABSO LUTE GEN DE R GAP  I N  EMP LOYM EN T  R AT ES   ( WO M EN   A ND  MEN 
AGED 15–64) IN EU M EMBER  S TATES   2 0 01   AN D   2 0 0 7  ( DI F F ERENC E 
BE T WE EN MALE AND FEM A LE  E M PLOYM EN T   R AT ES )

50
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0

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S

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E
E

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D

V
L

G
B

R
F

L
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E
D

T
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K
U

O
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L
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L
P

U
H

E
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A

2001

K
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E
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L

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2
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E

2007

S o urce: eurostat, eu labour force Survey (lfS), annual averages, eu-27.
Nb:  I n all countries the employment rate for men was higher than the one for women.

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2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

 th i s   re p o r t   d e a l s   w i t h   vo c at i o n a l   t ra i n i n g   a c t i o n s   fo r   wo m e n   co -
financed by the eSf during the 2000–06 programme period, which 
are the main specific eSf–funded means of promoting equal oppor -
tunities  for  men  and  women  in  the  labour  mar ket 4.  I n  addition  to 
co-financed measures, member States may also implement national 
or regional programmes or ac tions without eu co -financing.

 for the 2000–06 programme period, a dual approach to the use of 
eSf funds for t he attainment of equalit y objec tives was adopted. 
I t	 combined	 specific	 ac tions	 with	 what	 is	 k nown	 as	 ’gender	 main-
s t re a m i n g’.	 Th i s	 i s	 ’t h e	 p ro ce s s	 o f	 a s s e s s i n g	 t h e	 i m p l i c a t i o n s	 fo r	
women or men of any planned ac tion, including legislation, poli-
cies  o r p rogramm es,  in al l  are as an d  at al l le vels 5’.

	Spe cific 	 ac t io ns 	 to 	 imp rove 	 women’s 	 access 	 to 	 an d 	 par t icipation	
in the  l ab ou r mar ket  inc l ude voc at io nal t rain i ng  ac t ion s  re lat in g 
to	women’s	 career	 development,	access	 of	women	to	new	 job	 op -
por t un ities,  st ar ting  up   b u sines se s  an d  t he   re duc t io n  of   ve r ti cal 
a n d	 h o r i zo nt a l	 s e gre g at i o n	 o n	 t h e	 b a s i s	 o f	 g e n d e r	 i n	 t h e	 l a b o u r	
m a r k e t .   fo r   t h e   2 0 0 0 – 0 6   p r o g r a m m e   p e r i o d ,   4   b i l l i o n   e u r o   w a s 
e a r m a r k e d	 f r o m	 t h e	 E S F	 fo r	 ’p o s i t i v e	 l a b o u r	 m a r k e t	 a c t i o n s	 fo r	
w o m e n’ 6.  t h e   m o s t   s i g n i f i c a n t   o f   t h e s e   s p e c i f i c   a c t i o n s   r e l a t e d 
t o   v o c a t i o n a l   t r a i n i n g,   w h i c h   a c c o u n t e d   fo r   a n   e s t i m a t e d   3   b i l-
lion e uro  for the  eu-25 7.  fo r t he 2 0 07–1 3 programme per iod,  the 
b u d g e t   fo r   s p e c i f i c   a c t i o n s   h a s   d e c r e a s e d   s i g n i f i c a n t l y   r e l a t i v e 
to   t h e   p re v i o u s   p e r i o d   a s   m o re   e m p h a s i s   h a s   b e e n   p l a c e d   u p o n 
main st reaming.

 In the contex t of positive labour market ac tions for women, choic-
e s   h ave   to   b e   m a d e   a b o u t   h ow   b e s t   to   i m p rove   g e n d e r   e q u a l i t y 
in the  l ab o ur mar ket .  on the  on e h and, for train in g to  be con s id-
ered successful it should normally lead to the realistic possibilit y 
o f   o b t a i n i n g   a   j o b   a n d   a s   s u c h   t h e   t ra i n i n g   p e o p l e   re ce i ve   m u s t 
b e   r e l a t e d   t o   c o n d i t i o n s   e x i s t i n g   i n   t h e   l a b o u r   m a r k e t   s u c h   a s 
d i s c e r n i b l e   s k i l l s   s h o r t a g e s .   on   t h e   o t h e r   h a n d ,   t h e r e   w i l l   a l s o 
be so me  s pecific  requ irement s of  wom en  as po tenti al e mpl oyee s 
such  as t he existence of  adeq uate c hild ca re and fl ex ible  wo r k in g 
a r r a n g e m e n t s.   S u c h   i s s u e s   a re   i m p o r t a n t   i f   p o s i t i ve   a c t i o n s   a re 
to  achie ve  the   o b jec tives  of  improve d  and   in creas e d  fe m ale   par-
ticip at ion in the  wo r kfo rce.

4  council regulation (eec)  

No 2084/93 amending  

regulation (eec) No 4255/88  

(oJ l 193, 31.7.1993, p. 39) for the 

programme period 1994–99 and in 

particular article 1(1)(d) thereof and 

regulation (ec) No 1784/1999 of 

the european parliament and of the 

council (oJ l 213, 13.8.1999, p. 5) for 

the programme period 2000–06 and 

in particular article 2(1)(b)  

and (e) thereof.

5  economic and Social council 

(ecosoc) agreed conclusions 1997/2 

on mainstreaming the gender 

perspective into all policies and 

programmes in the united  

Nations system.

6  reported under code 25 of the 

classification of interventions laid 

down in commission regulation (ec) 

No 438/2001 regarding the 

management and control systems for 

assistance granted under  

the Structural funds  

(oJ l 63, 3.3.2001, p. 21).

7  there is no separate reporting 

code for expenditure on vocational 

training actions for women. therefore 

the total amount dedicated can only 

be estimated on the basis of the 

information provided by the member 

States audited.

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6. 

7. 

8. 

9. 

RESPONSIBILITIE S FOR TH E  IM PLEM E NTATI O N   
OF CO -F INANCED AC TIO NS

 Figure 2 sets out in simplified terms the programming and cer tain 
aspec ts of the implementation process of eSf- co -financed ac tions 
in t he  area o f voc atio nal  training  fo r  wom e n 8.

8  the basic process as described is 

applicable for any eSf-co-financed 

measure.

 proje c ts   co -finan ced  by   t he  eSf  are   implemented   t hroug h  m ulti -
annual programmes (which can take the for m of operational pro -
gramm es (ops)  or s ingl e p rogramming  docu ments  (Sp ds ) ).   th ese 
p r o g r a m m e s   c o n t a i n   e s t a b l i s h e d   p r i o r i t i e s ,   fo r   e a c h   o f   w h i c h   a 
number of measures are defined. measures may include vocational 
training  ac tio ns  fo r women.

 the p ro grammes are draw n up  by  th e m ember  S tates followin g a 
consul t at ion p rocess w ith  the commission  (employment  dg)  and 
re g i o n a l,   l o c a l   a n d   o t h e r   c o m p e t e n t   p u b l i c   a u t h o r i t i e s,   a n d   t h e 
economic and social par tners. the commission appraises and ap -
proves t he p ro grammes.

 a key element in this preparation, and in par ticular in the setting 
ou t o f  ob jec t ives and  t he al l o cat ion  of  f in an ci al res ource s  to t h e 
priorities and measures, is an ex- ante evaluation of the strengths, 
we a k n e s s e s   a n d   p o te nt i a l   o f   t h e   m e m b e r   S t ate,   re gi o n   o r   s e c to r 
concer ned. this is the responsibilit y of author ities designated by 
t h e   m e m b e r   S t a t e s   a n d   o n e   o f   i t s   a i m s   i s   t o   a s s e s   t h e   a p p ro p r i-
a t e n e s s   o f   t h e   s t r a t e g y   a n d   t a r g e t s   s e l e c t e d   g i v e n   t h e   s p e c i f i c 
situ at ion  o f t he  region s o r areas  invol ve d.

10. 

 member States are responsible for implementing the programmes 
an d,   in  co o p eratio n  w it h  the  commiss ion ,  the y  m ust   en sure   t hat 
community funds are used in keeping with the principles of sound 
fina ncial  man agement. the   com mission  reta in s  overall  respo nsi-
bilit y  fo r impl em ent ation of t he  budge t .

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FI G U R E   2

WHO D OES W HAT? 

What

Who

Multiannual programmes
(operational programme (OP) or
single programming document (SPD))
comprising a set of priorities
and measures.

One or more measures in the
programmes might include positive
labour market actions for women, 
e.g. vocational training actions
for women.

Prepared by the competent bodies
in the Member States on the
basis of an ex-ante evaluation.

Approved by the Commission. 

Selection of vocational training
projects designed to improve women’s
access to and participation in the 
labour market. 

National, regional or
local authorities.

Selection of training participants.

Project promoters.

Annual
implementation
reports providing 
aggregated information 
on outputs, results 
and impacts

Information on 
outputs, results and
impacts of 
individual projects 
(monitoring reports)

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 I n d i v i d u a l   p r o j e c t s   a r e   p r o p o s e d   b y   p r o j e c t   p r o m o t e r s   —   w h o 
a r e   c o n s i d e r e d   a s   b e i n g   t h e   b e n e f i c i a r i e s   i n   t h e   c o n t e x t   o f   r e -
ce i v i n g   eSf  s u p p o r t   fo r   o rg a n i s i n g   t ra i n i n g   —   a n d   a p p rove d   by 
designated national, regional or local authorities. the promoters 
a re   t a s k e d   w i t h   p rov i d i n g   t h e   co m p e te n t   m a n a gi n g   a u t h o r i t i e s 
with monitoring information on project progress and the achieve -
ment of objec tives. the commission is provided with aggregated 
monito r ing dat a on  an annu al b asis.

9  for more information,  

see Special report No 1/2007 

concerning the implementation  

of the mid-term processes on  

the Structural funds 2000–06  

(oJ c 124, 5.6.2007).

 fo r   t h e   p r o g r a m m e   p e r i o d   2 0 0 0 – 0 6 ,   a   m i d - t e r m   e v a l u a t i o n   o f 
each programme had to be car r ied out by an independent asses-
sor,   under   t he  resp o ns ib il it y  of  th e  m ana gin g   a ut ho r it ie s  and  in 
cooperation with the commission. Some impor tant items forming 
par t o f  the e valuat ion were:

(a)  an  an al ysis  o f  t he  continuing  valid i t y   of   th e   ex- an te  evalua-

t ion’s	anal ysis	o f	s treng t hs,	we ak n e sse s	an d	po tenti al;

(b)  an a sses sme nt  of the cont inuin g  rele van ce  of  th e  st rate g y ;

(c)  an a sses sme nt  of the qu ant ific at io n  of   obj e c ti ve s;

(d)  a n   e va l u at i o n   o f   e f fe c t i ve n e s s,   e f f i c i e n c y   a n d   l i k e l y   i m p a c t ; 

and

(e)  an appraisal of the quality of implementation and monitoring 

ar ran ge ment s.

 t h e   m i d - t e r m   e v a l u a t i o n   fo u n d   t h a t   t h e   a n a l y s i s   o f   e f f i c i e n c y, 
e f fe c t i ve n e s s   a n d   l i k e l y   i m p a c t   h a d   b e e n   h a m p e re d   by   t h e   l a t e 
or  s low   st ar t-u p   o f  many  pro gra mme s,  as   fe w  output s  or   res ult s 
we re   ava i l a b l e   by   m i d - 2 0 0 3 .   pro b l e m s   w i t h   m o n i to r i n g   s ys te m s 
which failed to provide complete or reliable data were also high-
lighte d 9.

 I n   a d d i t i o n ,   c o m m u n i t y   s t r u c t u r a l   a s s i s t a n c e   i s   s u b j e c t   t o   a n 
 ex-pos t eval u at io n of  th e ut ili sat io n of  th e re s ources  a nd  t he  e f-
fec t ivene ss  and  eff icien c y  o f  th e   as s ist an ce  grante d.  th is  evalu-
a t i o n ,   t o   b e   c a r r i e d   o u t   b y   i n d e p e n d e n t   e x p e r t s,   u n d e r   t h e   r e -
sponsibility of the commission, in collaboration with the member 
S t a t e s   a n d   m a n a g e m e n t   a u t h o r i t i e s,   h a s   a m o n g s t   o t h e r   t h i n g s 
t o   c o n s i d e r   t h e   s u c c e s s   o r   f a i l u r e   o f   i m p l e m e n t a t i o n   a n d   t h e 
ach ieveme nt s and res ul ts.

11.  

12.  

13.  

14.  

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audIt  Scope  aNd  approach

13

15. 	

	For	 the	 2000–06	 programme	 per iod,	 75	 %	 of	 ’positive	 labour	 mar-
ket	ac t io ns	fo r	wo men’
a r e a 	 o f 	 v o c a t i o n a l 	 t r a i n i n g . 	 T h e 	 o b j e c t i v e 	 o f 	 t h e 	 C o u r t ’s 	 a u d i t	
wa s   to   esta bl ish   t he   ex te nt   to  whic h  e S f- co -fin an ced  vo c ation al 
t r a i n i n g   a c t i o n s   f o r   w o m e n   w e r e   w e l l   t a r g e t e d   a n d   a d e q u a t e l y 
monitore d. I t  addres sed the followin g  que st io ns :

	imp le m ented	were	specific	ac tio ns	i n	t h e

10

(1)  germany: op Sachsen-anhalt 

objective 1 — 1999de161po003

Selected priority 4,  

measure	4.51	(’specific	measures	

for the qualification and 

integration	of	women’);

(a)  were vo c at io na l trainin g ac tions fo r  wome n s elec te d accord-

(2)  Spain: op andalusia  

objective 1 — 2000eS161po003

Selected priority 45,  

measures	45.16	(’improve	the	

employability	of	women’)	 

and	45.17	(’promote	the	business	

activity	of	women’);

(3)  france: Spd france  

objective 3 — 1999fr053do001

Selected priority 5,  

measure 8/9 (‘develop the access 

and participation of women in 

the labour market, favour the 

articulation of time use and 

professionalisation	of	actors’);

(4)  united Kingdom: op Scotland 

objective 3 — 1999gb053po002

Selected priority 5, measure 5.1 

(’addressing	gender	imbalance:	

promoting	positive	actions’);

(5)  Italy: op lombardy  

objective 3 — 1999It053po010

Selected priority e, measure e1 

(’promotion	of	the	access	and	

participation of women to the 

labour	market’).

ing  to  a c lea r anal ysis  o f labour  ma r ke t  pr i or i ti es ?

(b)  was monitoring information sufficient to allow an assessment 
o f w he the r su c h ac tio ns  had ac h i eve d th ei r  obj ec t ives?

16.  

17.  

18.  

19.  

 the  au dit  was c ar r ied  o u t at th e commiss ion  and in five  m ember 
S t a t e s   ( g e r m a n y,   S p a i n ,   fr a n c e ,   I t a l y   a n d   t h e   un i t e d   K i n g d o m ) 
who were amongst the largest recipients of eSf money disbursed 
und er	 t he	 hea ding	 ’p o sit ive	 l abour	 mar ket	 ac tion s	 for	 wome n’,	 in	
total accounting for 76 % of the expenditure of the eu-25. within 
e a c h   m e m b e r   S t a t e,   o n e   p r o g r a m m e   w a s   s e l e c t e d   a c c o r d i n g   t o 
t h e   r e l a t i v e   i m p o r t a n c e   o f   v o c a t i o n a l   t r a i n i n g   a c t i v i t i e s   i n   t h e 
m e a s u r e ,   i n   f o u r   c a s e s   7 5   %   o r   g r e a t e r.   fi v e   p r o g r a m m e s   w e r e 
a u d i te d :   S a c h s e n -an h a l t   ( g e r m a ny ) ,   an d a l u s i a   ( S p a i n ) ,   S co t l a n d 
(un i t e d   K i n g d o m )   a n d   lo m b a r d y   ( I t a l y ) ,   w i t h   t h e   I l e - d e -f r a n c e 
region s ele c ted fo r f rance 10.

 I t   i s   e s t i m a t e d   t h a t   t h e   f i v e   p r o g r a m m e s   c o n t a i n e d   4 9 0   m i l l i o n 
e u r o   o f   e a r m a r k e d   f i n a n c i n g,   t h a t   i s   1 2   %   o f   t o t a l   s p e n d i n g   o n 
’positive	 labour	 market	 actions	 for	 women’.	 Within	 this	 amount	 ap -
proximately 380 million euro was allocated to vocational training 
ac t io ns.

 ei g h t   p ro j e c t s   p e r   c o u n t r y   we re   s e l e c t e d   fo r   o n - t h e - s p o t   a u d i t , 
based upon a combination of financial significance and coverage 
of project types financed by the measure. the projects audited can 
b e   c o n s i d e re d   a s   b e i n g   b o t h   t y p i c a l   o f   t h e i r   p ro g r a m m e   a n d   o f 
ot he r p ro gramm es  fall ing u nde r  t he  he adi n g of vo c at ion al train-
ing  ac t io ns fo r women .

 the   re view   o f  th e  sel ec t io n  p roce ss   an d  th e   an alys is   of   m on itor-
i n g   i n f o r m a t i o n   w a s   c a r r i e d   o u t   a t   t h e   a u t h o r i t i e s   r e s p o n s i b l e 
for implementing the programmes and by way of the on-the -spot 
aud it s o f pro je c ts.

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20.  

21.  

obSer VatIoNS

14

WERE  VOC ATIONAL TR A I NI NG  AC TI ON S   F O R 
WOMEN APPROPRIATELY  SELEC T ED ?

BACKGROUND1

 In order to establish priorities for the 2000–06 programme period, 
t h e   m e m b e r   S t a t e s   h a d   t o   c a r r y   o u t   e x - a n t e  e v a l u a t i o n s ,   a i m e d 
at   d e m o n s t rat i n g   t h e   a p p ro p r i ate n e s s   o f   t h e i r   s e l e c te d   s t rate g y 
and justifying the proposed allocation of financial resources. this 
means that the identification of training as a pr ior it y and the ob-
j e c t i ve s   t o   b e   a c h i e ve d   t h ro u g h   t r a i n i n g   s h o u l d   b e   b a s e d   u p o n 
t h e   s k i l l   n e e d s   a n d   t ra i n i n g   a n d   o t h e r   d e m a n d s   e m a n at i n g   f ro m 
th e l ab o ur mar k et.

11  article 41(2)(c) of council 

regulation (ec) No 1260/1999 of 

21 June 1999 laying down general 

provisions on the Structural 

funds (oJ l 161, 26.6.1999, p. 1), 

which specifically requires for an 

evaluation of the situation in terms 

of equality between men and 

 r egulation (ec ) No 1260/1999 established that the ex- ante evalu-
ation  of  developed  plans  should  include  an  appraisal  of  the  situ-
a t i o n   i n   t e r m s   o f   e q u a l i t y   b e t w e e n   w o m e n   a n d   m e n ,   a n d   o f   t h e 
implementation mechanisms and the expec ted impac t of the strat-
egy and assistance 11. the eventual strategy chosen, and the result-
i n g   p ro gr a m m e   p r i o r i t i e s   we re   re q u i re d   to   b e   co h e re n t   w i t h   t h e 
a n a l ys i s   fo r m i n g   p a r t   o f   t h e   e x - a n te   e va l u at i o n .  th e   co m m i s s i o n 
provided detailed guidance on the analysis of employment and la-
bour mar ket trends to be integrated in the ex- ante evaluation 12.

22. 

 a p p r o p r i a t e   p r o j e c t   s e l e c t i o n   p r o c e d u r e s   n e e d e d   t o   b e   p u t   i n 
p l a c e   a n d   a p p l i e d   c o n s i s t e n t l y   t o   e n s u r e   t h a t   t h e   p r o j e c t s   s e -
lec ted had training objec tives which were consistent with overall 
pro gra mme o bj ec tives 13.

23. 

cons ider ing  the ab ove,  the c our t e xamin ed whet her :

(a)  d u r i n g   t h e   e s t a b l i s h m e nt   o f   t h e   p ro gra m m e s,   a n   a n a l ys i s   o f 
t h e   v a r i o u s   l a b o u r   m a r k e t s   h a d   b e e n   c a r r i e d   o u t   b y   t h e   r e -
g i o n a l   o r   m e m b e r   S t a t e   a u t h o r i t i e s   c o n c e r n e d   a n d   t h e   o b -
j e c t i v e s   u n d e r l y i n g   t h e   s p e c i f i c   v o c a t i o n a l   t r a i n i n g   a c t i o n s 
au dite d we re  e s tab l ished  in  light  of  s uc h  an  apprai sal ; a nd

(b)  t h e   s e l e c t i o n   o f   b o t h   p r o j e c t s   a n d   p a r t i c i p a n t s   w e r e   b a s e d 
upon criteria established in accordance with priorities identi -
fied in the relevant labour mar ket and the programme objec-
t ives  set .

women with regard to labour market 

opportunities and treatment at work, 

including the specific constraints 

on each group; an estimate of the 

expected impact of the strategy 

and assistance, particularly, on the 

integration of women and men into 

the labour market, on education 

and vocational training, on the 

establishment of women in business 

and on the reconciliation of family 

and working life.

12  ‘the ex-ante evaluation of the 

Structural	Funds	interventions’.	

document aimed at national, 

regional or local authorities in 

charge of programming the 2000–06 

community structural interventions.

13  article 41(3) of regulation (ec) 

No 1260/1999, which specifies that 

the ex-ante evaluation shall verify 

the relevance of the selection criteria 

once it has demonstrated consistency 

of the measures in the programme 

with the aims of the corresponding 

priorities.

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24.  

25. 

26.  

O BJEC TIVES NOT  BASED UPON  THE  ANA LYSES

 the   a nal yse s  listed  th e  main  bar r i er s   for   wom en   e nte r i n g  th e   la-
b o u r	 m a r k e t	 a n d	 p r e s e n t e d	 ’g e n d e r	 g a p s’	 i n	 s e v e r a l	 i m p o r t a n t	
a re a s   s u c h   a s   n u m b e r s   wo r k i n g,   rate s   o f   s e l f - e m p l oy m e nt ,   o cc u-
panc y o f dec ision-mak ing  rol es  a n d l abour  m ar ke t  se gre gat ion .

 the main weakness found during the audit, however, was that there 
was no clear link bet ween the results of the analyses and the pro-
posed training objec tives. there was no clear rationale developed 
for the t ype of vocational training decided upon nor for the sk ills 
or sec tors of ac tivit y targeted (see examples in tex tb ox 1).

 t h e   m e a s u r e s   d e v e l o p e d   f o l l o w i n g   t h e   a n a l y s i s   p r o c e s s   m o s t l y 
compr ised  broad  ac tions  with  a  general  bias  towards  the  par tici-
pation of women rather than focused ac tions tak ing into account 
t h e   way   i n   w h i c h   g e n d e r   e q u a l i t y   co u l d   b e s t   b e   a d va n ce d   i n   t h e 
specific labour markets concerned. In three of the five programmes 
audited there was ver y little to differentiate bet ween training ac-
t i o n s   i n t e n d e d   e x c l u s i v e l y   f o r   w o m e n   a n d   t h o s e   o p e n   t o   b o t h 
w o m e n   a n d   m e n .   m o r e   r e s o u r c e s   i n   t h e   f o r m   o f   t r a i n i n g   p l a c e s 
were  simply  made  available  for  women.  I n  contrast,  the  situation 
illustrated in tex tb ox 2 was an example of good targeting.

T E X T B O X   1

In lombardy, there was no specific analysis regarding areas of female underrepresentation despite 
one	aim	of	the	measure	being	to	reduce	horizontal	and	vertical	segregation.

the french programme mentioned sectors providing employment opportunities, without analys-
ing their potential for the creation of job opportunities for women. one aim of the measure was 
to give priority to training measures with potential for employment development but which had 
hitherto tended not to include women. however, there was no discussion of what type of measures 
were considered as falling into this category.

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27.  

28.  

T E X T B O X   2

T E X T B O X   3

 the  weak  association  bet ween  the  analysis  of  labour  mar kets  and 
subsequent programme objec tives could have been par tially com-
pensated for at projec t level as projec t promoters were required to 
demonstrate how their individual projec ts took the charac teristics 
of local labour mar kets into consideration. however, the ex tent to 
which this compensation could take place depended upon the level 
of  infor mation  available  to  promoters  (see  tex tb ox  3)  and  also  on 
the qualit y of the projec t selec tion process (see paragraph 29).

14   communication from the 

commission on the implementation 

of gender mainstreaming in the 

Structural	Funds’	programming	

documents 2000–06, com(2002) 748 

final dated 20.12.2002.

 weak nesses of the t ype obser ved in the programmes audited, and 
descr ibed  in  paragraphs  25  and  26,  were  already  well  k nown.  I n  a 
communication of the commission from 2002 14, it was stated, in the 
c o n t e x t	 o f	 t h e	 s t r a t e g y	 t o	 a c h i e ve	 g e n d e r	 e q u a l i t y,	 t h a t	 ’i n	 m o s t	
of the programmes there is a significant gap bet ween the analysis 
and 	 programming 	 strategy ’. 	 I t 	 went 	 on 	 to 	 say 	 that 	 any 	 analysis 	 of	
t h e   g a p s   a r i s i n g   f ro m   t h e   d i f fe re nt   s o c i o e co n o m i c   c i rc u m s t a n ce s 
of women and men was rare and, even when present, the strategy 
to overcome such gaps was not always consistent with the analysis. 
I n spite of such awareness at an ear ly stage in the programme pe -
r iod, the commission did not take ac tion on issues such as projec t 
selec tion, in an effor t to remedy the k nown shor tcomings.

the Sachsen-anhalt programme targeted specific groups of women for inclusion in its traineeship 
schemes: the long-term unemployed, women over 45 years of age or single mothers who had previ-
ously participated in training but were still unemployed 3 to 12 months following the training.

In the case of the lombardy programme, the project promoters had to demonstrate coherence 
between the qualifications targeted and i nte r   ali a the established priorities of the region. how-
ever, information on regional priorities was not included with either the programme or the call 
for applications.

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PROJEC T SELEC TION DID NOT TA KE  SUFF ICIENT 
ACCOUNT OF TH E ANALYSES OF  L AB OUR  M ARKE TS  NOR 
O F PROGR AMME OBJEC TIVES

29.  

 for three of the five programmes audited, the selec tion criteria did 
not ensure that the issues ar ising from the labour mar ket analysis 
we re   s u f f i c i e n t l y   a d d re s s e d   n o r   p rov i d e   a   s o u n d   b a s i s   fo r   t h e   a t-
t a i n m e n t   o f   p r o g r a m m e   o b j e c t i v e s   ( s e e   t e x t b ox   4) .   I n   o n e   c a s e , 
c a l l s   fo r   p ro j e c t   p ro p o s a l s   we re   n o t   l i n k e d   to   a   s p e c i f i c   m e a s u re ; 
instead	 projec ts	 were	 included	 as	 ’positive	 labour	 ac tions	 for	 wom-
en’	simply	 on	 the	 basis	 of	 the	 percentage	 of	 female	 trainees	 antici-
pated. I n another case, whilst the selec tion cr iter ia stemmed from 
the main objec tives of the measure, the cr iter ion evaluating a link 
with labour market priorities was not a determining fac tor when it 
came to the approval or rejec tion of projec ts.

T E X T B O X   4

one of the objectives of the most important action implemented within the andalusian programme 
’actions	for	vocational	training	for	women’	was	that	training	courses	should	take	into	account	local	
labour	 market	 conditions.	 Five	 priority	 selection	 criteria	 were	 established	 by	 ’Ministerial	 Order’15 
and	 three	 of	 these	 criteria	 focused	 on	 local	 conditions.	 For	 two	 of	 these	 —	 ’commitment	 to	 take	
on	the	person	trained’	and	’inclusion	of	traineeship	in	companies’	—	most	project	applications	did	
not	include	such	commitments.	Data	on	the	third	criteria	—	’employment	rate	regarding	trainees	
of	previous	courses’ 	—	were	also	often	not	included.

the mid-term evaluation of the lombardy programme stated that the project selection process 
did not satisfactorily take into account training actions needed in sectors where gender imbal-
ances were most prevalent, and also that not enough attention had been paid to various forms of 
discrimination and inequalitiy in access to the labour market.

although the audited measure of the  lombardy programme exclusively addressed women, the 
data show that 27 % of the training participants were male.

15  ministerial order (boJa No 146, 19 december 2000, p. 18.647).

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30.  

31.  

 on e   o f   t h e   m a i n   o b j e c t i ve s   o f   t h e   m e a s u r e s   w a s   t h e   p r o m o t i o n 
o f   wo m e n   i n   s e c to r s   w h e re   t h e re   wa s   a   h i s to r y   o f   fe m a l e   u n d e r-
representation. despite this, for three of the programmes audited 
there was still an emphasis on areas of traditional female employ-
ment  s uch as cu l tu re,  heal th an d  c lea nin g.

 the   l ac k  o f  sp ec if ic   t arg et   grou ps  meant  th at  th e  c an didates  se -
l e c t e d   we re   n o t   a l w ay s   t h o s e   m o s t   i n   n e e d   o f   s u p p o r t   fo r   e n t r y 
or   re - ent r y  into  the  lab o ur  mar ke t,   a s  t he   e x ampl es   in   tex t b ox  5 
show.

T E X T B O X   5

the mid-term evaluation for the lombardy programme found that training was mainly provided for 
people	 with	 an	 already	 ’strong’	position	 in	 the	 labour	 market	 (e.g.	 highly	 educated	 and/or	 young	
people who already had a good chance of finding a job without further training).

for the biggest action in the andalusian programme, a mid-term evaluation, for which the results 
were available in 2005, concluded that the training measure was not suited to the needs of the 
women with the greatest difficulties as, on the one hand, the education level required excluded 
women who had only been to primary school and, on the other hand, the training hours were not 
suited to women who had to care for their families.

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DID MO NITORING INFO RM ATI O N  M A K E  I T 
POSSIBLE TO E VALUATE WH E TH ER VO C ATI O N AL 
TR AINING AC TIONS FOR  WOM EN   AC HI E VED   
THEIR OBJEC TIVES?

BACKGROUND2

32.  

 m easur ing the outcomes of training ac tions is a difficult exercise 
bec aus e:

(a)  a nu mb er o f fac tors  ex ter nal to  th e t rai n in g  a c ti on s  can  play 
a   m a j o r   ro l e   w i t h   re g a rd   to   t h e   e m p l oy a b i l i t y   o f   i n d i v i d u a l s 
( e. g.   e vo l u t i o n   o f   l a b o u r   s u p p l y   a n d   d e m a n d   re s u l t i n g   f ro m 
t he overall  e con omic  situ ation );

(b)  eSf- c o - f i n a n c e d   a c t i o n s   a r e   o n l y   o n e   p a r t   o f   a   w i d e r   f i e l d 
o f  ac tio n  imp le mented  w ith in  m ember   St ates  which   h ave  an 
infl u ence  o n emp l oy ment; and

(c)  cer t ain  res ult s   are  diffic u lt   to  m e asure  wit hi n   t h e  contex t   o f 
t h e   a t t a i n m e n t   o f   p r o g r a m m e   o b j e c t i v e s ,   b u t   a r e   o f   a   b e n-
eficial nature in wider societal ter ms (e.g. re -lear ning how to 
adapt to routines including the respecting of time constraints, 
res to rat io n o f sel f- con fiden ce,  etc. ) .

33.  

 I n spite of such difficulties, some shor t- to medium-term achieve -
ments can still be measured. I ndicators relevant to the objec tives 
to be achieved could be established and corresponding targets set 
using benchmarks or other equivalent reference points regarding 
outputs, results and impac t. this would constitute a basis for any 
s u b s e q u e nt   m o n i to r i n g   a n d   e va l u at i o n   o f   m e a s u re s   a n d   a c t i o n s 
and  hence fo r an  ap p raisal  of t h ei r  e f fec t iven e ss.

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34.  

 the following indicators provide a necessar y minimum for evalu-
atin g  vo catio nal  t raining ac tion s 16:

16  the indicators were identified on 

the basis of a review by the court 

of the programmes audited, of 

 (a )  o u t p u t   i n d i c a to r s :   n u m b e r   o f   ( fe m a l e )   p a r t i c i p a n t s,   n u m b e r 

guidance issued by the european 

o f co u rs es p rovided ;

	(b)	 res ul ts’	 indic ato rs:	 nu mb er	 of	 par t icipants	 fin ishin g	 courses,	
n u m b e r   o f   p a r t i c i p a n t s   o b t a i n i n g   r e q u i r e d   q u a l i f i c a t i o n s ; 
and

(c) 

i m p a c t   i n d i c a t o r s :   n u m b e r   o f   t r a i n e e s   g o i n g   o n   t o   f u r t h e r 
t raining, numb er o f t raine es  f indin g a j ob an d who  we re s ti ll 
employed a stipulated time period (e.g. 6 or 12 months) af ter 
t he e nd o f the  cours e.

Commission	in	1999	(’MEANS	

Collection’	aimed	at	improving	

methods of evaluating structural 

policies) and of the specific 1999 

Commission’s	’Guidelines	for	systems	

of monitoring and evaluation of eSf 

assistance in the period 2000–06.

35.  

the  c o ur t  examined  wh ether :

(a )  a p p r o p r i a t e   i n d i c a t o r s   h a d   b e e n   i d e n t i f i e d   a n d   t a r g e t s   s e t 
for the measurement of output, results and impac t set out in 
p aragrap h 34 ;

(b)  t h e   m o n i t o r i n g   d a t a   f o r   t h e s e   i n d i c a t o r s   c o l l e c t e d   b y   t h e 

 b o dies imp l ementing  the ac tions  were  re liable ;  an d

(c) 

in as f ar as co u ld b e as cer taine d from  t h e ava ilable  moni tor-
ing  data,  thes e target s  had been  at tai ne d.

INDIC ATORS TOO NARROWLY FOCUSED

36.  

 whilst output indicators had been established for all audited pro -
gra m m e s, 	 t h e 	 s i t u a t i o n 	 re g a rd i n g 	 re s u l t s’	 a n d 	 i m p a c t 	 i n d i c a to r s	
v a r i e d .   I n   o n e   c a s e   b o t h   t y p e s   o f   i n d i c a t o r   e x i s t e d ,   w h e r e a s   i n 
a n o t h e r,   n e i t h e r   h a d   b e e n   e s t a b l i s h e d .   I n   t h e   r e m a i n i n g   t h r e e 
pro gra mmes,	eit her	res ul t s’	o r	impac t	in dicator s	existed,	but	n ot	
both.  the  fo l l ow ing  aspec ts  were n oted.

(a)  the employment situation from 6 to 12 months after the train-
i n g   w a s   n o t   u s e d   a s   a n   i n d i c a t o r   a t   m e a s u r e   l e v e l   f o r   f o u r 
p r o g r a m m e s   a l t h o u g h ,   i n   s o m e   i n s t a n c e s ,   t h e   i n f o r m a t i o n 
w a s   a v a i l a b l e   a t   i n d i v i d u a l   p r o j e c t   l e v e l   ( s e e   t e x t b ox   6) .   I n 
addition, other issues such as job duration (i.e. shor t ter m or 
l o n g   t e r m )   a n d   j o b   l e v e l   ( i n   t e r m s   o f   q u a l i t y   a n d   p a y )   w e r e 
no t  cons id ered.

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(b)  o n e   o f   t h e   p r o g r a m m e s   d i d   n o t   h a v e   a   s u f f i c i e n t   r a n g e   o f 
i n d i c ato r s   to   a l l ow   a   wo r t hw h i l e   a n a l ys i s   to   b e   m a d e   a n d   i n 
a n o t h e r   c a s e   t h e   i n d i c a t o r s   e s t a b l i s h e d   w e r e   n o t   o f   a   t y p e 
s u i t a b l e   f o r   t h e   m e a s u r e m e n t   o f   t h e   a c h i e v e m e n t s   o f   t h e 
t rainin g ac t ion s imp l emented ( se e te x tb ox  7) .

T E X T B O X   6

T E X T B O X   7

In lombardy, the authorities examined a sample of projects with regard to the employment status 
of trainees 12 months after the completion of the training actions and this was considered by the 
Court	as	being	an	example	of	’good	practice’.

In andalusia, an indicator had been established concerning the success or otherwise of trainees in 
their subsequent search for employment. however, some weaknesses were observed with regard 
to data collection. for example, for one of the actions receiving 35 % of total expenditure for the 
measure, the relevant information was only available for 42 % of the training courses sampled.

In	 Andalusia,	 the	 indicator	 ’number	 of	 jobs	 obtained	 within	 six	 months	 after	 the	 actions’	did	 not	
adequately address the specificities of the measures co-financed. as 40 % of the expenditure went 
on orientation and pre-training actions, more pertinent indicators might have dealt with numbers 
going on to further training or registering as job seekers. furthermore, 20 % of the trainees were 
already in employment and therefore their responses skewed the apparent results of this indica-
tor.

Some indicators for the Scottish programme were framed in too broad a fashion to be of much 
value	for	measuring	the	result	of	the	training	actions,	e.g.	’number	of	women/people	gaining	a	
part/full	 qualification’.	 In	 terms	 of	 the	 indicator,	 the	 passing	 of	 one	 learning	 unit	 towards	 a	 full	
qualification was equivalent to obtaining the full qualification, even though the learning effect 
could not in any way be judged as comparable.

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37.  

38.  

TARGE TS NOT SE T FOR ALL MEASUR ES

 targ et s to b e achieved were not  se t  for  all m e asure s  audi te d 17: in 
t wo  c ases  t here  was   n o  q uantifi c ati on   at   a ll   an d   i n   a n oth er   ca se, 
a l t h o u g h	 a	 n u m b e r	 o f	 o u t p u t	 a n d	 r e s u l t s ’	 i n d i c a t o r s	 h a d	 b e e n	
ide nt ified,	 t he	 o nl y	 qu antifie d	 targ et	 was	 for	 ’n um ber	 of	 par t ici-
pants’.

17  a similar conclusion was already 

drawn	in	the	Court’s	Special	Report	

No 7/2003 (oJ c 174, 23.7.2003) on 

the implementation of assistance 

programming for the period 2000 

 fo r   t h e   t wo   m e a s u re s   w h e re   t a rg e t s   h a d   b e e n   s e t ,   t h e re   w a s   n o 
explanation as to how they had been established and in one case 
the targets had to be revised significantly following the mid-term 
rev iew  (se e tex tb ox  8).

to 2006 within the framework of the 

Structural funds. paragraph 89 of this 

report	states	that	’indicators	were	still	

not	sufficiently	quantified	or	relevant’.

M ONITORING DATA UNRE LIABLE A ND   
SOME TIMES INCOMPLE TE

39.  

 for t wo of the five programmes, output indicators concer ning the 
number of par ticipants were found to be unreliable. for four of the 
programmes,	 results’	indicators	 such	 as	 numbers	 completing	 train-
ing and gaining qualifications were also found to be unreliable.

T E X T B O X   8

for the Scottish programme, quantified targets had been set up as per the table below. despite 
enquiries by the court, no information was provided as to how benchmarks had been established 
or initial and revised targets arrived at.

Indicator

Target (initial)

Target (revised)

Benchmarks

% of women going into employment

% of women going on to further training

31 %

42 %

5,51 %

17,56 %

25-40 %

20-30 %

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40.  

 the   fo l lowing   sho r tco mings  were  n ote d  in   res pec t   of   t h e  un d er-
lying  data:

18  the court already addressed this 

issue, in particular in paragraph 120 

(a) 

i n c o m p l e t e n e s s ,   e s p e c i a l l y   w i t h   r e g a r d   t o   t h e   q u e s t i o n   o f 
what people who had been trained were doing 6 to 12 months 
af ter t heir train ing ( see p aragraph  3 6  als o) ;

(b)  p ro b l e m s   re l a t i n g   t o   d e f i n i t i o n s   o r   t h e i r   i n t e r p r e t a t i o n ;   fo r 
exam pl e,  in  S co tl and  a  declarat io n  o f  inte nt   to  g o  on   to  f ur-
ther training was accepted as if the fur ther training had taken 
p l ace.  al so  in S co t land and in  france, trainee s wh o atten ded 
multiannual courses were counted several times, e.g. once for 
eac h ye ar o f at ten dance;

(c)  d i s c r e p a n c i e s   r e g a r d i n g   t h e   d a t a   p r o v i d e d ;   fo r   e x a m p l e,   i n 
S co t l a n d   s u r ve y   re s u l t s   o n   t h e   o cc u p at i o n   o f   p e o p l e   h av i n g 
completed training only corresponded to the repor ted results 
for half of the projec ts audited and in the annual implementa-
tion repor t for 2006, the number repor ted as having received 
g u i d a n c e   w a s   1 4   3 7 1   w h e re a s   t h e   t o t a l   n u m b e r   o f   re c o rd e d 
p ar tic ipant s was 11 972.

of Special report No 10/2006 on  

 ex-post evaluations of objective 1 

and 3 programmes 1994 to 1999  

(OJ	C	302,12.12.2006):	’To	improve	

the evaluation process, better 

quality-control procedures need 

to be introduced and effectively 

applied by the commission so that 

the problems encountered in the 

evaluations under review do not 

recur in future ex-post assessments. 

Such procedures should ensure  

(a) that relevant and reliable data is 

collected regularly and is available  

at each stage of the evaluation 

process	(…).’

41.  

42.  

 I f   m e a n i n g f u l   c o n c l u s i o n s   a s   t o   t h e   a c h i e v e m e n t s   o f   t h e   c o -
 f i n a n c e d   p ro j e c t s   a re   to   b e   d r aw n ,   i t   i s   e s s e n t i a l   t h a t   t h e   m o n i-
t o r i n g   d a t a   p r o v i d e d   b y   t h e   p r o j e c t   p r o m o t e r s   a r e   r e l i a b l e   a n d 
com pl ete.  I t   was  o bs er ved  du r in g   t h e  cour se   of   th e  audi t  th at  i n 
most   c ases   t he   m anagin g  au tho r it y   a nd   body   d el eg ated   to  c ar r y 
out checks did not include any evaluation of the monitor ing data 
provide d by pro mo ter s.

 for its par t, the commission, which receives the annual implementa-
tion  repor ts,  did  not  address  the  inconsistencies  existing  in  these 
repor ts  nor  did  it  comment  on  the  lack  of  impac t  indicators  (such 
a s	 ’e m p l o y m e n t	 s i t u a t i o n	 o f	 t r a i n e e s	 ' ' x ' '	 m o n t h s	 a f t e r	 t h e	 t r a i n-
i n g’ ) . 	 Fu r t h e r m o re, 	 i t 	 d i d 	 n o t 	 i m p l e m e nt 	 c h e c k s 	 o n 	 t h e 	 re l i a b i l i t y	
of  monitor ing  data  when  car r ying  out  its  on-the -spot  audits 18,  al-
t h o u g h   t h e   m i d - t e r m   e v a l u a t i o n s   i n   r e s p e c t   o f   e a c h   p r o g r a m m e 
had identified weak nesses in monitor ing and repor ting.

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43.  

44.  

ASSESSMENT H AMPERED DUE TO L ACK  OF TARGE TS, 
BE NCHMARKS  AND RE LIABLE DATA  ON  RESULTS   
AND IMPAC T

 any assessment as to whether the co-financed training actions were 
e f fe c t i ve   w a s   m a d e   d i f f i c u l t   b y   i n s u f f i c i e n c i e s   w i t h   re g a rd   t o   i n -
dicators,  targets  (see  paragraphs  36  to  38)  and  problems  with  the 
reliabilit y of data (see paragraphs 39 and 40).

 I n   r e s p e c t   o f   t w o   o f   t h e   p r o g r a m m e s   a u d i t e d ,   t h e   m a n a g i n g   a u -
t h o r i t i e s   e n d e avo u re d   to   e va l u ate   w h e t h e r   t h e   t ra i n i n g   h a d   b e e n 
correc tly focused, by ascer taining whether jobs obtained following 
training bore a relationship to the type of training attended.  Varied 
conclusions resulted from these analyses. In lombardy, 77 % of par-
ticipants finding work confirmed that the sk ills acquired were those 
re q u i re d   by   t h e i r   e m p l oye r,   w h e re a s   fo r   o n e   o f   t h e   m a j o r   a c t i o n s 
in andalusia, only 28 % of those obtaining wor k felt that their jobs 
were related to the courses attended.

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recommeNdatIoNS

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45.  

46.  

47.  

48.  

49.  

 th e   a u d i t   o n   vo c at i o n a l   t ra i n i n g   a c t i o n s   fo r   wo m e n   co - f i n a n ce d 
b y   t h e   eSf  f o r   t h e   2 0 0 0 – 0 6   p e r i o d   r e v e a l e d   a   n u m b e r   o f   w e a k -
nes ses  in t he est ab l is hment of  th e  meas ure s an d  th e s el ec t ion  of 
th e p ro jec ts au dited  by  the  cour t.  th ere we re also shor tcomin gs 
wi th  regard  to  t he p er fo r mance  m on i tor i n g  of   th e  program me s.

SELE C T ION OF  VO C ATION AL TR A I N I N G  AC TI O NS

 with regard to the identification and selec tion of vocational train-
i n g   a c t i o n s   fo r   w o m e n ,   t h e   c o u r t   c o n c l u d e s   t h a t ,   a l t h o u g h   t h e 
operational programmes listed the main barriers for women enter-
ing the labour market and presented gender gaps, training actions 
c o n t a i n e d   w i t h i n   t h e   p ro g r a m m e s   a u d i t e d   we re   n o t   s e t   u p   a s   a 
direc t response to an analysis of labour market requirements (see 
paragrap hs 24 to  28).

 the measures established by m ember States and approved by the 
com mis sio n  tend ed  to  leave   a  broad  s cope  wi th in   wh ich   ac t ion s 
c o u l d   b e   i m p l e m e n t e d   a n d   f a i l e d   t o   s u f f i c i e n t l y   f o c u s   t r a i n i n g 
ac t io ns o n spe cific  target groups  ( s ee   pa ragraphs  2 9  to  3 1 ).

 Instead, in the programmes examined, it was left to project promot-
ers to satisfac tor ily link the proposed training to real needs in the 
labour market. the relevant authorities did not, during the projec t 
selection process, verify adequately the validity of the justifications 
proposed by the projec t promoters (see paragraph 27).

 ce r t a i n   p ro j e c t s   w i t h   t h e   s t ate d   o b j e c t i ve   o f   p ro m o t i n g   t h e   e m-
ployment of women in sec tors where they were underrepresented 
s t i l l   fo c u s e d   o n   t r a i n i n g   i n   t r a d i t i o n a l   fe m a l e   o c c u p a t i o n s   ( s e e 
paragraph 30). for some projec ts audited, the candidates selec ted 
we re   n o t   n e ce s s a r i l y   t h o s e   m o s t   i n   n e e d   o f   s u p p o r t   fo r   e n t r y   to 
the  l abo ur ma r ket (see p aragraph  3 1 ).

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50.   on t he b asis o f the ab ove,  t he  c our t re com me nds th at:

(a)  future operational programmes prepared in the member States 
and approved by the commission be established in light of an 
a n a l ys i s   o f   l a b o u r   m a r k e t   co n d i t i o n s,   b o t h   i n   te r m s   o f   s k i l l s 
gaps to be addressed and specific ac tions needed to improve 
w o m e n’s	 a c c e s s	 t o	 a n d	 p a r t i c i p a t i o n	 i n	 t h e	 l a b o u r	 m a r k e t ;	
and  t hat  the  t yp e of trainin g an d obj ec t ives  de c i ded  upon  is 
a dire c t  resp o ns e to this analys is;

(b)  a   p r o p e r l y   d e s i g n e d   p r o j e c t   s e l e c t i o n   p r o c e d u r e   b e   p u t   i n 
p l a c e   i n   t h e   m e m b e r   S t a te s   a n d   c o r re c t l y   i m p l e m e n te d,   a p -
p r o v i n g   t h o s e   p r o j e c t s   w h i c h   r e s p o n d   b e s t   t o   s o l v i n g   t h e 
problems in the labour market identified by the above analysis 
and  th ereby o pt imising  the add ed  value   of  th e m ea sures.

ACH IE V EMENT OF OBJEC TI VES

51.  

 the monitoring information available for the programmes audited 
d o e s   n o t   a l l ow   a n   e va l u at i o n   o f   w h e t h e r   t h e   vo c at i o n a l   t ra i n i n g 
ac t io ns for wo men ac hieved t h ei r  s tate d  obj e c ti ve s  be c ause :

(a)  t h e   i n d i c a t o r s   e s t a b l i s h e d   w e r e   n o t   s u f f i c i e n t   i n   t e r m s   o f 
ra ng e o f att r ibu tes  to  b e m easu re d (s ee   paragraph  3 6 ) ;

(b)  t arge ts  we re of ten no t p rovided  ( s ee   paragraph  37 ) ;

(c)  m o n i t o r i n g   i n f o r m a t i o n   w a s   u n r e l i a b l e   o r   i n c o m p l e t e   a n d 
t h e r e f o r e   d i d   n o t   e n a b l e   r e l i a b l e   o v e r a l l   c o n c l u s i o n s   t o   b e 
drawn  (se e paragrap hs  3 9 an d 4 0 ).

52.  

 as  a  resu lt ,   neit her   the  imp leme nt in g   auth or it ie s   i n  t he   m ember 
States no r t he co mm issio n are  in a pos ition  to  asse ss to what  e x-
tent  th e ob jec t ives  p u rs ued by  t he   spe c if ic   me as ure s were m et .

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Special r eport No 17/2009 — Vocational training actions for women co-financed by the european Social fund

 
 
 
27

53.  

 on  the   bas is   of   t he  ab ove,  th e   cour t  recomm ends  th at  th e  com-
m i s s i o n   co nt i n u e s   to   m o n i to r   t h e   e s t a b l i s h m e nt   by   t h e   m e m b e r 
States of appropriate and feasible indicators and that reliable data 
be  co l l ec ted   in  t he  m em b er  States,  th ereby   allowin g   m e anin g f ul 
c o n c l u s i o n s   t o   b e   d r a w n   o n   t h e   e f f i c i e n c y   a n d   e f fe c t i v e n e s s   o f 
th e co -finan ced ac tio ns.

t his re p o r t w as a d o p te d by th e co ur t of au dito r s in lu xe mb o urg 
at i t s  m e e tin g  o f  12  N ove m b e r  20 0 9.

Fo r  th e  Co u r t o f  Aud ito r s

Vítor m anuel da Silva c aldeira 
Presi d e nt

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Special r eport No 17/2009 — Vocational training actions for women co-financed by the european Social fund

 
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reply of the 
commISSIoN

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

I.
Vocational training ac tions for women co -
financed by the eSf are specific measures 
co m p l e m e nt i n g   a   w i d e r   ra n g e   o f   a c t i o n s 
i m p l e m e n t e d   w i t h i n   t h e   m e m b e r   S t a t e s 
w i t h   t h e   s p e c i f i c   o b j e c t i ve   o f   p ro m o t i n g 
e q u a l i t y   b e t w e e n   m e n   a n d   w o m e n .   po l-
i c y   d e v e l o p m e n t   a n d   p r o g r a m m e   i m p l e -
m e n t a t i o n   h a ve   b e e n   fo c u s i n g   m o re   a n d 
m o r e   o n   g e n d e r   m a i n s t r e a m i n g   a c r o s s 
a l l   p r o g r a m m e s   s u p p o r t e d   b y   a l l   S t r u c -
tural funds, as reflec ted in the regulator y 
framewor k for 2007–13.

II.
( a)  training  ac tivities  are  not  only  dr iven 
by the demands of the labour mar ket.

IV. 
t h e   c o m m i s s i o n   d o e s   n o t   c o n s i d e r   t h a t 
t h e   o n l y   j u s t i f i c a t i o n   f o r   t r a i n i n g   a c -
t i v i t i e s   l i e s   i n   l a b o u r   m a r k e t   d e m a n d s . 
I n d e e d ,   t r a i n i n g   c a n   h a v e   d i f f e r e n t   o b -
j ec tives	 in	 order	 to	 improve	 people’s	 em-
p l o y a b i l i t y.   S p e c i f i c   a c t i o n s   f o r   w o m e n 
m u s t   n o t   b e   l i m i te d   to   ce r t a i n   a c t i v i t i e s, 
b u t   m u s t   a i m   a t   b e t t e r   e m p l o y a b i l i t y 
with out  un ne cessar y limitation s.

V. 
I n   f a c t   t h e   s i t u a t i o n   i n   t h e   f i v e   a u d i t e d 
m e m b e r   S t a t e s   w a s   d i f fe re n t   i n   t e r m s   o f 
p ro j e c t   s e l e c t i o n   c r i t e r i a .  t h e   a p p ro a c h-
e s   s e l e c t e d   we re   i n t e n d e d   t o   re f l e c t   t h e 
spec ific needs  of  t he var ious  count r ie s.

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Special r eport No 17/2009 — Vocational training actions for women co-financed by the european Social fund

V I.
T h e	 C o u r t ’s	 r e c o m m e n d a t i o n	 i s	 i n	 l i n e	
w i t h   t h e   m a i n   p r i n c i p l e s   a p p l i e d   b y   t h e 
co m m i s s i o n   fo r   t h e   2 0 0 7 – 1 3   p ro gra m m e s 
n o t a b l y   w i t h   a   l i n k   t o   b e   m a d e   w i t h   t h e 
lisbon strategy.  the commission will con-
t i n u e   t o   p r o m o t e   p r o g r e s s   i n   p r o j e c t   s e -
lec tion by member States according to the 
rules of shared management.

V II.
t h e   c o m m i s s i o n   h a s   a l r e a d y   l a u n c h e d 
t h e   e x - p o s t  e v a l u a t i o n   o f   t h e   2 0 0 0 – 0 6 
p ro g r a m m e s.   I n   t h e   m e a n t i m e   t h e   ye a r l y 
a n a l y s i s   o f   t h e   s i t u a t i o n   i n   t h e   m e m b e r 
States shows some positive trends towards 
a t t a i n i n g   t h e   g l o b a l   p o l i c y   o b j e c t i v e .   a s 
mentioned by the cour t, the gap bet ween 
m a l e   a n d   f e m a l e   e m p l o y m e n t   r a t e s   h a s 
nar rowed in most of the eu-27 countr ies.

V III. 
a s   p a r t   o f   t h e   e x - p o s t  e v a l u a t i o n   f o r   
2 0 0 0 – 0 6 ,   t h e   c o m m i s s i o n   h a s   l a u n c h e d 
a   s t u d y   t o   a s s e s s   t h e   r e l i a b i l i t y   o f   i n f o r -
m a t i o n   p r o v i d e d   d u r i n g   i m p l e m e n t a t i o n . 
m o r e o v e r,   t h e   2 0 0 7 – 1 3  p r o g r a m m e s   a l-
ready incorporate agreed indicators, close -
l y   m o n i to re d   by   t h e   co m m i s s i o n   i n   co o p -
eration with each m ember State.

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commISSIoN

INTRODUCTION

1 .
th e   p ro m o t i o n   o f   e q u a l i t y   b e t we e n   m e n 
an d  women  is  stress ed   in  numerous   pol i-
c y  doc uments, such as:

- 

- 

- 

the renewed lisbon strategy for growth 
and jobs and the integrated guidelines 
( 20 05 /60 0/ec ) , whic h suppo r t the ob -
jec tives of delivering stronger, lasting 
grow t h   a n d   c re at i n g   m o re   a n d   b e t te r 
j obs;

t h e   r o a d m a p   f o r   e q u a l i t y   b e t w e e n 
women and men adopted in march  2006 
(co m( 2 0 0 6 ) – 9 2   f i n a l ) ,   w h i c h   p re s e n t s 
t h e   c o m m i t m e n t   m a d e   b y   t h e   c o m-
mission to gender equalit y for the pe -
r iod 2006–10;

t h e   e u r o p e a n   pa c t   fo r   g e n d e r   e q u a l-
i t y,   a d o p te d   by   t h e   eu ro p e a n   co u n c i l 
i n   m a rc h   2 0 0 6 ,   w h i c h   e n co u ra g e s   t h e 
member States to mainstream the gen-
d e r   p e r s p e c t i ve   i nto   a l l   p u b l i c   a c t i v i-
ties.

2 .
t h e   a c t i v i t i e s   s e l e c t e d   fo r   t h i s   a u d i t   a r e 
p a r t   o f   w i d e r   g e n d e r   e q u a l i t y   p o l i c i e s 
i n   t h e   m e m b e r   S t a t e s   a n d   r e g i o n s .   e S f 
s c h e m e s   s h o u l d   b e   s e e n   i n   a   b r o a d e r 
co nte x t   b e c a u s e   s p e c i f i c   a c t i o n s   a u d i te d 
c o m p l e m e n t   o t h e r   a c t i o n s   p r o m o t i n g 
e q u a l   o p p o r t u n i t i e s   fo r   m e n   a n d   wo m e n 
in  th e labour  mar ket.

4 .
S ee  th e reply  to  point 2.

5 .
tra i n i n g   w h i c h   l e a d s   to   a   j o b   c a n   i n d e e d 
b e   c o n s i d e r e d   a s   s u c c e s s f u l .   fo r   s o m e 
g r o u p s   t h e   d i s t a n c e   t o   r e a c h   t h e   l a b o u r 
m a r k e t   i s   s o   b i g   t h a t   t r a i n i n g   c a n   o n l y 
t e a c h   b a s i c   s k i l l s .   I t   i s   o n l y   a t   a   l a t e r 
s t a g e   i n   t h e   p r o c e s s   t h a t   p a r t i c i p a n t s 
w i l l   b e   a b l e   to   a t te n d   a   vo c a t i o n a l   t r a i n-
in g course.

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reply of the 
commISSIoN

AUDIT SCOPE AND APPROACH

1 5.
Vo c a t i o n a l   t r a i n i n g   a c t i o n s   f o r   w o m e n 
co -financed by the eSf are specific meas-
ures  complementing   a  wider  rang e  of  ac -
tions implemented within m ember States 
( see also th e reply to point 2) .

( a)  t rainin g ac tivitie s are n ot  only dr iven 
b y   l a b o u r   m a r k e t   d e m a n d s   ( s e e   a l s o 
th e reply  to point  20) .

th e   e x i s t e n c e   o f   a d e q u a t e   c h i l d c a re   a n d 
f l e x i b l e   w o r k i n g   a r r a n g e m e n t s ,   a n d   a c -
tions devoted to mak ing family and work-
ing life compatible, are impor tant precon-
ditions to improve gender equalit y in the 
l a b o u r   m a r k e t .   t h e   e S f   s u p p o r t s   c h i l d -
care facilities, when they complement ac-
t i ve   l a b o u r   m a r k e t   m e a s u re s.  th e   e x p a n-
sion of the availabilit y of such  facilities is 
also fo ste re d by  train ing meas ures  a i me d 
a t   e n s u r i n g   a n   a d e q u a t e   s u p p l y   o f   w e l l -
qualified  c hil dc are staff.

12.
I n   t h e   f r a m e wo r k   o f   t h e   m i d - t e r m   e v a l u-
a t i o n   o f   S t r u c t u r a l   fu n d s   2 0 0 0 – 0 6 ,   t h e 
c o m m i s s i o n   i s s u e d   a   m e t h o d o l o g i c a l 
d o c u m e n t 1  w h i c h   p r o v i d e s   a   g u i d e   o n 
h o w   t h e   m i d - t e r m   e v a l u a t i o n   s h o u l d   b e 
orga n ised  and w hat it shou l d co nt ain .

13.
as   a c k n ow l e d g e d   by   t h e   co u r t   i n   i t s   S p e -
cial repor t concerning the mid-term proc -
e s s e s   o n   t h e   S t r u c t u r a l   fu n d s   2 0 0 0 – 0 6 , 
t h e   i m p l e m e nt at i o n   s ys te m s   we re   s i gn i f i-
c a n t l y   i m p r o v e d   f r o m   t h e   p r e v i o u s   g e n-
eration of Struc tural f unds. 

14.
the commission has already star ted wor k 
o n   t h e   2 0 0 0 – 0 6   e x - p o s t  e v a l u a t i o n .   t h i s 
i n c l u d e s   a   p r e l i m i n a r y   s t u d y   a n a l y s i n g 
t h e   re l e va n ce   a n d   re l i a b i l i t y   o f   t h e   ava i l-
able information. fur thermore, one of the 
t wo thematic evaluations will analyse the 
eSf  i m p a c t   o n   t h e   f u n c t i o n i n g   o f   t h e   l a-
bour m ar ket .

1  http://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/sources/docoffic/

working/sf2000f_en.htm

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commISSIoN

-  a  s o c i o e c o n o m i c   a n a l y s i s   o f   t h e 
 e x - a n t e  s i t u a t i o n   c o n d u c t e d   b y   t h e 
l o m b a r d   a u t h o r i t i e s   i d e n t i f i e d   c l e a r 
g e n d e r   g a p s   o n   t h e   l a b o u r   m a r k e t . 
G i v e n 	 t h e 	 s i z e 	 o f 	 t h e 	 O P 	 a n d 	 i n 	 a c -
c o r d a n c e   w i t h   t h e   g e n e r a l   p r i n c i p l e 
o f   p r o p o r t i o n a l i t y,   a   m o r e   i n - d e p t h 
e v a l u a t i o n   w a s   n o t   c o n s i d e r e d   t o   b e 
cost- effe c t ive.

- 

In france, the initial objec tive 3   single 
p r o g r a m m i n g   d o c u m e n t ,   w h i c h   i s   a 
n a t i o n a l ,   m u l t i - r e g i o n a l   p r o g r a m m e , 
p r e s e n t s   a   d e t a i l e d   d i a g n o s i s   o f   t h e 
s i t u a t i o n   o f   w o m e n   a n d   s e t s   o u t   t h e 
n e e d   fo r   n e w   q u a l i f i c a t i o n s   fo r   wo m-
e n   i n   s e c to r s   l i k e l y   to   c re ate   e m p l oy -
ment.

2 6.
S p e c i f i c   a c t i o n s   fo r   w o m e n   m u s t   n o t   b e 
limited to ac tivit ies open on ly  to  wom e n. 
I m p l e m e n t i n g   o t h e r   m e a s u r e s ,   s u c h   a s 
m a k i n g   a   n u m b e r   o f   s e a t s   av a i l a b l e   o n l y 
to women in any vocational training, may 
b e   a l s o   a n   e f f e c t i v e   w a y   o f   p r o m o t i n g 
e q u a l   o p p o r t u n i t i e s   o n   t h e   e m p l o y m e n t 
mar ket . 

a s   w e l l   a s   p r o m o t i n g   e q u a l   o p p o r t u n i -
ties, the aim of this eSf pr ior it y is to sup -
p o r t   t h e   li s b o n   t a r g e t   o f   r a i s i n g   t h e   a v -
e r a g e   l e ve l   o f   p a r t i c i p a t i o n   o f   wo m e n   i n 
th e wor kforce to 6 0 % by 2 010 .

OBSERVATIONS

20 .
t h e   c o m m i s s i o n   d o e s   n o t   c o n s i d e r   t h a t 
t h e   o n l y   j u s t i f i c a t i o n   fo r   t r a i n i n g   a c t i v i-
t i e s   l i e s   i n   l a b o u r   m a r k e t   d e m a n d s .   I n -
d e e d ,   t r a i n i n g   c a n   h a v e   d i f fe r e n t   o b j e c -
t i v e s :	 i m p r o v i n g	 w o r k e r s ’	 s k i l l s ,	 e . g .	 t o	
be  abl e  to   maintain  their  job,  re d ire c ti n g 
workers to new jobs before they are made 
re d u n d a n t   a n d,   i n   g e n e r a l,   t r a i n i n g   p e o -
p l e,   i n c l u d i n g   t e a c h i n g   t h e m   b a s i c   s k i l l s 
wh en  nee ded,   to   en hance  their  em ploya-
b i l i t y.  th e re fo re   t ra i n i n g   a c t i v i t i e s   w h i c h 
d o   n o t   l e a d   t o   i m m e d i a t e   e m p l o y m e n t 
s h o u l d   n o t   b e   c o n s i d e re d   a s   n o t   a c h i e v-
i n g   t h e i r   o b j e c t i v e s ,   j u s t   a s   a   u n i v e r s i t y 
d e g r e e   t h a t   d o e s   n o t   l e a d   t o   i m m e d i a t e 
e m p l o y m e n t   o p p o r t u n i t i e s   w i l l   n o t   b e 
consid ered as u ns ucces s ful.

25.
the qualit y and level of detail of the pro -
grammes designed by m ember States was 
s u f f i c i e n t   b e c a u s e   i t   i n c l u d e d   i n t e r   a l i a 
t h e   a n a l y s i s   o f   g e n d e r   g a p s   t h u s   a l l o w -
i n g   v a l i d a t i o n   o f   t h e   p ro gra m m e s   by   t h e 
c o m m i s s i o n .   m o r e   s p e c i f i c   a n d   d e t a i l e d 
i n f o r m a t i o n   a t   m e a s u r e   l e v e l   w a s   a l s o 
g i v e n   i n   p r o g r a m m e   c o m p l e m e n t s ,   t h a t 
w e r e   n o t   t o   b e   a d o p t e d   b y   t h e   co m m i s-
s i o n   ( s e e   s p e c i f i c   c o m m e n t s   i n   t h e   re p l y 
to th e tex t b ox b el ow ). 

Tex tbox  1
although a labour market analysis was not 
i n   e v e r y   c a s e   e x p l i c i t l y   a v a i l a b l e   i n   t h e 
t e x t   o f   t h e   o p e r a t i o n a l   p r o g r a m m e   ( o p) , 
g e n d e r   e q u a l i t y   a c t i v i t i e s   w e r e   a l w a y s 
b a s e d   o n   n a t i o n a l   a n d   e u  p o l i c y   d o c u-
ments and took into account such data.

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27 .
t h e   l o c a l   d i m e n s i o n   o f   o p e r a t i o n a l   p r o -
g r a m m e s   s h o u l d   n o t   b e   o v e r e s t i m a t e d . 
o p e r a t i o n a l   p r o g r a m m e s   w e r e   d e s i g n e d 
t a k i n g   i n t o   a c c o u n t   i n t e r   a l i a   t h e   m a i n 
p o l i c y   d o c u m e n t s   a t   n a t i o n a l   a n d   e u r o -
p e a n   l e v e l s ,   w h i c h   w e r e   d r a f t e d   o n   t h e 
basis of  nume rous  an al ys is at all  le vels.

th e   m a i n   o b j e c t i ve   o f   t r a i n i n g   a c t i o n s   i s 
to   h e l p   p e o p l e   to   g e t   b a c k   i nto   j o b s   a l s o 
in the contex t of an improved cross-e uro -
pean mobility of workers. training ac tions 
re s p o n d i n g   t o   co m m o n   p ro b l e m s   i d e n t i-
f i e d   a t   a   h i g h e r   ( n a t i o n a l   o r   e u r o p e a n ) 
l e ve l   a l s o   co n t r i b u te   to   t h e   a c h i e ve m e n t 
of t he m ain  s trategic ob j ec tives. 

28. 
t h e   c o m m u n i c a t i o n   f r o m   t h e   c o m m i s-
s i o n   f r o m   2 0 0 2   h a d   a   w i d e r   s c o p e   t h a n 
t h e   o n e   t a r g e t e d   b y   t h i s   a u d i t ,   b e c a u s e 
i t   c o v e r e d   a l l   S t r u c t u r a l   fu n d s   a n d   p r o -
g r a m m e s   u n d e r   ob j e c t i v e s   1 ,   2   a n d   3 . 
Not all the analysis in the communication 
applies  sp ec ific al l y to th e eSf .

I n   a n y   c a s e ,   w h e r e   n e c e s s a r y,   t h e   c o m -
mission took ac tion to improve the situa-
tion, n ame ly address ing this iss ue  d ur in g 
t h e 	 m o n i t o r i n g 	 c o m m i t t e e s ’	 m e e t i n g s .	
the principle of shared management does 
n o t   a l l ow   t h e   co m m i s s i o n   to   i n te r fe re   i n 
the  indiv id ual p ro jec t  s el ec tion .

32

reply of the 
commISSIoN

2 9.
I n   f a c t   t h e   s i t u a t i o n   i n   t h e   f i v e   a u d i t -
e d   m e m b e r   S t a t e s   w a s   d i f f e r e n t .   I n   t w o 
 c a s e s   t h e   m e m b e r   S t a t e s   h a d   o p t e d   f o r 
s e l e c t i o n   b a s e d   o n   b r o a d   c r i t e r i a ,   w h i l e 
i n   o n e   m e m b e r   S t a t e   t h e   p r i o r i t y   w a s 
g i v e n   t o   t h e   u s e   o f   m u l t i - m e a s u r e   c a l l s 
w h i c h   m a d e   i t   m o r e   d i f f i c u l t   t o   l i n k   s i n-
g l e   i nte r ve n t i o n s   to   s p e c i f i c   t a rg e t s.  th e 
a u t h o r i t i e s   o f   a   fo u r t h   m e m b e r   S t ate   d e -
fined ver y concrete selec tion criteria. the 
a p p r o a c h e s   s e l e c t e d   w e r e   i n t e n d e d   t o 
r e f l e c t   t h e   s p e c i f i c   n e e d s   o f   t h e   v a r i o u s 
count r ies.

h o w e v e r,   i n   o n e   c a s e   t h e   c o m m i s s i o n 
c o n s i d e r e d   t h a t   t h e   s e l e c t i o n   p r o c e s s 
w a s   n o t   t r a n s p a re n t   e n o u g h   a n d   i n i t i a t -
e d   a c t i o n   to   i m p rove   t h e   s i t u at i o n   i n   t h e 
future ( see also t he reply  to point  2 5 and 
tex tbox 1) .

Tex t box 4
th e   co m m i s s i o n   u n d e r l i n e s   t h at ,   a cco rd -
i n g   t o   t h e   a b o v e m e n t i o n e d   m i n i s t e r i a l 
order (boJa No 146 of 19  december 2000, 
p.   1 8   6 4 7 ) ,   o n e   o r   m o r e   b u t   n o t   a l l   f i v e 
a w a r d   p r i o r i t y   c r i t e r i a   s h o u l d   b e   t a k e n 
i n t o   a c c o u n t   b y   e ve r y   i n d i v i d u a l   p ro j e c t 
s u b m i t t e d .   t h e   c o m m i s s i o n   t h e r e f o r e 
c o n s i d e r s   t h a t   t h e   s e l e c t i o n   p r o c e d u r e 
h as been  per for med cor rec tly.

a f t e r   a   w i d e - r e a c h i n g   e d u c a t i o n   r e -
f o r m   w h i c h   d i r e c t l y   c o n c e r n e d   eSf  p r o -
g r a m m e s   i n   t h e   r e g i o n   o f   l o m b a r d y   a 
n e w   a p p r o a c h   w a s   a d o p t e d   i n   2 0 0 7 .   I t 
r e s u l t e d   i n   a   s i g n i f i c a n t   u s e   o f   m u l t i -
m e a s u re   c a l l s   m a k i n g   i t   m o re   d i f f i c u l t   to 
l i n k   s i n g l e   i n t e r v e n t i o n s   t o   s p e c i f i c   t a r -
gets (but with the advantage of improved 
fun c tionin g of th e  sys tem as  a w hol e).

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reply of the 
commISSIoN

3 6.
T h e	 n u m b e r	 o f	 o u t p u t	 a n d	 r e s u l t s’	 i n d i-
c a t o r s   s h o u l d   b e   r e a s o n a b l e .   I n s t e a d   o f 
in creas ing their  num ber, th e commiss ion 
h a s   a l w a y s   s u g g e s t e d   c h o o s i n g   i n d i c a-
t o r s   w h i c h   c o u l d   a l l o w   a g g r e g a t i o n   a t 
t h e   n e c e s s a r y   l e v e l   a n d   c o u l d   b e   e a s i l y 
collec te d. 

w h e n e v e r   t h e   c o m m i s s i o n   c o n s i d e r e d 
t h a t   i n d i c a t o r s   w e r e   u n s a t i s f a c t o r y,   i t 
took  ac tion  to  improve  th e  sit uat io n  (s ee 
also th e reply in  tex tbox 6  be low) .

( a)  fo r   t h e   p e r i o d   2 0 0 7 – 1 3   t h e   c o m m i s -
s i o n   h a s   a c t e d   t o   i m p r o v e   t h e   q u a l-
i t y   o f   i n d i c ato r s   a n d   t h e   re l i a b i l i t y   o f 
i n fo r m a t i o n .   m o re ove r,   w h e n e ve r   t h e 
i n f o r m a t i o n   o n   i n d i c a t o r s   i s   m i s s i n g 
o r   i n s u f f i c i e n t ,   t h e   c o m m i s s i o n   m a y 
suspend acceptance of the annual im-
plementation repor ts.

Tex t box 6
the commission checks how ac tions meet 
their targets based on all the infor mation 
r e c e i v e d .   c o n c e r n i n g   t h e   r e l i a b i l i t y   o f 
t h e   i n fo r m a t i o n   re c e i ve d,   i n   t h e   c o n t e x t 
o f   s h a r e d   m a n a g e m e n t   o f   t h e   S t r u c t u r a l 
fu n d s   i t   i s   p r i m a r i l y   t h e   re s p o n s i b i l i t y   o f 
t h e   m e m b e r   S t a t e s   t o   p r o v i d e   a c c u r a t e 
a n d   re l i a b l e   i n fo r m a t i o n ,   p a r t i c u l a r l y   o n 
in dicator s a nd targ et s. 

Tex t box 7
t h e   i n d i c a t o r   ‘n u m b e r   o f   j o b s   o b t a i n e d 
w i t h i n 	 s i x 	 m o n t h s 	 a f t e r 	 t h e 	 a c t i o n s’	 w a s	
con sidered to be a good ch oice, as  m e as-
ures co -financed by Spain are implement-
e d   t h r o u g h   b o t h   r e g i o n a l   a n d   n a t i o n a l 
p ro g r a m m e s.   I n   t h i s   c a s e   t h e   c h o i c e   w a s 
m a d e   t o   s e t   u p   a n   i n d i c a t o r   w h i c h ,   a g-
gregated at national level (across var ious 
p r o g r a m m e s ) ,   g i v e s   a   g e n e r a l   c o u n t r y -
wide vie w of th e labour  m ar ket. 

t h e   S c o t t i s h   p r o g r a m m e   a l r e a d y   h a s   a 
h i g h   n u m b e r   o f   i n d i c a t o r s .   I n c l u d i n g 
m o r e   s p e c i f i c   i n d i c a t o r s   w o u l d   i n c r e a s e 
th eir  number fur th er.

30 .
I n the contex t of programme implementa-
t i o n ,   i t   i s   n e ce s s a r y   to   co n c i l i ate   a t   l e a s t 
the t wo main targets: promotion of wom-
en  into  sec tors  wh ere  they  are  un de r re p -
r e s e n t e d ,   a n d   i n t e g r a t i o n   o f   w o m e n   i n 
t h e   l a b o u r   m a r k e t ,   e v e n   i n   t r a d i t i o n a l l y 
fe m a l e   j o b s .   t h e   t a r g e t   o f   t h e   e u r o p e a n 
e m p l o y m e n t   s t r a t e g y   i s   t o   r a i s e   t h e   f e -
male  emp loyment rate to 60 %.

31.
S ee t he  re pl y to  p o int  26 .

Tex tbox 5
th e   l a b o u r   m a r k e t   s i t u a t i o n   i n   lo m b a rd y 
w i t h   h i g h   e m p l o y m e n t   r a t e s   a t   t h e   t i m e 
of the audit was different from other I tal-
i a n   r e g i o n s.   tr a i n i n g   a c t i v i t i e s   t h e r e fo r e 
t a r g e t e d   m o r e   s p e c i f i c   d e m a n d s   f r o m 
t h e   l a b o u r   m a r k e t   a l s o   f o r   p e o p l e   w i t h 
a   h i g h e r   e d u c a t i o n a l   l e v e l .   ac c o r d i n g   t o 
the results of the research ‘ training meas-
u re s	 p l a ce m e nt	 a n a l ys i s	 2 0 0 6 ’	 fo r	 t h e	 a u-
d i t e d   m e a s u r e ,   a t t e n t i o n   w a s   a l s o   g i v e n 
to weaker sec tors of the population.

a s   r e g a r d s   a n d a l u s i a ,   t h e   i n f o r m a t i o n 
p r o v i d e d   i n   t h e   m i d - t e r m   e v a l u a t i o n   r e -
p o r t e d   v i e w s   t h a t   h a d   b e e n   e x p r e s s e d 
d u r i n g   a   ro u n d - t a b l e   m e e t i n g   o f   1 0   p e o -
ple (among numerous meetings organised 
by   t h e   e v a l u a t i o n   te a m ) .  th e s e   v i e ws   d i d 
not include quantified data related to the 
m o s t   v u l n e r a b l e   g r o u p s   o f   w o m e n ,   n o r 
t h e   d e t a i l   o f   t h e   s p e c i f i c   fe a t u r e s   o f   t h e 
t r a i n i n g   c o u r s e s,   w h i c h   e xc l u d e d   wo m e n 
w h o   h a d   o n l y   r e c e i v e d   p r i m a r y   s c h o o l 
e d u c a t i o n .  th e re fo re,   i t   w a s   n o t   p o s s i b l e 
t o   d r aw   re l i a b l e   c o n c l u s i o n s   o n   t h e   s u i t -
a b i l i t y   o f   t h e   t r a i n i n g   m e a s u re s   f ro m   t h e 
mid-ter m evaluation.

t h e   p ro g r a m m e   c o m p l e m e n t   fo r   an d a l u-
s i a   i n c l u d e d ,   s i n c e   2 0 0 1 ,   a c c o m p a n y i n g 
measures designed to facilitate the access 
of women to training ac tions.

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reply of the 
commISSIoN

37 .
the commission took ac tion during moni-
toring	 committees’	meetings	 when	 it	 con-
s i d e re d	 t h e	 re s u l t s’	 i n d i c a t o r s	 a s	 i n s u f f i-
c i e n t   a s   f a r   a s   i t   w a s   fe a s i b l e   to   p ro d u c e 
s u c h   i n d i c a t o r s   a t   t h e   b e g i n n i n g   o f   t h e 
per iod.

40.
(a)  obtaining the required infor mation on 
p o s t - t r a i n i n g   a c t i v i t i e s   f r o m   f o r m e r 
p a r t i c i p a n t s   i s   d i f f i c u l t   g i v e n   t h a t 
projec t promoters depend on the will-
i n g n e s s   o f   t h e   p a r t i c i p a n t s   t o   a n s we r 
questionnaires.

(b)  as regards france, the errors found by 
t h e   co u r t   w e re   c o r re c t e d   i n   t h e   f i n a l 
rep o r t o n the p ro jec t concer ned. 

(c)  t h e   2 0 0 6   an n u a l   I m p l e m e n t a t i o n   r e -
p o r t   ( aIr)   c o n t a i n e d   t h e   l a t e s t   a v a i l-
able indicator figures at the time of the 
Cour t ’s	 audit	 visit.	 The	 Commission	 has	
r e q u e s t e d   i n f o r m a t i o n   f r o m   t h e   p r o -
gramme author ities. 

41 .
a f t e r   t h e   m i d - t e r m   e v a l u a t i o n   w h i c h   fo -
c u s e d   o n   s y s t e m s   o f   p r o g r a m m e   i m p l e -
m e n t a t i o n ,   t h e   m a n a g i n g   a u t h o r i t i e s 
w e r e   r e q u i r e d   t o   i n c r e a s e   t h e i r   e f f o r t s 
to   i m p rove   t h e   q u a l i t y   o f   re p o r t i n g   d at a . 
t h i s   p ro c e s s   w a s   o n g o i n g   a t   t h e   t i m e   o f 
th e a udit .

4 2.
t h e   e S f   i s   i m p l e m e n t e d   t h r o u g h   s h a r e d 
m a n a g e m e n t .   I n   t h i s   c o n t e x t ,   t h e   c o m -
m i s s i o n   r e l i e s   o n   t h e   i n f o r m a t i o n   p r o -
v i d e d   b y   t h e   n a t i o n a l   a u t h o r i t i e s   i n   t h e 
an nual implementation repor ts.

Th e	 Co m m i s s i o n’s	 o n - t h e - s p o t	 a u d i t s	 a re	
fo c u s e d   o n   t h e   l e g a l i t y   a n d   re g u l a r i t y   o f 
o p e r a t i o n s.   S p e c i f i c   p ro b l e m s   i d e n t i f i e d 
by mid-ter m evaluations are addressed in 
th e mon itor ing  com mit tees.

S ee  also the  re ply to point  41.

4 3. 
t h e   s i t u a t i o n   i n   t e r m s   o f   o u t p u t   a n d   r e -
s u l t s’	 i n d i c a t o r s 	 v a r i e s 	 w i d e l y 	 a m o n g 	 t h e	
various programmes audited by the cour t. 
the commission took ac tion dur ing moni-
tor ing	 committees’	 meetings	 when	 it	 con-
s i d e r e d	 t h e	 r e s u l t s’	 i n d i c a t o r s	 a s	 i n s u f f i-
c i e n t   a s   f a r   a s   i t   w a s   fe a s i b l e   t o   p ro d u c e 
s u c h   i n d i c a t o r s   a t   t h e   b e g i n n i n g   o f   t h e 
per iod.

co n c e r n i n g   t h e   re l i a b i l i t y   o f   i n fo r m a t i o n 
re ce i ve d,   t h e   co m m i s s i o n   c h e c k s   h ow   a c -
t i o n s   m e e t   t h e i r   t a r g e t s   o n   t h e   b a s i s   o f 
a l l   t h e   i n f o r m a t i o n   r e c e i v e d   b u t   c a n n o t 
a s s e s s   t h e   r e l i a b i l i t y   o f   t h i s   i n f o r m a t i o n 
b e f o r e   e x - p o s t   e v a l u a t i o n   a n a l y s e s   h a v e 
been car r ied out.

S ee also the reply to points 14 and 40(a).

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reply of the 
commISSIoN

CONCLUSIONS AND 
RECOMMENDATIONS

44 . 
t h e   s i t u a t i o n s   o f   t h e   l a b o u r   m a r k e t   i n 
lombardy and in andalusia are ver y differ -
ent. training courses contain both specific 
a n d   g e n e r a l   c o m p o n e n t s   w h i c h   i n c r e a s e 
the  general  employabilit y  of  the  trainees. 
t h e   p r o p o r t i o n   o f   e a c h   c o m p o n e n t   d e -
pends ver y much on specific situations.

I n   an d a l u s i a   t h e   a ve r a g e   e d u c a t i o n a l   a t -
t a i n m e n t   r a t e   i s   v e r y   l o w   a n d   t h e   e a r l y 
school leaving rate is ver y high (more than 
d o u b l e   t h e   e u  a v e r a g e ) .   I n   t h i s   c o n t e x t , 
g e n e r a l   t r a i n i n g   h a s   a l s o   a   d i r e c t   p o s i-
t i v e	 e f f e c t	 o n	 p e o p l e’s	 e m p l o y a b i l i t y.	 I n	
lombardy the relatively high employment 
r a t e s	 a t	 t h e	 t i m e	 o f	 t h e	 C o u r t ’s	 a u d i t	 r e -
quired more targeted training ac tivities.

4 6. 
t h e   c o m m i s s i o n   d o e s   n o t   c o n s i d e r   t h a t 
t h e   o n l y   j u s t i f i c a t i o n   f o r   t r a i n i n g   a c -
t i v i t i e s   l i e s   i n   l a b o u r   m a r k e t   d e m a n d s . 
I n d e e d ,   t r a i n i n g   c a n   h a v e   d i f f e r e n t   o b -
j ec tives	 in	 order	 to	 improve	 people’s	 em-
ployabilit y.

S ee  also the  replie s to points  20  to 2 7 .

4 7. 
S p e c i f i c   a c t i o n s   fo r   w o m e n   m u s t   n o t   b e 
limited to ac t ivities open  to wome n  only. 
I mplementing other measures, such as re -
ser ving a number of seats only for women 
in any vocational training, may be also an 
e f fe c t i ve   way   o f   p ro m o t i n g   e q u a l   o p p o r -
tun ities in  t he  e mployment mar ket .

the findings of the cour t confirm that, re -
gardless of the specifics of the training re -
ce i ve d,   o n e   o f   t h e   m a i n   o b j e c t i ve s   o f   t h e 
t r a i n i n g s   w a s   a c h i e v e d ,   a s   i n t e r v i e w e d 
par ticipants were back to wor k.

a s   w e l l   a s   p r o m o t i n g   e q u a l   o p p o r t u n i -
ties, the aim of this eSf pr ior it y is to sup -
por t the lisbon target of raising the aver -
age	 level	 of	 wome n’s	 par t icipation	 in	 th e	
wor kforce to 6 0 % by 2 010 .

S ee  also the  re plies  to points  2 9  to 3 1 .

4 8. 
fo r   t h e   p e r i o d   2 0 0 0 – 0 6 ,   i n   m a n y   c a s e s 
t h e   p r o j e c t s   w e r e   s e l e c t e d   o n   t h e   b a s i s 
of real loc al k n owledge.

S ee  also the  re ply to point  27.

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49 .
w h e n   i m p l e m e n t i n g   p r o g r a m m e s ,   i t   i s 
necessar y  to  conc il iate  t he  t wo  mai n   t ar-
g e t s :   p r o m o t i o n   o f   f e m a l e   e m p l o y m e n t 
i n t o   s e c t o r s   w h e r e   t h e y   a r e   u n d e r r e p r e -
sented, and inser tion of women on the la-
bour	m ar ket ,	eve n	in	t rad itio nal 	wome n’s	
occupat ions.  as  m ent io ned,   t he  targ et  of 
t h e   e u ro p e a n   e m p l o y m e n t   s t r a t e g y   i s   t o 
ra i s e   t h e   g l o b a l   fe m a l e   e m p l oy m e nt   rate 
to 60  % .

S ee a ls o  t he rep l y to p o int  31.

50. 
(a)	 T h e	 C o u r t ’s	 r e c o m m e n d a t i o n	 c o r r e -
sponds to the main principles followed 
by the commission when adopting the 
programmes for the period 2007–13. a 
w i d e -   r a n g i n g   a n a l y s i s   o f   t h e   l a b o u r 
m a r k e t   i s   c o n d u c t e d   w i t h i n   t h e   c u r -
r e n t   o p e r a t i o n a l   p r o g r a m m e s ,   a n d 
the cr iter ia for selec ting beneficiar ies 
h a v e   b e e n   a p p r o v e d   b y   t h e   m o n i t o r-
ing  co mmit tee.

Never theless, as the commission men-
t i o n e d   i n   i t s   r e p l y   t o   p o i n t   2 0 ,   t r a i n-
ing   o b jec t ives  are  no t  al ways   a  d i rec t 
r e s p o n s e   t o   t h e   n e e d s   o f   t h e   l a b o u r 
m a r k e t   b u t   c a n   b e   b a s e d   o n   a n a l y s i s 
of the individual needs of employed or 
un emp l oyed p eop l e. 

(b)  t h e   d e s i g n   o f   t r a n s p a r e n t   s e l e c t i o n 
criteria has been a crucial issue for the 
p e r i o d   2 0 0 7 – 1 3 .  th e   co m m i s s i o n   w i l l 
continue to follow closely progress on 
this  iss ue.

36

reply of the 
commISSIoN

5 1.
( a)  t h e qualit y of in dicators is const ant ly 
i m p r o v i n g .   t h i s   h a s   b e e n   o n e   o f   t h e 
Co m m i s s i o n’s	 m a j o r	 c o n c e r n s	 fo r	 t h e	
2 00 7– 13  program me s.

( b)   th e   co m m i s s i o n   to o k   a c t i o n   i n   m o n i-
to r i n g 	 co m m i t te e s’	 m e e t i n g s, 	 w h e n 	 i t	
considered	 that	 results’	indicators	 were	
i n s u f f i c i e n t   fo r   s o m e   p ro gr a m m e s,   a s 
f a r   a s   i t   wa s   fe a s i b l e   to   p ro d u ce   s u c h 
i n d i c a t o r s   a t   t h e   b e g i n n i n g   o f   t h e 
2 00 0– 06  program min g per iod.

( c)   t h e   c o m m i s s i o n   c h e c k s   h o w   a c t i o n s 
m e e t   t h e i r   t a r g e t s   o n   t h e   b a s i s   o f   a l l 
th e in for mation  received,  par t ic ular ly 
on indicators and targets, the reliabil-
ity of which cannot be assessed before 
e x - p o s t   e v a l u a t i o n   h a s   b e e n   c a r r i e d 
out.

5 2. 
th e   co m m i s s i o n   h a s   a l re a d y   l a u n c h e d   t h e 
e x - p o s t  e v a l u a t i o n   o f   t h e   2 0 0 0 – 0 6   p r o -
g r a m m e s   ( s e e   a l s o   t h e   re p l y   t o   p o i n t   1 4 ) . 
I n   t h e   m e a n t i m e   t h e   y e a r l y   a n a l y s i s   o f 
t h e   s i t u at i o n   i n   t h e   m e m b e r   S t ate s   s h ows 
some positive trends towards attaining the 
g l o b a l   p o l i c y   o b j e c t i ve.   a s   m e n t i o n e d   b y 
t h e   co u r t   ( s e e   p o i n t   1 ) ,   t h e   g a p   b e t we e n 
m a l e   a n d   f e m a l e   e m p l o y m e n t   r a t e s   h a s 
nar rowed in most of the eu-27 countr ies.

5 3. 
fo r   t h e   2 0 0 0 – 0 6   p r o g r a m m e s   t h e   c o m-
m i s s i o n   h a s   a l r e a d y   l a u n c h e d   a   s t u d y   t o 
a n a l y s e   t h e   r e l e v a n c e   a n d   r e l i a b i l i t y   o f 
t h e   i n fo r m a t i o n   av a i l a b l e,   i n   v i e w   o f   t h e 
e x - p o s t  e va l u at i o n .   I n   a ny   c a s e,   t h e   q u a l-
i t y   o f   t h e   i n d i c a t o r s   i s   a   k e y   c o n c e r n   fo r 
th e 2 00 7 –13  programmes.

m o n i t o r i n g   o f   i m p l e m e n t a t i o n   o f   t h e 
2 0 0 7 – 1 3   p r o g r a m m e s   w i l l   b e   e n h a n c e d 
i n te r   a l i a   by   u s i n g   a gre e d   i n d i c a to r s   a n d 
th e n ew Sfc-2 0 07  mon itor ing  It s yste m.

Special r eport No 17/2009 — Vocational training actions for women co-financed by the european Social fund

 
Special r eport No 17/2009 — Vocational training actions for women co-financed by the european Social fund

european court of auditors

Special Report No 17/2009 

Vocational training actions for women co-financed by the European Social Fund

luxembourg: publications office of the european union

2009 — 36 pp. — 21 × 29.7 cm

ISbN 978-92-9207-592-7 

doi:10.2865/80064

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