European network of public employment services : 2022 PES capacity questionnaire part II : labour market training for the long-term unemployed : survey-based report.
Date: 2022-11-11
Institutions: Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion
Subjects: employment policy, employment service, fight against unemployment, integration into employment, labour market, long-term unemployment, public service, report, vocational training

European Network of Public 
Employment Services 

2022 PES Capacity Questionnaire Part II: 

Labour market training for the long-term 
unemployed  

Survey-based Report 

Written by ICON Institute Public Sector GmbH 
Liliana-Luminita Anghel 
August 2022 

Social 
Europe 

 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
EUROPEAN COMMISSION 

Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion 
Directorate E — Labour Mobility and International Affairs 
Unit E.1 — Labour Mobility, Public Employment Services, ELA 

Contact: Hilde Olsen 

E-mail:  EMPL-PES-SECRETARIAT@ec.europa.eu 

European Commission 
B-1049 Brussels 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
EUROPEAN COMMISSION 

2022 PES Capacity Questionnaire Part II: 

Labour market training for the long-term 
unemployed  

Survey-based Report 

European Commission 
Directorate-General for Employment Social Affairs and Inclusion  
Directorate E — Labour Mobility and International Affairs 

2022 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The  European  Network  of  Public  Employment  Services  was  created  following  a  Decision  of  the  European 
Parliament and Council in June 2014, amended in 2020. Its objective is to reinforce PES capacity, effectiveness 
and efficiency. This activity has been developed within the work programme of the European PES Network. For 
further information: http://ec.europa.eu/social/PESNetwork. 

This  activity  has  received  financial  support  from  the  European  Union  Programme  for  Employment  and  Social 
Innovation "EaSI" (2014-2020). For further information please consult: http://ec.europa.eu/social/easi. 

LEGAL NOTICE 

The information and views set out in this document are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the 
official opinion of the European Union. Neither the European Union institutions and bodies nor any person acting 
on their behalf may be held responsible for the use which may be made of the information contained therein. 
More information on the European Union is available on the Internet (http://www.europa.eu). 

PDF 

ISBN: 978-92-76-58601-2 

doi: 10.2767/07742 

KE-03-22-091-EN-N 

Manuscript completed in August 2022. 

The European Commission is not liable for any consequence stemming from the reuse of this publication. 

Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 2022. 

© European Union, 2022 

The reuse policy of European Commission documents is implemented by the Commission Decision 2011/833/EU 
of 12 December 2011 on the reuse of Commission documents (OJ L 330, 14.12.2011, p. 39). Except otherwise 
noted, the reuse of this document is authorised under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC-BY 
4.0)  licence  (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).  This  means  that  reuse  is  allowed  provided 
appropriate credit is given and any changes are indicated. 

For any use or reproduction of elements that are not owned by the European Union, permission may need to be 
sought directly from the respective rightholders. 

2022 

4 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2022 PES Capacity Questionnaire Part II:  
Labour market training for the long-term unemployed  

TABLE OF CONTENTS 

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ............................................................................................... 7 

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .................................................................................................... 8 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................... 12 

LM TRAINING PROGRAMMES FOR THE LTU - PES RESPONSIBILITIES ......................... 14 

PLANNING THE LM TRAINING PROGRAMMES - SOURCES OF INFORMATION ................ 18 

SOURCES OF FUNDING AND ADEQUATE TRAINING CAPACITY ................................... 21 

4.1 
4.2 

Sources of funding ...................................................................................... 21 
Adequate training capacity ........................................................................... 22 

5.  DELIVERING THE TRAINING PROGRAMMES TO THE LTU ........................................... 25 

5.1  Delivery model/approach ............................................................................. 25 
5.2  Delivery/learning methods - recent changes due to the COVID-19 pandemic ...... 27 
5.3 

Impact of the recent changes on participation of the LTU in training programmes
 ................................................................................................................ 28 

6. 

ASSISTING/DIRECTING LTU TO PARTICIPATE IN TRAINING PROGRAMMES ................. 30 

7.  MAIN FEATURES OF THE TRAINING PROGRAMMES ................................................... 33 

Types of training programmes provided to the LTU ......................................... 33 
7.1 
Basic skills developed by the training programmes for the LTU ......................... 34 
7.2 
7.3 
Training programmes for LTU and other groups of PES clients .......................... 35 
7.4  Most effective - least effective training programmes for LTU ............................ 38 

8. 

ADDITIONAL SUPPORT PROVIDED TO THE LTU WHO PARTICIPATE IN TRAINING ......... 40 

9.  MONITORING AND EVALUATION OF THE TRAINING PROGRAMMES FOR THE LTU ......... 42 

10.  ADAPTING THE TRAINING PROGRAMMES TO THE LM AND THE LTU NEEDS ................. 45 

11.  CONCLUSIONS .................................................................................................... 47 

12.  ANNEXES ............................................................................................................ 48 

Annex A .............................................................................................................. 48 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2022 PES Capacity Questionnaire Part II:  
Labour market training for the long-term unemployed  

LIST OF TABLES 

Table 1. LM training programmes for the LTU - PES responsibilities ...................................... 14 

Table 2. Sources of information used to plan the training programmes for the LTU ................. 18 

Table 3. Sources of funding the training programmes for the LTU ........................................ 21 

Table 4. Adequate training capacity in place ...................................................................... 22 

Table 5. Delivery model/approach in place ........................................................................ 25 

Table 6. Recent changes in the delivery/learning methods, due to the COVID-19 pandemic..... 27 

Table 7. Impact of the recent changes on participation of the LTU in training programmes ...... 28 

Table 8. Approach of assisting/directing LTU to participate in training programmes ................ 30 

Table 9. Types of training programmes/courses provided to the LTU .................................... 33 

Table 10. Frequency of the different types of training programmes provided to the LTU .......... 34 

Table 11. Main basic skills developed by the training programmes for the LTU ....................... 35 

Table 12. Training programmes/courses are provided to the other groups of PES clients ......... 36 

Table 13. Training programmes for LTU and other groups of PES clients - differences in place . 36 

Table 14. Types of additional support provided to the LTU who participate in training ............. 40 

Table 15. Monitoring and evaluation – What stage is this carried out? .................................. 42 

Table 16. Areas of improvement ...................................................................................... 45 

2022 

6 

 
 
 
 
2022 PES Capacity Questionnaire Part II:  
Labour market training for the long-term unemployed  

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS 

ALMP 

BL 

CVET 

Active Labour Market Policy 

Benchlearning 

Continuing Vocational Education and Training 

DG EMPL 

Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion Directorate General  

EC 

European Commission 

EMCO 

Employment Committee  

EU  

ESF 

HR 

IAP 

JIA 

LM 

LTU 

MS  

NEET 

N/A 

PES 

European Union 

European Social Fund 

Human Resources 

Individual Action Plan 

Job Integration Agreement 

Labour Market 

Long-Term Unemployed 

Member States 

Young person Not in Employment, Education or Training 

Not Available 

Public Employment Services 

2022 

7 

 
 
2022 PES Capacity Questionnaire Part II:  
Labour market training for the long-term unemployed  

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 

The  Council  Recommendation  on  the  integration  of  the  long-term  unemployed  into  the 
labour market aims to support sustainable re-integration of the long-term unemployed into 
the  labour  market.  The  Recommendation  also  requested  that  the  European  Network  of 
Public  Employment  Services  (PES  Network)  contribute  to  the  monitoring  of  its 
implementation.  The  current  report,  which 
is  part  of  the  monitoring  of  the 
Recommendation,  complements  the  monitoring  done  by  the  Employment  Committee 
(EMCO) and provides input to the EMCO multilateral surveillance, the other PES Network 
analyses and mutual learning activities. 

As the labour market training represents a key in effective labour market transitions and 
upskilling and re-skilling the labour force, access to training is an important element of the 
Recommendation.  Public  Employment  Services  (PES)  are  one  of  the  main  actors  to 
integrate  long-term  unemployed  in  the  labour  market.  The  current  analysis,  therefore, 
aims  to  present  the  PES  activities  and  the  new  challenges  towards  supplying  necessary 
training to the long-term unemployed. The findings in this report are based on information 
collected via a questionnaire sent to 32 AFEPAs (Advisors for European PES Affairs) in EU27 
countries, plus Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway (members of the PES Network). While 
responding, the PES provided information on the various aspects or responsibilities related 
to the training programmes for the  long-term  unemployed, mainly from their PES  view. 
Hence, the report does neither include an impact assessment nor an evaluation or a full 
overview of labour market training and its efficiency. 

The overall conclusion of the current analysis is that PES put a lot of effort into organising 
and delivering the labour market training to long-term unemployed to improve their ability 
to access jobs, even in a challenging period due to the COVID-19 pandemic. At the same 
time, some issues for further consideration, especially by policy makers, when planning or 
adjusting future training programmes for the long-term unemployed were identified, such 
as: 

• 

‘On-the-job’ or training with a ‘practical component’ in companies seems to be the 
most effective (in terms of employment outcomes) for long-term unemployed.  

•  At the opposite pole are courses without an in-company training component, which 

appear to be the least effective training for long-term unemployed. 

•  Professional 

training 

in  which  graduates 

formal  vocational 
qualification/diploma  and  self-selected  training  are  also  considered  to  have  high 
effectiveness  in  case  of  long-term  unemployed.  Self-selection  of  training  courses 
and/or of the training provider is considered an approach that offers  a quick and 
more flexible way for the unemployed to use the resources for further training or 
re-training (in comparison, for example, with public procurement process). 

receive  a 

•  Training courses with mixed groups (i.e. unemployed and employed people) seem 
to work better and are more ‘beneficial’ to long-term unemployed than the training 
alongside  homogenous  groups  of  learners  (i.e.  only  long-term  unemployed)  as 
unemployed can share experiences with employed people, find information about 
possible vacancies or ‘may be inspired by the employed persons’ lifestyle’. 

•  The  weak  infrastructure  of  training  providers  in  some  local/remote  areas  (where 
many long-term unemployed come from), some bottlenecks (i.e. for some courses, 
at some moments or in some regions) or difficulties encountered in some regions 
in finding the right training providers and sometimes the limited financial resources 
are a few issues encountered in providing training programmes to all or almost all 
long-term unemployed in need of such support.  

•  Poor  financial resources  of the long-term unemployed  reflected in no possibilities 
for  internet  access  and  IT  equipment,  a  lack  of  or  low  digital  skills,  poor  or  no 
support  network  to  assist  the  long-term  unemployed  in  accessing  online 

2022 

8 

2022 PES Capacity Questionnaire Part II:  
Labour market training for the long-term unemployed  

resources/courses  or  no  opportunity  to  practice  the  skills  are  some  of  the  major 
challenges encountered by long-term unemployed in accessing and attending the 
distance learning. Moreover, in some cases, the distance learning is considered to 
have a low effectiveness in reaching out to people who are not motivated and/or 
unfamiliar with learning. 

•  Monitoring/evaluation throughout the provision of the training programmes is less 
carried-out  by  PES  –  this  could  mean  that  it  should  be  strengthened  to  quickly 
intervene on aspects that do not work well or align with the established objectives.  

•  Monitoring and evaluation in a more systematic way to provide relevant information 
on the impact/effectiveness of the training programmes for disadvantaged groups, 
such as long-term unemployed. 

Key results by specific aspects analysed in this report are further provided in this executive 
summary.  

The results of the current analysis show that PES have a wide range of responsibilities 
in  managing  and  implementing  labour  market  training  for  the  long-term 
unemployed. Most PES are responsible for identifying current and future skills needs and 
disseminating the information on training opportunities (28 out of 32), designing training 
programmes (20 out of 32), selecting trainees or referring the long-term unemployed to 
the training courses (25 out of 32), financing (26 out of 32) and monitoring and evaluating 
the training programmes (24 out of 32). To a lesser extent, PES have other responsibilities, 
i.e.  for  budget  development  or  budget  proposals  to  support  the  implementation  of  the 
training  plan  (13  out  of  32).  On  the  other  side,  some  PES  (9  out  of  32)  reported  only 
'limited'  or  'partial'  responsibility,  as  the  governance  of  labour  market  training  for 
jobseekers,  including  long-term  unemployed  persons,  is  shared  between  various 
institutions (including PES) and authorities, the responsibility of institutions other than PES, 
or is under the remit of the regional/local authorities.  

In planning the training interventions, the majority of PES (30 out of 311) rely on their in-
house data and information. For the same purpose, a variety of other information 
is collected by PES through a close co-operation with social partners and other relevant 
institutions. 

The training programmes for the long-term unemployed are mainly funded from national 
sources  (27  PES  out  of  32)  and  EU  financial  instruments  (21  PES  out  of  32). 
Regional/local  funding  is  typically  used  in  countries  where  the  training  programmes  are 
under the responsibility of regional/local authorities (9 PES out of 32). 

The majority of PES (27 out of 312) included in this study  considered that the existing 
capacity  (funds  and  network  of  training  providers)  ensures  the  availability  of  the 
training offers for the long-term unemployed and key/growing economic sectors. 
As revealed by the explanations to their responses, it seems that some PES consider the 
training capacity is well aligned with needs estimated in the planning process. Other PES 
appreciated  that,  overall,  there  is  enough  or  adequate  training  capacity,  but  specific 
bottlenecks exist (i.e. for some courses, at some moments or in some regions), difficulties 
are encountered in some regions in finding the right training providers, or the network of 
training providers is adequate but the financial resources are limited. However, a few PES 
(4 out of 31) clearly stated that the capacity for general or long-term unemployed-specific 
labour  market  training  is  not  sufficient  and  should  be  improved.  These  PES  identified 
some  other  specific  issues  i.e.  the  weak  infrastructure  of  training  providers  in  some 

1 1 PES (not involved in planning) - no answer to the related question. 
2 1 PES - no answer to the related question. 

2022 

9 

 
 
2022 PES Capacity Questionnaire Part II:  
Labour market training for the long-term unemployed  

local/remote areas, the limited financial resources to ensure training of all (or almost all) 
long-term  unemployed  in  need  of  such  support  or  the  jobseekers'  demand  for  training 
courses that exceeds the possibilities of financial allocation.  

Again, the majority of PES (25 out of 32) play an important role in directing unemployed 
to the appropriate training programmes. The decisions on training paths and specific 
courses  are  usually  agreed  with  the  unemployed  whilst  developing  the  individual  action 
plan/job integration agreement. Self-selection of the training courses/training providers, 
which  was  recently  introduced  in  some  countries,  is  quite  wide-spread,  with  22  PES 
reporting such an approach. Self-selection is carried out via internet (from PES or other 
institution databases) or through training vouchers schemes. 

Provision  of training programmes to jobseekers, including the long-term unemployed, is 
done by most PES through a combination of different delivery approaches or models. The 
most common approach seems to be the provision by external training providers, 
which are contracted out by the PES, as 25 PES mentioned this delivery model in place. 
Just over one-quarter of PES (9 out of 32) deliver part of the training courses through their 
own  training  centres  or  premises,  but  these  courses  are  usually  supplemented  by  other 
training programmes delivered by external providers. 

Regardless  of  the  delivery  models  used,  PES  and  other  training  providers  have  been 
challenged by the COVID-19 pandemic conditions in supplying  the specific programmes. 
Additionally, as reported by almost all PES, the total or partial switch away from face-
to-face  to  online,  hybrid/blended  learning  or  virtual  classrooms  was  the  only 
alternative  to  maintain  the  supply  of  labour  market  interventions,  including  the  labour 
market training. The positive side-effect of this switch was that all training providers, 
including PES, improved their capacity to implement distance learning. On the other 
hand, the long-term unemployed have also been challenged in attending the training 
courses,  which  have  been  delivered  through  relatively  new  learning  methods.  These 
challenges are mainly linked to poor financial resources and the lack of internet access and 
IT equipment; low or a lack of digital skills; in some cases, no support network to assist 
the 
the  new  digital 
platforms/applications. Furthermore, the purely digital training measures appear to be less 
appropriate  for  people  with  high  or  intensive  support  needs  (like  most  long-term 
unemployed)  for  which  the  social  component  and  the  ‘personal  approach’  plays  an 
important role. 

in  accessing  online  courses  or 

long-term  unemployed 

The  vast  majority  of  PES  and  their  partners  provide  a  combination  of  different 
types  of  training,  e.g.  training  in  specific  qualifications/occupations  (31  out  of  32), 
training to acquire or develop basic skills (30 out of 32), training to upgrade/update the 
existing skills and knowledge (30 out of 32), re-training courses (29 out of 32) and job-
search  training  (28  out  of  32).  When  looking  at  the  frequency  of  the  various  types  of 
courses,  those  designed  for  training  in  a  specific  qualification/occupation/ 
profession seem to be provided very often. Development  of digital and technology-
based competencies of the long-term unemployed is in focus for all PES.  

On-the-job training or training with a practical component in companies has been 
assessed by over half the PES (17 out of 313) as being the most effective (in terms of 
employment outcomes) training for long-term unemployed persons. Professional training 
in  which  graduates  receive  a  formal  vocational  qualification/diploma  and  self-selected 
training  are  also  considered  to  have  high  effectiveness  in  the  case  of  long-term 
unemployed. Moreover, some PES consider that training courses with mixed groups (i.e. 
unemployed and employed people) work better and are more beneficial to the long-term 

3 1 PES - no answer to the related question. 

2022 

10 

 
 
2022 PES Capacity Questionnaire Part II:  
Labour market training for the long-term unemployed  

unemployed  than  training  with  homogenous  groups  of  learners  (i.e.  only  the  long-term 
unemployed). Conversely, the courses without an in-company training component 
appear to be the least effective training for the long-term unemployed.  

All  PES  participating  in  this  survey  provide  training  courses  for  clients  besides  the 
long-term unemployed (e.g. unemployed, inactive people, NEETs, recent graduates of the 
education system, refugees, employees, prisoners or people released from prisons, etc.). 
Most PES (25 out of 314) stated that, in general, the training courses are the same 
for  all categories of  PES clients. Only  six PES reported that training programmes for 
long-term unemployed are different, or different in some respects, from those offered to 
the  other  customers.  Prioritisation  of  disadvantaged  groups,  such  as  long-term 
unemployed,  is  usually  done  through  eligibility  criteria  or  defined  in  specific  legislation, 
policy  documents  or  specific  programmes.  When  training  measures  or  programmes  are 
targeted  only  to  long-term  unemployed,  they  may  include  a  longer  or  more  intensive 
support or a combination of different services and labour market measures.  

Additional support is provided by a vast majority of PES (30 out of 315) and/or their 
partners before, during and/or after the training programmes. 

Monitoring  and  evaluation  of  training  programmes  is  carried  out  through  a 
combination  of  tools  and  instruments  which  are  used  to  collect  quantitative  and 
qualitative data and information about the training programmes and the related results. 
Monitoring and evaluation is carried out most often at the end of the training programmes 
with almost two-thirds of PES (20 out of 316) reporting such an approach. Above half the 
PES (16 out of 31) implement monitoring and evaluation within a period (from one month 
to one  year)  after the end of training courses – in many cases this includes, among 
others, monitoring the employment rates or employment status of trainees or graduates. 
In  a  smaller  share  of  PES  (13  out  of  31),  the  monitoring  is  carried  throughout  the 
provision/delivery of the training courses. It is worth mentioning that several PES carry 
out  monitoring  and  evaluation  in  at  least  two  stages  of  implementation  of  the  training 
programmes, i.e. during the provision as well as at the end or within a period following the 
end of the training courses. 

Moreover,  the  current  analysis  shows  that  results  of  the  monitoring  and  evaluation 
processes are used to adapt the training programmes to the labour market and long-term 
unemployed  persons’  needs  and  expectations.  New  employment  strategies/programmes 
or re-enforcement of existing training interventions for the long-term unemployed and the 
jobseekers who have a higher risk of becoming long-term unemployed, refining the way 
that the most vulnerable sub-groups are targeted by the support interventions, improving 
the planning process and implementation of new forms of distance learning are some of 
the improvement measures in focus for many PES involved in this study.  

4 1 PES - no answer to the related question. 
5 1 PES - no answer to the related question. 

6 1 PES – no answer to the specific question. 

2022 

11 

 
 
 
 
2022 PES Capacity Questionnaire Part II:  
Labour market training for the long-term unemployed  

1.  INTRODUCTION 

In  response  to  the  increase  in  long-term  unemployment  between  2007  and  2014,  the 
Council  of  European  Union  (EU)  adopted  the  Recommendation  on  the  integration  of  the 
long-term  unemployed  into  the  labour  market7  (hereinafter  ‘the  Recommendation’)  in 
February 2016. The aim of the Recommendation was to support sustainable re-integration 
of  the  long-term  unemployed  (LTU)  back  into  the  labour  market  (LM)  by  calling  on  the 
Member States (MS) to:  

-  encourage the registration of long-term unemployed with an employment service; 

-  provide  each  registered  long-term  unemployed  with  an individual  in-depth 
assessment to identify their needs and potential at the very latest when they reach 
18 months of unemployment;  

-  offer  a job  integration  agreement to  all  registered  long-term  unemployed  at  the 

very latest at 18 months. 

As stated in the Recommendation, the main objective of the ‘job-integration agreement’ is 
to  facilitate  the  transition  of  the  LTU  into  employment  on  the  labour  market.  It  is  well 
known that access to relevant training for LTU is one of the key elements of job integration 
measures. The Recommendation underlines that addressing skill shortage, equipping more 
people  with  relevant  skills  and  competences  will  help  to  reduce  the  number  of  newly 
unemployed persons and should contribute to a smooth transition from learning to work 
and for continued employability. That is why the MS are asked to pursue the modernisation 
of education and training systems. A better dissemination of relevant information on job 
vacancies  and  training  opportunities  is  another  key  point  of  the  Recommendation. 
Furthermore, the MS are encouraged to develop partnerships between PES, education and 
training  providers,  employers  and  other  relevant  actors  to  provide  services  and 
employment measures (including training) that better meet the needs of enterprises and 
registered  long-term  unemployed  persons8.  Active  support  to  employment  is  further 
emphasized in principle 4 in the European Pillar of Social Rights9 and further followed up 
in the Action Plan of the European Pillar of Social Rights10. This includes the right to training 
and re-qualification.  

The  Recommendation  requested  that  the  European  Network  of  Public  Employment 
Services11 contribute to the monitoring of its implementation. The current report is part of 
the monitoring of the Recommendation.  

The report is in line with the 2022 work programme of the PES Network that continues to 
monitor the implementation of the Council Recommendation on the LTU by the PES. It also 
complements  the  quantitative  and  qualitative  monitoring  done  by  the  Employment 
Committee (EMCO) and intends to provide input to the EMCO multilateral surveillance and 
other analysis and/or mutual learning activities. 

The current report focuses on new challenges as well as delivering LM training to the LTU 
to improve their ability to access jobs in the changing labour market. More precisely, the 
analysis is focused on aspects, such as: 

7 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A32016H0220%2801%29 
8 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A32016H0220%2801%29 
9 https://ec.europa.eu/info/strategy/priorities-2019-2024/economy-works-people/jobs-growth-and-
investment/european-pillar-social-rights/european-pillar-social-rights-20-principles_en 

10 https://ec.europa.eu/info/strategy/priorities-2019-2024/economy-works-people/jobs-growth-and-
investment/european-pillar-social-rights/european-pillar-social-rights-action-plan_en 

11 http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=1100&langId=en 

2022 

12 

 
 
2022 PES Capacity Questionnaire Part II:  
Labour market training for the long-term unemployed  

•  main PES responsibilities in the management, implementation and monitoring and 

evaluation of the training programmes for the LTU; 

• 

• 

sources of information used in planning the training measures; 

the capacity to implement the training interventions; 

•  delivery models and methods in place as well as the recent changes in the delivery 

methods due to the COVID-19 pandemic; 

•  different approaches in directing LTU to the appropriate training; 

• 

types of training measures provided to the LTU; 

•  additional support provided to the LTU participating in training; 

•  monitoring and evaluation of the training interventions; 

• 

the recent measures to better adapt the training measures to the LTU and LM needs. 

The findings in this report are based on responses provided to a survey conducted by the 
ICON  team,  a  supporting  contractor  of  DG  EMPL  for  the  implementation  of  the  PES 
benchlearning  initiative.  While  responding,  the  PES  provided  information  on  the  above-
mentioned  aspects  or  responsibilities  related  to  the  training  programmes  for  the  LTU 
mainly from their PES view. Where necessary and possible, the information collected via 
the  questionnaires  was  supplemented  via  desk-research  (i.e.  in  case  of  some  examples 
only briefly mentioned by PES). The report does neither include an impact assessment nor 
an evaluation or a full overview of labour market training and its efficiency. 

A questionnaire was prepared by DG EMPL and ICON and, in April 2022, was sent to 32 
AFEPAs (Advisors for European PES Affairs) in EU27 countries, plus Iceland, Liechtenstein 
and Norway (members of the PES Network). The data was collected between June and July 
2022 from 32 PES12. 

12 AT, BE-ACTIRIS, BE-Forem, BE-VDAB, BG, CY, CZ, DE, DK, EE, EL, ES, FI, FR, HR, HU, IE, IS, IT, LI, LT, LU, 

LV, MT, NL, NO, PT, PL, RO, SE, SI and SK. 

13 

2022 

 
 
 
 
2022 PES Capacity Questionnaire Part II:  
Labour market training for the long-term unemployed  

2.  LM TRAINING PROGRAMMES FOR THE LTU - PES RESPONSIBILITIES 

PES have a wide range of responsibilities 
in the management and implementation of 
the LM training programmes for the LTU. 

the  main 

labour  market 
PES  are 
institutions, 
the 
for 
responsible 
implementation  of  active  measures  such 
incentives,  supported 
as  employment 
employment and rehabilitation, direct job 
creation, start-up incentives and training.  

As illustrated in Table 1, PES have a wide range of responsibilities in the management and 
implementation of the LM training programmes for the LTU.  

Table 1. LM training programmes for the LTU - PES responsibilities 

Responsibilities 

PES with specific responsibilities 

Identification/anticipation of the current 
and future skills/training needs 

Development of/proposals for the 
national, regional and local training 
plans  

Development of the budget/budget 
proposals to support the 
implementation of the training plan 

AT, BE-Actiris, BE-Forem, BE-VDAB, BG, CY, CZ, DE, EE, 
EL, ES, FI, FR, HR, HU, IE, IS, IT, LT, LU, LV, MT, NL, NO, 
PL, RO, SE, SI (28) 

BE-VDAB, CY, EE, ES, FR, HR, IE, IS, LU, MT, NO, PL, PT, 
RO, SE, SI (16) 

AT, EE, EL, ES, FR, HR, LI, LU, NO, PL, RO, SE, SK (13) 

Dissemination of information on training 
opportunities/offers 

AT,  BE-Actiris,  BE-Forem,  BE-VDAB,  BG,  CY,  CZ,  EE,  EL, 
ES, FI, FR, HR, HU, IE, IS, IT, LI, LU, MT, NL, NO, PL, PT, 
RO, SE, SI, SK (28) 

Design of the training 
programmes/courses  

AT,  BE-Forem,  BE-VDAB,  CZ,  DE,  EE,  EL, ES,  FI, FR, IS, 
LI, LU, MT, NO, PL, PT, RO, SE, SK (20) 

Actual implementation/delivery of  

the training programmes/courses  

AT,  BE-Forem,  BE-VDAB,  DE,  EE,  EL,  ES,  FR,  IS,  LI,  LT, 
LU, MT, NO, PL, PT, RO, SE, SK (19) 

Co-ordination of implementation of the 
training programmes/courses  

BE-Forem, BE-VDAB, EE, EL, ES, FR, HU, IS,  LI, LU, MT, 
NO, PL, PT, RO, SE, SI (17) 

Financing the training 
programmes/courses 

AT, BE-Actiris, BE-VDAB, BG, CZ, DE, EE, EL, ES, FI, FR, 
HR, HU, IS, LI, LT, LU, MT, NL, NO, PL, PT, RO, SE, SI, SK 
(26) 

Selection of trainees/referral of LTU  

to training programmes run by others 

AT,  BE-Actiris,  BE-Forem,  BE-VDAB,  CY,  CZ,  EE,  EL,  ES, 
FI, FR, HR, HU, IE, IS, LT, LU, MT, NL, NO, PL, PT, SE, SI, 
SK (25) 

Assessment of the learning outcomes 

Monitoring and evaluation of the 
implementation of the training 
programmes/courses 

AT, BE-Forem, BE-VDAB, BG, DE, EL, ES, FI, LI, MT, NO, 
PL, PT, RO, SE, SI, SK (17) 

AT, BE-Actiris, BE-VDAB, CZ, DE, EE, EL, ES, FI, FR, HR, 
HU, IS, LI, LT, LU, LV, MT, NO, PL, PT, SE, SI, SK (24) 

Other 

BE-Actiris, BE-VDAB, DK13, ES, NL (5) 

Source: responses to the PES Capacity Questionnaire, Part II. 

13 The municipalities/their job centres are responsible for the management and implementation of the LM 
training programmes for the unemployed. 

2022 

14 

 
 
2022 PES Capacity Questionnaire Part II:  
Labour market training for the long-term unemployed  

Almost all PES (28 out of 32) are involved in the identification of current and future skills 
needs. This usually starts with the assessment of the skills needs at an individual level and 
includes  analysis  of  its  own  databases  with  jobseekers,  vacancies,  other  LM  information 
and 
from:  advertisements,  discussions  with  companies, 
employers/economic sectors’ surveys, studies on anticipation of employment and training 
needs  produced  by  other  institutions,  long/short-term  LM  forecasts,  occupational 
barometers, etc. (see Section 2 for more details). 

information  gathered 

In  addition,  nearly  all  PES  (28  out  of  32)  are  very  active  in  the  dissemination  of  the 
information  covering  training  opportunities/offers.  In  many  cases,  the  dissemination  of 
information is done through the PES websites. Besides the PES websites, other channels 
and  communication  instruments  are  used  in  disseminating  the  information  on  available 
training  programmes,  such  as  mass  media,  information  campaigns,  emails  to  the 
jobseekers, flyers, etc. Moreover, LTU, as well as the other jobseekers, are informed on 
available training programmes during the counselling/guidance sessions.  

A majority of PES are also responsible for: financing the training programmes for LTU (26 
out  of  32),  selecting  trainees  or  referring  LTU  to  the  training  courses  (25  out  of  32); 
monitoring and evaluation of the training programmes (24 out of 32).  

Half  or  just  above  half  the  PES  are  involved  in  developing  the  national/regional/local 
training  plan  or  proposals  for  the  training  plan  (16  out  of  32),  co-ordination  of 
implementation  of  the  training  programmes  (17  out  of  32)  and  the  assessment  of  the 
learning outcomes (17 out of 32).  

Budget  development  or  budget  proposals  to  support  the  implementation  of  the  training 
plan is only the responsibility of just over one-third of PES (13 out of 32). 

Involvement in the design of the training programmes was reported by about two-thirds 
of PES (20 out of 32). The design of the training programmes is  carried out in close co-
operation with training providers, sectoral training funds/sectoral federations, chambers of 
commerce, employers and jobseekers themselves.  

Actual implementation or delivery of the training programmes is the responsibility of more 
than half of the surveyed PES (19 out of 32).  

Furthermore, some PES are involved, to some extent, in planning and implementing the 
LM  interventions,  but  they  reported  having  ‘limited’  or  ‘partial’  responsibilities.  In  these 
cases,  the  governance  of  LM  training  for  jobseekers,  including  LTU,  is  either  shared 
between  various  institutions  (including  PES)  and  authorities,  is  the  responsibility  of 
institutions other than PES, or is under the remit of the regional/local authorities and their 
jobcentres. For example, as reported by the Belgian PES Actiris, the vocational training 
of  jobseekers  (including  LTU)  is  under  the  responsibility  of  the  communities,  while  the 
regions  are  responsible  for  the  employment  measures14.  Training  programmes  for 
jobseekers in Brussels-Capital Region are provided by two public institutions: the Bruxelles 
Formation15 (for the French-speaking community) and the Belgian PES VDAB Brussel (for 
the Dutch-speaking community). Actiris can ‘commission’ training measures from the two 
competent public training services in the Brussels-Capital Region based on a joint analysis 
of  the  regional  LM  needs.  The  co-ordination  approach  is  ensured  by  co-operation 

14 Belgium - three communities: the (Dutch-speaking) Flemish Community, the French Community and the 
German-speaking Community; three regions: the Brussels Capital Region, the Flemish Region and the Walloon 
Region; four language areas (linguistic regions): the Dutch language area, the French language area, the 
German language area and the bilingual Brussels-Capital area - 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communities,_regions_and_language_areas_of_Belgium#:~:text=The%20three
%20communities%20are%3A,Community%20(Deutschsprachige%20Gemeinschaft%2C%20DG). 

15 https://www.bruxellesformation.brussels/ 

2022 

15 

 
 
2022 PES Capacity Questionnaire Part II:  
Labour market training for the long-term unemployed  

agreements and shared management committees between BE-Actiris and the two training 
providers.  

VDAB mentioned that it has only ‘partial’ responsibilities in the development of a national, 
regional  and/or  local  training  plan  as  ‘there  is  not  one,  single  national,  regional  or  local 
training plan’. On the basis of a sectoral LM analysis and the assessment of the jobseekers’ 
training  needs,  VDAB  estimates  what  training  programmes  will  be  needed  per  sectors. 
VDAB finances the self-organised training programmes and the courses procured from the 
market. Other training programmes, provided by the adult education and financed by the 
Flemish Ministry of Education or by the Flemish Ministry for Work, are open to PES clients.  

Another  example  is  the  Dutch  PES,  which  has  some  responsibilities  in  the  field  of  LM 
training, but only for the social insurance beneficiaries who are registered with PES and for 
the  people  who  apply  for  the  STAP  budget  subsidy  (‘STimulans  ArbeidsmarktPositie’). 
STAP16 is a new training allowance scheme launched by the Dutch government in March 
2022.  

In Cyprus, the Human Resource Development Authority (HRDA17) is the responsible body 
for the planned and systematic training and development of human potential. The Cypriot 
PES co-operates with HRDA in designing and implementing the training programmes for 
unemployed (including LTU).  

The  Danish  PES  model  is  decentralised,  so  the  98  Danish  municipalities  and  their  job 
centres  are  responsible  for  the  management  and  implementation  of  the  LM  training 
programmes for the unemployed. In a more or less similar way, the Italian and Spanish 
regional  authorities/autonomous  communities  and  related  bodies  (own  job  centres)  are 
responsible  for  managing  and  implementing  the  ALMPs,  including  LM  training  for 
jobseekers.  

As  mentioned  by  the  Spanish  PES  (SEPE),  when  the  training  programmes  or  actions 
‘transcend an autonomous community's territorial scope’ the co-ordination and consistency 
in implementing specific measures is ensured by the PES.  

At the national level in Italy, the Ministry of Labour and Social Policies has adopted the 
National Program for the ‘Guarantee of workers’ employability – GOL’18, which consists of 
different measures (including training or re-training) for the integration/re-integration of 
many  categories  of  people  excluded  from  the  labour  market,  including  LTU.  But  the 
implementation of the programme (GOL), as well as the accreditation of training centres 
and the planning of training and education policies is a specific responsibility of the regional 
authorities.  

The  Irish  PES  reported  that  SOLAS19,  a  state  agency  under  the  authority  of  the 
Department  of  Further  and  Higher  Education,  Research,  Innovation  and  Science 
(DFHERIS), is responsible for the Further Education and Training (FET) sector in Ireland. 
SOLAS  funds,  plans  and  co-ordinates  a  wide  range  of  training  and  further  education 
programmes (including for LTU) and works in partnership with the Department of Social 
Protection/PES,  local  Education  and  Training  Boards  (ETBs20),  schools  and  colleges,  and 

16 All employees and job seekers who want to improve their chances on the LM can apply for STAP Budget 
Subsidy- https://www.stapuwv.nl/p/STAP-informatie. 

17https://www.anad.org.cy/wps/portal/hrda/hrdaExternal/!ut/p/z1/04_Sj9CPykssy0xPLMnMz0vMAfIjo8ziPTw8H
D0s_Q383F3DjAwCLVydTV2CLY39XUz0w_Wj9KOASgxwAEcD_YLsbEUAbztbrg!!/dz/d5/L2dBISEvZ0FBIS9nQSEh/ 

18 GOL is part of the Italian PNRR (National Recovery and Resilience Plan). 

19 https://www.solas.ie/ 

20 ETBs- education authorities with responsibility for education and training, youth work and a range of other 
statutory functions - https://www.etbi.ie/etbs/. 

2022 

16 

 
 
2022 PES Capacity Questionnaire Part II:  
Labour market training for the long-term unemployed  

other  education  agencies/bodies.  The  provision  of  the  training  programmes  is  the 
responsibility of the 16 ETBs and other FET providers. 

Other  responsibilities  mentioned  by  some  PES  are  related  to  the  involvement  in  the 
recognition of non-formal and informal learning (BE-VDAB), testing the jobseekers’ (LTU 
or not) language and digital skills and management and payment of the training incentives 
for  employers  (BE-Actiris),  monitoring  the  individual  outcomes  for  participants  receiving 
social insurance benefits (NL). 

2022 

17 

 
 
2022 PES Capacity Questionnaire Part II:  
Labour market training for the long-term unemployed  

3.  PLANNING THE LM TRAINING PROGRAMMES - SOURCES OF 

INFORMATION 

In planning the training programmes, PES 
rely  on  their  in-house  data  and  a  variety 
of  other  information  collected  through  a 
close  co-operation  with  social  partners 
and different institutions. 

To better respond to the LM and the LTU 
needs,  PES  use  variety  of  sources 
information (e.g. own databases, surveys, 
information from social partners, relevant 
ministries  and  local/regional  authorities) 
in planning the training programmes (see 
Table 2).  

‘Arvastat’22.  This  database 

As expected, PES databases with unemployed, vacancies/bottleneck vacancies, jobseekers’ 
skills  assessment  and  other  in-house  LM  data  are  used  by  all  PES  (30  out  of  3121)  in 
identifying  the  training  programmes  that  respond  to  the  current  and  future  LM  and 
individuals’  needs.  For  instance,  the  Belgian  PES  VDAB,  makes  use  of  its  own 
database/application- 
information  about 
unemployment, vacancies, jobseekers and general LM data. Other databases used by VDAB 
are:  ‘Professions  in  numbers’  (‘Beroepen  in  cijfers’23),  which  contains  insights  into 
vacancies and jobseekers’ data at the level of the professions/occupations, and the online 
‘School-leavers  report’  (‘Studie  schoolverlaters’24)  that  comprises  information  on  how 
school-leavers are doing in terms of employment a year after graduation. All school-leavers 
are monitored, including those who do not register with the VDAB25, so the school-leavers 
report provides a highly accurate overall picture of the connection between education and 
LM.  In  addition  to  these,  at  the  provincial  level,  there  is  a  consultation  platform  where 
VDAB enters a dialogue with social partners and local authorities several times a year and 
where LM data are discussed.  

includes 

Table 2. Sources of information used to plan the training programmes for the LTU  

Sources of information: 

PES 

PES databases with unemployed, 
vacancies, LTU/jobseekers’ skills 
assessment 

AT, BE-Actiris, BE-VDAB, BG, CY, CZ, DE, DK, EE, EL, ES, FI, 
FR, HR, HU, IE, IS, IT, LI, LT, LU, LV, MT, NL, NO, PL, PT, 
RO, SE, SI (30)  

Employers’ surveys run by PES 

AT, BE-Forem, BG, CZ, EE, ES, FI, HR, LT, LU, MT, NO, PL, 
RO, SI (15)  

Social partners 

BE-Forem, BE-VDAB, BG, CZ, DE, EE, EL, ES, FI, FR, HR, IS, 
LU, MT, NO, PL, PT, SI (18)  

Regional/local authorities 

BE-Forem, BE-VDAB, BG, EE, EL, ES, FI, FR, HR, IS, MT, NO, 
PL, RO, SE, SI (16) 

Public and private training 
providers 

AT, BE-Forem, BE-VDAB, BG, EE, FI, IS, LI, LU, MT, NO, PL, 
SI (13)  

Regional/local economic 
development plans 

AT, BE-Forem, BE-VDAB, CZ, EE, EL, FI, FR, HR, LT, NO, PL, 
RO, SI (14) 

21 PES SK (not involved in planning) - no answer to the related question. 

22 https://arvastat.vdab.be/ 

23 https://www.vdab.be/trends/beroepen 

24 https://www.vdab.be/trends/schoolverlatersrapport 

25 Data from PES BE-VDAB, the Department of Education and Syntra network (5 training centres with 22 
SYNTRA campuses in Flanders and Brussels) are linked - https://www.vdab.be/trends/schoolverlatersrapport. 

18 

2022 

 
 
 
2022 PES Capacity Questionnaire Part II:  
Labour market training for the long-term unemployed  

Sources of information: 

PES 

National institutes of statistics 

BE-Forem, BE-VDAB, BG, DE, EE, EL, ES, FI, FR, HU, IS, LI, 
LU, NL, PL, SE (16) 

National institutes for economic/LM 
research 

AT, BE-Forem, BE-VDAB, EE, EL, ES, FI, FR, IE, IS, LU, NL, 
NO (13) 

Relevant ministries 

BE-Forem, BE-VDAB, DE, EE, EL, ES, FI, FR, HR, HU, IS, LU, 
NO, PL, PT, SI (16) 

National/regional/local/sectoral 
observatories 

BE-Forem, BE-VDAB, DE, EE, EL, ES, FR, LI, LU, NL, PL, PT, 
SE (13) 

LM analyses and forecasts by other 
institutions 

BE-Forem, BE-VDAB, DE, EE, EL, ES, FI, FR, IE, IS, LI, NO, 
PL, SE, SI (15) 

Other 

CY, ES, FI (3) 

Source: responses to the PES Capacity Questionnaire, Part II.  

Social partners with whom PES have formal or informal co-operation are another source of 
information used by almost two-thirds of PES (18 out of 31).  

Characteristics and developments of the regional/local LM, skills shortages, training needs 
(etc.) are also collected via feedback  or exchanging information with  relevant ministries 
and regional/local authorities and national institutes of statistics, as reported by more than 
half the PES (16 out of 31).  

Around  half  the  PES  (15  out  of  31)  run  employers’  surveys.  Employers’  surveys  usually 
provide information which are not directly related with LTU but may be useful in identifying 
the skills needs as well as for employment or training guidance purposes. 

Regional/local  economic  plans  and  LM  analyses  or  forecasts  developed  by  different 
institutions are other sources of information  used by fewer than half the PES (14 out of 
31) in identifying future developments and skills needs or problems in the regional/local 
LM and in planning the specific activities, such as services and ALMP measures, including 
training. For the same purpose, two-fifths of PES (13 out of 31) co-operate with national 
institutes  for  economic  or  LM  research,  public  and  private  training  providers  as  well  as 
national/regional or sectoral observatories. 

Other sources of information have been reported by three PES. In Cyprus, for instance, 
the Human Resource Development Authority (HRDA), which is responsible for the training 
activities, provides ten-year forecasts of employment needs in occupations and forecasts 
of employment needs in sectors of economic activity26. Furthermore, the HRDA conducts 
annual studies to identify employment and training needs. Information and feedback from 
enterprises,  social  partners  and  other  stakeholders  are  collected  and  analysed  for  these 
studies.  

Another  example  is  the  ‘Catalogue  of  Training  Specialities’27,  developed  and  updated  by 
the  Spanish  PES,  in  co-operation  with  autonomous  communities,  which  is  intended  to 
support, together with other information, the decision makers to promptly respond to the 

26https://www.anad.org.cy/wps/portal/hrda/hrdaExternal/!ut/p/z1/04_Sj9CPykssy0xPLMnMz0vMAfIjo8ziPTw8H
D0s_Q383F3DjAwCLVydTV2CLY39XUz0w_Wj9KOASgxwAEcD_YLsbEUAbztbrg!!/dz/d5/L2dBISEvZ0FBIS9nQSEh/ 

27 Training specialty – ‘the grouping of professional skills, content and technical specifications that respond to a 
set of work activities framed in a phase of the production process and with related functions, or to the 
acquisition of transversal skills necessary for adequate performance in environment and professional context’- 
https://www.boe.es/diario_boe/txt.php?id=BOE-A-2019-3642. 

2022 

19 

 
 
2022 PES Capacity Questionnaire Part II:  
Labour market training for the long-term unemployed  

training  needs  of  companies  and  of  labour  force.  The  catalogue  comprises  all  types  of 
formal and non-formal training courses developed within the framework of the vocational 
training system for employment28.  

In  Finland,  recent  research  on  the  functionality  and  effectiveness  of  the  LM  training 
conducted by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment and published in April 2022 
is/will be used, together with other sources of information, for planning purposes. 

28 https://www.cedefop.europa.eu/en/news/spain-new-measures-support-quality-vocational-training-jobs 

20 

2022 

 
 
 
 
2022 PES Capacity Questionnaire Part II:  
Labour market training for the long-term unemployed  

4.  SOURCES OF FUNDING AND ADEQUATE TRAINING CAPACITY  

4.1 Sources of funding  

The training programmes for the LTU are 
mainly  funded  from  national  sources  as 
well as EU financial instruments.  

A  large  part  of  PES  (27  out  of  32) 
participating  in  this  study  indicated  the 
government  funds  as  a  main  source  of 
funding  for  the  training  programmes  for 
unemployed, including LTU (see Table 3).  

Another  substantial  support  for  implementing  LM  training  comes  from  the  EU  funds,  as 
reported by around two-thirds of PES (21 out of 32).  

Table 3. Sources of funding the training programmes for the LTU 

Sources of funding: 

PES  

State/Government  

BE-Forem, BE-VDAB, BG, CY, CZ, DE, DK, EE, EL, ES, FI, FR, 
HR, HU, IE, IS, LI, LT, LU, MT, NL, NO, PL, PT, SE, SI, SK (27) 

Regional/local authorities  

BE-Actiris, BE-Forem, DK, ES, FR, IT, LI, NL, NO (9) 

Unemployment insurance/ 
labour/employment fund29  

AT, DE, EE, ES, IS, LI, LU, PL, RO (9) 

National training funds30  

BE-Forem, ES, IE (3) 

Social partners/sectoral/inter-
professional training funds31 

BE-Forem, BE-VDAB, IS, LI (4) 

Employers  

AT, BE-Forem, BE-VDAB, ES, FI, LI, LU, NL (8) 

Fees from trainees 

HR, IS, LU (3) 

EU funds 

BE-Forem, BE-VDAB, BG, CZ, DE, EE, EL, ES, FR, HR, IE, IT, 
LT, LU, LV, MT, PL, PT, SE, SI, SK (21) 

Source: responses to the PES Capacity Questionnaire, Part II. 

Just over one-quarter of PES (9 out of 32) indicated the unemployment insurance/labour 
fund  and/or  funds  from  regional/local  authorities  as  other  sources  of  funding  the  LM 
training for jobseekers.  

In  some  cases  (8  PES  out  of  32)  employers  participate  in  funding  specific  training 
measures. For example, in Austria, employers participate in funding the measure called 
‘Implacement  foundation’32  which  aims  to  place  unemployed  people  with  appropriate 
qualifications  in  available  jobs.  This  measure  involves  a  broad  package  of  support  that 
includes  career  guidance,  various  training  measures,  active  job  searches  and  a  work 

29 Contributions from employers and employees, managed by national authorities/public institutions and used to 
finance benefits for people losing their jobs, as well as ALMPs. 

30 Usually financed by compulsory contributions of employers, managed by national authorities/public 
institutions and in the community and voluntary sector, etc. 

31 Compulsory or voluntary training funds, usually financed by a tax/levy on wages, managed by social 
partners. 

32 https://www.eurofound.europa.eu/observatories/emcc/erm/support-instrument/implacement-work-
foundation 

2022 

21 

 
 
2022 PES Capacity Questionnaire Part II:  
Labour market training for the long-term unemployed  

experience  programme.  In  other  cases,  employers  are  involved  in  funding  on-the-job 
training (e.g. BE-VDAB33) or apprenticeship and internship schemes (e.g. LU).  

Regional/local funding is usually mentioned by PES (9 out of 32) in countries where the 
training programmes are mainly under the responsibility of regions/local authorities (e.g. 
Denmark34, Belgium, Italy and Spain) or in cases where specific training measures or plans 
are foreseen to be implemented and funded at both the national and regional level (e.g. 
France35).  

In  the  Netherlands,  the  PES  budget  comes  from  the  government,  so  services  and 
employment measures, including training, are mainly financed from the state budget. But, 
in  some  cases,  municipalities  open  and  finance  their  programmes  for  social  insurance 
recipients who are registered with PES.  

In  Norway,  the  ALMPs  are  regionally/locally  financed  only  if  they  have  the  objective  of 
completing  the  school  education  (e.g.  completing  upper  secondary  school/higher 
education).  

In Sweden, municipalities fund their own activities or interventions for beneficiaries of the 
municipal social welfare support36. 

National training funds, social partners’ or sectors’ training funds and fees from trainees 
are used less frequently in financing the training courses for LTU.  

4.2 Adequate training capacity  

The  majority  of  PES  considered  overall 
capacity  as  adequate  to  ensure  the 
availability of training courses for LTU and 
the key or growing economic sectors.  

A  majority  of  PES  (27  out  of  3137) 
considered  overall  capacity  adequate  in 
terms  of  funds  and  infrastructure  or 
network  of  training  providers,  to  offer 
training places for the LTU in need of such 
support  and  to  cover  a  wide  range  of 
skills/qualifications needed by the key or growing economic sectors (see Table 4). Some 
PES,  however,  mention  problems  to  offer  adequate  training  or  lack  of  resources,  see 
examples below.  

Table 4. Adequate training capacity in place  

Yes 

No  

AT, BE-Forem, BE-VDAB, BG, CY, CZ, DE, DK, EE, EL, ES, FR, HU, 
IE, IS38, LI, LT, LU, LV, MT, NL, NO, PL, PT, RO, SE, SI (27) 

HR, IS, FI, SK (4) 

Source: responses to the PES Capacity Questionnaire, Part II. 

As  revealed  by  the  explanations  or  comments  regarding  their  responses,  it  seems  that 
some  PES  consider  that  the  training  capacity  is  aligned  with  needs  estimated  in  the 

33 Via the sectoral funds and by training the unemployed -on the job training (via ‘workplace instruments”). 

34The training programmes/courses are financed partly by the municipalities/jobcentres and partly by the 
state/government through reserves, depending on the specific type of training. 

35 ‘Regional Skills Investment Plan’ (‘Plans d’investissement dans les compétences’- https://www.cap-
metiers.pro/pages/399/Plan-investissement-Competences-PIC-Pacte-regional.aspx) and the ‘Plan to reduce 
recruitment constraints’ (‘Plan de réduction des tensions de recrutement’ - https://www.cap-
metiers.pro/pages/553/Plan-national-faveur-reduction-des-tensions-recrutement.aspx). 

36 Not linked to the PES budget. 

37 IT- no response to the specific question; BE-Actiris - information not available. 

38 IS - ‘yes’ and ‘no’, some improvements are necessary. 

2022 

22 

 
 
2022 PES Capacity Questionnaire Part II:  
Labour market training for the long-term unemployed  

planning or programming process, and the PES implement training programmes according 
to the plans in place. For example, the Austrian PES said that the ‘offers for LTU are taken 
into account in the planning process at the regional level’.  

The Bulgarian PES explained that it organises the training courses for adults in line with 
‘the LM needs, the requirements of employers and the annual plan approved by the Ministry 
of Labour and Social Policy’.  

The German PES argues its response by the fact that ‘the local labour market programmes 
are  tailored  to  the  customer  groups  so  that  all  necessary  measures  can  be  promoted’. 
Moreover, in order to maintain the ‘provider landscape during the COVID-19 pandemic, the 
federal government adopted a law aimed to support the social service providers’. Also, the 
legislation  in  place  foresees  that  ‘sufficient  funds  are  made  available  for  all  reasonable 
measures  of  employment  promotion’.  This  PES  said  that  up  to  now  the  funds  were 
sufficient, but ‘there are no guarantees for the future’.  

As explained by the Greek PES the ‘national planning aims at ensuring the availability of 
training  programmes/courses  for  the  LTU  and  the  key/growing  economic  sectors’.  To 
achieve  this  goal,  two  new  major  programmes  will  be  implemented:  one  for  the 
development and operationalisation of the skills forecasting systems at national/regional 
and sectoral level; the second one includes ‘upskilling or reskilling interventions in basic 
and digital skills for a diverse set of social groups and sectors’.  

In its explanation, the Latvian PES mentioned that the training programmes are planned 
by the training commission of the Ministry of Welfare, on the basis of ‘the labour market 
forecasts and the views of the sectors’ on the necessary qualified workforce.  

Other PES appreciated that there is enough or adequate training capacity, but: 

• 

‘the  problem  is  multifactorial  and  does  not  primarily  relate  to  the  availability  of 
training programmes’ (BE-Forem); 

•  specific  bottlenecks  can  exist  (certain  courses,  at  certain  moments  or  in  certain 

regions) (BE-VDAB); 

•  occasionally,  in  some  regions  it  is  more  difficult  to  find  the  ‘right’  service 

providers/courses (EE, NL);  

• 

the training  capacity must be further  reinforced, and this will be done within the 
new ministerial structure to be implemented in the current year (HU); 

•  some additional human resources are  necessary, so ‘a rolling call to recruit part-

time trainers was introduced’ (MT); 

• 

‘it  is  not  possible  to  ensure  a  quick  response  to  everybody,  as  the  resources  are 
always  limited’,  although  the  PES  own  network  of  training  centres  and  the  other 
providers are able  to train many of the LTU in need of such support  and cover a 
wide range of qualifications (PT). 

In  case  of  other  PES,  the  adequate  capacity  is  ensured  by:  the  wide  range  of  training 
providers  existing  across  the  country  (CZ  and  PL);  the  sufficient 
funds  and 
infrastructure/network  of  training  providers  (PES  and  other  institutions/partners)  that 
ensure training places for all LTU in need of such support and cover a wide range of skills 
needed by the key or growing economic sectors (LU); the specific funds that have been 
allocated for LTU as part of the plan to reduce the recruitment constraints39 (FR). 

39 https://www.cap-metiers.pro/pages/553/Plan-national-faveur-reduction-des-tensions-recrutement.aspx 

2022 

23 

 
 
2022 PES Capacity Questionnaire Part II:  
Labour market training for the long-term unemployed  

Nevertheless, there are few PES (4 out of 31) which clearly mentioned that the capacity 
for general or LTU-specific LM training is not sufficient and should be improved, because: 

• 

• 

• 

• 

resources are not sufficient for the skills development needs of the LTU (FI); 

in some local areas the infrastructure of training providers is weak (HR); 

there is need for improved and increased access to education for LTU, especially in 
the fields of trades, technology and in the health sector (IS);  

the  jobseekers'  demand  for  training  courses  exceeds  the  possibilities  of  financial 
allocation (SK). 

2022 

24 

 
 
2022 PES Capacity Questionnaire Part II:  
Labour market training for the long-term unemployed  

5.  DELIVERING THE TRAINING PROGRAMMES TO THE LTU  

5.1 

Delivery model/approach  

The  training  programmes  are  provided 
through  a  combination  of  different 
delivery  models,  of  which  provision  by 
external  training  providers  contracted  by 
PES is the most common one. 

The  institutions  responsible  for/or  which 
are involved in the provision of the training 
to  jobseekers  include  a  wide  variety  of 
national  and  regional  training  bodies, 
agencies of the local authorities, the PES, 
social  partners,  public  and  private  adult 
training  providers  as  well  as  individual 
employers. As it can be seen in the Table 5, there are different approaches or models for 
delivering the training to the LTU.  

The most common approach seems to be the provision by external training providers that 
are,  in  most  cases,  contracted  out40  by  the  PES  –  a  major  part  of  PES  (25  out  of  32) 
participating in this survey reported such a delivery model in place.  

Table 5. Delivery model/approach in place  

Delivery model/approach in place: 

PES  

Provision by the PES’ own training 
centres  

BE-Forem, BE-VDAB, EL, ES, IS, LI, MT, PT, RO (9) 

Training programmes/courses provided 
by external training providers 
contracted out by PES  

AT, BE-Actiris, BE-Forem, BE-VDAB, CZ, DE, DK, EE, EL, ES, 
FI, FR, HR, HU, IS, IT, LU, LV, MT, NO, PL, PT, RO, SE, SI 
(25) 

Provision within the education and 
training frameworks  

BE-Forem, BE-VDAB, CY, DK, ES, FI, HU, IE, IS, IT, LT, MT, 
NL, NO, PL, SE, SI (17) 

Provision through partnership 
agreements  

BE-Actiris, BE-Forem, BE-VDAB, BG, DE, EL, ES, FR, IE, LU, 
NL, NO, PL, SI (14) 

Provision by employers  

BE-Actiris,  BE-Forem,  BE-VDAB,  BG,  CY,  CZ,  DK,  EE,  ES, 
FR, IE, IS, LU, MT, NL, SI (16) 

Other 

SK41 (1) 

Source: responses to the PES Capacity Questionnaire, Part II. 

Above half the PES (17 out of 32) direct LTU to places in the existing education and training 
system or fund such courses that have been identified as appropriate by the unemployed 
and/or case managers. 

Half the PES (16 out of 32) reported that some training courses are provided by employers. 
This delivery model is used regularly for apprenticeship and internship schemes or on-the-
job training/practical skills development.  

Partnerships between PES and relevant actors (e.g. local authorities, social partners, sector 
councils/committees, foundations/associations, etc.) for provision of specific employment 
services and measures, including training, have been mentioned by over two-fifths of PES 
(14 out of 32). 

40 Contracted following a public procurement procedure or commissioned by PES (the local PES offices organise 
training from a range of external providers through a commissioning process rather than procured from the 
existing supply –e.g. PL). 

41 ‘REPAS+’ and ‘KOMPAS+’ measures - jobseekers choose their own training course and training provider from 
publicly available sources, according to their individual needs. 

2022 

25 

 
 
2022 PES Capacity Questionnaire Part II:  
Labour market training for the long-term unemployed  

Only around one-quarter of PES (9 out of 32) deliver part of the training courses through 
their  own  training  centres  or  premises,  but  these  courses  are  usually  supplemented  by 
other training programmes provided by external providers. 

In few cases, only a single approach is used to deliver all training courses, such as provision 
by external training providers (AT, HR, LV, SE42) or by the PES itself (LI43) or within the 
education and training frameworks (such as LT where jobseekers choose one of the training 
providers from a list published on the PES website).  

Still, most PES use a combination of two or more different approaches in organising and 
providing the wide range of training courses to jobseekers, including LTU. In Bulgaria, for 
instance,  some  training  programmes  for  unemployed,  including  LTU,  are  organised  and 
financed  under  projects  of  social  partners,  other  courses  by  employers  (in  case  of 
employment contracts for graduates) and other ‘through a partnership/contract between 
a training institution, one or several employers and the labour office directorate’.  

In  Germany,  measures  for  activation  and  professional  integration,  including  continuing 
vocational  training,  are  delivered  by  external  training  providers  (selected  through  an 
‘award  procedure’  or  by  client-vouchers)  and  by  employers  -  in  this  case  the  length  of 
training courses is up to 6 or 12 weeks.  

In  Iceland,  some  training  courses,  mostly  limited  to  job-search  and  motivation,  are 
provided by PES itself, while others are delivered by contracted external providers and by 
education and training institutions. The Icelandic PES co-operates as well with employers, 
especially for workplace training and recruitment grants.  

In Hungary, the State Vocational Education Centres are responsible for the training and 
re-training of LTU, but in some cases, county government offices organise a procurement 
process for adult education programmes.  

As reported by the Greek PES, in 2021, some courses have been organised and provided 
through its own special training centres for unemployed with disabilities (situated in Athens 
and  Thessaloniki).  Other  courses  were  provided  on  the  basis  of  partnership  agreements 
and/or by contracted external providers. The Greek PES is in fact one of the few PES in the 
EU that has its own training centres. More specifically, it has under its authority six VET 
centres (adult education and training) and 31 VET schools (for initial education)44.  

The  Belgian  PES  -  VDAB  is  another  PES  that  is  also  a  training  provider,  with  its  60 
vocational  training  centres  at  the  local  level45.  VDAB  mentioned  that  different  training 
providers  and  models  are  used,  and  very  often,  combinations  of  learning  methods  are 
made in delivering the training courses.  

The  Portuguese  PES  provides  the  training  programmes  to  jobseekers,  including  LTU, 
through  its  large  network  of  vocational  training  centres46.  But  at  the  same  time,  the 
Portuguese PES works with external training entities, which apply to co-operate in certain 
measures  and  which  are  selected  through  a  public  procurement  procedure.  In  a  similar 
way, part of the training programmes is provided by the Romanian PES’ own regional and 

42 To a smaller extent, there are possibilities for studies within the education and training framework, e.g. at 
universities or short-term courses. 

43 But with external trainers and coaches that must have a HR-specialist background. 

44 https://www.dypa.gov.gr/more-katartisi 

45 https://www.vdab.be/sites/default/files/media/files/Report%20PES_Belgium-Flanders.pdf 

46 31 Vocational Training Centres, 1 Vocational Rehabilitation Centre and 8 Business Creation Support Centres - 
https://eige.europa.eu/gender-mainstreaming/structures/portugal/iefp-instituto-de-emprego-e-formacao-
profissional-institute-employment-and-vocational-training. 

2022 

26 

 
 
2022 PES Capacity Questionnaire Part II:  
Labour market training for the long-term unemployed  

county  vocational  training  centres  and  part  by  external  training  providers  contracted  by 
PES.  

A summary of the different models used by each PES to organise and provide the training 
programmes is presented in the Annex A, Table A1.  

5.2 Delivery/learning methods - recent changes due to the COVID-19 pandemic 

The  total  or  partial  switch  from  face-to-
face to remote learning methods was the 
solution  to  maintain  the  training  courses 
during  the  COVID-19  pandemic.  The 
positive  side  effect  was  that  all  training 
providers,  including  PES,  improved  their 
capacity to implement distance learning. 

No  matter  the  delivery  models,  PES  and 
the  other  training  providers  have  been 
challenged by the COVID-19 pandemic in 
supplying specific services and measures. 
And,  as  reported  by  almost  all  PES 
participating  in  the  survey  (29  out  of 
3147), the total or partial switch from face-
to-face 
hybrid/blended 
learning or virtual classrooms was the only 
alternative,  under  the  pandemic  conditions,  to  maintain  the  supply  of  labour  market 
interventions, including the LM training (see Table 6). 

online48, 

to 

Table 6. Recent changes in the delivery/learning methods, due to the COVID-19 pandemic  

Yes 

No 

AT, BE-Forem, BE-VDAB, BG, CY, CZ, DE, DK, EE,  EL, ES,  FI, 
FR, HR, HU, IE, IS, LI, LT, LU, LV, MT, NL, NO, PL, PT, RO, SE, 
SI, SK (2949) 

LI (1) 

Source: responses to the PES Capacity Questionnaire, Part II. 

But,  as  stated  by  some  PES  (including  DE,  EE,  MT  and  PT),  it  seems  that  the  hybrid  or 
‘digital’ delivery models are not suitable to the same extent for all types of measures or 
categories of participants. In particular, purely digital training measures appear to be less 
appropriate  for  people  with  high  or  intensive  support  needs,  for  which  the  personal 
approach plays an important role. Moreover, not all clients, among which includes the LTU, 
have  the  necessary  digital  skills,  equipment  and/or  internet  access  to  attend  the  online 
training  programmes  (see  also  section  5.3).  Furthermore,  the  training  offers  are  less 
suitable  for  the  online  provision,  especially  in  ‘those  occupations  which  are  essentially 
manual’ or for practical skills development. 

This  changing  process,  ’imposed’  in  a  way  by  external  factors,  was  monitored  or  is  still 
under analysis with a view to define problems, effects, possible and necessary changes for 
further  development,  changes  in  the  regulatory  framework,  administrative  procedures, 
adapting/introducing client-friendly online platforms, etc.  

Nevertheless,  as  reported  by  several  PES,  many  training  providers  and  responsible 
institutions, including PES, learned from the experiences of the last two years, improved 
their capacity to promote distance learning and offer increasingly hybrid/blended training 
courses.  

47 IT- no response to the specific question; BE-Actiris- information not available. 

48 Training delivering methods: face-to-face: in-person, instructor-led training in a physical setting; online: 
online courses and quizzes, video tutorials, dialogue simulations; virtual classroom: in-person, instructor-led 
training in a virtual space; blended learning: face-to-face sessions and online learning - 
https://www.ispringsolutions.com/blog/learning-delivery-methods#blended-learning. 

49 BE-Actiris- information not available. 

2022 

27 

 
 
2022 PES Capacity Questionnaire Part II:  
Labour market training for the long-term unemployed  

5.3 Impact of the recent changes on participation of the LTU in training 

programmes 

from 

traditional 

The  switch 
to 
distance/remote  learning  had  some 
positive  aspects,  but  also  a  lot  of 
challenges,  mainly  linked  to  the  LTU 
lack of internet access, IT equipment 
and digital skills. 

Two-thirds  of  the  PES  (21  out  of  3150) 
participating  in  this  study  expressed  the 
opinion,  based  on  their  experience  and 
results/preliminary  results  of  their  own 
assessments or evaluations, that the recent 
changes  in  the  delivery  methods  had  an 
impact  on  the  participation  of  the  LTU 
and/or  their  motivation  to  participate  in 

training programmes (see Table 7).  

In the case of some PES, either the information/official data is not yet available (e.g. BE-
Actiris, BE-VDAB and NO), or the impact of recent changes has not yet/sufficiently been 
evaluated (AT, EE and SE). This shows that, as mentioned in the previous section, specific 
analyses are still ongoing or should be done in order to better adapt, even under special 
conditions, the learning methods to the needs, capabilities and personal circumstances of 
disadvantaged unemployed, such as LTU. 

Table 7. Impact of the recent changes on participation of the LTU in training programmes 

Yes 

No 

BE-Forem, BG, CZ, DE, EL, ES, FI, FR, HR, HU, IE, IS, LT, LV, 
MT, NL, NO, PL, PT, RO, SI (21) 

DK, EE, LI, LU, SK (5) 

Source: responses to the PES Capacity Questionnaire, Part II. 

As mentioned already, 21 PES expressed the opinion that the total or partial replacement 
of traditional delivery methods with distance learning during the COVID-19 pandemic had 
an  impact  on  LTU  participation  or  motivation  to  take  part  in  training  programmes.  Five 
other PES saw no impact, but they also provided some opinions on the issue. 

It appears that the impact was both ways: positive, in some aspects, and less positive, in 
other aspects. 

It is noteworthy a couple of positive aspects, as specified by some PES (e.g. CY, IE51, EE, 
LU, SI and SK), such as:  

• 

• 

increased  possibility  to  attend  training  programmes,  especially  for  people  with 
problems commuting from home (rural/remote areas) to the training premises; 

trainees  have  been  active  in  a  period  which  might  otherwise  have  been 
unproductive; 

•  acquisition of the new skills, particularly digital skills – trainees had developed such 

skills as a result of remote learning methods;  

• 

increased  self-confidence  as  a  result  of  overcoming  the  challenges  of  remote 
learning; 

50 IT - no response to the specific question; AT- not yet evaluated; BE-Actiris, BE-VDAB- information not 
available; CY and SE-no clear answer, but some comments/opinions provided for the issue in matter. 

51 National further education and training (FET) learner forum 2020/2021 learner report - 
https://www.aontas.com/assets/resources/AONTAS-
Research/National%20FET%20Learner%20Forum%202020%20-%202021%20Learner%20Report.pdf. 

2022 

28 

 
 
2022 PES Capacity Questionnaire Part II:  
Labour market training for the long-term unemployed  

• 

• 

improved capacity to learn as a result of using diverse and engaging teaching and 
instruction methods;  

flexibility afforded by the online/remote learning. 

However, 16 other PES (BG, BE-Forem, CZ, DE, FI, FR, HR, HU, IE52, IS, LV, MT, NL, PL, 
PT  and  RO)  saw  the  less  positive  effects  and  consider  that  the  main  challenges  and 
difficulties that affected or could affect the LTU engagement or effectiveness of the online 
training courses are mainly related to:  

• 

• 

lack of LTU financial resources reflected in no internet access and IT equipment; 

lack of or low digital skills; 

•  no support network to assist LTU in accessing online resources; 

• 

in some cases, lack of LTU willingness to try new things;  

•  missed opportunity to practice the skills; 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

lack the ‘social contact’ component or peer-interaction that is particularly important 
for LTU;  

challenges posed by ‘at-home learning environment’ particularly for learners with 
limited living space and home-caring or childcare responsibilities; 

low effectiveness in reaching out to people who are not motivated and/or not used 
to learning; some of LTU became more passive and not motivated enough by the 
online methods;  

in some cases, the duration of the training courses has been extended, and because 
of this some trainees quit the programmes;  

limited, at least in the initial phase, of appropriate pedagogical skills and materials 
that  are  necessary  to  capture  and  maintain  the  trainees’  attention  in  a  ‘virtual’ 
environment. 

52 Positive and negative aspects - National further education and training (FET) learner forum 2020/2021 
learner report –https://www.aontas.com/assets/resources/AONTAS-
Research/National%20FET%20Learner%20Forum%202020%20-%202021%20Learner%20Report.pdf. 

2022 

29 

 
 
 
 
2022 PES Capacity Questionnaire Part II:  
Labour market training for the long-term unemployed  

6.  ASSISTING/DIRECTING LTU TO PARTICIPATE IN TRAINING 

PROGRAMMES  

The  majority  of  PES  are  involved  in 
directing  the  unemployed  to  the  ‘right’ 
training, 
in  a  process  of  IAP/JIA 
development;  self-selection  approach  is 
also quite widespread. 

As  illustrated  in  Table  8,  the  majority  of 
PES (25 out of 32) play an important role 
in directing unemployed to the appropriate 
training  programmes.  And,  as  reported 
again  by  the  majority  of  PES  (25  out  of 
32), the decisions are not solely made by 
PES.  Instead,  the  decisions  on  training 
paths  and  specific  courses  are  usually  agreed  with  unemployed  within  the  process  of 
development of the individual action plan (IAP)/job integration agreement (JIA). Moreover, 
such  decisions  are  made  taking  into  consideration  the  individuals’  needs  assessment  as 
well as the current and future LM demands. 

As mentioned by some PES, hard-to employ jobseekers, such as the LTU, may have priority 
for being included in training over the other jobseekers with better chances on the LM. For 
instance,  the  Belgian  PES  -  VDAB  mentioned  that  its  aims  are  to  prevent  long-term 
unemployment and to ensure that an increased number of vulnerable jobseekers (such as 
LTU)  have  access  to  the  training  programmes.  In  Cyprus,  the  LTU  vulnerable  group  is 
prioritised by PES counsellors to be referred to training programmes. Another example is 
the ‘Reincorpora-T’ plan in Spain, which is mainly aimed at supporting the integration of 
the LTU and other vulnerable groups into the LM. As a consequence, LTU are prioritised 
when selection for training programmes is done. 

Table 8. Approach of assisting/directing LTU to participate in training programmes  

Approach in place: 

LTU are directed by PES to training 

Participation in training is  agreed upon 
in IAP/JIA process 

PES 

AT, BE-Actiris, BE-Forem, BE-VDAB, CY, CZ, DE, EE, 
ES, FI, FR, HR, IE, IS, IT, LT, LU, MT, NO, PL, PT, RO, 
SE, SI, SK (25) 

AT, BE-Actiris, BE-Forem, BE-VDAB, BG, CY, CZ, DE, 
EE, ES, FI, FR, HR, HU, IE, IT, LT, LU, MT, NL, NO, PL, 
RO, SI, SK (25) 

Self-selection of course-individuals/LTU 
choose (e.g. training vouchers) 

AT, BE-Actiris, BE-Forem, BG, CY, CZ, DE, EE, EL, ES, 
FR, HR, IS, LI, LT, LU, LV, MT, NL, NO, PL, SK (22) 

Other  

DK53 (1) 

Source: responses to the PES Capacity Questionnaire, Part II 

Another approach mentioned by over two-thirds of PES (22 out of 32) is the self-selection, 
which allows participants to choose their training courses and/or training providers.  

Self-selection can be done online through PES or other institution databases (e.g. AT, BE-
Forem, BG, CZ, FR, MT, PL and SK). In Austria, for instance, the PES training database 
(‘Training  Compass’)  offers  an  overview  of  the  Austrian  education  system  (initial  and 
continuing training system) and provides information on over 3 500 training courses and 

53 The municipalities/jobcentres are assisting/directing LTU to participate in training programmes/courses. 

30 

2022 

 
 
2022 PES Capacity Questionnaire Part II:  
Labour market training for the long-term unemployed  

over  1  100  training  institutions54.  In  addition,  this  platform  provides  information  on  the 
financial support that is available for further education55.  

Another example is the online ‘FORMAPass Catalogue’ of the Belgian PES - Forem that 
contains information on more than 5 000 training offers and socio-professional integration 
services56.  

In  France,  the  jobseekers  can  use  the  PES  platform  ‘Find  My  Training’  (‘Trouver  Ma 
Formation’57)  that  is  linked  to  ‘My  Training  Account’  (‘Le  Compte  Personnel  de 
Formation’58).  ‘My  Training  Account’  is  in  fact  a  universal  training  scheme,  available  for 
every member of the active population that enables the accumulation of credits/resources 
over time for the purpose of training59. The platform/application allows people to: receive 
support  in  developing  the  professional  project  from  a  professional  development  advisor 
(CEP);  choose  the  training  as  part  of  a  direct  purchase  process  and  to  find  additional 
funding resources for the chosen training60.  

In  Slovakia,  within  the  support  measures  ‘REPAS+’  and  ‘KOMPAS+’,  young  jobseekers 
can  choose  a  training  course  and  a  provider  from  publicly  available  sources.  ‘REPAS+’ 
focuses on gaining knowledge and skills through re-training, while ‘KOMPAS+’ focuses on 
acquiring  key  competences  applicable  to  the  LM  (e.g.  communication,  computer  and 
language skills) and to personal development. Under these schemes, unemployed people 
apply to PES for the selected training course and provider, PES assess the application based 
on some criteria, and in the case of approval, PES concludes an agreement with the young 
jobseeker  to  provide  a  financial  contribution  which  covers  the  duration  of  the  training 
course. 

Self-selection  can  also  be  done  via  training  vouchers  or  cheques/cards  schemes,  as 
reported by some PES (e.g. DE, EE, EL, ES, HR, LT, LU, NL and PL).  

Several PES expressed the opinion that the training vouchers/cheques offer a quick and 
flexible  way  for  the  unemployed  to  use  the  resources  for  further  training  or  re-training. 
Training  vouchers  in  Germany,  for  example,  can  be  used  for  training  aimed  to  the 
professional integration of unemployed,  to support people threatened  by unemployment 
or  for  further  education  of  people  lacking  a  qualification.  Vouchers  cover  expenses  for 
training, travelling, external accommodation, childcare and services for livelihood. Training 
vouchers are valid for three months, and unemployed can choose a course and a training 
institution that is approved for further education61.  

Another example is the new training scheme, introduced in Croatia in 2022, for digital and 
green  skills,  that  involves  the  allocation  of  vouchers  to  beneficiaries,  who  choose 
educational  programmes  and  institutions  in  which  they  want  to  complete  the  training 
programmes.  

54 https://www.ausbildungskompass.at/; https://www.weiterbildungsdatenbank.at/ 

55 https://erwachsenenbildung.at/bildungsinfo/kursfoerderung/ 

56 https://www.leforem.be/FORMAPass/catalogue-des-formations-insertions.html 

57 https://www.pole-emploi.fr/accueil/; https://candidat.pole-emploi.fr/formations/accueil 

58 https://www.moncompteformation.gouv.fr/espace-prive/html/#/ 

59 Since 1 January 2015, all employees and job seekers aged 16 or over have had a personal training account 
(CPF)-https://www.pole-emploi.fr/candidat/en-formation/mes-aides-financieres/le-compte-personnel-de-
formation.html. 

60 The training sessions paid through the ‘Personal Training Account’ are financed by a compulsory tax paid by 
each company that could be completed by other funds such as: the state funding, the PES funds (in case of 
jobseekers) and the Regional Councils funds-https://www.moncompteformation.gouv.fr/espace-
public/comment-obtenir-un-financement-complementaire. 

61 https://www.arbeitsagentur.de/en/further-training?pk_vid=a021f1915d89d32616583104121c177f 

2022 

31 

 
 
2022 PES Capacity Questionnaire Part II:  
Labour market training for the long-term unemployed  

Unemployed  people  in  Spain  can  choose  the  centre  where  they  want  to  participate  in 
training.  They  receive  a  'training  cheque'  (‘cheque  formación’62)  and  at  the  end  of  the 
course, PES pays for the training costs directly to the centre.  

In Lithuania, training is organised by issuing training vouchers. Jobseekers choose one of 
the training providers from the list of training providers published on the PES website. A 
similar approach is in place in Luxembourg, where LTU can choose the training courses 
and receive training vouchers (‘bon de formation’) or may ask for financial training support. 
In Poland, training vouchers can be used by unemployed up to 30 years of age.  

Different approaches used by each PES in assisting/directing LTU to participate in training 
programmes are summarised in the Annex A, Table A.2. 

62 https://www.chequeformacion.es/2015/04/la-cuenta-atras-del-cheque-formacion/ 

2022 

32 

 
 
 
 
2022 PES Capacity Questionnaire Part II:  
Labour market training for the long-term unemployed  

7.  MAIN FEATURES OF THE TRAINING PROGRAMMES   

7.1 Types of training programmes provided to the LTU  

A  combination  of  different  types  of 
training programmes are provided to LTU 
by  the  vast  majority  of  PES  and  their 
partners.  

As illustrated in Table 9,  a wide  range of 
LM  training  programmes  are  organised 
and  provided  to  LTU  by  all  or  almost  all 
PES and their partners: 31 PES (out of 32) 
provide 
specific 
qualifications/occupations, 30 PES provide 
training to acquire or develop basic skills and programmes to upgrade/update the existing 
skills  and  knowledge,  29  PES  offer  re-training  courses  while  28  PES  deliver  job-search 
training.  

training 

in 

Table 9. Types of training programmes/courses provided to the LTU  

Types of training 
programmes/courses: 

Job-search training 

Training 
to 
skills/key competences63 

acquire/develop 

basic 

Training 
in 
occupations64 

specific 

qualifications/ 

Re-training/acquisition  of  new  skills/ 
qualification65 

Upgrading/updating66 training 

PES 

AT, BE-Actiris, BE-Forem, BE-VDAB, BG, CZ, DE, DK, 
EE, EL, ES, FI, FR, HR, HU, IE, IS, IT, LI, LU, LV, MT, 
NO, PL, PT, SE, SI, SK (28) 

AT, BE-Actiris, BE-Forem, BE-VDAB, BG, CY, CZ, DE, 
DK, EE, EL, ES, FI, FR, HR, HU, IE, IS, IT, LI, LT, LU, 
MT, NO, PL, PT, RO, SE, SI, SK (30) 

AT, BE-Actiris, BE-Forem, BE-VDAB, BG, CY, CZ, DE, 
DK, EE, EL, ES, FI, FR, HR, HU, IE, IS, IT, LT, LU, 
LV, MT, NL, NO, PL, PT, RO, SE, SI, SK (31) 

AT, BE-Actiris, BE-Forem, BE-VDAB, BG, CY, CZ, DE, 
DK, EE, ES, FI, FR, HR, HU, IE, IS, IT, LT, LU, MT, 
NL, NO, PL, PT, RO, SE, SI, SK (29) 

AT, BE-Actiris, BE-Forem, BE-VDAB, BG, CY, CZ, DE, 
DK, EE, ES, FI, FR, HR, HU, IE, IS, IT, LI, LT, LU, MT, 
NL, NO, PL, PT, RO, SE, SI, SK (30) 

Source: responses to the PES Capacity Questionnaire, Part II. 

Regarding the frequency67 of the various types of courses, those designed for training in a 
particular occupation or profession are reported to be provided frequently (16 PES out of 
31), followed by the programmes to acquire or develop basic skills (14 PES out of 30), job-
search  training  (13  PES  out  of  28),  re-training  programmes  (11  PES  out  of  29)  and 
upgrading/updating training (7 PES out of 30). The following table provides an image of 
the frequency of different training programmes in each country included in this report. 

63 Skills needed by all for personal fulfilment and development, employability, social inclusion and active 
citizenship - https://education.ec.europa.eu/levels/school/key-competences-basic-skills; 
https://education.ec.europa.eu/focus-topics/improving-quality-equity/key-competences-lifelong-learning. 

64 Usually targeted/provided to LTU/jobseekers without any qualification. 

65 Provided to LTU/jobseekers with obsolete skills/qualified in occupations not in demand on the LM.  

66 Aimed at refreshing/improving current skills and knowledge, acquisition of new knowledge in the same 
profession/occupation. 

67 How often are the different types of training courses organised/provided. 

2022 

33 

 
 
2022 PES Capacity Questionnaire Part II:  
Labour market training for the long-term unemployed  

Table 10. Frequency of the different types of training programmes provided to the LTU  

Types of 
training 
programme
s /PES  

1 
Job-search 
training 

3 
Training in 
specific 
qualifications 
/occupations 

4 
Re-training 
/acquisition of 
new skills 
/qualification 

5 
Upgrading 
/updating 
training 

2 
Training to 
acquire 
/develop basic 
skills /key 
competences 
Very often 

Often 

Very often 

Very often 

Very often 

Very often 

AT 

BE-Actiris 

BE-Forem 

BE-VDAB 

BG 

CY 

CZ 

DE 

DK 

EE 

EL 

ES 

FI 

FR 

HR 

HU 

IE 

IS 

LI 

LT 

LU 

LV 

MT 

NL 

NO 

PL 

PT 

RO 

SE 

SI 

SK 

Very often 

Often 

Often 

Often 

No training 

Very often 

Very often 

Often 

Very often 

Often 

Very often 

Often 

Often 

Often 

Very often 

Often 

Very often 

Very often 

No training 

Often 

Often 

Often 

No training 

Very often 

Very often 

Very often 

No training 

Very often 

Often 

Rare 

Often 

Often 

Often 

Often 

Often 

Often 

Often 

Often 

Often 

Often 

Often 

Often 

Often 

Very often 

Often 

Often 

Often 

Often 

Rare 

Often 

Often 

Often 

(Very) Often 

(Very) Often 

(Very) Often 

Very often 

Often 

Very often 

Very often 

Very often 

Often 

Rare 

Very often 

No training 

Often 

Very often 

Very often 

Often 

Rare 

Very often 

No training 

Often 

Very often 

Very often 

Often 

Rare 

Very often 

Very often 

Very often 

Rare 

No training 

Very often 

Very often 

Often 

Often 

Very often 

Very often 

Very often 

Often 

Very often 

Very often 

Very often 

Very often 

Rare 

No training 

Very often 

Often 

Often 

Often 

Often 

Often 

No training 

No training 

Often 

Often 

Very often 

Very often 

Often 

Rare 

Rare 

Very often 

Very often 

Often 

Often 

Rare 

Very often 

Often 

Rare 

Rare 

Very often 

Often 

Often 

Often 

Very often 

Often 

Often 

Rare 

Often 

Very often 

Very often 

Very often 

Rare 

Often 

Often 

Very often 

Very often 

Often 

Very often 

No training 

Very often 

No training 

Very often 

Rare 

Very often 

Often 

Very often 

Often 

Often 

Source: responses to the PES Capacity Questionnaire, Part II. 

7.2 Basic skills developed by the training programmes for the LTU  

Development  of  digital  and  technology-
based competencies of the LTU is in focus 
for all PES.  

in  Section  7.1, 

training 
As  shown 
programmes to acquire and develop basic 
skills or key competences are provided by 
nearly  all  PES  participating  in  this  study. 

2022 

34 

 
2022 PES Capacity Questionnaire Part II:  
Labour market training for the long-term unemployed  

Among  the  eight  main  basic  skills68,  the  digital  and  technology-based  competencies  are 
included as training for LTU in nearly all PES (31 out of 32 – see Table 11).  

Table 11. Main basic skills developed by the training programmes for the LTU 

Basic skills developed: 

PES 

Literacy 

Multilingual 

Numerical, scientific and engineering 

Digital and technology-based competencies 

AT, BE-Forem, BE-VDAB, CZ, DE, DK, ES, FI, FR, 
HU, IE, IS, IT, LI, MT, NL, NO, PT, RO (19) 

BE-Actiris, BE-Forem, BE-VDAB, CY, DK, EE, ES, 
FI, HR, IS, IT, LU, MT, NL, NO, PT, RO, SE, SI, SK 
(20) 

AT, BE-Forem, BE-VDAB, BG, CZ, DE, DK, FI, HU, 
IS, IT, LU, MT, NO, PT, RO (16) 

AT, BE-Actiris, BE-Forem, BE-VDAB, BG, CY, CZ, 
DE, DK, EE, EL, ES, FI, FR, HR, HU, IS, IT, LI, LT, 
LU, LV, MT, NL, NO, PL, PT, RO, SE, SI, SK (31) 

Interpersonal skills, and the ability to adopt 
new competencies  

AT,  BE-Forem,  BE-VDAB,  CY,  CZ,  DE,  DK,  EL,  FI, 
FR, IS, IT, LI, LU, MT, PT, SI, SK (18) 

Active citizenship 

Entrepreneurship  

BE-Forem, BG, FI, IS, IT, LU, PT, SI (8) 

AT, BE-Forem, BE-VDAB,  BG, CY, CZ, DE,  EE, FI, 
HR, IS, IT, LI, LU, LV, PL, PT, RO, SE, SI (20) 

Cultural awareness and expression 

DK, FI, IS, SI (4) 

Source: responses to the PES Capacity Questionnaire, Part II. 

Well over half the PES provide entrepreneurship and multilingual training for LTU (20 out 
of 32), literacy courses (19 out of 32) and programmes aimed to develop the interpersonal 
skills of the LTU and their ability to adopt new competencies (18 out of 32).  

Half  the  PES  (16  out  of  32)  reported  training  programmes  to  develop  the  numerical, 
scientific and engineering skills of the LTU and a quarter of PES (8 out of 32) highlighted 
training in active citizenship.  

Cultural  awareness  and  expression  training  seems  to  be  provided  less  often  and  was 
mentioned by only 4 PES (see Table 11).  

7.3 Training programmes for LTU and other groups of PES clients  

All  PES  participating  in  this  survey  have 
training  offers  for  clients  other  than  LTU 
(31 out of 3269 - see Table 12).  

In  general,  the  training  courses  are  the 
same for all categories of PES clients, but 
when  targeted  only  to  LTU  they  may 
include a longer or more intensive support 
or a combination of different services and 
LM measures. 

The other groups of PES clients for which 
include 
training  offers  are  available 
unemployed, 
inactive  people,  NEETs, 
recent  education  graduates,  refugees, 
employees,  prisoners  or  people  released 
from prisons, etc. As mentioned by the  Finnish PES, for  example,  ‘all persons living in 

68 https://education.ec.europa.eu/focus-topics/improving-quality/key-competences 

69 IT - no answer to the related question. 

2022 

35 

 
 
 
2022 PES Capacity Questionnaire Part II:  
Labour market training for the long-term unemployed  

Finland or Finnish citizens living abroad (during application period) can apply for the LM 
training.  

Table 12. Training programmes/courses are provided to the other groups of PES clients  

Yes 

AT,  BE-Actiris,  BE-Forem,  BE-VDAB,  BG,  CY,  CZ,  DE,  DK,  EE, 
EL, ES, FI, FR, HR, HU, IE, IS, LI, LT, LU, LV, MT, NL, NO, PL, 
PT, RO, SE, SI, SK (31) 

Source: responses to the PES Capacity Questionnaire, Part II. 

No 

- 

The majority of PES (25 out of 3170) stated that training programmes for the LTU do not 
differ from those offered to other groups of clients (see Table 13).  

Moreover, in filling in the questionnaires, many PES specified that ‘there are no training 
plans and training programmes only for LTU or that the training courses are ‘not exclusively 
targeted to the LTU. 

Table 13. Training programmes for LTU and other groups of PES clients - differences in place 

Yes 

No 

BE-Actiris,  CZ,  DE, 
FR, MT, SE (6) 

AT, BE-Forem, BE-VDAB, BG, CY, DK, EE, EL, ES, FI, HR, IE, IS, LI, LT, LU, 
LV, MT, NL, NO, PL, PT, RO, SI, SK (25) 

Source: responses to the PES Capacity Questionnaire, Part II. 

In addition, some PES (e.g. AT, BE-Forem and RO) stated that training programmes are 
not segmented by groups or duration of unemployment and ‘mixed’ participants take part 
in  different  courses.  Furthermore,  the  Austrian  PES  specified  that  training  measures 
‘exclusively for jobseekers did not work’. More or less the same opinion was expressed by 
the  Maltese  PES,  which  mentioned  that  mixing  LTU  with,  for  example,  employed 
individuals is ‘beneficial’ for the LTU as they can share experiences with employed people, 
find  information  about  possible  vacancies,  and/or  ‘may  be  inspired  by  the  employed 
persons’ lifestyle’, etc.  

According to other PES (e.g. EE, LU, FI and NL), the focus of vocational training is not on 
the different target groups, but rather on the skills that need to be improved.  

Other PES provided some other information on the training courses for jobseekers or LTU. 
In Croatia, for instance, the training programmes financed by the PES (including those for 
LTU) are designed by the training provider on the basis of the national approved curricula 
for the specific occupations.  

In  Portugal,  the  legislation  defines  the  eligibility  criteria  for  each  measure,  the 
intensity/length and content of the training, as well the support given to the trainees. But 
it must be emphasised that these  criteria ‘do not put all LTU in one single box’  – on the 
contrary, the LTU can participate with other jobseekers in training programmes that are 
the most adequate to their personal needs.  

In Ireland, the Further Education and Training provision is  open to everyone, but there 
are currently some initiatives, such as ‘Skills to Compete’ (initiated to support people losing 

70 IT - no answer to the specific question; PES HU - no ‘yes’ or ‘no’ option selected, commented that training  
‘could be the same or based on the local and individuals’ needs’; PES MT- both ‘yes’ and ‘no’ options selected.  

36 

2022 

 
 
2022 PES Capacity Questionnaire Part II:  
Labour market training for the long-term unemployed  

their jobs due to the COVID-19 pandemic), that will be extended to all employees and/or 
LTU. Under this scheme, free re-skilling and re-training is offered and the online, full-time 
and part-time courses focus on improving participants’ employability and ability to compete 
for jobs.  

On  the  other  side,  six  PES  (BE-Actiris,  CZ,  DE,  FR,  MT  and  SE)  reported  that  training 
programmes for LTU are different, or different in some aspects, from the ones offered to 
the other categories of customers. The Belgian PES - Actiris provided two examples of 
such training programmes, or combination of training, and other measures targeted only 
to people considered to be at a long distance from the LM, such as the LTU or low-skilled 
individuals:  

• 

• 

‘LAB’  -  co-financed  by  Actiris  and  VDAB71;  consists  of  vocational  training  in  a 
profession  with  real  employment  opportunities  combined  with  intensive  guidance 
and  mediation.  The  difference  with  the  regular  training  programmes  is  that:  the 
training can last longer (up to two years), more intensive guidance can be offered, 
and, if necessary, it is possible to integrate a language or digital component in the 
training; 

‘GLOW’ (‘Growth and Learning on the Workplace’) - implemented in co-operation 
with VDAB; the target group consists of job seekers with insufficient work-related 
self-confidence,  who  need  intensive  guidance  and  mediation  through  the  use  of 
workplace learning to bridge the gap to sustainable employment.  

The Czech PES mentioned that the main difference is that the training courses for LTU are 
generally aimed at gaining motivation to change the current situation.  

In Germany, in principle, all labour market measures are open to the LTU, depending on 
individual needs. But the eligibility criteria establish, for example, the services or measures 
that are only available to LTU/long-term benefit recipients. The support services for LTU 
usually allow a longer support period or a higher level of support, such as in case of wage 
subsidies.  In  addition,  LTU/long-term  benefit  recipients  can  receive  additional  support 
services  such  as  holistic  employment  support  during  employment,  further  training  and 
internships and socio-educational support for community service jobs.  

The French PES also mentioned that training programmes for LTU differ from the ones 
offered to the other categories of customers as they put an emphasis on basic skills and 
focus on practical training in companies.  

In Malta, under the ‘VASTE’ programme, LTU are grouped and a combination of support 
options can be provided. These options include pre-employment, basic ICT and sheltered 
employment  training,  the  ‘Headstart’  Programme  and  ‘Supported  Employment’  (On-the-
Job Coaching)72.  

The  Swedish  PES  reported  that  the  LTU  who  participate  in  the  ‘Job  and  Development 
Guarantee  programme’  (JDG73)  may  have  possibilities  to  study  at  vocational  higher 
education,  higher  education  colleges  or  universities.  The  JDG  programme  targets 
jobseekers who have been outside the labour market for a long time. 

71 VDAB is the training operator. 

72 https://jobsplus.gov.mt/schemes-jobseekers/vaste 

73https://www.riksrevisionen.se/download/18.78ae827d1605526e94b32a3c/1518435464852/summary_rir_%2
02009_22.pdf 

2022 

37 

 
 
2022 PES Capacity Questionnaire Part II:  
Labour market training for the long-term unemployed  

7.4 Most effective - least effective training programmes for LTU  

‘On-the-job’  training  or  ‘jobs/vacancies-
related  training’  proved  to  be  the  most 
effective in case of LTU. 

As  evidenced  from  the  opinion74  of  over 
half the PES75 (BE-Actiris, BE-Forem , BG, 
CY, DE, DK, FI, FR, HU, IS, LI, LT, LU, MT, 
PT,  SE  and  SI),  ‘on-the-job’/‘practical 
or 
in 
training’/‘training 
programmes  related/geared,  in  one  way  or  another,  to  jobs  or  vacancies,  are  the  most 
effective in case of LTU – these training programmes have a positive impact on the LTU 
employment and earning outcomes of the LTU.  

companies’ 

Other training programmes considered to have a high effectiveness, as mentioned by PES 
are:  

• 

self-selected programmes/training vouchers – e.g. CZ, PL and SK;  

•  professional  education/training  programmes  in  which  graduates  receive  a  formal 

vocational qualification/diploma - e.g. DE, EE, IE and NO;  

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

cross-occupational  continuing  vocational  training  and  re-training  programmes  – 
e.g. DE; 

traineeships/internships – e.g. DK; 

training combined with wage subsidies and special advice/support – e.g. AT and IS; 

short-term, modular training - e.g. BE-Actiris;  

training in digital skills - e.g. EL; 

training in the services area/low threshold training programmes – HR and RO. 

The least effective training programmes for LTU (with low/no positive impact on the LTU 
employment and  earning outcomes) were more difficult to  identify as the answers were 
sometimes ambiguous or not straight to the point. Nevertheless, some PES (e.g. CZ, HU, 
IS,  FI  and  MT)  expressed  the  opinion  that  training  for  basic  skills  or  ‘general 
guidance/general training’ are less effective in case of LTU if effectiveness is linked to the 
graduates’ employment at the end of the courses. However, these PES also stated that the 
primary  objective  of  these  training  programmes  is  not  getting  employment  after  the 
training, but rather to continue to other training (e.g. specialised professional training) or 
to other active measures. Another example of less effective training programmes has been 
given by the French, Maltese and the Swedish PES. These PES said that programmes 
which  ‘do  not  include  items  of  practical  training  within  a  company’  or  ‘only  classroom 
courses’  are  the  least  effective  ones  for  LTU.  Moreover,  as  the  Maltese  PES  explained, 
‘classroom-based training’ seems to be less ‘attractive’ for low skilled LTU, as they already 
participated in other similar courses (e.g. training for basic skills). This comes to certify, in 
a way, that on-the-job training or LTU training in companies are effective. The Slovak PES 
mentioned  that  training  courses  ensured  centrally,  through  the  public  procurement 
training 
process,  proved 
programmes/courses for older workers (DK) are other examples of training programmes 
considered to be less effective. 

ineffective.  Long-term 

(HU)  and 

courses 

to  be 

It should be mentioned that, in some cases, responses seem to be based on PES opinion. 
In  other  cases,  as  resulted  from  the  additional  information  or  explanations  provided  by 
PES, responses are based on the results of different sorts of monitoring and evaluation of 

74 The opinions expressed on the basis of PES’ experience or results of different monitoring and evaluation of 
training programmes, tracer studies, etc.  

75 IT- no answer to the specific question; BE-VDAB - no evaluation only related to the LTU; NL - N/A. 

2022 

38 

 
 
2022 PES Capacity Questionnaire Part II:  
Labour market training for the long-term unemployed  

the  training  programmes  (including  employment  rates  of  graduates),  tracer  studies, 
research, etc., done by PES or other institutions (e.g. BG, CY, DE, DK, EE, IE, IS and SE).  

The Belgian PES - VDAB mentioned that there was no research or monitoring that focuses 
on the effectiveness of learning for LTU as a target group. The Norwegian PES explained 
that an analysis or  evaluation on ‘what works/most  successful ALMPs, etc.’ is not yet in 
place, but a project group has been established ‘to look at a more sound/valid indicators’ 
such as exit to jobs, exit to education or activity. In the case of other PES, the information 
was  not  available  (e.g.  NL)  or  not  available  for  the  least  effective  training  programmes 
(e.g. BE-Actiris and BE-Forem). 

2022 

39 

 
 
2022 PES Capacity Questionnaire Part II:  
Labour market training for the long-term unemployed  

8.  ADDITIONAL SUPPORT PROVIDED TO THE LTU WHO PARTICIPATE IN 

TRAINING 

Additional  support  is  provided  before, 
training 
during 
programmes  by  a  vast  majority  of  PES 
and/or their partners. 

and/or 

after 

the 

Nearly  all  PES  reported  that  additional 
support  is  provided  to  the  LTU  who 
participate  in  training  measures  (see 
Table 14). This support is provided before 
the  training  programmes  (25  PES  out  of 
3176), during the training courses (24 PES 

out of 31) and after the participation (22 PES out of 31).  

Table 14. Types of additional support provided to the LTU who participate in training 

Types of additional support: 

PES 

Pre-training services 

AT, BE-Actiris, BE-Forem, BE-VDAB, BG, CZ, DE, EE, ES, FI, 
FR, HR, HU, IS, IT, LT, LU, MT, NL, NO, PL, PT, SE, SI, SK (25) 

Additional 
during training sessions 

support/services 

AT, BE-Actiris, BE-Forem, BE-VDAB, BG, DE, EE, ES, FI, FR, 
HU, IS, IT, LT, LU, LV, MT, NO, PL, PT, RO, SE, SI, SK (24) 

Support/services to promote 
the transition of graduates to 
employment (after the training) 

AT, BE-Actiris, BE-Forem, BE-VDAB, BG, CY, DE, EE, ES, FI, 
FR, HR, HU, IT, LT, LU, MT, NL, NO, PL, SI, SK (22) 

Other 

BE- Forem77, DK78, EL79 (3) 

Source: responses to the PES Capacity Questionnaire, Part II. 

The  pre-training  support  consists  of  a  mixture  of  services.  These  services  include 
information  sessions,  vocational  guidance,  counselling,  motivation  and  pre-training 
sessions to get a better picture of the different professions in a sector, short preparatory 
training (languages), occupational psychology and medical services (if necessary), career 
tests, etc. 

A variety of additional support is also provided during the implementation of the training 
programmes, such as: 

•  mentoring, coaching - e.g. AT, DE, BE-Forem, BE-VDAB, FI, FR, HU, LU, MT and SI; 

• 

• 

• 

childcare services, reimbursement of the related costs - e.g. BE-Actiris, BE-Forem, 
BE-VDAB, DE, ES and PL; 

socio-pedagogical/professional or social guidance, addiction, debt counselling, etc. 
– e.g. BE-Actiris, BE-Forem and DE; 

financial support (training allowances, travel, accommodation, meals costs, etc.) – 
e.g. BE-Actiris, BE-VDAB, BG, EE, ES, LT, LU, LV, PL, PT, RO, SI and SK. 

Furthermore, in order to promote the graduates’ transition to employment,  assistance is 
provided by PES and/or their partners, at the end of training programmes. Such type of 
support comprises services or measures, like: 

76 IE - no answer to the specific question; LI - no additional support. 

77 Diverse and varied services. 

78 The municipalities/jobcentres have frequent meetings/conversations with all unemployed jobseekers in order 
to help them gain employment. 

79 Employment incentives, to facilitate the integration of trained unemployed jobseekers into the LM; 
combination of training with work experience programmes. 

2022 

40 

 
 
2022 PES Capacity Questionnaire Part II:  
Labour market training for the long-term unemployed  

•  Counselling, mediation, LM information, job offers/placement, job fairs, etc.- e.g. 

BE-VDAB, DE, EE, FI, HR, LU, NL, PL and SK; 

• 

Job coaching – e.g. BE-Actiris, FI and HU; 

•  Participation in other active employment measures such as employment subsidies, 
support for mobility, support for self-employment, internships, etc. – e.g. EL, LT, 
LU, MT, SI and SK; 

•  Services to improve the soft or behavioural skills or evaluation of skills in companies 

(planned for the end of 2022) – e.g. FR.  

It is important to point out that a major part of the PES provide a combination of additional 
support  to  LTU  participants  in  training,  i.e.  before,  during  and  after  the  training 
programmes. PES that  provide this include AT, BE-Actiris, BE-Forem, BE-VDAB, BG, DE, 
EE, ES, FI, FR, HU, IT, LT, LU, MT, NO, PL, SI and SK. 

Different types of additional support provided by each PES are presented in the Annex A, 
Table A3. 

2022 

41 

 
2022 PES Capacity Questionnaire Part II:  
Labour market training for the long-term unemployed  

9.  MONITORING AND EVALUATION OF THE TRAINING PROGRAMMES 

FOR THE LTU 

Most  often  monitoring  and  evaluation  is 
carried  out  at  the  end  of  the  training 
programmes. 

and 

Monitoring 
and/or 
collection  of  qualitative  feedback  can  be 
done in any stage of the support.  

evaluation 

As  shown  in  Table  15,  monitoring  and 
evaluation is carried out most often at the 
end of the training programmes with almost two-thirds of PES (20 out of 3180) reporting 
such  an  approach.  One  instrument  used  by  many  of  these  20  PES  to  collect  qualitative 
feedback at the end of the training is the satisfaction survey or questionnaire (with the AT, 
BG, CZ, FI, HR, IS, MT, RO and SI PES reporting so). 

Table 15. Monitoring and evaluation – What stage is this carried out? 

Stages: 

PES 

Throughout  the  provision/delivery  of  the 
training programmes/courses 

AT, BG, DE, DK, EE, FI, IE, LU, MT, NL, NO, SE, SI 
(13) 

the 

At 
programmes/courses 

end 

of 

the 

training 

AT, BG, CZ, DE, EE, FI, FR, HR, HU, IS, LI, LU, LV, 
MT, NL, NO, PT, RO, SE, SI (20) 

Within  a  period  of  time  after  the  end  of 
training programmes/courses  

AT, BE-Actiris, CY, DE, EE, ES, FR, HR, LT, LU, NL, 
NO, RO, SE, SI, SK (16) 

Other 

BE-Forem, BE-VDAB, DE81, EL, FI82, PL (6) 

Source: responses to the PES Capacity Questionnaire, Part II. 

Other aspects are also monitored, analysed and evaluated when the courses are closed. In 
the  Czech  Republic,  for  instance,  in  addition  to  the  satisfaction  questionnaires,  the 
completion and the exit rates to the LM are monitored and evaluated.  

In Germany, in case of procured training measures, reports related to the implemented 
activities,  results  for  each  trainee  and  the  problems  that  appeared  during  the 
implementation are provided by the education/training providers.  

Similarly, in Malta, the ‘trainers’ provide a feedback report on the implemented training 
activities and programme.  

The  Croatian  PES  mentioned  that  besides  the  participants’  evaluation  questionnaires, 
feedback  is  collected  via  self-evaluation  questionnaires  applied  to  the  training  providers 
and  the  questionnaires  applied  to  the  employers  that  employ  graduates  of  the  training 
programmes. In addition, the Croatian PES monitors data on the participants’ employment 
rates in six months after the completing the programme, as well as whether the trainee 
was employed in jobs for which he/she completed the training programme.  

In  around  two-fifths  of  PES  (13  out  of  31),  the  monitoring  is  carried  throughout  the 
provision/delivery of the training courses. This is done, as mentioned by the German PES, 

80 IT – no answer to the specific question. 

81 Evaluation done by the Institute for Employment Research (IAB) of the German Federal Employment Agency-
the final report will be published in 2024. 

82 Research was also carried out on the functionality and effectiveness of the LM training; report was published 
in April 2022. 

2022 

42 

 
 
2022 PES Capacity Questionnaire Part II:  
Labour market training for the long-term unemployed  

through  random  audits  of  the  training  measures  that  are  carried  out  by  the  training 
supervision and the labour market auditing service.  

In Estonia, the PES employment counsellor collects qualitative information and feedback 
from the clients during work-focused counselling sessions, which take place once a month. 
Additionally, the Estonian PES carries out on-site visits to the services providers to assess 
how the training is implemented.  

On-site  visits  are  also  organised  by  the  Slovenian  PES.  In  addition  to  these  visits, 
monitoring of the training throughout the provision/delivery of the training courses is done 
through  documents  (e.g.  participation  records),  and  different  communications  with  the 
training providers.  

In  Ireland,  the  training  courses  provided  as  part  of  the  ‘Work  Placement  Experience 
Programme’ (‘WPEP’83) are evaluated on a monthly basis through an exchange of emails 
with  the  provider  to  verify  the  compliance  of  the  training  with  the  participants’  learning 
plan; and two monitoring meetings (virtual or in person) of the PES case officers with the 
host organisations and the participants to check if the goals and targets of the course are 
being met.  

In a more or less similar way, monthly monitoring meetings are organised by the Maltese 
PES  for  the  VASTE  programme84.  Additionally,  an  assessment  is  completed  after  each 
module of the VASTE programme and discussions take place (PES, trainers and trainees) 
about  any  difficulties  encountered  during  the  implementation.  Moreover,  the  VASTE 
training programme passes through a Quality Assurance process.  

In around half the PES (16 out of 31) monitoring and evaluation is implemented within a 
period after the closing date of the training programmes. For instance, in Austria, a final 
report for each participant, including the placement on the LM, is issued on the 92nd day 
following the completion of training.  

The  Belgian  PES  -  Actiris  mentioned  that  the  Brussels  employment  and  training 
observatory85 produces, each year, reports regarding the ‘exit to employment rates’ and 
‘positive exits rates’ taking place in a 12-month period after exiting a professional training. 
These  rates  are  monitored  for  the  training  programmes  aiming  directly  at  learning  a 
profession - ‘formations professionnalisantes’.  

Employment rates or employment status of trainees or graduates are monitored86 by other 
PES as well (e.g. CY, DK, FR, HR, LT, LU, RO, SE, SI and SK).  

In Cyprus, the PES partner - Human Resource Development Authority (HRDA) - which is 
the  responsible  body  for  the  training,  has  established  a  comprehensive  system  for 
evaluating  the  impact  of  its  activities.  Evaluations  are  usually  carried  out  some  months 
after  the  successful  completion  of  the  training  schemes.  The  computerised  tool  for 
monitoring  and  evaluation  used  by  the  PES  is  still  under  improvement  due  to  some 
technical problems. 

The German PES analyses the outcomes of the ALMP participants (including training) in 
comparison  to  estimated  outcomes  without  participation  through  its  impact  evaluation 
called ‘TrEffeR’ (‘Treatment Effects and  Prediction’). ‘TrEffeR’ measures the effectiveness 

83https://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/employment/unemployment_and_redundancy/employment_support_sc
hemes/work_placement_experience_programme.html 

84 https://jobsplus.gov.mt/schemes-jobseekers/vaste 

85 https://www.actiris.brussels/fr/citoyens/view-brussels/ 

86 During the participation, at the end of the programme and/or in 3, 6 or 12 months after the training is 
completed. 

2022 

43 

 
 
2022 PES Capacity Questionnaire Part II:  
Labour market training for the long-term unemployed  

of  ALMPs  according  to  different  sub-groups  and  local  areas.  Mid-to-long  term  and 
unintended  effects,  like  deadweight,  substitution,  etc.,  are  not  part  of  this  systematic 
analysis.  The  information  provided  by  ‘TrEffeR’  is  used  by  the  PES  caseworkers,  local 
managers  and  central  planners  to  improve  the  design  and  targeting  of  ALMPs.  This 
comprehensive  impact  analysis  system  was  designed  by  the  German  PES,  the  PES-
affiliated Institute of Employment Research (IAB) and experts from Harvard University. A 
control group is used, which is composed of similar people as the group of participants but 
who did not participate in a programme during a defined entry period (‘statistical twin’). 
The statistical twins must match participants exactly in criteria such as local LM district, 
legal sphere of unemployment status, age group, gender and benefit status. In addition, 
other socio-demographic, employment history and LM related characteristics are taken into 
consideration. The data system that is used and the required IT capacity were already in 
place  (PES  and  IAB),  so  no  additional  costs  were  necessary.  The  German  PES  and  IAB 
already had the necessary experts in econometrics and ALMPs provision so there was no 
extra staffing. The operation of ‘TrEffeR’ involves around four to five staff members. The 
German PES at the national level provided manuals to local offices and delivered workshops 
when ‘TrEffeR’ was first implemented87. 

In Spain, the PES works  closely  with the competent bodies  and  entities  of autonomous 
communities,  as  well  as  the  most  representative  business  and  labour  organisations  to 
draw-up an annual plan for evaluation of the quality, impact, effectiveness and efficiency 
of  the  entire  employment  training  system.  This  plan  includes,  among  others,  impact 
analysis  in  terms  of  trainees’  employment  in  a  field/profession  related  to  the  received 
training; job performances; promotion opportunities of the employed people.  

Other approaches of monitoring and evaluation have been mentioned by six PES (see Table 
15), yet some of them are a combination of different methods and instruments applied in 
different stages of implementation of the training programmes. For example, the Belgian 
PES - Forem reported that the evaluation of in-house training programmes is carried out 
by the General Directorate for Products and Services of PES that manages Forem’s training 
offer; another ‘form of evaluation’ is done by monitoring the participants’ insertion into the 
LM (after 3, 6 and 12 months). In addition, the general quality assurance systems for the 
training  programmes  ensures  monitoring  and  evaluation  of  projects/programmes  during 
and at the end of interventions.  

VDAB  is  another  PES  that  uses  the  general  quality  assurance  systems  for  the  training 
programmes that include evaluation of projects or programmes.  

In Poland, the local labour offices are responsible for monitoring the training programmes 
and conduct analyses of the effectiveness and efficiency of training. The periodicity of the 
evaluation is established by the Polish labour offices.  

In  Greece,  the  monitoring  and  evaluation  of  training  programmes  for  registered 
unemployed, implemented in 2021, was done at the end of the programmes, while for the 
training  programmes  to  be  implemented  in  2022  will  be  carried  out  throughout  the 
implementation and at the end of the programmes. 

It is worth mentioning that in many PES (AT, BE-Forem, BE-VDAB, BG, DE, EE, FI, LU, MT, 
NL, NO, SE and SI) monitoring and evaluation is implemented both during the provision as 
well  as  at  the  end/or  within  a  period  following  the  end  of  the  training  courses.  As 
demonstrated above, PES use a combination of tools and instruments to collect quantitative 
and qualitative data and information about the training programmes and related results.  

87 https://ec.europa.eu/social/BlobServlet?docId=18219&langId=en 

2022 

44 

 
 
 
2022 PES Capacity Questionnaire Part II:  
Labour market training for the long-term unemployed  

10. ADAPTING THE TRAINING PROGRAMMES TO THE LM AND THE LTU 

NEEDS  

combination  of 

Measures  to  better  adapt  the  training 
programmes  to  the  LM  and  LTU  needs 
have  been  initiated  or  are  planned  by  all 
PES. 

As mentioned in the previous section, PES 
use  a 
tools  and 
instruments  to  collect  quantitative  and 
qualitative data and information about the 
training  programmes  and  the  related 
results. It is not only that PES collect this 
information, but rather they use it to improve the training offers to jobseekers, including 
LTU. This is certified by the fact that all PES (29 out of 2988) mentioned that new measures 
have recently been implemented or are planned to be implemented to improve and adapt 
the training interventions to the LM and LTU needs and expectations. These measures refer 
to improvements in different areas, from the design of the training policies  and training 
plans to monitoring and evaluation processes (see Table 16). 

Table 16. Areas of improvement  

Areas of improvement: 

PES 

Training policy 

BG, EE, EL, ES, FR, HR, IS, LT, LV, MT, NL, PL, PT 
(13)  

Planning the training programmes 

AT, BG, EL, FI, FR, LU, MT, NL, PL, RO, SI (11)  

Quality of the training programmes 

BG, EE, EL, FR, LU, MT, PL, SI (8)  

Partnership practices 

BG, EL, IS, LU, NL, NO, PT, SE, SI (9) 

Targeting the most vulnerable sub-groups  DE, DK, EL, ES, FI, FR, IE, IS, LU, MT, NL, SI (12) 

Delivery 
programmes/course 

of 

the 

training 

EL, LT, LU, NL, NO, PL, SI (7) 

Flexibility of the training plan and budget  BG, EL, LI, NO, PL, SI (6) 

Distance learning (online and offline)  

AT, BG, CY, EE, EL, LT, LU, MT, NO, SI, SK (11) 

Access of the most disadvantaged LTU to 
training 

BG, EL, ES, FI, FR, LU, MT, NL, SI (9) 

Monitoring and evaluation 

EL, FR, IS, LU, NO, PL, SI (7) 

Other 

BE-Actiris89, BE-Forem90, CZ91, EE92, FI93, SE94 (6) 

Source: responses to the PES Capacity Questionnaire, Part II. 

The  most  frequent  improvement  measures  seem  to  be  in  the  area  of  training  policies. 
Almost  half  the  PES  (13  out  of  29)  reported  such  initiatives  in  place  or  planned  to  be 
implemented soon. Initiatives in this area refer to:  

88 IT, BE-VDAB and HU – no answer to the specific question. 

89 More emphasis on the LTU in its new/next management contract 2023-2027. 

90 Remove obstacles that are not directly related to employment. 

91 Labour Office will focus on vulnerable groups, such as parents caring for children, persons with disabilities. 

92 Training courses on how to use smart devices/different digital tools. 

93 Support for seeking LM training, preparation of applications and in the transition period from training to 
working life. 

94 Changes of some specific regulations. 

2022 

45 

 
 
2022 PES Capacity Questionnaire Part II:  
Labour market training for the long-term unemployed  

•  amendments  to  the  specific  employment  promotion  law  -  a  new  procedure  was 
introduced  for  validating  professional  knowledge,  skills  and  competences  (non-
formal/informal learning) (BG);  

•  more emphasis on the LTU will be envisaged in the new/next management contract 

(2023-2027) of PES (BE-Actiris); 

• 

the framework of new common programmes of active policies for employment which 
includes  a  new  programme  to  prevent  age-based  discrimination  and  foresees 
actions to facilitate the reactivation and insertion of jobseekers aged 45+ into the 
workforce, with a focus on LTU individuals - in this way the LTU are included with 
priority in various active employment programmes (ES);  

•  within the ‘Skills Investment Plan’ and the ‘Plan to Reduce Recruitment Constraints’ 
access  to  training  for  the  LTU  was  reinforced  by  funding  additional  training 
interventions (FR);  

•  a new ‘Adult Education Act’ that foresees that the adult training/education can be 

financed by vouchers (HR); 

• 

• 

• 

increased funding with an emphasis on individualised counselling for LTU and follow-
up in relation to participation in active measures (IS); 

the new ‘National Employment Policy (2021-2030)’ stresses the importance of up-
skilling and re-skilling through the establishment of a lifelong learning culture (MT); 

some policy changes made to simplify the process of ‘placing orders’ for the training 
programmes for the PES professionals and for the educational institutions (NL); 

•  Flexible instruments for self-selection of training and new educational loans for all 

unemployed (PL). 

Refining the way that the most vulnerable sub-groups are targeted, improving the planning 
process and implementation of new  forms  or  better promotion  of distance learning  is in 
focus for more than one-third of PES participating in this study.  

Access of the most disadvantaged LTU to training, partnership practices and quality of the 
training programmes are addressed by over one-quarter of PES. 

Other improvements reported by more than one-fifth of PES are related to the delivery of 
the training programmes/courses (7 out of 29), flexibility of the training plan and budget 
(6 out of 29) and monitoring and evaluation (7 out of 29).  

Some other concrete examples of new initiatives or measures meant to better address the 
needs of the LTU are provided in the following: 

• 

• 

low-threshold  training  offers  for  the  most  disadvantaged  LTU  (people  with 
disabilities or reduced work capacity, migrants, etc.) - e.g. LU; 

flexible duration of the training programmes – e.g. PL; 

•  active  involvement  of  employers/employers’  organisations  in  designing  training 

programmes and curricula – e.g. BG, LU and MT; 

• 

interconnected mechanisms for short-, medium- and long-term anticipation of the 
LM skills needs – e.g. RO; 

•  new and better profiling tools to identify those jobseekers who really need support 

or an intensified support – e.g. IS; 

•  new  or  extended  forms  of  distance  learning  in  order  to  increase  the  jobseekers’ 

autonomy and to foster activation of LTU - e.g. LU, NO and SI; 

• 

improving  quality  indicators,  monitoring  the  effectiveness  of  the  training  courses 
over a longer period of time - e.g. NO and PL. 

2022 

46 

 
2022 PES Capacity Questionnaire Part II:  
Labour market training for the long-term unemployed  

11. CONCLUSIONS 

The results of the analysis in this report show that PES put a lot of effort into organising 
and delivering the labour market training to LTU to improve their ability to access jobs in 
a  changing  labour  market  during  a  challenging  period  due  to  the  COVID-19  pandemic. 
Different  types  of  training  and  re-training  courses  are  provided  to  LTU,  and  digital  and 
technology-based competencies are the subject of training for LTU in all countries included 
in this report. Directing unemployed, including LTU, to the ‘right’ training is done by PES 
within a process of developing individual action plans/job integration agreements. The self-
selection  of  training,  which  was  recently  introduced  in  some  countries,  is  used  on  a 
significant  scale.  Furthermore,  except  for  some  specific  issues,  in  the  view  of  PES,  the 
existing  capacity  (national  and  EU  funds  and  network  of  training  providers)  is  overall 
sufficient to ensure the availability of the training offers that respond to the LTU and key 
or developing sectors’ needs. Provision of the wide range of training programmes is done 
in co-operation with other training institutions/providers and social partners.  

Under the new circumstances imposed by COVID-19, PES and their partners have adjusted 
the learning methods to continue to deliver the training measures. The LTU benefit from 
additional support before, during and/or after the training programmes provided by PES 
and their partners. This additional support mainly consists of mentoring, coaching, socio-
pedagogical/professional  or  social  guidance,  childcare  services,  financial  support  or 
participation in other active employment measures. In general, monitoring and evaluation 
is carried out and measures have recently been introduced or are planned to be applied in 
order  to  make  the  training  measures  more  effective  in  supporting  the  LTU  in  their 
transitions into the labour market. Impact evaluation has been mentioned by only a few 
PES, but this aspect was not specifically asked in the related questionnaire. 

However,  there  are  some  aspects  which  should  perhaps  be  further  analysed  and 
nevertheless considered, especially by policy makers,  when planning or adjusting future 
training programmes for the LTU, such as: 

•  Which  type  of  training  programmes  proved  to  have  high  to  low  effectiveness  (in 

terms of employment outcomes) in case of LTU? 

•  Which composition of trainees’ groups work better or is beneficial to LTU? 

• 

Is the distance learning suitable for all groups of unemployed, especially for persons 
who  are  not  motivated  and/or  unfamiliar  with  learning,  with  high  or  intensive 
support  needs  (like  most  LTU)  for  which  the  social  component  and  the  ‘personal 
approach’ plays an important role? 

•  What  challenges  and  support  do  the  LTU  need  (e.g.  financial,  IT  equipment, 

assistance, etc.) to access the online resources/courses?  

• 

• 

• 

Is a systematic monitoring and evaluation system in place? Does it provide relevant 
information  on  the 
for 
disadvantaged groups, such as LTU? 

impact/effectiveness  of  the  training  programmes 

Is a monitoring/evaluation throughout the provision of the training programmes in 
place? Does it allow the responsible institutions to quickly intervene on aspects that 
do not work well or align with the established objectives? 

Is  there  an  adequate  capacity  (infrastructure  of  training  providers  and  financial 
resources) to provide training programmes to all or almost all LTU in need of such 
support? 

2022 

47 

 
 
2022 PES Capacity Questionnaire Part II:  
Labour market training for the long-term unemployed  

12. ANNEXES 

Annex A 

Table A1. Delivery models/approaches in place 

Delivery 
model in 
place/PES 

AT 

BE-Actiris 

BE- Forem 

BE-VDAB 

BG 

CY 

CZ 

DE 

DK 

EE 

EL 

ES 

FI 

FR 

HR 

HU 

IE 

IS 

IT 

LI 

LT 

LU 

LV 

MT 

NL 

NO 

PL 

PT 

RO 

SE 

SI 

SK 

Provision 
by the 
PES’ own 
training 
centres/ 
facilities 

Provision 
by 
external 
training 
providers 
contracted 
out by PES  
✓ 

Provision 
within the 
education 
and 
training 
frameworks  

Provision 
through 
partnership 
agreements  

Other 

Provision 
by 
employers  

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

Source: responses to the PES Capacity Questionnaire, Part II 

2022 

48 

  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2022 PES Capacity Questionnaire Part II:  
Labour market training for the long-term unemployed  

Table A2. Approach of assisting/directing LTU to participate in training programmes  

 Approach in place/ 
PES 

LTU are 
directed 
by PES to 
training  

Participation in 
training is 
agreed upon in 
IAP/JIA process 

Self-selection of 
course-
individuals/LTU 
choose (e.g. 
training vouchers) 

Other 

✓ 

AT 

BE-Actiris 

BE-Forem 

BE-VDAB 

BG 

CY 

CZ 

DE 

DK 

EE 

EL 

ES 

FI 

FR 

HR 

HU 

IE 

IS 

IT 

LI 

LT 

LU 

LV 

MT 

NL 

NO 

PL 

PT 

RO 

SE 

SI 

SK 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

Source: responses to the PES Capacity Questionnaire, Part II 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

2022 

49 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2022 PES Capacity Questionnaire Part II:  
Labour market training for the long-term unemployed  

Table A3. Additional support provided to the LTU who participate in training 

Additional support/ 
PES * 

Pre-
training 
services  

Additional 
support/services 
during training 
sessions 

AT 

BE-Actiris 

BE-Forem 

BE-VDAB 

BG 

CY 

CZ 

DE 

DK 

EE 

EL 

ES 

FI 

FR 

HR 

HU 

IS 

IT 

LI 

LT 

LU 

LV 

MT 

NL 

NO 

PL 

PT 

RO 

SE 

SI 

SK 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

Source: responses to the PES Capacity Questionnaire, Part II 

IE – no answer. 

Other 

Support/services 
to promote the 
transition of 
graduates to 
employment 
(after the 
training) 
✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

2022 

50 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2022 PES Capacity Questionnaire Part II:  
Labour market training for the long-term unemployed  

GETTING IN TOUCH WITH THE EU 

In person 

All over the European Union there are hundreds of Europe Direct information centres. You can find 
the address of the centre nearest you at: https://europa.eu/european-union/contact_en 

On the phone or by email 

Europe Direct is a service that answers your questions about the European Union. You can 
contact this service: 

– by freephone: 00 800 6 7 8 9 10 11 (certain operators may charge for these calls), 

– at the following standard number: +32 22999696 or 

– by email via: https://europa.eu/european-union/contact_en 

FINDING INFORMATION ABOUT THE 
EU 

Online 

Information about the European Union in all the official languages of the EU is available on the 
Europa website at: https://europa.eu/european-union/index_en 

EU publications 

You can download or order free and priced EU publications at: 
https://publications.europa.eu/en/publications. Multiple copies of free publications may be 
obtained by contacting Europe Direct or your local information centre (see 
https://europa.eu/european- union/contact_en). 

EU law and related documents 

For access to legal information from the EU, including all EU law since 1952 in all the official 
language versions, go to EUR-Lex at: http://eur-lex.europa.eu 

Open data from the EU 

The EU Open Data Portal (http://data.europa.eu/euodp/en) provides access to datasets from the 
EU. Data can be downloaded and reused for free, for both commercial and non-commercial 
purposes. 

2022 

51