CELEX: 51992PC0486
Language: en
Date: 1992-12-24
Title: Proposal for a COUNCIL RECOMMENDATION on access to continuing vocational training

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
                                  COM(92) 486 final
                                  Brussels, 25 November 1992
                     Proposal for a
                COUNCIL RECOMMENDATION
      on access to continuing vocational training
             (presented by the Commission)
 ---pagebreak---                                         _ 2 -
                             Explanatory memorandum
   I - A PRIORITY OBJECTIVE FOR THE COMMUNITY
   Investment in human resources is a key issue for the Community
   1.  A qualified and motivated workforce is the cornerstone of a
       competitive European economy in a context of increasing competition
       at world level. It also conditions the future stages of the
       development of the Community. The current and likely demographic
       trends in the Community countries mean that the growth of available
       skills will increasingly depend on the level of skills possessed
       and acquired by workers already in employment and their access to
       training during their working lives.
   2.  The competitiveness, productivity and product/service quality of
       firms depend on the skill levels of their workforces. Employees in
       all sectors must have solid initial education and training on the
       basis of which they can pursue training throughout their working
       lives. Continuing training is now acknowledged as a priority for
       action and joint investment by public authorities and undertakings
       in conjunction with the two sides of industry:
           The OECD intergovernmental conference held in June 1991 on the
           education and training of the labour force of the future
           stressed that: "les qualifications et les compétences de la
           main d'oeuvre, des travailleurs de production au management
           supérieur, deviennent le facteur déterminant de productivité et
           de compétitivité", ("the quai If featfons and skills            of the
           workforce,    from shop floor       level   to top management, are
           becoming the       determining      factor    of   productivity       and
           competItIveness".)
            In its September 1991 report entitled "Reshaping Europe", the
           European industrialists' round table stressed that:              "Lifelong
            learning Is now a prime requirement for a full and happy life.
           Nowhere is this more Important than at work...To                  remain
           effective   each person has to learn and re-learn throughout his
           or her working     life".
           The UK Government's recently published White Paper entitled
            "People, Jobs and Opportunity" states that: "Businesses        are now
           putting training higher than ever on their agendas, and people
            are putting a higher value on continuing learning throughout
            their   careers.   Training    therefore    needs to feature more
            prominently in the relationship       between individuals and their
            employers."
2)
 ---pagebreak---                                        3 -
    The Communication of the Commission to the Council and to the
    European Parliament (C0M(90)556 final) "Industrial policy in an
    open and competitive environment" stressed that: "the adaptability
    and quality of human capital has become a key determinant of
    industrial competitiveness and the one on which developed economies
    must place greatest reliance in future".
3.  Training is thus important for firms and individuals alike: for
    firms it is the basis of their competitiveness and productivity,
    while the individual's terms of employment and career prospects are
     increasingly linked to access to training. This gives rise to an
    area of consensus and mutual interest which the different players
     involved develop and enhance and which can lead to new contractual
    relations, e.g. training and employment contracts.
4.   In the context of the social dialogue and their Joint Opinion on
    ways of faclIItatlng       the broadest possible effective    access to
    training   opportunities,     of 21 September 1991, the two sides of
     industry have confirmed the priority nature of continuing training.
    The social partners have stressed that the success of the single
    market will to a large extent depend on expanding the skill levels
    of workers and the competitiveness of the firms which employ them.
    Their view is that this confirms how essential it is for workers in
    the Community to have the widest possible access to continuing
    training opportunities in order to raise existing skill levels and
    acquire new ski I Is.
Access to continuing       training determines    the development  of human
resources
5.  Developing access to continuing training for firms presupposes the
    establishment of a solid relationship between economic and
     industrial strategy, designed to increase competitiveness and the
     implementation of training plans, which must themselves be
     integrated within overall corporate strategy. For employees, the
    aim is to broaden, adapt and enhance their skills. The development
    of access to continuing training is not simply a question of
    additional know-how, but is a deeper-rooted process of developing
    and unlocking the potential of the individual in his/her working
     I ife.
    Article 15 of the Community Charter of Fundamental Social Rights
    for Workers, adopted at the Strasbourg European Council on 8-9
    December 1989 by the Heads of State and Government of eleven Member
    States, sets out the objective of access to training for workers:
     "Every worker of the European Community must be able to have access
    to vocational     training   and to benefit    therefrom throughout his
    working life.    In the conditions governing access to such training
    there may be no discrimination         on grounds of national Ity. The
    competent public authorities,       undertakings or the two sides of
     Industry, each within their own sphere of competence, should set up
    continuing and permanent training systems enabling every person to
    undergo retraining,       more especially   through leave for     training
    purposes, to Improve his skills or acquire new skills,        particularly
     In the light of technical developments".
 ---pagebreak---                                    - 4 -
7.  In its Memorandum (C0M(91)      397 final of 12 December 1991) on
    vocational training in the European Community in the 1990s, the
    Commission sets out the challenges of the decade just started and
    the fundamental role of qualifications and access to continuing
    training. The constant changes, new forms of work organisation,
    the effects of demographic trends and the making good of skill
    shortages will give continuing training policies a central role. A
    new approach to training must be developed in which continuing
    training, rooted firmly in basic vocational training, is pursued
    throughout working life.
8.  In its Communication C0U(92) 2000 "From the Single Act to
    Maastricht and beyond : the means to match our ambit Ions", the
    Commission emphasises that the adaptation of workers to industrial
    change and to changes in production systems will be a central
    feature of the European labour market in the 1990s. The present
    and future competitiveness of firms lies largely in the quality of
    the labour force and in employees' capacity to adapt to a
    technological    and economic     environment  which    is constantly
    changing. New forms of work organisation require continuing
    training capable of producing this capacity for adaptation and
     initiative.
9.  Measures to reduce unemployment are also linked to the enhancement
    of qualifications and access to training throughout working life.
     It is the countries with the most decisively forward-looking and
    dynamic attitudes towards structural change, particularly as
    regards skill levels, continuing training and work organisation,
    which have been most successful           in combating unemployment.
    Conversely, it is those countries which have been the least
    prepared for and the most open to these qualitative changes that
    are experiencing more marked and lasting mismatches between labour
    supply and demand. There is a direct correlation between the level
    of qualifications and skills of the active population and the
     incidence of exclusion from the labour market, which can lead to an
    upswing in long-term unemployment which is difficult to reverse.
10. In the context of the social dialogue and their joint opinion on
    access, the two sides of industry pointed out that over 80% of the
     labour force in the year 2000 is already in employment. A major
    adult training drive is needed if the existing gap between the need
    for skilled labour and its availability on the labour market is not
    to widen. A significant proportion of the adult population has
     left school without qualifications adequate to today's demands, or
    has never attended any systematic continuing training. In the view
    of the two sides of industry, a number of conditions must be
    fulfilled if vocational training is to be effective:
    - Anticipation and planning:
     "Company and Individual     needs must be clearly     Identified    and
    planned In training plans or programmes appropriate to the size of
    the firm and drawn up in the framework of the firm's              overall
    strategy".
    - Taking due account of requirements:
     "The needs of workers to Improve their skills       In line with     the
    requirements of their job or In readiness for changes within          the
     firm, and present and anticipated requirements of the firm".
                              I
                             )
 ---pagebreak---                                     - 5 -
          Information    and   consultation  of    employees  and    their
    représentât ives:
    "Informat Ion     and    consultât ion  of    employees   and     their
    representatives    should be undertaken by employers, In accordance
    with national laws and pract Ices, on training programmes put Into
    effect by the firm".
A challenge in terms of international competition
11. The objective of raising and developing skill levels in firms seems
    to be gaining ground in Europe as an aspect of economic strategy,
     in line with trends already established in other economic areas,
    e.g. Japan (according to figures available 85% of firms provide
    their employees with training) and the USA (continuing training
    features as a priority in the report America 2000: an         education
    strategy).    Developing access to continuing training will therefore
    play a central role in enterprise strategy in the 1990s.
12. As regards workers' personal projects, leave arrangements for
    absence from work introduced in certain EFTA countries (Sweden and
    Finland) are also worthy of note although it should be remembered
    that such arrangements are not necessarily linked to a guarantee of
    maintenance of income, and that the persons themselves are
     increasingly calKed upon to contribute to the cost.
There are still major obstacles to access
13. As regards firms, too few have training plans geared to developing
    their human resources. Good practice and collective agreements have
    not caught on to a sufficient extent, whereas these agreements are
    becoming increasingly common in big companies and occupational
    sectors. Small and medium-sized enterprises are experiencing
    specific difficulties in setting up appropriate training policies.
    They provide less training for their workers every year than big
    companies: access to continuing training is more limited for the
    employees of SMEs, and they are less involved in the training of
    their employees.
14. As     regards     individuals, workers    already    in  employment,
    particularly older workers, have gaps in their basic training and
    very often an inadequate basic education. There are substantial
    differences between male and female participation rates in
    continuing training. For a variety of reasons, workers are
    sometimes insufficiently motivated to undergo training, and more
    needs to be done in this respect.
The Member States are seeking greater efficiency
15. Trends in population figures and manpower resources, coupled with
    the need for a more widespread dissemination of innovations, entail
     in all Member States a speeding up in the transformation of the
    skills of the manpower already in employment. This depends on the
    development of continuing training policies. All countries set an
    objective of increased resources for continuing training and a
    quest for more efficient management of these resources, but the
    performance to date of national arrangements is limited and very
    patchy. The percentage of GDP given over to continuing vocational
     training varies from under 1% to no more than 2% and is still a
    considerable way from the sums provided for initial training or for
    promoting research and development.
 ---pagebreak---                                   - 6-
16. Analysis of national situations shows that the availability of
    training for adult workers in the Community remains limited and
    disjointed and that the drive for continuing training in the 1990s
    needs to be boosted in terms of both quantity and quality. Access
    indicators in the Member States show some improvement, although
    generally for short courses and with considerable inequality of
    access, which means that its effect on skills levels is limited.
17. Arrangements for absence for personal        leave have a limited
    quantitative impact and would not therefore seem to provide the
    main basis for application of the principle enshrined in Article 15
    of the Charter of Fundamental Social Rights for Workers, or as a
    way of developing widespread access to continuing training. On the
    other hand, they do provide additional and essential ways of
    fulfilling workers' personal training plans.
18. The conclusions of the OECD's intergovernmental conference on
    further education and training of the labour force (June 1991)
    stressed the worthwhile nature of partnership arrangements and drew
    attention to the need to define the responsibilities of each of the
    partners involved. In this connection, the conference stipulated a
    number of political objectives to be pursued, particularly in terms
    of incentives to be introduced for the financing of continuing
    training and mechanisms to be developed through public initiative,
    company-based training, and open and distance training tools.
The action programme implementing the Social Charter
19. The action programme implementing the Social Charter adopted by the
    Commission on 29 November 1989 (C0M(89) 568 final) provides for the
    setting before the Council of a Community instrument on access to
    vocational training. Under this programme the instrument would be
    presented in the light of the outcome of the social dialogue on the
    right to access to vocational training.
20. The action programme stipulates that: "In order to achieve the aim
    of ensuring that every worker has the opportunity to continue his
    vocational training throughout his working life, measures will need
    to be taken by the Member States, by firms and the two sides of
     industry, including the provision of leave for training purposes".
II - THE SITUATION IN THE VARIOUS MEMBER STATES
National arrangements for continuing training are being introduced or
reorganised
21. The concept of continuing training is defined differently in each
    Member State and is covered by a wide variety of provisions and
    procedures. Such training is conducted mainly on the initiative of
    firms or is of direct benefit to employees. There is no clear
    dividing line between initial apprenticeship-based training and
    schemes combining training and work, from the point of view of the
    responsibility of the various parties involved and methods of
    funding.
22. Some national continuing training systems have been in existence
     for some time (e.g. France, with agreements dating from 1970 and
     the Law of 1971), but others are much more recent (e.g. Spain and
    Portugal). Countries with long-standing arrangements are seeking
     to develop their systems and improve their practices, while others
    are laying down the foundations.
 ---pagebreak---                                   - 7 -
23. Over the last few years, a number of Member States have carried out
    or embarked on fundamental reform of their national systems:
             Belgium: Multi-sector agreement on the introduction of a
             contribution of 0.25% for the reintegration of groups at
             risk.
             Greece: Financing requirement of 0.2% of the wage bill
             since 1988 and collective agreement reached in 1991 setting
             the contribution at 0.45% of the wage bill.
             Netherlands: Framework law of June 1991 on continuing
             vocational training to provide cohesion in the funding of
             adult training.
             France: new multi-sector agreement of 3 July 1991
             redefining the provisions established in 1970, and a new
             law of 31 December 1991 adopting the agreement. The main
             innovations are: the principle of obligatory participation,
             previously limited to firms with more than ten employees,
             is extended to those with less than ten employees;
             arrangements for employees' shared investment in training
             leading to recognised qualifications; introduction of
             skills assessment for employees.
             Spain: creation,     in 1990, of     tripartite provincial
             committees for monitoring continuing vocational training,
             and establishment of triennial programme contracts for
             vocational training involving the social partners, with
             current discussions on changes to financing procedures.
             Luxembourg: new law (Sept. 1991) on continuing training,
              laying down fresh guidelines and procedures for training
             employees.
             Portugal: several laws passed in 1991, establishing the
              legal framework for vocational training and governing
             access thereto.
              Italy: current discussion on   a draft   law on continuing
             vocational training.
    Other developments, not necessarily entailing institutional reform,
     are also worthy of note:
             Germany: marked rise in firms' expenditure on continuing
              training, with the sums devoted to the skills of the
             existing workforce set to exceed the funding of initial
              vocational training provided by the dual system.
              United Kingdom: ongoing introduction of TECs (Training
              Enterprise Councils) leading to improved structuring at
              regional level.
 ---pagebreak---                                     8 -
Legislative provisions and collective agreements     interlink to define
access to continuing training
24. National    continuing  training   systems   necessitate    widespread
     involvement on the part of firms, occupational sectors, the social
     partners, public, national and regional authorities, chambers of
     trade and commerce, public and private training bodies, advisory
     bodies, etc.
25. The basic organisation of national arrangements differs, with some
     systems formalised and organised by legislative provisions imposing
     specific obligations (France, Spain, Greece) and others deriving
     more from collective agreements (Denmark, Germany, Netherlands), or
     there may even be no formal provision made at national level
     (United Kingdom). There are likewise significant differences in
     this context across the regions of the Community.
26. Access to vocational training (in terms of entitlement, financial
   c and practical arrangements) thus depends, according to the country
     concerned, either on collective agreements, legislative provisions
     or a combination of the two. The availability of continuing
     training is generally governed by market rules, even if public
     bodies are involved.
27. In all the countries, access to training for employees and
     unemployed persons is governed by distinct rules and procedures.
     Generally speaking, firms are responsible for training employees,
     with training of the unemployed being the responsibility of public
     authorities.
28. Employees' access to continuing training depends primarily on
     training plans drawn up by firms or collective agreements setting
     out their terms of access, or on their financial contribution to
     training courses entailing leave of absence. Particularly from the
     point of view of direct funding, public authorities tend to play a
     supplementary or subsidiary role.
29. There is recent evidence of change in the relationship between
     firms and public authorities, with encouragement being provided in
     various forms (information, advice, fiscal aid, contracts, etc.).
     The formation of partnerships, in collaboration with the social
     partners, and between firms and public authorities, is emerging as
     a central feature of such change.
30. As regards public activities, there is often a decentralisation of
     responsibilities down to regional level (Belgium, Netherlands,
     Denmark, France, Italy, United Kingdom).
31. The principle of consultation involving the social partners and
     public authorities at various levels appears to be more widespread.
     Differing approaches are adopted        in terms of       negotiating
     objectives, planning     measures   and   procedures   for    resource
     management.
 "Leave" arrangements have a limited quantitative effect
32. The ILO's Convention No 140 concerning Paid Educational Leave has
     been ratified by nine Member States but is not universally applied.
 ---pagebreak---                                   - 9-
33. Some countries have adopted, at central level or in a decentralised
    form, legislative measures establishing a "right to training leave"
    (training leave in some German Lander, paid leave for educational
    purposes in Belgium, 150 h in Italy, personal training leave in
    France). These arrangements constitute a limited and specific
    element of the general opportunities for access to training.
34. There are, in practice, limits to how widely these arrangements can
    be extended. In terms of the number of employees concerned, they
    are still relatively insignificant. They currently reach less than
    1% of potential beneficiaries (as in France and Germany). The
     limits are not only financial but are also connected with the
    outlook and approach of individuals and firms. These arrangements
    are used by employees for training with a direct vocational slant
    or for personal cultural reasons.
Special problems for SMEs
35. The role and importance of SMEs as a source of new jobs and as a
    prop to regional development potential are consistent with the
    objective of widening access within these enterprises. They
    represent over 90% of enterprises in the Community and are the
    backbone of economic growth in most regions, particularly the less
    developed ones.
36. For SMEs, the lack of skills amongst their workforce severely
    reduces their capacity to innovate and expand. Moreover, given
    that SMEs are generally on a less sound financial footing than
     large companies and are more sensitive to market fluctuations, they
    do not find it easy to allocate funds for training. It is
    therefore necessary to examine types of aid which would allow them
    to make progress in this respect e.g. assistance, tax credits, etc.
     (in Ireland, for instance, a system of subsidies has been
     introduced in certain sectors to help SMEs draw up their training
    plans).
37. Insofar as work organisation is becoming a key element of
    competitiveness, SMEs are both flexible and adaptable by virtue of
     their size. In this type of company, workers assume several
     functions and often develop an overall understanding of the
    business. From this point of view, the principal advantage of SMEs
     is that they can react         rapidly and    flexibly  to changed
    circumstances and fresh demands, thus requiring privileged access
     to information networks and appropriate skills.
38. The situation of SMEs vis-à-vis training raises a number of
    specific questions. SMEs have a mainly local outlook and their
     human resources are limited. Consequently, any decision to send
     staff on training courses must take account not only of the costs
     involved but also the smallness of the workforce and the difficulty
    of reducing the labour potential, even over a short period. A
     number of Member States have introduced specific measures to
     replace employees absent for training (Denmark, France) and local
     support networks to provide training consultancy and assistance
     (Italy, Spain, Germany). The development of distance and flexible
     training methods is another possible solution (along the lines of
     the INEM's programmes in Spain).
 ---pagebreak---                                         - 10 -
    39. It is too often the case that SMEs become aware of the need for,
        and the significance of, training only when a specific problem
        arises. These firms also need to have access to information which
        will enable them to devise a solution commensurate with their
        resources and organisation. The role of intermediaries is, in this
        respect, frequently decisive. These intermediaries (chambers of
        trades, industry and commerce) are often the reference point for
        SMEs in terms of access to information and offer them services
        (consultancy, assistance) to help them develop a training policy.
        Finally, in terms of implementation, assistance should be available
        to ensure that a firm obtains maximum benefit from its investment
         in training and selects the most suitable methods.
    40. If SMEs are to derive tangible benefit from the single market,
        training policies which take due account of their specific
        requirements need to be developed. These enterprises must be in a
        position to provide their employees with training which takes due
        account    of   their    specific    constraints   (time    availability,
        operational     and    financial    potential),   and     the   role   of
         intermediaries. Steps must also be taken to enable SMEs to band
        together and to foster relations between themselves and large
        companies (in Greece, there are special          incentives for joint
        programmes involving large and small firms).
    Winds of change
    41. Firms and public authorities are taking a fresh look at the
        training of employees. This increasing focus of attention is bound
        up with general economic and technological circumstances and the
        overriding need to increase the quality of production and services
        through more flexible and more efficient work organisation.
    42. The new initiatives being developed for firms derive largely from
        collective and      internal agreements. Comprehensive and general
        negotiations,     particularly    at    sectoral  and    company   level,
         increasingly tend to make explicit reference to training. This
        reflects both the growing significance of training within firms and
        the way     in which    it is now seen as an investment. Public
         initiatives are primarily geared to groups at risk and persons
        experiencing difficulty.      Initiatives taken by employees themselves
        are more and more frequent and lead to vocational qualifications or
        extension of their skills.
    43. Innovative measures for the general organisation of arrangements or
        as part of collective agreements aim to:
                  take better account of employees' needs (skill assessments,
                  regular interviews, guidance/supervision etc.) in training
                 pI ans ;
                  involve the social partners more closely in the development
                 of firms' training policies (consultation, negotiation) so
                 as to tailor them more closely to actual needs and enrich
                  the internal social dialogue within firms, especially in
                  terms of analysing qualifications, assessing skills and
                  planning act ion;
;3)
 ---pagebreak---                                     11 -
             develop access to continuing training in keeping with
             general developments in working conditions (reduction of
             working time) and work organisation (setting up bodies
             providing   work  qualifications,    combined  work/training
             schemes and new means of access to training through the
             creation of distance or personalised tools);
             extend solutions for sharing the effort and cost of
             training by pooling      the contributions of     firms and
             employees: training both within and outside working time,
             cost of training borne by the firm and the employee,
             training contracts, etc.;
             extend the consensual approach to the organisation of
             training measures, leading to improved cost control: SMEs
             grouped together for training purposes, resource centres
             with personal access, distance training, etc.;
             develop new areas of joint action between the public and
             private sectors to give added impetus and provide overall
             balance for the system: general rules, adjustments for the
             benefit of certain groups of persons, advice for SMEs on
             training matters, quality control of training offered.
44. Although access continues to be characterised by substantial
     disparities across the different countries, there is growing
     awareness of the importance of improved equality of access of
     employees to training. Opportunities for access to continuing
     training are not commensurate with the level of initial training
     and the level of employment. The lower one's level of training
     upon entry into working life, the smaller one's chances of gaining
     access to continuing training, the smallest chance of access being
     in respect of the least qualified jobs. Women, too, receive less
     training than men and older workers less than younger workers.
45. The objective of reducing this inequality in opportunities for
     access is twofold. Firstly, it is in line with the objective set
     by the Social Charter, in that access to continuing training should
     be available for all the workers in the Community. Secondly, it
     corresponds increasingly to a priority economic objective, insofar
     as enhancing the skill level of all employees is an essential
     factor in the operation of the more efficient enterprises. This
     also highlights the increasing focus on the relation and link
     between initial training and continuing training. The concept of
     lifelong training is gradually gaining acceptance and gathering
     pace.
46. Dialogue and negotiation between and with the social partners at
     all levels, national, branch and enterprise, are proving sound ways
     of defining the methods implemented to develop continuing training.
     This expansion of dialogue and negotiation is also a guarantee for
     better   convergence of    employer/employee   requirements   in the
     training programmed or supported by the enterprise.
 Ill - THE DRAFT RECOMMENDATION
Acting as a catalyst
 ---pagebreak---                                   - 12 -
47. Most Member States are currently seeking to overhaul or reorganise
    their continuing training systems in order to enhance their scope
    and contribute to the raising of quality standards. This is
    reflected in a great number of recent steps taken nationally,
    either through action at public       level or through negotiated
    agreements such as those mentioned above.
48. Against this background, the Commission intends to put before the
    Council a draft Recommendation which will help to boost the steps
    taken nationally and to incorporate them in an overall consistent
    framework. This is in keeping with the aim of generalising access
    to continuing training in the Community so that every worker can
    gain access to continuing vocational training and take advantage of
     it throughout his working life in accordance with Article 15 of the
    Social Charter and point 20 of the joint opinion adopted by the two
    sides of industry under the social dialogue on 21 September 1991.
49. The Commission sees this draft Council Recommendation as part of a
    broader strategy for Community action having a direct bearing on
    the widening of access to continuing training through a three-
    pronged approach:
         - establishing, through the Council Recommendation, a framework
         of common objectives directed at the Member States, with the
         latter having responsibility for defining the procedures for
         implementation in the light of national laws and practices, in
         cooperation with the social partners;
         - creating favourable conditions in which the social partners,
         at Community level, as envisaged by their agreement of 31
         October 1991, extend their joint opinion on the question of
         access and, if so desired, adopt a more consensual approach,
         including collective agreements;
         - developing transnational measures throughout the Community as
         a means of supporting and following up, by transnational
         cooperation, the steps taken to extend access and encourage
         pooling of resources, particularly in terms of implementing and
         developing the FORCE programme.
Applying the principle of subsidiarity
50. The proposed instrument takes the form of a Council Recommendation
    based on Article 128, thereby complying with the aim of using the
     lightest possible form of legislation at Community        level, in
    accordance with the principle of subsidiarity as defined by the
    European Council     in Birmingham. Member States alone will be
    responsible for taking concrete measures and organising national
    systems in the light of each country's specific legal structure and
    practices, having regard to the powers conferred on the parties
    concerned under national law and the autonomy of contractual
    agreements, in keeping with this principle. It has to be stresses
     however    that  national   systems   are   experiencing    numerous
     developments and initiatives undertaken by the different players.
     This should be supported in the perspective of the Community
     Charter of Fundamental Social Rights for Workers and also in
     accordance with the principle of subsidiarity, by a Community
     action which takes account of the urgency and importance of
     developing continuing training. This Recommendation provides the
    overall consistent framework capable of meeting these various
     demands.
 ---pagebreak---                                    - 13 -
51. The Recommendation includes specific provisions concerning support
     for extension of the social dialogue in terms of relations based on
     agreement at European level as provided for by the agreement of
     31 ctober 1991 concluded between the social partners. It is
     addressed both to the Member States and to the social partners at
     European level, taking account of the major role played by the
     latter and the importance of collective agreements vis-à-vis access
     to continuing training.
  The recommended measures
52. In order to make access effective and as broad as possible, the
     Council recommends that the Member States introduce or strengthen
     different measures focussing on :
(i)      Undertakings' training plans and programmes :
         The objective concerning the implementation by undertakings of
         training plans and programmes was adopted by the social
         partners in their joint opinion on education and training of
         19/06/90. The aim should therefore be for undertakings to
          implement strategies for training and investment in their human
         resources to give them the means of facing up to market and
         technological dedevelopments;
(ii)     Specific assistance to SMEs
         SMEs constitute a central problem in all Community countries.
         Their size and the specific nature of their organization and
         functioning have to be taken into account          in developing
         training strategies. Different methods or mechanisms for
         assistance, which have proved their worth, such as groups of
         SMEs for training, links between large companies and small sub-
         contractors,    the   contribution  of   advisory   bodies,   the
         dissemination of multi-media or distance learning tools, should
         be enhanced;
 (iii)   Assistance to undertakings faced with industrial change.
          Industrial change and transformation of the sectoral    division
         of activities will be at the heart of changes in the     economic
          fabric of the Community in the nineties. New forms      of work
         organisation and inter-company links will have to be     promoted
          to maintain competitivity in this new context;
 (iv)    Continuing    vocational   training as  a   factor   of  regional
          development.
          Reflecting certain mechanisms developed in Member States, the
         matching -at regional and local level- of training supply and
          demand is a sure guarantee of more effective methods, and more
          progressive and flexible programming of training supply, and
          should be encouraged;
 ---pagebreak---                                    - 14 -
(v)    Individual training of workers.
       The worker should have the possibility of being informed about
       the conditions of access to continuing              training    in the
       undertaking or in partnership with the public authorities; and
       also, where necessary, about the absence of training policy in
       undertakings where this is not developed;
(vi)   Assessment of skills and requirements of workers.
       Individual assessment of skills and training requirements
       appears, in the light of national experience, to be a factor in
       the better matching of workers' individual training needs and
       undertakings'     strategy.     However,     such    systems    require
       guarantees of the confidentiality of information concerning the
        individual, which should be regulated at national level;
(vii)  Consultation of workers' representatives.
       Continuing    training     is an     area    where    information   and
       consultation    of workers'      representatives, or of         workers
       themselves in the undertaking at sector or inter-industry level
        is progressing. In some Member States, contractual relations
       are the focal point for definition of conditions for access to
       continuing training and should be encouraged;
(viii) Design of continuing training activities.
       Content and design of continuing training activities constitute
       a    central   point    for   effective     training    strategies   in
       undertakings. There are perceptible trends, which should be
       encouraged, towards a wider conception of training content and
       a development of activities leading to better anticipation of
       trends in work organisation and systems;
(ix)   New tools and methods .
       New techniques of processing and transfer of information are a
        factor in the development of tools, methods and new approaches
        for   continuing    training.    Their    dissemination    should   be
       encouraged,    particularly    so as      to facilitate access       to
        continuing training for workers who cannot use traditional
       methods : rural areas, SMEs, itinerant workers;
       Vulnerable groups.
(x)     Inadequacy of skills is one of the chief factors behind
        vulnerability    to unemployment,      segmentation     of   jobs and
        difficulties in reintegration in case of loss of employment.
        Raising the basic skill level of their employees is often a
        pre-requisite for the introduction of new production processes
        in    undertakings,    particularly      when    they    involve   new
        technologies. All workers should therefore be enabled to reach
        a basic level of skills and to achieve the basis for mastery of
        the new technologies.
 (xi)   Overall, women have less access to continuing training than
        men, which is related to the sectors of activity in which they
        are most strongly represented, and the types of employment to
        which they have access. Mesures aimed at reducing these
        inequalities should therefore be encouraged.
 ---pagebreak---                                   - 15 -
(xii)    Training for the unemployed is in general principally the
         responsibility of the public authorities. New links with
         continuing training mechanisms should be encouraged to promote
         increased effectiveness of training for those seeking work in
         terms of integration and reintegration.
(xiii)   Ways of avoiding discrimination       in access to continuing
         training based on the personal characteristics of workers,
         particularly   their nationality, ethnic or social origin,
         religion or opinons, should be encouraged.
The role of the social partners
53. The Community's overall strategy incorporates specific measures
    which could be developed by the social partners. The Joint opinion
    which    they adopted under     the social    dialogue, on ways of
    facilitating the broadest possible effective access to continuing
    training, constitutes a first stage. The measures advocated in
    Point II of the draft Recommendation are based largely on the
    proposals put forward by the social partners in their Joint
    opinion.
54. Continuing vocational training is an area where the social partners
    play a very active role and often take the lead. Analysis of
    national situations shows that the pattern of access in the
    Community is based by way of priority on agreements negotiated in-
    house,    by   occupational   branch   or  at   national   level. The
    complementarity and synergy needed between public measures and the
    relations between the social partners are particularly significant
    as regards access to continuing training for all workers. Such
    complementarity is strong in the Member States and stands out as a
    principle which underpins the direction being taken by the national
    systems. This complementarity should also be sought at Community
     level in order to enhance the effectiveness of action taken by each
    party involved.
55. The    agreement    concluded   between   the   social   partners  on
    31 October 1991 sets out new conditions for devising and defining
    Community action to enhance the steps taken by the Member States
    and the two sides of industry. It is particularly important, under
    this new approach, to open up the channels whereby the social
    partners can intensify their discussion, examine the scope for
    expanding    their   joint opinions and adopt a more consensual
    approach, including collective agreements, at European level on
    access to continuing training.
56. In point III, the draft Recommendation outlines the circumstances
     in which the Commission is asked to sustain the development of the
    social dialogue on access and sets out guidelines for moving
    towards agreement at European level on this question, so as to
    reflect the wishes of the social partners.
    From the Commission's point of view, now that the social dialogue
    on this question is under way, attention should focus on three
    fundamental points which could be included in such an agreement:
              how workers are informed by firms of the training available
              and of access to such training;
 ---pagebreak---                                        16 -
             worker entitlement to periodic assessment of their skills
             at    regular     intervals    in the    light  of   changing
             qua I if icat ions;
             details of how firms' training plans are prepared and
             implemented, and how they fit in with the overall corporate
             strategy.
Accompanying measures
57. The draft Recommendation also calls on the Commission to support
     the implementation of these common objectives by disseminating
     comparative information, strengthening exchanges of experience and
     methods, and supporting the transfer of know-how between Member
     States, targeted mainly at those regions, sectors, types of
     business and categories of personnel which are least well-off in
     terms of access to continuing training.
Fol low-up
58. The request for the Member States to report on the implementing
     measures taken is intended to establish regular monitoring of the
     implementation and impact of access to training in relation to the
     initial reference situation described in the summary tables drawn
     up in 1991. These reports should in particular bring to the fore
     the new contributions of the various players (undertakings, public
     authorities, individuals) and the synergy between them. Having
     regard to the measures taken to coordinate and rationalise
     Community vocational training action programmes, and with a view to
     rationalising reports which Member States are requested to draw up,
     it is recommended that the reports on the implementation of the
     Recommendation's objectives and the reports drawn up pursuant to
     Article 11(2) of the Council Decision (90/267/EEC) establishing the
     FORCE programme be integrated, since the timetables are the same.
     Moreover, in view of the creation of a continuing training
     committee under Council Decision 92/170/EEC, the views of the
     committee will be sought on these reports.
59. On the basis of these reports, and before 30 June 1996, the
     Commission will present to the Council and the European Parliament
     a report evaluating the implementation of these objectives and the
     development of the situation vis-à-vis access to continuing
     vocational training for workers in the Community. The report could
     also be presented to the Social Dialogue Committee if the social
     partners so wished.
60. On this basis, the Commission is invited, in the light of          the
     conclusions, to present any proposal          deemed appropriate  for
     strengthening access to continuing training in the Community.
 ---pagebreak---                                      17
A qualitative impact
61. The proposal is primarily designed to have a qualitative impact,
    geared to increasing access to continuing training and at the same
    time fostering new forms of work organisation. The Recommendation
    should pave the way for smoother partnerships between the public
    and private sectors and thus promote a more efficient link between
    effort and investment. Continuing training requirements in the
    years ahead mean that partnership between public and private
    sectors conditions the planning of provision at regional and local
    level and the optimum use of resources.
Consistency with Community action under way
62. The draft Recommendation has been prepared to dovetail with and
    supplement Community action already under way in the field of
    continuing training. It is based on what has already been achieved
    through Community vocational training programmes e.g. FORCE as
    regards firms' training plans and analysis of skills needs, COMETT
    as regards continuing training measures based on university-
    enterprise partnerships regionally and sectorally, EUROTECNET as
    regards a tie-in with technological innovation, and PETRA from the
    point of view of links between initial and continuing training.
63. These programmes have helped create awareness in firms, and among
    those concerned with vocational training, of the importance of
     implementing training plans and incorporating them in the firm's
    overall economic strategy. The transnational measures pursued
    under these programmes are also a tangible expression of the role
    of the public/private partnerships in providing a better response
    to vocational training requirements, particularly in the SMEs and
     in certain specific sectors. The draft Recommendation should help
    to streamline these objectives.
64. The complementarity between the proposal for a legal instrument and
     the development and impact of action programmes such as FORCE must
     be stressed. The impact of these programmes and their future
     development, in line with the requests of promoters and the wishes
    of    various   parties    involved,   would    be   enhanced    by   the
     implementation   of   the   principles    laid   down   by   the   draft
    Recommendat ion.
65. The action taken under these programmes (particularly transnational
    partnerships) have a genuine impact in terms of convergence and
    changing    attitudes. This     action    paves    the   way    for   the
     implementation of the principles and for greater convergence of
    national systems for access to continuing training. The exchanges
     and the combined action under a programme such as FORCE are
     achieved within a common framework of guidelines which blends in
    with and consolidates the common objectives set by the draft
     Recommendation. Similarly, action prepared and pursued by the
    Member States to apply these common objectives and therefore on a
     broader scale than the action taken under these programmes, could
     help to streamline the effects of these programmes and foster
     convergence of approaches or methods between the various parties
     involved at Community      level. This draft Recommendation also
     supports an interrelated and complementary concept of initial and
     continuing training, in liaison with the PETRA programme, and aims
     to back up the qualitative efforts undertaken to promote the
     development of initial training mechanisms in this sense.
 ---pagebreak---                                    - 18
66. Future Community action on access to continuing vocational training
    should also be linked to steps to adapt to industrial change and
    changes in production systems as set out in Article 123 and 127 of
    the Treaty currently undergoing ratification and in Commission
    Communication C0M(92) 2000 "From the Single Act to Maastricht and
    beyond : the means to match our ambit Ions". The development of
    access to continuing training for all workers, skilled and
    unskiI led a I ike, is in fact for all firms the conditio sine qua non
    for successfully adjusting to change. Anticipating requirements
    and wide access to training are henceforth the key to adjusting to
     industrial    change   and    encouraging   modern     skill-enhancing
    configurations of work organisation which can secure quality and
    compet it iveness.
 ---pagebreak---                                    - 19 -
                               Proposal for a
                           COUNCIL RECOMMENDATION
                on access to continuing vocational training
 THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
 Having regard to the Treaty establishing the          European  Economic
 Community, and in particular Article 128 thereof;
 Having regard to the proposal from the Commission;
 Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament;
 Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee;
 Whereas the first principle established by Council Decision 63/266/EEC
 of 2 April 1963 laying down general principles for implementing a
 common vocational training policy^ 1 ) states that every person should
  receive adequate training, with particular reference to the need to
 promote basic and advanced vocational training and, where appropriate,
  retraining suitable for the various stages of working life, and the
 need to offer to every person, by means of permanent facilities for
 vocational advancement, the opportunity to gain promotion or to receive
  instruction for a new and higher level of activity;
 Whereas, under the terms of Decision 63/266/EEC, it shall be the
  responsibility of the Member States and the competent institutions of
  the Community to apply such general principles within the framework of
  the Treaty;
 Whereas the development of human resources by means of vocational
  training   is one of     the essential    elements  in  increasing   the
  competitiveness of the European economy; whereas, as affirmed by the
  European Council (meeting in Hanover on 27 and 28 June 1988), the
 completion of the Single Market must be accompanied by increased access
  to continuing training;
 Whereas Article 15 of the Community Charter of the Fundamental Social
 Rights of Workers, adopted by the Heads of State and of Government of
  11 Member States at the European Council, meeting in Strasbourg on
 9 December 1989, states that:
  "Every worker of the European Community must be able to have access to
  vocational training and to benefit therefrom throughout his working
  life. In the conditions governing access to such training there may be
  no discrimination on grounds of nationality.
 The competent public authorities, undertakings or the two sides of
  industry, each within their own sphere of competence, should set up
  continuing and permanent training systems enabling every person to
  undergo retraining, more especially       through  leave for    training
  purposes, to improve his skills or to acquire new skills, particularly
  in the light of technical developments";
(1) OJ No 63, 20.4.1963, p. 1338/63
 ---pagebreak---                                    - 20 -
 Whereas Council Directive 91/533/EEC< 2 ) provides for the obligation of
 employers to inform employees of the conditions applicable to the
 contract or employment relationship;
 Whereas vocational    training remains of constant concern to both
 employers and workers in the context of the dialogue between the two
 sides of industry;
 Whereas, in their joint opinion concerning training and motivation,
 information and consultation of 6 March 1987, the social partners
 therefore considered that in-service training should enable employees
 to    adapt  swiftly   and   continuously   to   structural    changes in
 undertakings; whereas this idea was incorporated in the joint opinion
 of 13 February 1990 on the creation of a European occupational and
 geographical mobility area and improving the operation of the labour
 market in Europe; whereas this idea was further developed in the
 opinion of 19 June 1990 on basic education and initial, vocational and
 adult training;
 Whereas on 21 September 1991 the two sides of industry adopted a joint
 opinon on ways of facilitating the broadest possible effective access
 to training opportunities, on the basis of developments following the
 said joint opinion on 19 June 1990;
 Whereas the agreement concluded on 31 October 1991 between the two
 sides of industry at European level provides for the possibility of
 extending Joint opinions, and whereas the dialogue between them may
  lead to contractual relations based on agreements;
 Whereas, on 6 September 1990, the European Trade Union Confederation
  (ETUC) and the European Centre of Public Enterprises (CEEP) adopted a
  framework European agreement on training in public enterprises;
 Whereas the Economic and Social Committee adopted a report on
  22 October 1992 on vocational     training as a means of promoting
  vocational qualifications and a strategic instrument for the economic
  and social development of the European Community;
 Whereas transnational    cooperation  measures  have  been  undertaken at
 Community level ;
 Whereas such measures were provided for in Council Decision 90/267/EEC
  of 29 May 1990 establishing an action programme for the development of
  continuing vocational training in the European Community (FORCE)^3)
  and in Council Decision 89/657/EEC of 18 December 1989 establishing an
  action programme to promote innovation in the field of vocational
  training resulting from technological change in the European Community
  (EUR0TECNET)<4), both as amended by Decision 92/170 EEC^ 5 *;
(2) OJ No L 288, 18.10.91, p. 32
(3) OJ No L 156, 21.6.90, p. 1
(4) 0J No L 393, 30.12.89, p. 29
(5) OJ No L 75, 21.3.1992, p. 51
 ---pagebreak---                                    - 21 -
  Whereas such measures are also envisaged in Council Decision 89/27/EEC
  of 16 December 1988 adopting the second phase of the programme on
  cooperation between universities and industry regarding training in the
  field of technology (COMET ll)(6) and in Council Decision 91/387/EEC
  of 22 July 1991 amending Decision 87/569/EEC concerning an action
  programme for the vocational training of young people and their
  preparation for adult and working life (PETRA)^ 7 );
  Whereas such measures are also envisaged in Council Regulation (EEC)
  No 4255/88 of 19 December 1988 laying down provisions for implementing
  Regulation (EEC) No 2052/88 as regards the European Social Fund^ 8 ) ;
  Whereas demographic trends will significantly reduce the number of
  young people entering the Community labour market, which, together with
  changes in the working environment, must lead to an updating and
  adaptation of skills among the working population;
  Whereas it has been noted throughout the Community that the problems
  faced by women in gaining access to employment are largely attributable
  to their limited access to vocational training; whereas particular
  attention must be devoted to ensuring that women have effective access
  to continuing vocational training;
  Whereas cooperation in the field of continuing vocational training
  should also be based on existing provisions in force in the Member
  States, while respecting the diversity of national legal systems and
  practices, the powers under national law of the parties concerned and
  contractual autonomy; whereas the initiatives taken at national level
  by the Member States and the two sides of industry are many and varied,
  and it appears, as regards the Community Charter of the Fundamental
  Social Rights of Workers, and taking into account the transnational
  dimension of the action, that they should be supported at Community
   level and viewed within a consistent overall framework; whereas,
  finally, it is essential to encourage a synergy of resources and
  promote partnerships between the public and private sectors;
  Whereas the Advisory Committee on Vocational         Training has    been
  consulted; whereas it has recognized the strategic importance of       the
  question of continuing vocational training in undertakings, for        the
  Member States and for the Community, and the necessity for             the
  Community to be seen to play an active role in this area;
  HEREBY RECOMMENDS AS FOLLOWS
(6) 0J No L 13, 17.1.89, p. 28
(7) 0J No L 214, 2.8.91, p. 69
(8) 0J No L 374, 31.12.88, p. 21
 ---pagebreak---                                - 22 -
I.  It recommended that Member States develop their vocational
    training policy with a view to ensuring that every worker in the
    Community has access to vocational training and benefits from it
    throughout his or her working life.
II. In order to provide effective access to as many         workers  as
    possible, it is recommended that Member States:
    (i)    ensure that undertakings give priority to improving the
           quality and skills of their workforce, and establish
            training plans and programmes appropriate to their size
           and company objectives. These plans and programmes should
           be established     taking   into account   available human
            resources,   the organisation    of  work,   future skill
            requirements and the need to anticipate industrial and
            technological change;
    (ii)   make provision     for specific    incentives and support
           measures for small and medium-sized undertakings. These
            should include, for example, assistance with regard to
            advice on training and financial and tax incentives. They
            should support small and medium-sized undertakings in
            analyzing their needs, in designing and implementing a
            training   strategy    and    in  evaluating    it.   Those
            undertakings should ensure the continuing vocational
            training necessary for their development, taking account
            of the particular situation of the employees of the
            undertakings, particularly in order to promote, where
            appropriate, the measures described below;
    (Mi)   make provision     for specific    incentives and support
           measures for undertakings facing industrial change, in
            order to encourage vocational training and retraining for
            their employees;
    (iv)    develop continuing vocational training in order to make
            it an essential feature of regional development. In this
            context, special attention should be paid to rural areas
            and to the specific needs of the workers and undertakings
            concerned. It is also recommended that support be given
            to the establishment of training consortia, particularly
            at regional or local level, with the responsibility for
            analysing the requirements of undertakings and employees
            and providing information on training opportunities in
            order to coordinate supply and demand as closely as
            possible;
     (v)    ensure that workers are informed, particularly at the
            time of recruitment, about the undertaking's continuing
            vocational training policy and programmes. In particular,
            this information should include the rules and conditions
            governing access to continuing vocational training within
            the undertaking     and/or   in partnership   with   public
            authorities, including those applying to the attendance
            of training courses during working hours, leave of
            absence to take examinations, and training leave-,
 ---pagebreak---                                  - 23 -
     (vi)   enable workers to obtain, on request, an assessment of
            their skills and training needs. This confidential
            assessment, which shall be the property of the worker,
            must be carried out within the undertaking and/or in
            partnership with specialised training institutions;
     (vii)  encourage the information and consultation of workers'
             representatives      or,    in    the    absence      of    such
             representatives, the workers themselves on the setting up
            and implementation of training plans and programmes in
             the undertakings;
     (viii) encourage access by workers to training of appropriate
             duration leading to recognised qualifications. To this
             end, it should be ensured that training is broadly-based
             and   provides    the means     to   anticipate     and   master
             developments in production systems and the organisation
             of work, as well as the consequences of completing the
             Single    Market,    with    reference    to    the    economic,
             technological and social context of the undertaking;
     (ix)    promote the use of open and distance learning systems,
             and multi-media and self-1 earning tools;
     (x)     enable less-qualified workers, whatever their status, to
             benefit from continuing vocational          training measures
             enabling them to achieve a basic level of qualification,
             and give them the basis for mastery of new technologies.
             Particular attention should be paid to providing access
             to continuing training for workers who have not benefited
             from training for a certain length of time, disabled
             workers and those who are most vulnerable in case of
             unemployment ;
     (xi)    encourage access for and effective participation by women
              in continuing vocational       training. This applies in
             particular to women returning to work, in order to enable
             them to raise their        level of basic skills and to
             diversify the choice of occupations to which they have
             access;
      (xii)  encourage access to and participation            in vocational
             training for the unemployed. Particular attention should
             be paid to the young and the long-term unemployed in
             order to improve their occupational            integration and
             reintegration, in particular by developing links between
              initial and continuing training and by reinforcing the
              involvement of undertakings in their training;
      (xiii) ensure that all workers in the Community shall have
             access    to    continuing    vocational     training    without
             discr iminat ion.
III. The Commission is invited to reinforce cooperation with Member
     States and the two sides of industry in order to support the
      implementation of point II.
 ---pagebreak---                                   - 24 -
       To this end the Commission, utilising the full potential of the
       Community action programmes and initiatives in the field of
       training, is invited to:
       -   disseminate and add to the body of comparative information on
           continuing vocational training systems, including existing
           provisions and methods for integrating young Job-seekers and
           the long-term unemployed into the labour market;
       -   reinforce exchanges of experience       and  methods of  good
           practice in continuing training;
       -   support transfers of know-how between Member States by means
           of transnational partnerships and networks, especially for
           the benefit of regions, sectors, types of undertaking and
           groups of workers for whom access to continuing training is
           less developed.
       The Commission is also invited to make all useful information
       available to both sides of industry at Community level and to
       support their efforts, within the dialogue between them, to
       discuss access to continuing training in greater depth and to
       extend the joint opinions which they have adopted. Such dialogue
       may lead to contractual relations based on agreements.
IV.    Member States are invited to provide the Commission, by the end
       of the first six months of 1995, with a report setting out the
       measures taken under the terms of point II. This report should
       be integrated with each national report drawn up under the terms
       of Article 11(2) of the Decision 90/267/EEC.
       The Commission    is invited to consider the opinion of the
       EUROTECNET-FORCE Committee set up by Decision 92/170/EEC on
       these reports.
       On the basis of these reports and the results of the dialogue
       between the two sides of industry, the Commission is invited to
       present, not later than 30 June 1996, an assessment report on
       access to continuing training in the Community, featuring the
       results obtained by applying the measures set out in point II.
       This report should be presented to the Council, the European
       Parliament and the Economic and Social Committee. It could also
       be presented to the Social Dialogue Committee at the request of
       the two sides of industry.
       The Commission is invited to present any appropriate proposal to
       reinforce access to continuing training for workers in the
       Community, in the light of the conclusions of this report.
V.     This Recommendation is addressed to the Member States and to the
        two sides of undustry at Community level.
Done at Brussels,
                                      For the Counc i I
                                       The President
 ---pagebreak---                                   - 25 -
                         IMPACT ASSESSMENT FORM
                 THE IMPACT OF THE PROPOSAL ON BUSINESS
            with special reference to small and medium sized
                           enterprises (SMEs)
Title of proposal
Council Recommendation relating to Access to Continuing Training.
The proposal
     Taking account of the principle of subsidiarity, why is Community
     legislation necessary in this area and what are its main aims ?
        In view of demographic developments (less young people entering the
        workforce) in the Member States and of the impact of technological
        change on qualifications (see Table 1 for the case of Germany), the
        Recommendation   aims to support the development       of access to
        continuing training by action to be taken by the Member States and by
        the Social Partners, in the framework of national dispositions.
        The Recommendation invites therefore Member States to enhance access
        to continuing training by establishing measures which will remove
        obstacles presently experienced by firms, employees and special
        groups (e.g. women, unskilled workers). These obstacles are related
        either to a lack of information and consultation between interested
        parties or to a lack of motivation for the individual to participate
         (see provision II. (vi) on skills assessment) and for the firm to
        invest (see provision II.(i) on training plans and programmes) in
        continuing training.
        The Recommendation provides also follow-up action to the work
        programme relevant to the Social Charter, in particular Art. 15.
 ---pagebreak---                                    - 26 -
The impact on business
2.   Who will be affected by the proposal ?
        The Recommendation does not provide for discriminatory measures
        between sectors of business. It acknowledges however the lack of
         access to continuing training experienced by SMEs and by industry
         undergoing structural change and recommends to Member States to take
         appropriate action in this respect (see 11.(11), (iii).
3.   What will business have to do to comply with the proposal ?
         The Recommendation invites Member States to establish or reinforce
         measures    which   provide   the   means   for   career   development
         considerations of the individual and incentives for skills
         improvement to be linked with the business strategy of the
         enterprise, to the mutual benefit of both parts.
         Depending on the measures decided by the Member States in application
         of the measures contained in the Draft Recommendation, firms may
         have to inform their employees or their representatives on their
         continuing, training plans or on conditions governing access to
         continuing training.
         Member States are invited to raise the awareness of firms relating
         the quality of their workforce qualifications with the competitive
         advantage of the firm and encourage the establishment of training
         plans by firms.
          In order to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of continuing
         training for firms, training assessments of individual employees may
         take place in order to clarify the objectives that the training is
          supposed to attain and increase the motivation of the individual
         employees.
         The above actions address the issue of continuing vocational training
         as an investment for the firms in terms of its impact on
          productivity, competitiveness and structural adaptation capacity.
 4.   What economic effects is the proposal likely to have ?
          ECONOMIC EFFECTS ON EMPLOYMENT.
          The proposal is likely to have a positive impact on employment
          especially through its provisions concerning groups in danger of
          exclusion from the labour market or of groups or firms which
          currently experience obstacles in having access to continuing
          training (see attached Table 1 "The qualification structure of the
          workforce in Germany 1992/2000" , Table 2 "Labour Force Employed and
          Self-employed According to Educational Attainment (in 1000s) in
          Germany", Table 5 "Participation in Continuing Training According to
          Occupational Status in Germany (1988)").
 ---pagebreak---                                 - 2? -
3     ECONOMIC EFFECTS OF THE INVESTMENT AND THE CREATION OF NEW BUSINESSES
      The proposal underlines the importance of access to continuing
      training as an investment for the enterprises and supports the
      creation of new businesses through measures under II.           Thus,
      providing the necessary skills base to support the economic potential
      of a region or locality.
      ECONOMIC EFFECTS OF THE PROPOSAL ON THE COMPETITIVE POSITION OF
      BUSINESSES.
      Measures to be established or reinforced will contribute raising the
      skill level of the workforce, and thus raise the competitive position
      of business.
5. Does the proposal contain measures to take account of the specific
   situation of small and medium sized firms (reduced or different
   requirements, etc) ?
      MEASURES FOR SMEs
      Part II.   recognises the lack of access to continuing training for
      SMEs at   present and supports the provision of special incentive
      measures   for these firms to be taken by public authorities at
      relevant  level.
      Recent studies confirm that participation rates in continuing
      education in SMEs are well below those of larger firms even when
      these comparisons are established for employees having the same
      educational attainment. The same is true for expenditure.
       In France data on participation in continuing training according to
       size of firm and occupational status (1988) suggest that non-skilled
       and semi-skilled workers of enterprises having 10 to 19 employees
       is of the order of 1.9% while the same group of workers working for
       a company of more than 2000 have a participation rate of 23.8%. The
       same is true for expenditure i.e. that the relative size of
       expenditure for continuing training increases with the size of the
       firm [See Table 3 "Participation in Continuing Training According to
       Size of Firm and Occupational Status in France, (1988)", Table 4
       "Outlays for Accredited Continuing Activities Training in France
       According to Size of Firm" (in Absolute Figures and in Per Cent of
       Wage Bill (1989)].
       According to a regular representative survey in the Federal Republic
       of Germany (Berichtssystem Weiterbildung) participation rates of
       employees were significantly higher in larger firms (1000+) than in
       smaller (less than 100) firms (41% as compared to 33%). This
       discrepancy is even greater when participation in continuing training
       proper is concerned : almost twice as many employees in large firms
       undergo training as.in small ones (31% compared to 17%).
 ---pagebreak---                                   - 28 -
        The same picture emerges from two other studies. A 1988 German
        inquiry, based on a representative sample of about lO per cent of all
        enterprises, found that in firms with less than 50 employees, the
        participation    was   below   average. Whereas     participation   in
        enterprises with more than 500 employees was well above. In concrete
        figures the following situation emerged : for the period 1980-1985 in
        firms with fewer than 50 employees 21 per cent of the workforce
        completed a programme of continuing education or training, while the
        rate was 25 per cent for firms with between 50 and 500 employees, and
        29 per cent for enterprises with a workforce of more than 500 (cf.
        Koch, p. 185). Other studies confirmed that smaller firms are
        significantly less active than larger firms with respect to the
        continuing training of their employees (cf. von Bardlesleben et al.
        1986).
Consultation
6.   List the organisations which have been consulted about the proposal and
     outline their main views.
     6.1.    In the context of the Social Dialogue and their Joint Opinion on
            ways of facilitating the broadest possible effective access to
            training opportunities, of 21 September 1991, the social partners
             have confirmed the priority nature of continuing training.
     6.2.    In preparation of the proposal, a tripartite consultation under
             the auspices of the General Directors of Vocational Training has
             taken place at national level in each of the 12 Member States
             (June 91).
     6.3.    The statutory ACVT (Advisory Committee on Vocational Training) of
             a tripartite composition has given its advice on the 10/11
             September 1992.
 ---pagebreak---                                      - 29 -
                                    T A B L E   1
             The Qualification Structure of the Workforce in Germany
                         1982-2000 (Medium Growth Variant)
TYPE OF JOB ACTIVITY                                 QUALIFICATION
                                                      (IN PERCENT)
                                                   II               III      IV
                              without        apprenticeship technical   higher
                             training         vocational       school   education
Actual 1982
Structured)
1. Production crafts             38,1              54,0           6,9       1,0
    maintenance
2. Storage, transportation       30,1              64,3           3,6       2,0
    sales
3. Office (clerical              21,8              71,9           3,6       2,7
    secretarial)
4. Managerial, Research,           9,7             50,1         16,6      23,6
    Development
5. Janitors, Domestics,          63,3              34,0           2,0       0,7
    Catering, Waiting
6. Service Jobs,                  19,5             39,4           7,4     33,7
    Liberal Professions
    Teachers, Health Care
TOTAL 1982                      32,0              52,9          6,6       8,5
The projected year
2000 structure
 1. Production crafts,            24,4             65,8           8,3       1,5
    maintenance
2. Storage, transportation        16,8             76.8           2,9       3,5
     sales
 3. Office (clerical              11,6             75,4           3,4       9,6
     secretarial)
 4. Managerial, Research           2,3             53.9          16,1      27,7
     and Development
 5. Janitors, Domestics           49,3             44,6           2,6       3,5
     Catering, Waiting
 6. Service jobs,                 14,7              33,6          4,2      47,5
     Liberal Professions,
     Teachers, Health Care
 TOTAL 2000                       19,8              58,7           6,7     14,8
    (1)    partly, estimated
           Source : von Rothkirch/Weidig (1985)
 ---pagebreak---                                   - 30 -
                                 TABLE
             Labour Force Employed and Self-employed According to
                 Educational Attainment (in 1000s) in Germany
                                         1975                  1985
                                         Number       %        Number      %
Without vocational                       8 851      34,4       7 239     27,2
training
Completed vocational                    13 410      52,1      14 782     55,5
training
(qualified worker)
Middle level skill base                  1 643       6,4       2 009      7,5
With completed higher                    1 848       7,2       2 597      9,7
education degree
Total                                   25 752     100        26 626    100
Source :    Deutsches Institut fur Wirtschaftsforschung (German Institute for
            Economic Research), Wochenberichte (Weekly Report), No. 7, Berlin
             1988.
 ---pagebreak---                                   - 31 -
                                 T A B L E   3
              Participation in Continuing Training According to
           Size and Firm and Occupational Status in France. (1988)
Number of Employees    10-19   20-49    50-499  500-1999   more than 2000
                         %        %        %       %             %
Non-skilled and         1,9     3,4      8,4      15,3          23,8
semiskilled workers
Skilled workers         4,8     6,2     14,3      23,2          40,9
Employees              10,2    12,8     22,0      32,9          43,3
Technicans and middle- 14,5    19,0     23,8      49,6          68,1
management
Engineers and managers 16,5    21,7     37,1      57,7          67,2
Total                  14,6    16,3     25,6      35,1          48,8
Source : Doc. annexe a la Loi de Finance, 1990
 ---pagebreak---                                   - 32 -
                                TABLE       4
Outlays for Accredited Continuing Activities Training in France According to
Size of Firm (in Absolute Figures and in Per Cent of Wage Bill) (1989)
Number of
Employees      10-19  20-49   50-499   500-1999   more than Total Enter-
                                                     2000   prises with
                                                            more than 10
Expenditure
 (million FF)   584    991     6229      5778       16256      30838
Expenditure
as per cent of
wage bill        1,34   1,44    2,01     2,91        4,68       2,97
Source : Doc. annexe à la Loi de Finance, 1990
 ---pagebreak---                                   - 33 -
                                 T A B L E  5
                Participation in Continuing Training According
                   to Occupational Status in Germany (1988)
EMPLOYMENT STATUS                       PERCENTAGE OF WORKFORCE
Unskilled and semiskilled                     6%
Skilled workers                              16%
Employees with simple responsabilities       20%
Employees with higher level                  31%
responsabilities
Managers                                     32%
Source :: Berichtsystem Weiterbildungsverhalten (p. 54)
 ---pagebreak---  ---pagebreak---                                             - 34 -
                                                                     ISSN 0254-1475
                                                              COM(92) 486 final
                                                      DOCUMENTS
EN                                                                              04
                                Catalogue number : CB-CO-92-611-EN-C
                                                             ISBN 92-77-51078-1
Office for Official Publications of the European Communities
L-2985 Luxembourg