CELEX: 51993PC0205
Language: en
Date: 1993-05-19
Title: Amended proposal for a COUNCIL RECOMMENDATION on access to continuing vocational training

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN CORtolUNITIES
                                        COM(93) 205 final
                                       Brussels, 19 May 1993
                   Amended proposal for a
                   ™}ur\i  RECOMMENDATION
         on access to continuing vocational training
           (presented by the Commission pursuant to
              Article 149 (3) of the EEC-Treaty)
 ---pagebreak---                      EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM
1. On 21 April 1993, the European Parliament issued a favourable
   opinion on the proposed Council Recommendation concerning access
   to continuing vocational training, subject to some amendments to
   the text.
2. In line with the European Parliament's opinion, the Commission
   agreed at a plenary session of the Parliament to fourteen
   amendments, which have been included in the modified proposal.
3. The Commission shares the Parliament's concern about the need to
   promote training measures of appropriate duration which can lead
   to an initial level of qualification recognized by a diploma,
   notably for all young workers and those with the least
   qualifications.
   In this framework, the Commission agrees to complete the eleventh
   recital as the Parliament proposes and to modify article (x) of
   point II of the Recommendation.
4. The Commission agrees that particular emphasis should be placed
   on conditions which help to improve the effectiveness of action
   in the workplace designed to promote access to continuing
   training.
   The Commission therefore accepts the amendments drawing attention
   to this objective and proposes to modify articles II (i) and II
    (xii) consequently.
5. The Commission shares the Parliament's objectives of giving all
   workers the fullest and the most up-to-date information possible
   on conditions of access to continuing vocational training.
   The Commission therefore accepts the amendments which complete
   the elements included in its proposal, and proposes to modify
   articles (i), (iv) and (v) of Point II.
6  The Commission agrees to accept all the amendments referring to
   optimising the benefits derived from existing actions in the
   framework of a number of Community programmes, and proposes to
   modify Point II article (ii).
7. To take due account of industrial change, like the Parliament the
   Commission is particularly attentive to actions which promote
   worker access to continuing training and so help meet the
   requirements for greater competitivity among companies and
   sectors undergoing restructuring.
   In this respect, the Commission proposes to modify Point II
   article (viii), to introduce a new article (ib) and to add the
   new recital (ivb).
 ---pagebreak---                                   -'I
8.  The Commission recognizes with the Parliament the necessity of
    promoting transnational activities and linguistic skills and
    proposes to introduce the new article (ixb) under Point II.
9.  The Commission agrees to take account of amendments designed to
    complete aspects of the proposed Recommendation which are already
    included in the recitals and therefore proposes to modify the
    sixteenth recital and add a new recital eleven b.
10. The Commission, whilst respecting the opinion of the Parliament,
    has not been able to accept eleven amendments, essentially for
    reasons of a legal nature and relating to the scope of the
    Recommendation.
11. Taking account of the fact that the Recommendation is made on the
    basis of article 128 of the Treaty of Rome, the Commission cannot
    accept six amendments which introduce means of application that
    too precise (with reference to 20a, new Point I, articles vii and
    xii of point II and the third indent of point III).
12. The Commission considers that the other amendments proposed often
    go beyond the field of application of this Recommendation and has
    consequently not been able to accept them.
 ---pagebreak---                                   Proposai modified for a
                            COUNCIL RECOMMENDATION
                        on access to continuing vocational training
Original text                                    Amended text
First to third recitals                          First to third recitals
Unchanged                                        Unchanged
New fourth recital                               New fourth recital
                                                 Whereas       technological development, the
                                                 associated   challenges to the skills of workers
                                                 and the      rise in unemployment make it
                                                 necessary   to increase the time available for
                                                 training;
Fifth to tenth recitals                          Fifth to tenth recitals
Unchanged                                        Unchanged
Eleventh recital                                 Eleventh recital
Whereas the Economic and Social Committee        Whereas the Economic and Social Committee
adopted a report on 22 October 1992 on           adopted a report on 22 October 1992 on
vocational training as a means of promoting      vocational training as a means of promoting
vocational qualifications and a strategic        vocational qualifications and a strategic
instrument for the economic and social           instrument for the economic and social
development of the European Community;           development of the European Community,
                                                 which states, among other things, that there is
                                                  no guarantee of initial vocational training
                                                  leading to the award of a recognized certificate
                                                  for all yound people immediately after their
                                                  compulsory general education, and that
                                                  continuing training is often only of short
                                                  duration and related to specific aspects;
 ---pagebreak---                                                  -4-
III?vcnlh.recital a (new)                            Eleventh recital a_(new)
                                                     Whereas the European Parliament adopted       on
                                                     April 21. 1993 a resolution on               the
                                                     Community's vocational training policy for   the
                                                     1990s, in which the subject of access          to
                                                     continuing training is considered;
Twelfth to fifteenth recitals                        Twelfth to fifteenth recitals
Unchanged                                            Unchanged
Sixteenth recital                                    Sixteenth recital
Whereas demographic trends will significantly        Whereas demographic trends will significantly
reduce the number of young people entering           reduce the number of young people entering
 the Community labour market, which together         the Community labour market, which together
with changes in the working environment,             with changes in the working environment,
 must lead to an updating and adaptation of          must lead to an updating and adaptation of
 skills amoung the working population ;              skills amoung the working population ;
                                                     whereas, on the other hand, the Commission
                                                     assumes in the 1992 edition of'Employment in
                                                     Europe' that there will be an increase in the
                                                     number of working women; whereas this factor
                                                     must also be taken into account;
 Seventeenth to nineteenth recitals                  Seventeenth to nineteenth recitals
 Unchanged                                           Unchanged
  Point I                                             Point I
  Unchanged                                           Unchanged
  Point II (i)                                        Point II ( 0
  ensure that undertakings give priority to           raise awareness among undertakings about the
  improving the quality and skills of their           links between workers'qualifications and the
  workforce, and establish training plans and         competitiveness of undertakings, since this is
  programmes appropriate to their size and            essential in order to ensure that undertakings
  company objectives. These plans and                 give priority to improving the quality and skills
  programmes should be established taking into        of their workforce, and establish training plans
  account available human resources, the              and programmes appropriate to their size and
  organization of work, future skill requirements     company objectives, making their managers
  and the need to anticipate industrial and           aware of requirements in this respect and
  technological change ;                              training them accordingly.
 ---pagebreak---                                                 ^s-
                                                  These plans and programmes should be
                                                  established taking into account available
                                                  human resources, the organization of work,
                                                  future skill requirements and the need to
                                                   anticipate industrial and technological change;
Point II (i b) new                                 Point' II (i b) new
                                                   promote experiments and the development of
                                                   transnational further and continuing training
                                                   activities for each sector;
Point II (ii)                                      Point II (ii)
make provision for specific incentives and         make provision for specific incentives and
support measures for small and medium-sized        support measures for small and medium-sized
undertakings. These should include, for            undertakings. These should include, for
example, assistance with regard to advice on       example, assistance with regard to advice on
training and financial and tax incentives. They    training and financial and tax incentives. They
shuold support small and medium-sized              shuold support small and medium-sized
undertakings in analysing their needs, in          undertakings in analysing their needs, in
designing and implementing a training strategy     designing and implementing a training strategy
and in evaluating it. Those undertakings should     and in evaluating it. Those undertakings should
ensure the continuing vocational training          ensure the continuing vocational training
necessary for their development, taking             necessary for their development, taking
account of the particular situation of the              ount of the particular situation of the
employees of the undertakings, particularly in      employees of the undertakings, particularly in
order to promote, where appropriate, the            order to promote, where appropriate, the
measures described below;                           measures described below. To this end,
                                                    instruments enabling SMEs and education or
                                                    training institutes to cooperate should be
                                                    promoted. Advantage should be taken in this
                                                    context of the experience gained by the UETPs
                                                    (University-Enterprise Training Partnerships)
                                                    under the COMETT II programme;
 Point II (iii)                                     Point II (iii)
 Unchanged                                          Unchanged
 ---pagebreak---                                                     —h
Point H (ivj                                        Point II (iv)
develop continuing vocational training in order     develop continuing vocational training in order
to make it an essential feature of regional         to make it an essential feature of regional
development. In this context, special attention     development. In this context, special attention
should be paid to rural areas and to the            should be paid to rural areas and to the
specific needs of the workers and undertakings      specific needs of the workers and undertakings
concerned. It is also recommended that support      concerned. It is also recommended that support
be given to the establishment of training           be given to the establishment of training
consortia, particularly at regional or local level, consortia, particularly at regional or local level,
with the responsability for analysing the           with the responsability for analysing the
requirements of undertakings and employees          requirements of undertakings and employees
and providing information on training               and providing up-to-date information on
opportunities in order to coordinate supply and     training opportunities in order to coordinate
demand as closely as possible;                      supply and demand as closely as possible;
Point II (v)                                        Point II (v)
ensure that workers are informed, particularly      ensure that workers arc informed, particularly
at the time of recruitment, about the               at the time of recruitment, about the
undertaking's continuing vocational training        undertaking's continuing vocational training
policy and programmes. In particular, this          policy and programmes. In particular, this
information should include the rules and            information should include the rules and
conditions governing access to continuing           conditions governing access to continuing
vocational training within the undertaking          vocational training within the undertaking
 and/or in partnership with public authorities,      and/or in partnership with public authorities,
 including those applying to the attendance of       including those applying to the attendance of
 training courses during working hours, leave of     training courses during working hours, leave of
 absence to take examinations, and training          absence to take examinations, and work release
 leave ;                                             for the purpose of continuing vocational
                                                     training;
 Point II (vi)et (vii)                               Point II (vi) et (vii)
 Unchanged                                           Unchanged
  Point 11 (viii)                                    Point II (viii)
 encourage access by workers to training of          encourage access by workers to training of
 appropriate duration leading to recognized          appropriate duration leading to recognized
  qualifications. To this end, it should be ensured   qualifications. To this end, it should be ensured
  that training is broadly-based and provides the    that training is broadly-based and provides the
  means to anticipate and master developments         means to anticipate and master developments
  in production systems and the organization of       in production systems and the organization of
  work, as well as the consequences of                work and competitiveness, as well as the
  completing the Single Market, with reference        consequences of completing the Single Market,
  to the economic, technological and social           with reference to the economic, technological
  context of the undertaking.                         and social context of the undertaking.
 ---pagebreak---                                                   ¥-
Point II (ix)                                        Point II (ix)
Unchanged                                            Unchanged
Point II (ix) a (new)                                Point II (ix) a (new)
                                                     support the incorporation of an international
                                                     perspective into national further and continuing
                                                     training policy, with a view to strengthening
                                                     transnational cooperation, contributing to the
                                                     free movement of workers and improving their
                                                     prospects in the European employment market;
Point II (x)                                         Point II (x)
enable less-qualified workers, whatever their        enable less-qualified woricers, whatever their
status, to benefit from continuing vocational        status, to benefit from continuing vocational
training measures enabling them to achieve a         training measures enabling them to achieve a
basic level of qualification, and give them the       less demanding certificated basic level of
basis for mastery of new technologies.               qualification, and give them the basis for
Particular attention should be paid to providing     mastery of new technologies. Particular
access to continuing training for workers who         attention should be paid to providing access to
have not benefited from training for a certain        continuing training for workers who have not
length of time, disabled workers and those who        benefited from training for a certain length of
are most vulnerable in case of unemployment;          time, disabled workers and those who are most
                                                      vulnerable in case of unemployment;
 Point II (xi)                                         •   nt II (xi)
 Unchanged                                            Unchanged
 Point II (xii)                                       Point II (xii)
 encourage access to and participation in             encourage access to and participation in
 vocational training for the unemployed.               vocational training for the unemployed.
 Particular attention should be paid to the young      Particular attention should be paid to the young
 and the long-term unemployed in order to              and the long-term unemployed in order to
 improve their occupational integration and            improve their occupational integration and
 reintegration, in particular by developing links      reintegration, in particular by developing links
 between initial and continuing training and by        between initial training and the practical
 reinforcing the involvment of undertakings in         vocational demands on __them and h•
 their training;                                       reinforcing the involvment of undertakings a.
                                                       their training, in the form of practical training
                                                       periods, for example;
 ---pagebreak--- Point 11 (xiii)   Point II (xiii)
Unchanged        Unchanged
Points III et IV Points III et IV
Unchanged        Unchanged
 ---pagebreak---  ---pagebreak---                                                     -«>-
                                                                      ISSN 0254-1475
                                                               COM(93) 205 final
                                                       DOCUMENTS
EN                                                                               04
                                 Catalogue number : CB-CO-93-230-EN-C
                                                             ISBN 92-77-55719-2
Office for Official Publications of the European Communities
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