A study of the situation and qualification Final Report ...€¦ · A study of the situation and...

The study is being supported by the European Commission

A study of the situation and qualification

of trainers in Europe

Making lifelong learning possible

Fina

l Rep

ort

Janu

ary

2008

Vol. 1

EAC/09/06 Studies on trainers in vocational education and training – key actors to make lifelong learning a

reality in Europe

Lot 1: Trainers, tutors, and others in enterprises who integrate training and education functions into their jobs with varying degrees (from incidental to full-time teaching of trainees and apprentices)

FINAL REPORT January 2008

Institut Technik+Bildung, University of Bremen Simone Kirpal & Roland Tutschner With support from Martin Fischer, Eileen Lübcke, Dirk Stieglitz & Wolfgang Wittig Phone: + 49 (0)421 218 4646 Fax: + 49 (0)421 218 9019 Email: [email protected]

Contents

1. Executive Summary ...................................................................................... 5 2. Introduction ................................................................................................. 19 3. Background: The Changing Role of Trainers in Europe.............................. 20 4. The Project Consortium .............................................................................. 23 5. EUROTRAINER Methodology .................................................................... 25

5.1 Secondary analysis.............................................................................. 25 5.2 Questionnaire....................................................................................... 26 5.3 Semi-structured interviews................................................................... 27 5.4 Selection of participants / description of the sample ............................ 28 5.5 Country reports .................................................................................... 30

6. Work Plan and Activities ............................................................................. 31 6.1 Overview.............................................................................................. 31 6.2 Project activities according to work packages: description

and assessment................................................................................... 33 7. Presentation of Survey Results................................................................... 37

7.1 Trainers’ job and work profile ............................................................... 38 7.2 Qualification, skills and competences of in-company trainers.............. 44

7.2.1 Trainers’ formal qualification ......................................................... 45 7.2.2 Trainers’ skills and competence profile ......................................... 50 7.2.3 Trainers’ continuing learning......................................................... 54 7.2.4 Quality assessment and monitoring of training in companies ....... 59

7.3 The systems of the training of trainers in companies ........................... 63 7.3.1 Effectiveness of the training of trainers......................................... 64 7.3.2 Capacity for development and innovation..................................... 67

7.4 Status and recognition ......................................................................... 69 7.4.1 Recognition of trainers in society .................................................. 69 7.4.2 Why becoming a trainer?.............................................................. 69 7.4.3 Employment situation and status .................................................. 72

7.5 Summary of key findings from the survey with experts ........................ 75 7.6 Limitations............................................................................................ 78

8. Selected Findings from the Country-level Analysis ..................................... 81 8.1 Country Reports – introduction and reflections .................................... 81 8.2 Trainers in companies: issues and trends in a national perspective .... 86

9. Conclusions .............................................................................................. 104 10. Looking Ahead – Continued Cooperation in the Area of Trainers ......... 117

Annex I: Questionnaire distributed among national experts 121

Annex II: Overview and contact details of the consortium members 133

Annex III: Agenda of 1st and 2nd stakeholder workshop 137

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1. Executive Summary

Introduction

The EUROTRAINER study set out to provide an overview and analysis of the situation of trainers in enterprises in the 32 European countries concerning trainers’ tasks and responsibilities, competences, continuing professional development and status, among other aspects. The overall objective of the study was to provide a better understanding of the issues, requirements and challenges with which the target group is confronted in their professional environment and to

Identify central questions and issues related to the target group and trainers’ work situation;

Determine areas which require special attention and action;

Analyse similarities and differences in the trends of European countries;

Identify ‘good practice examples’ and delineate how and with what kinds of modifications and future implications those could evolve into further initiatives on a local, regional, national, sectoral and/or European level.

In addition, the study aimed at making the trainer profession more visible and attractive not only by undertaking research in the area, but also through a series of dissemination activities and exchange with stakeholders and expert institutions at the national and international level.

Based on a decentralised approach in cooperation with seventeen consortium partners, the study involved a combination of different methodologies to assess recent developments in the area of VET trainers in enterprises across Europe and to formulate guidelines to better support this target group in their work. The methods that the study applied included i) a literature review and secondary analysis of existing data and materials from different sources; ii) a questionnaire that was distributed among national experts in 30 European countries. For the results of this small-scale survey 280 filled questionnaires were considered; and iii) semi-structured interviews with national experts (57 in total). Compiled and elaborated by the project partners, the country reports were in the first place based on secondary analysis, but also included results from the qualitative interviews. The outcomes of the survey did not form part of the national-level analysis since the sample sizes by country were too small. Thus, the survey was in the first place interpreted in an international comparative perspective, aggregating the responses on a European level. Summary of findings

At first glance one would expect that in the framework of national economies trainers as a target group can most easily be reached by integrating the training perspective into

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national or sectoral policies that structure education and labour markets. However, our analyses revealed that the issues relating to the situation of trainers is much more complex and that trainers in enterprises are difficult to reach out to, particularly if companies and management do not acknowledge the importance and changing role of training in knowledge-based economies. The national reports made clear that whether companies value the training they offer and invest in training does not only depend on the national training tradition and legal frameworks of educational and labour market policies, but also to large extent on current economic and overall labour market developments. Where due to the tight economic situation companies are put under pressure for rationalisation, resources for training and the continuing professional development of staff, including trainers, typically is one of the first areas affected by cost saving measures. Only in exceptional cases do companies compensate quantitative rationalisation with higher investments in quality and human resources. On the other hand, the labour market situation in terms of unemployment rates also has a strong impact on the investments companies make in training. We found that in countries where the workforce supply is higher than the demand due to high rates of unemployment – youth unemployment rates in particular – companies tend to pay less attention to the quality of the training they provide. This is the case in most transition countries, for example, where companies largely ignore the important role of training and its possible benefits. One reason might be that companies have a choice in their recruitment process from an abundant workforce supply. By contrast, in countries where labour supply is less than labour demand and companies have difficulties finding enough people and new recruits with the right sets of skills, training turns into an important factor of competitive advantage to attract young motivated trainees. In Austria, Denmark and Finland, for example, workforce shortages have induced new debates and measures in the area of training in which aspects of quality monitoring and generating organisational commitment of employees through training offers are important factors. Where companies regard training as being important, trainers also derive benefits, because their work is put in the centre of attention and becomes more highly valued and recognised. Ultimately, if training and trainers’ work are considered important for the company, a positive impact is generated on trainers’ status and their further continuing professional development as they will receive more support from their employer.

While the organisational approach towards training – either at the level of the individual company or at a more collective level, for example, in a particular sector – is one key determinant of the situation and status of trainers it is important to keep in mind that the status of trainers also depends on the status of their work environment in general, such as the sectoral or occupational area in which they work and what status vocational training, the vocational route and skilled workers have in general in society. The reputation and responsibilities of trainers vary a lot according to the location and extent to which the programmes and qualifications they deliver are perceived as having high or low status. This variability due to status extends beyond organisational policies at the company level, but rather addresses national policies of different areas. In the UK,

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for example, government-funded work-based programmes for young people (such as apprenticeships) generally are of very low status and this also affects the position of trainers in society. In Hungary, the social status of skilled workers is generally low so the vocational route and basic vocational training are also of very low prestige. In Germany and Austria, by contrast, the vocational route has traditionally been well recognised and receives a lot of support at different policy levels. From such a tradition trainers are much better positioned.

One major difficulty in addressing trainers and assessing their work, qualification and status in Europe derives from the fact that most trainers – in fact the vast majority of trainers in most European countries – are not recognised as a distinct category, neither in terms of their function nor as an occupational group. In the first place this is true for skilled workers in companies who assume training functions as part of their regular job and thus operate as part-time trainers. But even where full-time trainers exist, they may not be recognised as a particular employee category by legislation or the company. Where the occupational or employee category of ‘trainer’ is absent no statistical data are being generated for this group, which could specify their socio-economic characteristics such as employment status, social background, educational level, age or gender. This partly explains why in many countries data and background information on the situation of trainers are not available. In most cases only limited data were available on the basis of national statistics on training or from educational institutions in charge of certifying the training of trainers at different levels. Thus, one important step forward to better assess the situation of trainers would be a requirement to include this perspective or category when national or sectoral employment and labour market statistics are being generated.

Apart from statistical difficulties other issues derive from the trainer, tutor or instructor not being designated as a professional profile, but rather as a functional role. Obviously, employees who assume training functions without obtaining a certain status, recognition or designation as ‘trainer’ or ‘tutor’ will not develop an identity as a trainer. Not surprisingly, part-time trainers typically do not see themselves as trainers but as ordinary workers for whom training constitutes one feature of their regular work. Those trainers will not have developed vocational identities as trainers and thus will not feel addressed when trainer issues are being raised. This lack of identification particularly affects any issue related to trainers’ continuing professional development and the enhancement of their skills. For example, courses for trainers will not reach those employees and skilled workers who do not consider themselves as trainers unless management makes them aware of their special role. However, we found that even management may not be aware and supportive of special training requirements, particularly in SMEs. Where no particular requirements are established for companies which offer or implement training, management tends to lack awareness of the particular responsibilities related to providing training. As a consequence, management will not be supportive of enhancing the quality of training the company provides or trainers’ competences unless there is some market pressure (such as workforce or skills shortages), which brings the training issue onto the company’s agenda. In Turkey,


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Greece and the Baltic states, for example, it was stated that management is largely unaware of the important role of training and trainers and this significantly limits the professional development and continuing learning of trainers. In other countries, by contrast, training issues that have long been ignored by companies until recently have become more important due to workforce shortages and the rising demand for young qualified workers on the labour market. As a result countries such as Denmark, Finland, Hungary and France have entered into a new discussion about training where quality and the role of trainers and how to enhance their competences to meet changing labour market demands have become major issues of concern. In some countries, these debates have led to emphasising more the practical part of vocational education and training (as in Finland). Strengthening or reintroducing apprenticeship programmes may be another way to respond to skilling needs, but also to problems of social integration of young people (as in France).

The absence of a trainer identity as one major reason why it is difficult to address trainers in enterprises as a target group also explains why there exist hardly any interest groups for this occupational category in Europe. As most trainers have a vocational identity as skilled workers that is anchored in their respective vocational background and occupational expertise, some countries pursue a sectoral approach as a way forward to reach out to trainers and training issues at the company level. The sectoral approach is taken, for example, in the UK with the new Sector Skills Councils or in Denmark where the Trade Committees are in charge of training and the training of trainers. The case, however, will be somewhat different for trainers who work in companies as external contractors either on a part-time or full-time basis as it can be expected that those have developed some kind of trainer identity and can thus be reached through the ‘trainer label’.

Apart from the sectoral route to addressing in-company trainers, we also found that in countries where no regulations exist in terms of company requirements for companies to provide minimum training standards an alternative approach in some cases could be established through following up on basic workplace health and safety regulations with which companies have to comply (like in the Czech Republic or Greece). As workplace health and safety is typically a highly regulated area, it could be identified as one possible route for establishing basic standards for training and trainers in some national or sectoral contexts. In sectors where health and safety issues play an important role such as in health care, energy, transport, public administration or defence, training in general but also the training of trainers is typically much more regulated. This may partly explain why in some countries training and the training of trainers in health care or public administration were cited as good practice exemplars (in Finland, Greece, Estonia and the Czech Republic, for example). Thus, in countries where introducing minimum standards proves to be extremely difficult, the route via workplace health and safety is being followed by some countries as a way to raise the level of responsibility and recognition of trainers and enhance their basic qualifications.

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In terms of qualifications and skills, we found that in most countries trainers in companies are not expected to have a particular trainer qualification, but need to be skilled workers with a certain period of work experience (typically several years). In fact, considerable practical work experience was found to be important in most countries. Thus, countries tend to focus on trainers’ vocational background and expertise as a prerequisite for becoming a trainer, while only a minority of trainers are also expected to have received some pedagogical training to be able to train others. In countries where the IVET tradition is strong (such as in Germany and Austria) certain standards for trainers also apply in terms of providing evidence of their capacity to work with young people and pedagogical competences typically are a requirement to train young apprentices. Another focus in those countries is placed on trainers having some basic knowledge of health and safety issues and legal frameworks, also as they concern youth.

In terms of competences, three levels of competences are of relevance to trainers: first, vocational competences that enable the trainer to train work-practice related, basic vocational and technical skills; second, pedagogical and social competences to facilitate didactic processes and the work with young people and colleagues, in particular fostering the integration function of training, mentoring, corporate learning elements and the effective transfer of knowledge; and third management competences to support so-called secondary training-related processes, including quality monitoring and assurance, project management, cooperation with different company departments or with external training institutions and vocational schools, among others. Management competences are gaining significance, particularly as concerns training activities in larger companies, but also in SMEs in the context of new forms of cooperation and networking between smaller companies to combine their training efforts and offers.

The study revealed that the vocational competences, which are in almost all European countries a prerequisite to become a trainer, are well developed among trainers throughout Europe both in terms of quantity and quality. In contrast most trainers lack pedagogical and management competences. As concerns pedagogical and social competences, most countries have realised the increasing demand for such competences and are struggling with strengthening the pedagogical component in trainers’ basic and further qualification. In terms of management competences, these anticipate the future role of trainers and do not yet form part of trainers’ training agenda in most countries. With a few exceptions, companies and training institutes are not (yet) aware of the changing role of trainers and therefore do not realise that coordinating and management skills are key competences in the effective organisation and delivery of training.

Essentially, the changing role of trainers seems to refer to two aspects: one is an internal role re-definition of the trainer from ‘instructor’ to ‘coach’ or ‘facilitator’, questioning the former authoritarian position of the trainer and requiring new forms of communicative and social competences to engage in team working, mentoring and


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facilitating innovative forms of learning. The other aspect addresses the changing responsibilities of the trainer as the nature of the training itself is changing with more elements of project-oriented learning, new aspects of quality assessment in the learning processes and more complex coordination with other training facilities and institutions. The re-orientation towards work processes, which could be observed in some countries, also increases the amount of management functions trainers are expected to assume. Overall, we conclude that trainers are not qualified and prepared to realise and deal with those new tasks and changing role expectations. This presents a major challenge for the future.

Possible routes to tackle the area of trainers / Innovations in the area of training and trainers in enterprises

Quality management and quality assurance Introducing quality management and monitoring of training in enterprises is a popular route to address the role, recognition and qualifications of trainers (e.g. in Finland, Denmark, the UK, Austria and Cyprus). While some countries aim to establish quality assurance through a centralised approach, which should make quality monitoring compulsory for all companies that provide training (such as in Austria) other countries prefer a decentralised, voluntary approach, which is expected to be more accepted by companies (such as in Denmark or the Czech Republic).

Competitions between companies of good practice examples of training and skills development Some countries aim to encourage companies to develop good practices of training by organising competitions, which also evaluate and recognise the role of trainers. ‘UK Skills’, for example, is a government-sponsored agency, which organises skills competitions at local, regional and national level. It chooses candidates for the Skills Olympics and also runs the annual National Training Awards. The Austrian ‘Fit For Future’ competition is targeted towards companies that provide basic vocational and apprenticeship training.

Funding/awarding/sponsorship of promising initiatives in training Similar to the competition approach, one way to enhancing the trainers’ role and improving training standards is through financially supporting promising and effective initiatives and practices. One example is the UK government sponsorship of the Investors in People (IiP) award. IiP UK is a non-departmental public body responsible for the IiP ‘standards’, which cover a range of areas related to personnel development and management, connected to business strategies and the running of effective organisations. Also the UK Union Learning Fund seeks to enable workers to attend training and adult education courses.

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Regulation and standardisation One of the most common routes countries follow is enhancing trainers’ status and work situation through introducing different packages of regulation and standardisation. These packages can be realised at different levels, affecting in the first place companies, trainers or the training of trainers: i) Establish minimum standards/requirements for companies who offer training

places to young trainees (Austria, Germany, Estonia); ii) Establish minimum requirements in terms of trainers’ basic skills and

competences which are considered necessary to effectively deliver training (France, Germany, Austria, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Turkey). Countries increasingly seek to introduce certification for trainers. In Portugal, for example, all state-financed training must now be given by certified trainers. Other countries operate a register of certified trainers such as Germany and Greece. The standardisation/regulation of trainers’ basic skills in some countries is linked to profiling the training profession and aiming to establish a professional profile for trainers (like in Germany, the UK, Poland and Romania) and/or to defining the required basic competences of trainers in relation to the establishment of a National Qualification Framework (Czech Republic, Malta, Hungary, Romania, Turkey);

iii) Establish qualifications/certification for the continuing training of trainers (Austria and Germany). Germany, for example, seeks to implement a new action- and process-oriented methodological approach and new curriculum structure for the training of trainers. Austria is establishing a CVET Academy on the basis of a partnership concept concerned with the two-level certification and recognition of competences of adult trainers according to clearly defined standards.

Accreditation of prior (informal) learning How trainers’ informally accrued competences and experiences can be transformed into a formal qualification is of concern in many countries since most trainers have acquired their knowledge, skills and competences through non-formal and on-the-job learning. France and Portugal, for example, have put procedures in place that accredit trainers’ prior learning by means of a formal qualification or certification. The formal recognition of prior learning is also regarded important in order to enhance trainers’ mobility.

Decentralisation of responsibilities for training implementation and policies The decentralisation of responsibilities to regional, sectoral and/or local authorities and institutions including chambers of commerce and industries to structure, organise and implement training (Italy, Finland, Turkey) and the training of trainers (Norway) is an observed trend in some European countries.

Establish or revitalise apprenticeship programmes/Strengthen the practical part of vocational training Almost all European countries at some point in their history had established a well functioning apprenticeship system, which in most countries collapsed or was significantly restructured due to economic and/or political changes. Some countries seek to revitalise, newly establish or strengthen apprenticeship programmes as a


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means to give a stronger role to practice-oriented training in companies (England, Scotland, France, Czech Republic, Hungary, for example). Apart from strengthening the trainers’ position through apprenticeship programmes, apprenticeships are also considered to support the social integration of young people if effectively implemented. An alternative to apprenticeship programmes is strengthening the practice component of vocational training systems that are predominantly school based. Finland, for example, has significantly increased the practice part of vocational programmes through skills demonstrations, generating not only a stronger work practice orientation of the Finnish vocational education system, but also fostering the training of trainers and the cooperation between vocational schools and enterprises.

Strengthen collaboration and partnership between different institutions responsible for training Many countries have realised that bringing the different stakeholders of training together in order to facilitate cooperation, partnership and networking between the different actors can be an important step forward to making vocational training programmes more effective and strengthening the trainers’ role as key actors in this area. In particular, cooperation between vocational schools, enterprises and public administration in the implementation of training and the training of trainers has become a key strategy in some countries such as in Finland, Italy and Poland. Other countries such as the Czech Republic facilitate stronger exchange and networking between different key stakeholders and research institutes that cover the area of training in companies.

Support research in the area of training, trainers and the training of trainers Research addressing the situation of trainers is largely underdeveloped and one reason for the lack of data and background information on trainers in enterprises across Europe. This does not only make it difficult to assess the current work and situation of trainers, but also to plan and predict future developments and needs. Realising the changing and increasingly important role of trainers some countries (such as Hungary and Germany) are pioneering the route towards investing in the research on trainers.

• Introduce or integrate training and trainer issues into other policy areas and make them strategically a key focus and/or priority Another route that countries pursue is to integrate aspects of training, trainers and the training of trainers into different policy areas. Which policy area might be most suitable and promising to advance on the topic can depend on the set priorities, national traditions, the respective policy frameworks and possibilities of intervention, among other aspects. Some countries address, structure and strengthen the field of training and trainers in enterprises by making it form part and strategically a focus of 1. Lifelong learning policies (in Austria, Greece, Hungary); 2. Sectoral policies for skills development (UK, Denmark); 3. Human Resources Development policies at the company and national level

(Czech Republic, Poland);

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4. Policies on workplace health and safety regulations with which companies have to comply (Czech Republic, Greece).

The above listed routes to tackle issues emerging around training in enterprises and the situation of trainers illustrates that countries pursue different strategies depending on their cultural, political and economic traditions and established frameworks of possibilities for interventions and innovation. On the one hand, national traditions somewhat correlate with the presented routes such as the UK engaging in competitive, benchmarking and sectoral approaches; the Scandinavian countries favouring decentralisation and cooperation; and Germany and Austria focusing on regulation and standardisation. We can also see that in countries where traditions have been interrupted and fundamentally challenged due to severe economic and political changes (such as in the transition countries or Malta) policies and recommendations promoted at the European level are more openly picked up and implemented. Those European policy recommendations include, for example, the development of a National Qualification Framework and lifelong learning strategies, which are both used to establish competence standards for trainers or enhance the role of training in the respective national context. However, it is also apparent that a clear categorisation of countries’ strategies is extremely difficult. In fact, most countries pursue a combination of different avenues to foster the role of trainers, which can be regarded as complementary in some cases, but which may also induce contradictory developments counteracting each other. In Turkey, for example we find on the one hand a centralised approach towards the standardisation of trainers’ basic skills and competences that should be linked to the establishment of a National Qualification Framework and, on the other hand, a tendency to decentralisation that gives more autonomy to the chambers in establishing their own competence requirements and training of trainers programmes. The coordination of both approaches is not yet very effective thus partly leading to contradictory developments. In Portugal and Greece, much regulation has been put in place in terms of certifying and registering trainers, but the quality of training and the status of trainers remain rather poor. Those examples indicate that more in-depth analysis is still needed at the level of the respective national context to identify possible effective combinations of intervention.

Future Trends

The country reports and expert interviews predict that the decreasing number of skilled workers and overall workforce shortages in most European countries combined with efforts towards implementing lifelong learning policies will increase the importance and recognition of training staff in the mid and longer term. While training personnel in large and multinational companies in most contexts have already gained a prominent role this trend is also expected to trickle down to SMEs in the future, even if in many countries


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companies have not yet realised that the quality of training and skills development are key factors to enhance a company’s economic performance.

The growing importance of training will certainly affect the position and status of trainers in enterprises in a positive way. It will also make it easier to support investment in training and the training of trainers and address trainers in enterprises as a target group. However, it is not clear whether overall this will induce higher or lower numbers of specialised trainers – employees who spend more or even most or all of their working time on training as full-time trainers. On the one hand, it is expected that particularly in countries with a strong IVET tradition the numbers of full-time trainers will decrease in line with fewer numbers of apprentices and young trainees due to demographic changes and the strengthening of the academic route among school leavers. Those countries expect that instead of some big companies having many trainees, there will increasingly be many companies who each train a few people, leading to increasing numbers of part-time trainers, i.e. workers, who integrate training functions into their job to various degrees. This will induce more inter-company cooperation for training, which will also affect and re-define the status and work of trainers. On the other hand it can be argued that if training is gaining significance, more employees will need to specialise in delivering training, acquiring particular expertise in training and assuming full-time training responsibilities. This will particularly be the case in countries where until now the role of training and trainers is underdeveloped. Also, it is not clear whether those trends will lead to more external or more in-company training. On the one hand, many school-based vocational systems are already partly being substituted and/or complemented with more practice-based elements that take place in the company, strengthening the role of in-company training and trainers. This trend of higher proportions of practice-based learning is likely to expand in the future. On the other hand, it is expected that cooperating structures between companies to organise training will also lead to more training being offered outside the company and former in-company trainers will move to external training environments in the course of different training cooperation initiatives. This is likely to affect trainers in large companies as well as in SMEs. Overall, it is expected that networking and cooperation between companies, but also between companies and other institutions such as vocational schools, training institutions, research institutes, etc. will gain significance in the area of training and the training of trainers, particularly for SMEs seeking to optimise their resources. In this context, new technologies and learning and exchange tools, particularly those supported by new information technologies and e-learning, will become more important.

One other dominant trend indicates that the role and image of trainers is fundamentally changing: While formerly the trainer was recognised as an authority, who ‘knows everything’ trainers in enterprises have become more of a ‘learning coach’ or ‘facilitator’. To which degree the notion of trainer as a facilitator can further develop highly depends on the internal structure of the company (such as the levels of hierarchies) and the tasks and responsibilities allocated to trainers. It also depends on opportunities for the continuing professional development of trainers and forms of raising

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awareness of the new trainer role within companies. Closely linked to the changing role of trainers is the profiling of trainers’ pedagogical and social competences, which become increasingly important to facilitate didactic processes, mentoring, corporate learning, team working, the effective transfer of knowledge and the integration function of training. It was observed in all countries that trainers increasingly assume educational and integrating functions (e.g. in the context of working with immigrant workers) due to enhanced mobility and demographic changes.

While instruction-based training approaches no longer seem to be appropriate and accepted, neither by trainees nor companies, the EUROTRAINER study indicates that a considerable proportion of trainers still revert to conventional learning methods and training styles. Apparently, this is linked to the lack of continuing learning and training opportunities for trainers and lack of knowledge of and access to innovative training methods.

In addition to the growing importance of pedagogical and social competences, trainers are becoming more involved in so-called secondary processes such as quality monitoring and assurance, project management and cooperation with different company departments and training institutions outside the company, including vocational schools. While management competences are gaining significance, particularly as concerns training activities in larger companies, but also in SMEs in the context of new forms of cooperation and networking between smaller companies to combine their training efforts and offers, they do not yet form part of trainers’ training agenda in most countries. With a few exceptions, companies and training institutes are not (yet) aware of the changing role of trainers and therefore do not realise that coordinating and management skills are key competences in order to effectively organise and deliver training.

Overall, there is a growing interest in basic and additional qualifications and certification for trainers and more offers for the academic training of trainers and recognition of their prior (informal) learning. Also, a trend towards the sectoral monitoring of trainers’ qualifications can be observed (for example in Romania, Germany, UK, France and Hungary). In addition, the recognition of the overall skills and competence portfolio of trainers extending beyond their formal qualifications is growing. It is expected that trainers will increasingly need to fund and structure their own continuing learning instead of relying on initiatives and support from management or public initiatives. It could further be observed that the continuing learning of trainers is becoming increasingly individualised.

On an international and European level it can be expected that international benchmarking and the competitive element of identifying and promoting examples of good practice will gain significance and affect training strategies and the situation of trainers at the national and company level, too. The challenge, however, remains how to effectively transfer innovative methods and good practice, which are developed in some companies or through specific projects, to practice. In many countries multinational companies develop their own standards that do not necessarily interface with the


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national systems. This can have a positive influence in that it creates ideas and incentives for national companies (such as in Greece), while it sometimes also has a negative impact, for example if those standards are not connected with the nationally established standards (such as in Germany). In some countries, multinational and large companies are increasingly assumed to take the lead for the training of trainers so that national bodies may be tempted to deny their major responsibilities in this area. This also addresses the crucial issue of the financing of the training of trainers, which in the new European member states and also some other countries is highly dependent on EU-funding, typically provided through the European Social Fund (ESF). Here, it was critically noted that countries need to find their own ways to ensure sustainable funding for the continuing professional development of trainers that does not rely on financial support from the European Union.

Recommendations

In the area of trainers in enterprises, the study identified a number of levels and areas that may provide a good starting point for interventions to improve the situation of trainers. The examples of the previous section, which also identified innovations and routes for improvements in the area of trainers in enterprises, have shown that countries pursue different avenues and strategies. The country reports in Volume II illustrate that what is most promising and suitable in a given context largely depends on the labour market traditions and the political and economic situation and established frameworks of the respective national context. Thus, an aggregation at the European level is not only a difficult task, but likely to be impossible. In fact, much more in-depth analysis is still needed and the lack of data and background material on trainers in companies present one major difficulty and future challenge to better map possible effective interventions in this area. Despite these difficulties, we have concluded five general recommendations or areas of intervention, which from the results of the EUROTRAINER study seem to be promising and beneficial to all European countries. These areas include:

• Raising awareness Raising awareness about the key role training and trainers assume in knowledge economies needs to be prioritised. While raising awareness is important at several levels, such as at the national level, and can be pursued using a variety of available policy frameworks (such as lifelong learning and sectoral policies, workplace health and safety regulations and HRD policy frameworks), the study indicates that the most effective way to reach out to trainers is through awareness raising at the company and management level. As the company is the most important framework of reference for trainers in companies, reaching out to companies and management is one effective means to support trainers’ continuing professional development, the development of their pedagogical and social competences and the sharing of experiences and innovative training tools. Here, a horizontal exchange and cooperation between companies might be very promising.

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• Support the continuing professional development of trainers to optimise their skills and competence profile Three levels of competences are of relevance to trainers: vocational competences (to train work-practice related, basic vocational and technical skills), pedagogical and social competences (to facilitate didactic processes, the work with young people, the integration function of training, mentoring, corporate learning and the effective transfer of knowledge) and management competences (to support secondary training-related processes such as quality monitoring and assurance, project management, cooperation with different company departments and external training institutions). The study has shown that the vocational competences of trainers are well developed throughout Europe and are in almost all European countries a prerequisite to become a trainer. By contrast most trainers lack pedagogical, social and management competences. While most countries have realised the increasing demand for pedagogical and social competences and are struggling with strengthening the pedagogical component in trainers’ basic and further education, management competences, which anticipate the future role of trainers, do not yet form part of trainers’ training agenda in most countries.

• Develop, share and ensure accessibility to effective and innovative training tools In all countries we found that trainers in companies need to be supported in their work with new tools and ideas for delivering innovative training, coaching, training assessment and engaging young people in the learning process. The majority of trainers have not been trained and still work quite traditionally, applying instruction methods which are based on their own experience. Innovative tools and materials are most commonly found in large and multinational companies since those organisations have more resources to invest in developing their own training programmes. Overall, innovative training tools are scarce and where developed, accessibility was a major issue of concern. While some countries are engaging in e-learning and on-line learning and networking initiatives (such as France, Italy, Poland, Denmark, Spain, Germany), it can be expected that only a minority of trainers will be able to use such tools. Thus, the development of alternative training materials and their easy distribution, exchange and application should be one priority in the future.

• Support for SMEs In almost all countries large companies often have developed good practice in training and have the resources to employ full-time, well qualified trainers and to support the continuing learning of their training personnel. Many large companies operate their own training centres and develop their own training materials and methods. In other cases, large companies contract external professional training personnel and training providers for delivering in-company training. SMEs, by contrast, were mentioned as disadvantaged at many levels, partly due to lack of resources, but also due to pressures of rationalisation, staff shortages, lack of knowledge and know-how when it comes to training, lack of young motivated trainers and lack of time for training. Very small companies can only offer basic training if they cooperate with other companies. Thus, SMEs would largely benefit from more support for inter-company cooperation in the area of training and the training of


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trainers and exchange with large or even multinational companies, which were often cited as good practice examples. In such kinds of exchange, cooperation and knowledge transfer external trainers and training providers should also be involved.

Support research and data generation on trainers and training providers Research addressing the situation of trainers is largely underdeveloped in all European countries. In addition, hardly any statistical data are being generated on trainers, which could specify their socio-economic characteristics such as employment status, social background, educational level, age or gender. The main reason why statistical data on trainers are not being generated is because trainers are not recognised as a distinct category, neither in terms of their function nor as an occupational group. Even full-time trainers may not be recognised as a particular employee category by legislation or the company. Lack of background information and data makes it extremely difficult to assess the situation, status and qualification of trainers and plan and predict future developments and needs in the area of training and trainers. Thus, more research and data generation on trainers should be promoted, encouraged and supported at the regional, national and European level.

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2. Introduction

The following presents the Final Report of “Studies on trainers in vocational education and training – key actors to make lifelong learning a reality in Europe: Trainers, tutors and others in enterprises”, shortly named EUROTRAINER. The study was commissioned by the European Commission, DG Education and Culture to the Institute Technology and Education of the University of Bremen, Germany in November 2006 with duration of 12 months.

The Final Report gives an overview of the work the project consortium undertook during the 12 months duration of the study and presents the study results. It describes the different work steps the study followed and whether and how the different objectives of each work step have been achieved based on the work plan set out in the Inception Report. It further makes reference to the cooperation with the partners, including cooperation with the parallel study on trainers in private and public institutions (Lot 2). The outcomes of the partner meetings and stakeholder workshops, which were held during the project period to support the study, are integrated in the presentation of the final results.

According to the different methodologies the study applied the Final Report comprises two parts: Volume I integrates the design of the study, its background, overall findings and conclusions. It is based on the survey results, qualitative interviews with national expert, the country reports and the several workshops that were carried out together with the project partners and other experts. Volume II presents the national-level analyses in form of country reports on the situation of trainers and the training of training in the 30 European countries the study covered. Synthesised by the project partners, these 30 country reports are based on secondary analysis of existing data as well as interviews with national experts.

The emphasis of the report is placed on integrating the results of the study. For more detailed information concerning the background, rationale, aims, methods and structure of the study we would like to make reference to the Inception Report, which was presented to the European Commission in January 2007.


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3. Background: The Changing Role of Trainers in Europe

The Lisbon strategy initiated a process by which new attention was placed on the area of vocational education and training (VET) in Europe. Improving the education, training and skills development of individuals was explicitly identified to play a crucial role for achieving the Lisbon objectives, attaining social integration and economic growth for all European member countries. VET as a new political priority area was concretely formulated by the Council of Ministers in Copenhagen (2002) and reinforced in Maastricht (2004) and Helsinki (2006).

The work programme “Education and training in Europe: Diverse systems, shared goals for 2010” formulates concrete steps in terms of initiating and accelerating reforms in the education and training systems at national and European level. An important influence in this context is exerted on the quality of the national education and training systems and the role that teachers and trainers play within both systems. Further, teachers and trainers were identified to be the most important players in the general strategy for promoting a knowledge society and a knowledge-based economy. Within this context, the improvement of the training of teachers and trainers has been emphasised as one central dimension to improve the educational systems in the future. Thus the initial training and further continuing competence development of teachers and trainers is to receive special attention in future European policies, particularly against the fast changing requirements for trainers and their changing role in the framework of an agenda for lifelong learning.1

In a knowledge-based economy the role of teachers and trainers is fundamentally changing, requiring that the way in which teachers and trainers are prepared for their new responsibilities and supported in their new role also need to be adjusted. New strategies to actively pursue and implement the agenda for lifelong learning have led to ever wider contexts and processes of learning. This includes, among other aspects, a newly increasing focus on non-formal learning, work-based learning and e-learning. The effects and consequences of this process have been that training and continuing learning are diffusing into a wide range of areas resulting in an increased number of people who assume an active role in providing training, which has come to form part of their occupational profile. In this context trainers are gaining new roles and responsibilities.

To partly address these future challenges, the Maastricht Communiqué of 2004 specified the following goals:2

1 Commission of the European Communities, Report of the Commission: The concrete future objectives of

educational systems. Brussels 2001, p. 6-8. 2 Maastricht Communiqué on the Future Priorities of Enhanced European Cooperation in Vocational

Education and Training (VET), 14 December 2004, p. 4.

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To determine the specific learning needs and changing role of teachers and trainers in vocational training;

To identify possibilities for making the teaching and training profession more attractive;

To promote and support the continuing up-dating of the professional skills of teachers and trainers;

To support teachers and trainers in their important role as facilitators and innovators in the learning environment.

Despite these targets and objectives applying to both teachers and trainers in practice the particular situation of trainers in VET has so far not received very much attention. Although recognised as key players trainers in basic and further vocational training have largely been ignored as a target group. Thus, the situation and qualification of VET trainers and tutors and their future role remain vague and largely under-researched: How to effectively improve vocational training and development possibilities and the overall work situation of VET trainers present largely unsolved problems in most countries. One reason why the situation of trainers is difficult to tackle is that much of their work and training takes place on a more informal basis. Another reason is that in most countries trainers are not designated as an employee category or occupational group.

The EUROTRAINER study was designed to fill this gap by providing an analysis of the situation of trainers in companies as concerns their tasks and responsibilities, competences, continuing professional development and status, among other aspects. It was designed as a parallel study to Lot 2, which addressed the situation of trainers in private and public institutions and the respective training market. Both studies were targeted to i) assess the developments and progresses made in the area of VET trainers; ii) formulate guidelines to better support this target group in their work; and iii) make the trainer profession more visible and attractive.

The focus of the EUROTRAINER study was placed on employees who work in small, medium or large enterprises/companies and who are involved in the provision of initial and continuing training to colleagues in the same enterprise. Concretely, the consortium defined the target group as

people, who stimulate learning and integrate initial and/or continuing training and education functions into their jobs to various degrees (preferably by actively engaging in carrying out training activities) and who are employed by a private or public enterprise.


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The overall objective of the study was to provide a better understanding of the issues, requirements and challenges that the target group is confronted with in their professional environment. Concretely, it was set out to:

Identify central questions and issues related to the target group and its work situation;

Determine areas, which require special attention and action;

Analyse similarities and differences in the trends of European countries;

Identify ‘good practice examples’ and delineate how and with what kinds of modifications and future implications those could evolve into further initiatives on a local, regional, national, sectoral and/or European level.

In order to investigate the issues evolving around the training and professionalisation of in-company trainers in Europe, the consortium carried out an assessment and evaluation of the work, qualification and training of trainers in 30 European countries. Concretely, EUROTRAINER sought to answer the questions specified in the tender for the study. These referred to the following areas:

1. Competences and skills: What kinds of competences, skills and qualifications are expected of a trainer and how are these assessed and monitored? Do specific quality demands and tools for quality assessment exist in particular contexts?

2. Job responsibilities: What are the concrete work tasks of a trainer? Do trainers rather engage in initial or continuing training activities? What are the main kinds of training activities trainers carry out?

3. Continuing learning and professional development: Do trainers regularly up-date their knowledge, skills and competences that are related to their training activities? Do they engage in continuing learning activities? What kinds of career perspectives offer enterprises to trainers? Do companies support and recognise their trainers’ continuing learning?

4. Status and recognition: Are trainers full-time or part-time employees of their respective organisations? To what extent are training-related activities recognised in an enterprise, for example in terms of career possibilities, benefits, etc.? Is there a need to raise the attractiveness of the training profession?

5. Quality assessment of training activities: What kinds of mechanisms do enterprises have in place to assess the quality of the training they provide? Are the trainers regularly evaluated, and if so on the basis of what kinds of criteria? Are the learners being consulted in this process?

6. Future trends: Can we identify any trends or directions in terms of the situation of trainers? Are training activities perceived as being of increasing or rather decreasing importance for the economic success and competitiveness of an organisation?

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4. The Project Consortium

The study was conducted by a consortium that included institutions, experts and consultants prominent in the field of VET research, analysis and development at national as well as international level. The consortium of partner organisations and consultants was selected according to the level of expertise in the area and the proven capacity to cover the 32 countries the study extended to, being the 27 EU member states, the EEA countries (Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein) and the candidate countries (Turkey and Croatia). The Institute Technology and Education of the University of Bremen, Germany, coordinated the study and partner activities and was as the contractor responsible for the delivery and presentation of results.

In order to successfully implement the study, responsibilities were shared between the consortium members and the coordinator. Apart from providing management and team leadership ITB integrated the results at the European level and presented the outcomes of the study to the European Commission and a wider audience. Further, ITB supported the partners in their efforts to gather information through secondary analysis and to make contacts to experts for generating first hand information. The consortium members’ key responsibilities consisted of synthesising country level information into country reports (see Volume II for details) and gathering information by implementing the methodology of the study. Thereby all partners engaged in developing together a common methodology for data collection and synthesis. For the large countries like France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK national leading expert institutions were preparing a more in-depth analysis for each country, while smaller countries were grouped into country clusters (like, for example, the BENELUX, Baltic or Scandinavian countries).

Apart from facilitating information exchange between the partners, ITB also facilitated close cooperation and exchange with Lot 2 “Trainers and tutors in private and public training institutions”, which was being conducted by the Dutch organisations Research voor Beleid and PLATO of the University of Leiden. ITB further facilitated close cooperation and exchange with other projects, programmes and activities dealing with the situation of trainers in Europe, namely:

Lot 2 “Trainers, tutors and others in private and public training institutions”;

the Leonardo da Vinci project TTPlus on “Frameworks for the continuing professional development of trainers”; and

the European network TTNet.

ITB ensured that the partners involved in these projects and networks had the opportunity to share information, materials and contacts. Connecting these related activities was being supported by the EUROTRAINER internet platform and the involvement of representatives from these projects in the two EUROTRAINER stakeholder workshops.


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A central objective of the consortium’s approach consisted of establishing good linkages and cooperation with other national leading stakeholders, experts and agencies in the 30 countries that the study covered. Consulting with those experts was a major methodological tool supporting the study. With this approach it was possible to create a network of national experts and expert institutions across Europe, which have a leading role in the area of trainers in their respective countries. The follow-up new Leonardo Network ‘EUROTRAINER II – Network to Support Trainers in Europe’ will build on this structure, stimulating further exchange and cooperation in the field (see Chapter 10 for details). The consortium members included:

Table 1: Overview of the project consortiums

Partner Countries Contact Person

ITB (Institut Technik und Bildung, University of Bremen, Germany)

Coordinator Simone Kirpal Roland Tutschner

Ibp (Institut für Berufspädagogik, University of Karlsruhe, Germany)

Project supervision and guidance

Martin Fischer

BIBB (Bundesinstitut für Berufsbildung, Germany)

Germany Anke Bahl Herold Gross

ISFOL (Instituto per lo Sviluppo della Formazione Professionale dei Lavoratori, Italy)

Italy, Malta Marianna Forleo Giulia Governatori

Centre INFFO (Centre pour le développement de l'information sur la formation permanente, France)

France Françoise Dax Boyer Régis Roussel

LEID (School of Lifelong Education and International Development, UK)

UK (Scotland), Ireland Lorna Unwin

Complutense University of Madrid, Spain

Spain, Portugal José Luis Garcia Molina

Research voor Beleid, the Netherlands BENELUX countries Anton Nijssen

IER (Institute of Educational Research, Tallinn University, Estonia)

Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania

Krista Loogma

Ibw (Institut für Bildungsforschung der Wirtschaft, Austria)

Austria, Czech Republic, (Slovakia), Liechtenstein, Hungary

Sabine Archan

O.E.E.K. Organisation for Vocational Education & Training, Greece)

Greece, Cyprus, Bulgaria, (Croatia), Turkey

Vana Kanellopoulou

Vocational Teacher Education Unit (Häme University of Applied Sciences, Finland)

Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Island

Martti Maturi

Olga Strietska Ilina (consultant) Poland Olga Strietska Ilina

Liliana Voicu (consultant) Romania Liliana Voicu

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5. EUROTRAINER Methodology

The study applied a number of different and complementary methodological tools for data gathering, generation and synthesis. These included:

A survey among national experts; Qualitative interviews with national experts; Country reports.

Apart from developing the country reports one major responsibility of the project partners consisted of implementing the methodological tools of the study. Concretely, this involved to i) identify for each country a certain number of experts/stakeholder organisations and/or institutions in the area of trainers in enterprises; ii) contact these stakeholders and distribute among them and collect standardised questionnaires; iii) conduct a selected number of in-depth interviews with some of the experts/stakeholders, summarise the results of the interviews in English and present them to the project coordinator; and iv) feed the contacts of the national experts/stakeholder institutions into an international expert database (with agreement of the individuals/institutions) by providing and sharing the contact details with the coordinator.

For the presentation of the final results, the findings are being integrated and presented at two different levels: at the national level in form of country reports and at the European level in form of identifying main issues and trends. While the country reports are primarily based on secondary analysis using existing data from national and international resources, the study also generated new data by means of a survey and in-depth expert interviews. The outcomes of the survey were analysed in an international comparative perspective, building the basis for identifying main issues in the area of trainers in companies. While the survey was implemented in all participating countries when looking at the final results it is important to keep in mind that those quantitative data were not used to inform the national level reporting. Only the information obtained through the expert interviews were used at both level, i.e. to inform the country reports as well as the integration of results at the European level.

In order to ensure a common methodological approach the different methodological tools were presented, adapted and finalised by the consortium partners during the first partner meeting held in January 2007.

5.1 Secondary analysis

Between month 1 and 10 of the study, all consortium partners conducted a literature review and secondary analysis of existing data, which in one way or another make reference to the work and situation of trainers in companies. The information obtained from this review was used for all levels of interpretation, mainly relying on:


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Studies and own research conducted by the consortium partners and associated organisation;

National and regional level information and resources stemming from studies, projects, reports, initiatives and statistical data;

International resources, including research projects and statistical data (such as from CEDEFOD, OECD, ILO, ETF, etc.).

Like we assumed at the outset of the study not much data and information on the situation and work of trainers and tutors in companies is currently available. Overall, it is an area that is largely under-researched and not covered by national labour market or other statistics. Apart from CEDEFOP information, most information on in-company trainers incorporated and referenced to in the country reports could be found on a national and regional level. The reference sections of the national reports, when taken together, can in fact be regarded as an inventory of existing studies and literature in the field.

5.2 Questionnaire

As not much data specifying the work, qualification and situation of trainers in companies could be obtained through secondary analysis the study also generated new information by means of a survey and selected in-depth interviews with experts. Overall, 280 questionnaires filled by national experts were considered for the EUROTRAINER dataset, covering 29 European countries. Despite considerably efforts, no data could be obtained for Croatia, Slovenia and Slovakia.

The purpose of the questionnaire (see Annex I) was to generate information on the situation of trainers on the key themes specified in the tender (see Chapter 3 for details). The aim was to identify trends and issues in Europe concerning trainers in companies. Thus, the survey outcomes were interpreted in an international comparative perspective, but not to identify issues at the national level. As for some countries the sample size was very small (see Chapter 5.4) no relevant conclusions could be made at the national level on the basis of the questionnaires. Only were the sample size reached a higher number (such as in Germany and Spain) partners on their own account used the national results of the questionnaires to identify issues and trends as concerns the situation of trainers in their country. However, apart from Spain and Portugal the partners did not conduct a systematic analysis of the questionnaires as this was the responsibility of the contractor using the questionnaires from all participating countries. Country-level information was primarily being obtained through secondary analysis and semi-structured interviews with national experts.

The questionnaire was initially developed in German and English and pre-tested in Germany. In addition, ITB also produced a French version. This means that the coordinator provided the questionnaire in German, English and French with the English version serving as the master version since this was the version all partners discussed

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and agreed upon during the first partner meeting. In some countries, however, the partners felt that the questionnaire needed to be translated into the national language in order to facilitate better understanding and more accurate responses. Thus, some partners translated the questionnaire – and special thanks go to the Italian, Hungarian and Bulgarian partners who translated the questionnaire on their own account. As a result the questionnaire is now available in six European languages, i.e. Bulgarian, English, French, German, Hungarian and Italian. The demonstrated commitment of the partners highly supported the successful implementation of the questionnaire.

5.3 Semi-structured interviews

Apart from the questionnaire the study also implemented a qualitative component by realising 57 interviews with national experts. For the most part the national experts who participated in the interviews also took part in the survey. The purpose of conducting in-depth interviews with experts was twofold. First, the interviews informed the descriptive part of the study and filled the gaps that could not be filled by the secondary analysis and the survey. Second, the interviews helped to analyse reasons, solutions and suggestions for the situation of trainers. Thus, partners had the opportunity to discuss and analyse current challenges, future trends and good practice examples together with the experts. The summaries of the expert interviews are compiled in Volume II together with the respective country report.

During the first partner meeting, the consortium members agreed on a common format in form of semi-structured interview guidelines for conducting the in-depth interviews. The interview guidelines that structured the expert interviews are summarised below.

Interview guidelines for conducting semi-structured interviews with experts

1. Introduction

- What is your role/function in relationship to the work and training of trainers?

2. Identify major issues/key challenges in a national perspective and briefly discuss them - Can you identify 3 major issues or current challenges that in-company

trainers face at the moment in your country?

3. Discuss in a national perspective the following issues that have been identified by the partners as being of relevance across Europe 1. Staff shortages of trainers and suggested remedies 2. Professionalisation of in-company trainers 3. Recognition

4. Identify good practice examples maybe of a company or sector

5. Describe some anticipated future trends in a national perspective


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5.4 Selection of participants / description of the sample

As concerns the implementation of the methodology, i.e. the distribution of the questionnaires and realising semi-structured interviews, the study followed a coordinated but decentralised approach. This means that the participants for the quantitative and qualitative component of the study were selected by the project partners at the national level.

During the first partner meeting the consortium discussed who would be the appropriate individuals to be involved in the study, i.e. who could be considered to be an expert in the area of in-company trainers. During that meeting, the consortium defined an expert as “somebody, who knows very much about the target group”. The target group was defined as “trainers, tutors and others, who integrate initial and/or continuing training and education functions into their jobs (preferably by actively engaging in carrying out training activities) and who are employed by a private or public enterprise.”

This approach makes clear that neither was the consortium able to define beforehand who would be an appropriate expert in the respective national context, nor was it possible to find a common definition applicable to all national contexts across Europe. As a consequence, it was left to the partners to decide who would best represent the expertise required for the study and who would be in a position to answer the questionnaire and participate in the interviews. On the other hand, partners were expected to ensure diversity of the sample in that the national experts should represent

Different sectors (industry and crafts); Theory (academia/research) and practice (companies); Employers and unions; Initial and continuing training.

It was further assumed that most experts would work in key expert or stakeholder organisations/institutions/agencies active in the area of VET training and trainers in enterprises. While most experts of our sample in fact did have an institutional affiliation, in some countries experts are predominantly working as independent consultants without any particular institutional linkage.

Despite the fact that for some countries experts from one or the other field were overrepresented, overall the diversity of the sample could be ensured through a balanced representation of experts from theory and practice as well as public and private organisations.

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Graph 1: Composition of expert sample (all countries)

5,6%

10,8%

12,3%

32%

23%

16,3%

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35

others

research

social partners/associations

administration/governemnt

teaching/training institutions

enterprise

As concerns the distribution of questionnaires and interviews, the following table provides an overview of the sample composition by country:

Table 2: Overview of sample composition by country

No. Country Number of quest.

Expert interviews

No. Country Number of quest.

Expert interviews

1 Austria 12 4 16 Latvia 6 2

2 Belgium 8 0 17 Liechtenstein 1 0

3 Bulgaria 10 1 18 Lithuania 5 1

4 Czech Rep.

7 1 19 Luxembourg 2 0

5 Cyprus 7 0 20 Malta 7 3

6 Denmark 10 2 21 Norway 2 1

7 Estonia 10 3 22 Poland 6 3

8 Finland 14 3 23 Portugal 10 4

9 France 10 1 24 Romania 10 4

10 Germany 31 7 25 Spain 26 4

11 Greece 9 2 26 Sweden 5 1

12 Hungary 10 1 27 Netherlands 18 0

13 Ireland 1 0 28 Turkey 12 2

14 Iceland 6 1 29 UK/Scotland 7 2

15 Italy 18 4

N 280 57


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5.5 Country reports

Each partner produced an interim and a final national report on the situation of trainers in companies and the training of trainers for the country or countries (in cases were partners covered a country cluster) taken responsibility. The final national reports together with summaries of the expert interviews are compiled in Volume II of this Final Report. The objective of the national reporting was to have some national-level information for the 32 European countries the study was set out to extend to. Depending on the priorities defined by the consortium and the availability of data in the different countries, the reports vary in their depth and quality. They have a minimum length of four and a maximum length of 30 pages. No country report could be developed for Croatia and Slovenia.

For developing the national reports the consortium agreed to follow a common structure, which the partners modified according to the availability of data. With this common approach it was possible to generate comparable information as well as to identify gaps of information and determine for which particular aspects no information is currently available. Developing the country reports was guided by the following structure:

Structure of the national-level reporting:

1. Background and country context 2. Organisation: How is the work and training of trainers in companies

organised? 3. Economy: How is the work and training of trainers financed? 4. Selection and allocation: How are trainers selected and how are human

resources allocated? 5. Qualification: How are trainers qualified? 6. Social integration: How is the reputation of trainers and how are they

integrated in enterprises/society? 7. Innovation: How innovative is the work and training of trainers? Are there

any good practice examples in your country?

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6. Work Plan and Activities

6.1 Overview

The EUROTRAINER study started on 13 November, 2006 with duration of 12 months. The following chapter provides an overview of the activities the project consortium undertook during the project period. The activities and results are assessed against the work plan and timetable, which was presented in the proposal for the study and the Inception Report. As outlined in the proposal, the different work packages were scheduled as follows:

WP1 (month 1-12): Project management and overall coordination

WP 2 (month 1-5): Conduct secondary analysis of existing data on national, international and European level

WP 3 (month 1-2): Develop the methodological tools of the study

WP 4 (month 2-5): Implement the methodological tools, i.e. distribute and collect questionnaires and conduct in-depth interviews with experts

WP 5 (month 5): Produce and present Interim Report

WP 6 (month 5-8): Data synthesis and analysis: statistical evaluation of the survey, produce country reports, interpretation of data

WP 7 (month 8-9): Review, assessment and exploitation of results: identify needs and challenges in a European perspective

WP 8 (month 10-12): Write, present and disseminate the Final Report

Excepts for minor deviations which are detailed below it can be stated that the study has been progressing according to the pre-planned timetable without encountering major delays. Only the final integration of results has been delayed slightly, partly because not all partners delivered their country reports in time. The overall successful implementation of the study certainly is due to the proven partners’ high commitment to the study and the resources and support provided by ITB. As a result of the good cooperation between the consortium members, the partnership is being continued in the follow-up project EUROTRAINER II – Network to Support Trainers in Europe funded under the Leonardo da Vinci Programme with duration from 2007 to 2010. It can also be stated that the sharing of tasks and responsibilities between ITB and the partners was clear and effective. While ITB was involved in all work packages, the consortium members predominantly assumed responsibilities for WP 2 and WP 4. During the first partner meeting the sharing of tasks and responsibilities was specified along the following tasks:


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Table 2: Division of tasks between coordinator and partners

ITB Consortium partners

Overall coordination; organisation of two partner meetings

Coordination with Lot 2 study; facilitate exchange with other related projects

Present results of the study to the European Commission in form of three project reports

Organise two stakeholder workshops

Conduct secondary analysis of existing data on an international and European level

Facilitate the development of methodological tools

Support the partners in implementing the methodology of the project

Data analysis and integration of information and results – identification of future trends, needs and challenges

Participate in two partner meetings

Literature review: conduct secondary analysis of existing data on national, international and European level

Produce country reports

Implement the methodological tools of the study to facilitate data collection and share results

Collaborate with ITB to establish a database of national experts/ stakeholder institutions

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6.2 Project activities according to work packages: description and assessment

WP 1 (month 1-12): Project management and overall coordination (responsibility: ITB)

Month 1 Institute the project consortium and reassure partners’ commitment to the study;

Meeting with Lot 2 coordinators RvB and PLATO in Bremen to coordinate the two studies on trainers in Europe; identify areas of cooperation and plan future joint activities.

Month 2 Plan and organise first partner meeting with consortium members on “methods/data gathering”

The first partner meeting was held on January 12/13, 2007 in Bremen. The main objectives of the meeting were to agree on common methods for data gathering and presentation of results. Further, the consortium partners agreed on a common work plan and timetable for the remaining 10 months of the project period sharing responsibilities between the contractor and the partners (see above). The consortium members confirmed their commitment to the study in the context of the EU’s agenda for lifelong learning, valuing their participation as a great opportunity to establish a new framework for further networking and continuing cooperation in this area.

Month 3 Produce Inception Report, which was presented to the European Commission on February 2, 2007;

Formalise collaboration with the consortium partners in form of partner contracts;

Write proposal for a joint symposium on ‘Trainers in Europe’ together with Lot 2 for the European Conference on Educational Research (ECER) 2007 held in Ghent, Belgium on 19-22 September, 2007

Create linkages with related studies/projects/networks

Month 4 Produce project flyer in English and German Create internet platform: http://eurotrainer.bazaar.org

Month 5 Plan and organise 1st stakeholder workshop

Month 6 Implement 1st stakeholder workshop, which was held in Brussels on May 4, 2007 (see Annex III)

The aim of the stakeholder workshop was to present the EUROTRAINER study and fist interim results to a group of experts for discussion and reflection. The meeting was organised for 20 international stakeholders, all experts in the field of company-based training and trainers. After presenting general background information about the project ITB presented the first results of the international survey based on data from 185 questionnaires. The focus was laid on a European and national comparative perspective of results based on a first descriptive analysis.


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In the afternoon, we had two external inputs for further discussion: The first contribution by Anne de Blignières (University Paris-Dauphine, France) who introduced perspectives of TTNet and first outcomes of the study conducted by TTNet on the professional profiles of VET trainers. The second contribution by Gabriele Schmid from the Austrian Federal Ministry of Economics and Labour gave insight into the vocational training system of Austria where the vocational route is particularly strong. We then split up into working groups to discuss the interim results and possible policy implications. Overall, the workshop provided a good forum for exchange. We received valuable input from the stakeholders as concerned further analysis and integration of material and data generated. Write and present Interim Report (WP 5)

Month 10 Organise in collaboration with the BIBB a small partner meeting, which was held on September 3-4, 2007 in Bonn, Germany.

Plan and organise 2nd partner meeting and stakeholder workshop.

Month 11 Implement Final Conference on Trainers in Europe, which combined the EUROTRAINER 2nd partner meeting and 2nd stakeholder workshop and partner meetings and stakeholder workshop of Lot 2. It was held in Leiden, the Netherlands on October 22-24, 2007 (see Annex III).

The conference on Trainers in Europe was set out to present, discuss and evaluate the results of Lot 1 and Lot 2 studies together with relevant national and international experts and stakeholders in the area of VET trainers. The aim was to provide a forum that could stipulate policy recommendations in the area of VET trainers for future activities at national and European level. While each of the two studies presented its own approach and results, the joint conference also facilitated developing an integrated perspective of the two target groups, particularly in discussing policy implications. The two-day conference combined plenary sessions and small working groups and involved around 60 experts. The EUROTRAINER partner meeting was held the day preceding the conference.

Month 11 ongoing

Share and compile national expert contact details; creation of an international expert database on VET trainers.

Where national experts agreed to be involved in follow-up activities and the dissemination of results, their contact details are fed into an international expert database. This activity is on-going, extending beyond the end of the official duration of the study. The expert contacts will be a particularly valuable resource for follow-up activities related to the new EUROTRAINER network.

Month 12 Write and present Final Report (WP 8)

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35

WP 2 (month 1-10): Secondary analysis of existing data on national, international and European level (responsibility: partners)

Month 1 to 10

The reviewing and evaluation of existing information from various sources at the national, international and European level was an on-going activity shared between ITB and the project partners. The partners incorporated international and national level information and data on the situation of in-company trainers into their country reports. Where partners encountered difficulties to access or use international-level information, ITB provided support. The secondary analysis was extended as an on-going activity until month 10. The first draft country reports (2-5 pages) produced by some of the partners were included in the Interim Report. All final country reports are compiled in Volume II of the Final Report.

WP 3 (month 1-2): Develop the methodological tools of the study (responsibility: ITB)

Month 1 to 2

During the first two months ITB developed the methodological tools that the study implemented (see Chapter 5 and Annex I for details). During the first partner meeting the different methodological tools were presented, adapted and finalised by the consortium partners.

WP 4 (month 2-5): Implementation of methodological tools (responsibility: partners)

Month 2 to 5

The implementation of questionnaires was delayed, because

i) some partners decided to translate the questionnaire into their national language (Bulgaria, Hungary, Italy); ii) partners wanted to have official project information (flyers) at hand for distribution when approaching national experts.

As a result, the implementation of questionnaires turned into an on-going activity in order to consider as many filled questionnaires as possible for the final analysis. Results from 185 questionnaires were presented at the 1st stakeholder workshop and Interim Report, while data collection continued until September to include 280 questionnaires for the final analysis.

Where partners encountered difficulties to yield satisfying response rates, ITB provided support by sending questionnaires to experts in selected countries using its contacts of international cooperation. ITB further developed an on-line format of the questionnaire to facilitate easy distribution. One important result of this initiative was that the centralised strategy was not very successful. This proved the study’s initial decentralised approach right in that an essential means to successfully involve experts is to do this through national partners.

Partners conducted in-depth interviews with experts between month 4 and 6, which were summarised and shared with the coordinator.


36

WP 6 (month 5-8): Data synthesis and analysis (responsibility: ITB and partners)

Month 5 to 6

ITB carried out the first statistical analysis based on 185 questionnaires from 21 countries. These first interim results were presented at the 1st stakeholder workshop and formed part of the Interim Report.

Partners produced initial draft country profiles (2-5 pages), which were compiled in Annex I of the Interim Report.

WP 7 (month 8-10): Review, assessment and exploitation of results: identify needs and challenges in a European perspective (responsibility: ITB)

Month 9 to 10

Final statistical analysis and modelling based on 280 filled questionnaires from 29 European countries.

Analysis and interpretation of in-depth interviews with experts that the partners conducted.

Review, edit and compile the final country reports into an integrated and coherent format.

Review, assessment and exploitation of results: identifying trends and challenges in Europe. To link back the EUROTRAINER aggregated results to the national level findings, a small partner meeting was organised in month 10 with support of the BIBB, Germany.

WP 8 (month 9-12): Present and disseminate results of the study (responsibility: ITB)

Month 9 to 12

Organise final Dissemination Conference for about 60 participants combining a joint stakeholder workshop together with Lot 2 and involving the consortium partners of both studies. This event took place from 22-25 October, 2007 in Leiden, the Netherlands.

Present initial results at a symposium at the European Conference on Educational Research (ECER) 2007 held in Ghent, Belgium on 19-22 September, 2007. Together with Lot 2 the two studies and their interim results were presented to an international audience, mostly educational experts.

ITB further presented the EUROTRAINER results at several national and international conferences and seminars including - German TTNet meeting, 12 June 2007 in Bonn, Germany - Regional workshop, 27 June 2007 in Bremen, Germany - International Conference: Research on Vocational Education and Training for International Comparison, 25-28 September 2007 in Göttingen, Germany - Danish expert workshop, 12 November 2007 in Copenhagen, Denmark

Write, present and disseminate Final Report and an executive summary. If agreed by the European Commission, the Final Report will be published as an ITB Working Paper Series in March 2008.

January 2008

37

7. Presentation of Survey Results

The following chapter presents the results of the survey that was implemented in 29 European countries. First insights into identifying current trends and future needs in the area of trainers in companies were gained from the statistical analysis of the questionnaires that were distributed among national experts and multipliers (cf. Chapter 5.2 for details). The questionnaire was organised around several sets of questions, which addressed different aspects of the main topical areas specified in the tender. These included: trainers‘ work; their skills, competences and continuing learning; the training that companies provide; trainers’ employment situation, status and professional development; and the training of trainers. In most cases respondents had the possibility to give multiple answers to each question (see Annex I for details). The questionnaire further included two open questions, which were incorporated in order to give experts the possibility to provide a more differentiated description of certain aspects. As most respondents did not fill these open questions no valuable information could be obtained from this section for most countries. Thus, the open questions were only considered where they provided some additional insights such as in Germany. In those cases the outcomes of the open questions are integrated into the overall country level interpretation of results.

Our data comprised mainly dichotomised variables with some ordinal scaled variables. Therefore statistical methods that are applicable are very limited. For the inductive statistic procedure we used chi-square to gain insight into the correlation between two variables. For the ordinal scaled variables we applied Man-Whitney-U-tests which compare the dispersion about the mean within two groups. Overall, the statistical analysis was conducted with SPSS.

In the Interim Report we also experimented with analyses of frequency distribution on the basis of two forms of clustering of countries, one according to regional differences and one by categorisation of VET system. Notably, a statistical cluster analysis deriving from the data could not be conducted. The possibility of analysis according to country clusters or country groups has been discussed in-depth with the consortium members during our partner meeting in September and no consensus could be obtained concerning the categories according to which countries should be grouped together. The partners rather emphasised that a country level analysis would be more valuable than, for example, looking at countries by region. This partly confirms our experiences from the Interim Report in that for most questions the clustering did not reveal significant additional insight. Thus, we have for the presentation of the final results abandoned the idea of grouping countries into larger country clusters, but will rather take into account trends and developments in individual countries or in Europe in general. Sometimes reference will be made to countries, which have a strong IVET tradition or Nordic or transition countries if the interpretation reveals that there are marked trends as concerns these country groups. In addition, countries which only


38

realised a very small sample size and show similar characteristics with a neighbouring country were grouped together in order to better present the data. This procedure is of relevance for the following countries:

Austria/Liechtenstein

Belgium/Luxembourg

Estonia/Latvia/Lithuania

Greece/Cyprus

Sweden/Norway

UK/Scotland/Ireland

7.1 Trainers’ job and work profile

The first section of the questionnaire had the objective to assess more accurately trainers’ job and work profile and to find out what in-company trainers are actually doing in their daily work. The first question investigated whether trainers rather belong to a company unit, which is specifically responsible for training or human resource development or whether trainers rather form part of a technical division or specialised unit of the company. Accounting for national variations, it can be stated that the majority of trainers belong to company divisions, which assume direct responsibility for training or human resources development (almost 70 per cent). By contrast, the attachment of trainers to a technical division is with 15 per cent surprisingly low. This seems to indicate that the majority of trainers are recognised as trainers within their immediate work environment in that from the perspective of the employer carrying out training activities ‘officially’ forms part of their work profile.

Company units trainers belong

6,6

11,1

15,6

23,5

23,6

19,5

0 5 10 15 20 25

others

organisation development

technical devision

IVET

CVET

HRD

January 2008

39

The second question aimed at concretising trainers’ work tasks by offering 13 answer categories of possible tasks a trainer may carry out. We found that most tasks are directly training related, i.e. include responsibilities such as the organisation, implementation and evaluation of training courses, skills assessment, the introduction of new training methods or mentoring. These categories account for about 60 per cent of all trainers’ work tasks across all European countries. Less important are other tasks like recruitment, budgeting, collaboration with schools or resolving conflicts.

This task profile indicates a rather traditional role of the trainer, where corporate responsibilities (such as recruitment or budgeting of training courses) and training-related secondary processes (such as cooperation with vocational schools) do not form part of trainers’ main tasks. While other European studies indicate that the professional profile of trainers is changing into the direction of a facilitator, our results from this section of the questionnaire do not yet indicate such a trend. The response category ‘counselling/mentoring’, for example, remained below 10 per cent, as did ‘resolving conflicts’ with not even up to 5 per cent. Another finding is that trainers are hardly being involved in the financial aspects of training, as ‘budgeting’ also yielded remarkably low with 5 per cent.

Distribution of trainers' tasks

10,910,5

9,7

8,6 8,37,7

6,1

3,8

1,9

7,2

5,2

13,3

1,3

5,3

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

carry

out tr

aining

evalu

ate tra

ining

organ

isatio

n of c

ourse

s

coun

sellin

g/men

toring

imple

ment n

ew tra

ining

meth

ods

asse

ss sk

ills

facilita

te tra

inees

deve

lopmen

t

supp

ort le

arning

at w

ork

estab

lish l

inks t

o sch

ools

recrui

tmen

t

budg

eting

resolv

e con

flicts

voca

tiona

l reha

bilita

tion

others

Questions 3 to 5 aimed to account for the diversity of different kinds of trainers in

Europe. While initially the questionnaire was designed as a standardised tool, addressing the ‘trainer’ in enterprises in a generic sense, the partners strongly suggested to including questions, which would allow for the possibility of differentiation between different kinds of trainers. Thus, we included a series of questions to gain some understanding of the different trainer types by offering possible categories of differentiation along i) the predominant type of training (initial versus continuing training), ii) the size of the company (small and medium size versus large companies), iii) sectoral


40

differences (industry versus crafts and trade), iv) status (working full time versus part-time) and v) level of qualification (formally qualified versus not formally qualified). We then asked whether the answers of the respondent would represent a particular type of trainer.

To these questions there are essentially two crucial findings: The first one is that against our assumption that a differentiation is critical in order to get a clearer picture of the situation of trainers, more than 30 per cent of the respondents stated that it was not necessary to differentiate between different types of trainers. Thus, we assume that to a significant degree the issues concerning the situation and qualification of trainers in enterprises are the same regardless of where trainers are employed (sector, company size) or what kind of status or qualification they have.

Investigating the situation of in-company trainers in your country, it is important to differentiate between different types of trainers – yes/no?

Frequency distribution

In percentage

Valid percentages

Accumulated percentages

Valid Yes 192 68,6 69,1 69,1 No 86 30,7 30,9 100,0 Total 278 99,3 100,0 Not answered 9 2 ,7 Total 280 100,0

The second finding is that from the two thirds of respondents, who considered

that differentiation is important, no dominant type of trainer could be identified. This means that i) there exist a wide variety of trainers in Europe in terms of the above mentioned criteria and trainers combine those criteria in different ways, and ii) if one is to analyse issues arising around particular types of trainers more in-depth (for example full-time trainers versus part-time trainers) it is important to assess the national, regional and sectoral specificities. Such an in-depth analysis, however, was beyond the scope of this study.

As an example to illustrate national variations between different trainer types we have taken results from Germany, Italy and Spain. These three countries stood out in underlining that the differentiation between different types of trainers was essential.

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41

What are the most important criteria when differentiating between different types of trainers?

70,4

48,150,0 50,0

29,4

58,8

77,8

37,0

78,6

57,1

35,7

17,6

76,5

64,7

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

initial vs. continuingtraining

sme vs. largecompanies

industry vs craft full-time vs part-time qualified vs non-qualified

GermanyItalySpain

We can clearly see that great differences exist between the three countries.

While in Spain the most important differentiation relates to a trainer’s status and qualification, in Italy the size of the company is most decisive. Thus, in Spain the situation of trainers differs strongly as to whether a trainer is responsible for initial or continuing training (this question was not asked in Germany), works full-time or part-time and whether he or she is qualified or not qualified. The size of the company and the sector are rather unimportant in Spain. In Germany like in Italy, the size of the company is very important and whether trainers work full-time or part-time. Formal qualification is rather unimportant, most likely because the vast majority of trainers in Germany are qualified anyway. Overall, correlations between the different trainer types seem to indicate that the most important differentiation is related to whether trainers work in initial or continuing vocational training, particularly in countries with an established tradition of initial vocational training and in the Northern European countries. Continuing training is much more important in the Southern regions. Differentiation between sectors seems to be much more important in Northern countries than in Southern European countries, while the other items are either less significant or require closer examination for specification.

Overall, we found that for analysing the particular situation of the different trainer types the questionnaire may not be the most appropriate tool. In fact, a more detailed description of the different trainer types in the European countries and the associated issues of concern form part of most national-level analysis in form of country reports.

The following two questions investigated the training methods that trainers apply and in what kinds of environment the training that trainers offer in enterprises typically takes place. We provided ten answer categories, which yielded the following results on an aggregated level:


42

What kinds of methods do trainers apply?

3,3

4,5

5,4

11

16

16,6

18,5

9,6

9,6

5,5

0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20

exploration

others

experimenting

e-learning

self-organised learning

project-based learning

textbooks

lecture format

task-oriented learning

demonstration-imitation

We conceptualised the different training methods as representing basically two

broad categories: classical training methods such as lecture format/trainer-centred learning, demonstration, textbooks and task-oriented learning; and more innovative methods such as project-oriented learning, experimenting, exploration, self-organised learning and e-learning. This conceptualisation is supported by running correlations between the different methods: where lecture format and trainer-centred instruction predominate, the use of textbooks and ‘demonstration-imitation’ methods are also high. Task-oriented learning, on the other hand, correlates highest with project-based learning and self-organised learning with exploration. Explorative methods also correlate with project-based learning. As concerns task-oriented learning one could argue that this could be both, rather conventional or innovative, depending on the practice and how it is implemented.

In an overall evaluation, it is striking that the classical training methods in combination predominate whereas innovative methods are underrepresented. E-learning and experimenting together, for example, just reach about 10 per cent. These findings correspond with the findings from the national-level analyses where it was stated that a lack of innovative tools and methods applied in training in companies is a major issue of concern. It was also stated that although technology-based tools, e-learning and blended learning are increasingly being supported and developed, much of it is applied without the proper expertise as trainers do not know how to use such tools. These findings further correspond with the results of the next question addressing the environment in which training takes place. Here we found that 30 per cent of the training in enterprises takes place in a classroom setting. Looking at regional trends, it seems that classroom teaching and lecture format are more established in the Southern European countries, while in Northern countries, which include the Scandinavian

January 2008

43

countries and countries with a strong IVET tradition, task-oriented, project-based and self-organised learning are more developed. In the UK, e-learning and exploration play a more important role than in other countries.

While great variations between countries exist, we conclude from these results that the training methods trainers in companies apply rather revert to conventional-traditional modes of learning and do not align with innovative approaches as put forward by concepts developed in the framework of lifelong learning. As can be seen from our conclusion section, here we identified an area that requires further support and attention.

The last two questions of this section on trainer’ job and work profile sought to specify the modes of cooperation and framework of reference for trainers in enterprises as concerns their training activities. For both areas it was apparent that trainers in the first place refer to their immediate work environment, i.e. the company. In terms of patterns of cooperation, trainers predominantly cooperate with other trainers in the company, management or colleagues (in total almost 60 per cent). While in some countries cooperation with teachers or trainers in vocational schools is also important (such as in Estonia – almost 30 per cent – or in Germany with 22 per cent), the influence of the social partners, trainers from other companies or the chambers is on average significantly low.

With whom do trainers most commonly cooperate in their work?

21 20,7

17,7

13,3 12,9

7,8

5,6 5,1 4,5

0

5

10

15

20

25

other trainers management colleaguesfrom technical

division

VET teachers others trainers ofother

companies

chambers ofcommerce

and industry

social partners labour office

Corresponding answers were given for the framework of reference in terms of

guidelines trainers follow. Company-specific guidelines and guidelines provided by management overall account for almost 42 per cent and can thus be considered most important. In some contexts legal guidelines are also important, which typically need to be adopted by the company and thus to some degree may overlap with the company’s guidelines. Overall, we concluded from these two questions that in-company training


44

may not so much be regulated on a national level, but rather at the company level. This also implies that trainers in enterprises can best be reached through their immediate work environment and that any kinds of input for change should above all come from within the company. This also applies to guidelines. Guidelines of how to implement training or enhance trainers’ skills development, for example, first of all need to be supported and adopted at the company level.

Guidelines trainers follow when carrying out training

24,7

20,8

17,2

10,4

5,7 5,7 5,5 5,3 4,7

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

company-specific

guidelines

legalregulations

management qualificationauthorities

staffassoc/unions

chambers professionalassociations

others employerassociations

7.2 Qualification, skills and competences of in-company trainers

From the outset of the tender, the qualification, skills and competences of trainers in companies was determined to be a key area of investigation and analysis. Consequently, it occupied the major part of the questionnaire with special attention dedicated to the continuing learning of trainers. However, also in the qualitative interviews the competence profile of trainers was frequently addressed and could be identified as a main area of concern. Qualification, skills and competences thereby embrace two different perspectives: they are, on the one hand, closely linked to the professionalisation of trainers and the recognition of their work in society and, on the other hand, address the issue of skilling needs in order to meet future challenges and demands. The questionnaire covered all these different aspects.

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45

7.2.1 Trainers’ formal qualification

Three questions from different sections of the questionnaire indicated that overall, the formal qualification of trainers in enterprises does not seem to be a major issue of concerns. First, we introduced a general question in the last more opinion-biased section of the questionnaire (see chapter 7.3 for details) asking “How do you consider the overall qualification of trainers in your country?” About 60 per cent of all national experts considered the overall qualification of trainers in companies in their country to be rather good. From the six opinion items of this last section this question on trainers’ qualification stood out by being the most positively rated item. However, great variations exist when looking at the situation in individual countries.

How do you consider the overall qualification of trainers in your country?

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Turkey

The N

etherl

ands

Belgium

/Luxe

mbourg

France

Hunga

ry

Finlan

d

Bulgari

a

Austria

/ Lich

tenste

in

German

ySpa

in

Roman

ia

Sweden

/Norw

ay Italy

Czech

Rep

ublic

UK/Irelan

d

Poland

Portug

al

Estonia

/Latvi

a/Lith

uania

Greece

/Cyp

rus

Denmark

Icelan

dMalt

a

bad

good

We can readily see that the formal qualification of trainers in companies is of

major concern in Malta, Iceland, Denmark, Greece/Cyprus and the Baltic states. Why the reasons for each country may vary, we can find some commonalities in that all those countries do not have an established tradition of initial vocational training and that for these countries the training of trainers and the vocational system in general are for large part unregulated. This is particularly true for Malta, Greece/Cyprus and the Baltic states.

Apart from this overall opinion-biased question, two further questions more specifically addressed the level of formal qualification of trainers in terms of i) whether they are formally qualified as a trainer; and ii) whether they are formally qualified as a skilled worker. The answers to those questions indicate that the majority of trainers in enterprises are qualified as skilled workers and that about half of all trainers hold some kind of formal qualification as a trainer.


46

Do trainers have a formal qualification as a trainer?

50%50%

yes

no

Are trainers generally qualified as skilled workers?

27% (no)

11% (not appl.)

62% (yes)

yes

no

not applicable

While on a European level (considering all questionnaires) the level of formal

qualification of trainers is fairly high, reaching 62 per cent with regard to most trainers having completed an initial vocational training programme to acquire skilled work status, great differences exist between countries. For an international comparative perspective, we have chosen five countries to illustrate national differences: Bulgaria, Estonia, Germany, Italy and Spain. In an international comparative perspective it is obvious that Germany clearly represents an exceptional case, because in most countries trainers are not formally qualified with a trainer certificate. Interestingly, while in the UK and Ireland

January 2008

47

most trainers are not qualified as skilled workers, the majority of trainers in companies hold some form of trainer qualification.

National comparison: Trainers in enterprises typically hold a formal qualification certificate as a trainer – yes/no?

40,0%

10,0%

25,0%

60,0%

90,0%

3,4%

83,3%

75,0%

96,6%

16,7%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Bulgaria Estonia Germany Italy Spain

perc

enta

ge o

f res

pons

es

yesno

In comparing those five countries, Germany stands out with the vast majority of

in-company trainers holding a formal qualification as a trainer. This result reflects the formal regulations of the German trainer aptitude decree (Ausbilder-Eignungsverordnung – AEVO), which defines specific requirements as regards the competences that trainers in enterprises should have.3 Also, holding a formal qualification as skilled worker in form of having completed an initial vocational qualification is higher in Germany than in any other country. While the proportion of skilled worker status is also high for Bulgaria and Estonia (as well as for other transition countries), the majority of trainers in Italy and Spain are not formally qualified. For the item of skilled worker status it may also be noted that this perspective or categorisation was considered not to be applicable or appropriate in all countries. In Estonia, for example, 30 per cent of respondents stated that this differentiation is not applicable. Overall, this category yielded 11 per cent.

3 The German ‘Ausbilder-Eignungsverordnung’ is temporarily suspended and being evaluated in 2008. This

may lead to a new picture as concerns the formal trainer qualification in Germany.


48

National perspective: Generally, trainers in enterprises have completed an initial vocational training programme to acquire skilled worker status?

75,0%

60,0%

93,3%

10,0%

0,0%

50,0%

62,5%

30,0%

8,3%

29,2%

37,5%

12,5% 12,5%

6,7%

12,5%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Bulgaria Estonia Germany Italy Spain

perc

enta

ge o

f res

pons

es

yesnonot applicable

It can be stated that the level of formal qualification of trainers both in terms of

trainer and skilled worker qualification is considerably higher in countries with a strongly developed tradition of initial vocational training than in countries which predominantly emphasise continuing vocational training. In the UK, for example, less than 40 per cent are trained as skilled workers compared to 80 and over 90 per cent in Austria and Germany respectively.

When assessing trainers’ formal qualification, we found some correlations between the level of qualification and the tasks trainers carry out. For example, trainers who are formally qualified as a trainer are more likely to be responsible for the skills assessment of trainees and the introduction of new training methods. They are also more likely to be involved in the company’s recruitment processes. Trainers who hold a qualification as skilled worker are much more likely to be involved in skills assessment and evaluation and to assume mentoring functions than trainers who are not formally recognised as skilled workers. From the country reports we know that in most countries, the established courses to acquire a trainer qualification involve the broadening of pedagogical competences. This seems to result in trainers assuming higher levels of responsibility and tasks such as introducing new training methods. Well developed practical subject-specific competences, in turn, also influence trainers’ work profile in that trainers are more likely to take over responsibilities for subject-specific instructions and mentoring, for example. Further does the level of formal qualification influence the training methods trainers apply. For example, formally qualified trainers are more likely

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49

to apply traditional methods that involve lecture format and textbooks, but are also more likely to apply project-based learning.

In conclusion, it can be stated that there is a connection between the level of formal qualification of in-company trainers and the roles and responsibilities they assume within the company and the training methods they apply. Higher qualified trainers are more strongly involved in assuming training responsibilities in more broader terms, including mentoring and counselling functions, skills assessment and innovation in training, whereas not formally qualified trainers more strongly focus on narrowly defined training tasks and instructions. They are also given less responsibility within the organisation. Since trainers in countries with a strong tradition of initial vocational training are generally higher formally qualified, we assume that they are given more responsibility as concerns the implementation of training and associated tasks. We hypothesise that this also generates higher recognition of their work within the company.

Another major finding is that despite the fact that the level of formal qualification across all countries is relatively high, it is not a decisive factor for becoming a trainer. In fact, in most countries a formal qualification is not a requirement, particularly not for trainers working in CVET. This was clearly pointed out in the country reports and is confirmed by our questionnaire. Among the categories of prerequisites to becoming a trainer in a company a formal qualification ranks on the fourth place with only 17.4 per cent. Most trainers are assigned by management; assume training functions in practice without having any particular assignment or qualification to do so; or hold officially the job position as a trainer.

A trainer in a company most commonly is somebody who

2,9

11,7

17,4

17,6

20,9

29,4

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35

others

is recognised by colleagues

is formally qualified

holds the job position as a trainer

assumes training functions

is assigned by management

Looking at national differences, we can state that a formal qualification is

relevant in countries with a strong and highly regulated IVET system (such as in Germany and Austria), while in countries with unregulated systems (such as the Baltic


50

States) being ‘assigned by management’ and ‘recognition of colleagues’ were much more important.

7.2.2 Trainers’ skills and competence profile

Apart from the aspect of formal qualification, several sections in the questionnaire dealt with the skills and competence profiles of trainers in general, also referring to informal skills development and the subjective perception of whether trainers are prepared to perform their training tasks regardless of whether they are formally qualified or not. Concretely, those questions investigated what kinds of skills trainers should have; their desired or required competence profile; if they are generally well prepared to master their training tasks; if there exist particular standards for skills development; and to what extent those standards are similar to standards applying to VET teachers.

In terms of competences it was striking that according to our expert sample the single most important competence a trainer should have was designated as ‘social competence’ followed by a combination of technical and pedagogical competences. Although the questionnaire did not suggest any particular definition of the suggested competence dimensions, there seems to be a common understanding across all countries about what social competence might entail. This category was rated more important than any other competence category. From the qualitative interviews we obtained some features or elements of social competences that some experts referred to. For example, in Austria it was stated that trainers increasingly have to deal with unmotivated and insufficiently prepared apprentices. In Austria and Germany, but also in Scandinavian countries, trainers increasingly assume educational and integrating functions, which are becoming more complex as the social and educational backgrounds of young people are increasingly diverse. Thus, trainers have to deal with a lot of social problems, integrating people from diverse social and educational backgrounds. While they assume ever more educational and integrating functions, trainers are often not qualified to assume such roles.

Another dimension of social competence is related to communication skills and the changing tasks of trainers in terms of so-called ‘secondary processes’ of training. Secondary processes describe work tasks related to, but not narrowly defined as training tasks and involve elements such as quality monitoring and assurance, project management, the coordination with different company departments and the coordination with external training management institutions, for example. As training becomes more complex, those secondary training processes are gaining significance against purely didactical components and instruction. The re-orientation towards work processes also increases the amount of management functions trainers are expected to assume. Experts reckoned that most trainers are not qualified and prepared to realise and deal with those new tasks. For Germany it was stated that those secondary processes are better supported and developed where companies operate with full-time trainers and the

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51

training is more formalised. Where training is not much formalised those secondary processes are not supported and trainers feel over-challenged.

What kinds of competences are required of a trainer?

1,5

2,4

10,1

10,5

12,7

17,6

22,1

23,1

0 5 10 15 20 25

no particular competence

other

pedagogical competences

long work experience

organisational competences

technical competences

technical and pedagogical

social competences

The finding that social competences in trainers’ competence profile are of great

demand and underdeveloped is reflected by the patterns of the continuing learning of trainers (see Chapter 7.2.3 further below for details) in that the most important area of continuing learning trainers engage in also are social competences. Thus, we conclude that there seems to be a strong demand for enhancing trainers’ social competences. Apparently these are not sufficiently developed in most countries. The figure above further illustrates that while technical competences are also important and desired in combination with well developed pedagogical competences, pedagogical competences alone are not enough. The for us surprisingly high figures of trainers, who are qualified as skilled workers also indicate that practical subject-specific skills and knowledge are highly valued. This latter finding let us conclude that trends towards the academisation of in-company training personnel – as increasingly pursued in some countries (such as Austria, Romania, Germany), downplaying the important role of practical, subject specific competences – may not be unproblematic. More detailed analysis is needed to further specify the positive affects that advanced practical subject-specific and technical skills have on the quality of training and what might be the most beneficial and effective mix of technical, pedagogical, social competences and managerial competences. Unfortunately, such a more in-depth analysis was not possible in the scope of our study.

The assessment of trainers’ required competence profile was complemented by a more opinion-biased question on whether trainers in companies generally are well prepared to perform their training duties. The assessment on the basis of all questionnaires reveals a rather positive picture with about 65 per cent of all respondents suggesting that trainers in enterprises are well prepared to undertake their daily training


52

tasks. This overall rather positive bias can also be seen in the graphical illustration below and may partly reflect the relatively high level of formal qualification presented above. However, like it is the case with the formal qualification, an international comparative perspective reveals that there exist major national differences. While Hungary, Bulgaria, Greece, Finland and Malta have a positive judgement on this question, Italy, Denmark, Estonia and Iceland are rather pessimistic. Similar polarisations also will become apparent when looking at the overall evaluation of the system of the training of trainers in Chapter 7.3.

How are trainers generally qualified and prepared to perform their training tasks?

35

40

65

60

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70

prepared to perform

overall qualification of trainers

positive rating

negative rating

In terms of the standardisation and recognition of trainers’ qualifications we found that company-specific standards to be the most influential category. This corresponds with the important role of the company on the modes of cooperation and framework of reference for trainers in enterprises as presented above. Concretely, we asked on what kinds of standards trainers’ qualifications/competences are based in the respective country, providing answer categories to select from national, regional, sectoral and company standards. While on the one hand we can expect that most companies also have to comply with or adopt particular national, regional or sectoral standards so that in some contexts there will be an overlap of standards, the category ‘company standards’ yielded highest with 36.4 per cent. However, national differences also need to be considered, typically reflecting the respective traditions of political administration and forms of legal regulations. Thus, a distinction could be made for countries with an established tradition of initial vocational training, where national standards presented the second most important answer category. In countries characterised by a decentralised

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53

system such as Finland, regional standard typically yielded highest, while the UK’s sectoral approaches are reflected in sectoral standards being most important.

The qualifications/competences of trainers in comanies in your country are based on

36,4

30

11,1

18,3

4,1

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

company standards national standards sectoral standards other standards regional standards

The qualifications of trainers in enterprises are based on

0102030405060708090

100

A/LI EE/LV/LT FI EL/CY UK/IE

nationalstandards

regionalstandards

sectoralstandards

companystandards

otherstandards

We also found that qualification standards for VET trainers are different from

standards that apply to VET teachers. Those differences are significant and in most countries there do not seem to be any areas where standards even partly commonly apply to both groups. Not surprisingly, standards for trainers are much less formalised than the ones applying to VET teachers. There are, however, some countries where standards between VET trainers and teachers are being harmonised and equally apply to both groups. From the interpretation of the country reports it seems that some


54

countries consider this as a route to enhance the status of trainers and their professional recognition, particularly in the transition countries. For Poland, Bulgaria, Hungary and the Czech Republic, for example, a considerable percentage of standards equally apply to VET teachers and trainers. While this is also the case for Malta and the UK, we find that in the Northern countries, including Germany and Austria, the standards for VET teachers and trainers are fundamentally different.

Hungary and Malta, for example, have recently implemented major reforms affecting the trainer profession and required qualification whereby establishing more formalised standards is one guiding principle. As those countries also scored high on the question of trainers’ preparedness to meet performance expectations it might be that making the standards for VET trainers comparable or similar to those of VET teachers also has to do with giving trainers more confidence and support in carrying out training activities. However, this is just an assumption. Thus, in investigating the status and professionalisation of trainers in future, it might be worthwhile to further explore what are the advantages and disadvantages when trainers and teachers are to fulfil similar standards. Unfortunately, it was not possible to analyse this issue further in the framework of this study.

Are the qualification standards of trainers the same that apply to teachers?

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Austria

/ Lich

tenste

in

Belgium

/Luxe

mbourg

Denmark

Franc

e

Icelan

d

Roman

ia

Sweden

/Norw

ay

The N

etherl

ands Ita

ly

German

y

Greece

/Cyp

rus

Portug

al All

Estonia

/Latvi

a/Lith

uania

Finlan

d

Turke

ySpa

in

UK/Irelan

d

Czech

Rep

ublic

Hunga

ryMalt

a

Bulgari

a

Poland

noyes

7.2.3 Trainers’ continuing learning

Closely related to levels of qualification, qualification standards and trainers’ competences, the study also explored trainers’ continuing learning, i.e. their engagement in up-dating their skills, knowledge and competences on a regular basis. In the questionnaire, this section started with the filter question “Generally, trainers in

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55

enterprises engage regularly in continuing training to up-date their knowledge and skills related to their training duties – yes/no?” This general assessment revealed that a little more than 60 per cent of in-company trainers pursue some form of continuing learning on a regular or irregular basis, while almost 40 per cent of trainers in enterprises do not engage in any form of continuing learning.

Trainers in enterprises regularly engage in continuing training to up-date their knowledge, skills and competences

63% (Yes)

37% (no)

yes

no

This rather high proportion of trainers who do not pursue further training extends across different types of trainers, company environments, sectors and regions, but is not clearly a national phenomenon. This means that in all countries we found a mix of ‘yes’ and ‘no’ answers for this question, but with some indicative figures also at the national level. Those figures show that trainers’ continuing learning is rather high in Austria, the UK, Bulgaria, Czech Republic and Portugal, whereas it is strikingly low in the Scandinavian and Baltic countries, for example.


56

National perspective: Generally, trainers in etnerprises engage regularly in contiuing training to up-date their skills

0102030405060708090

100

Icelan

d

Denmark

Finlan

d

Hunga

ry

Belgium

/Luxe

mbourg

Estonia

/Latvi

a/Lith

uania

Sweden

/Norw

aySpa

in

Turke

y

Franc

eMalt

a

Roman

ia

German

yIta

ly

The N

etherl

ands

Greece

/Cyp

rusPola

nd

Austria

/ Lich

tenste

in

UK/Irelan

d

Bulgari

a

Portug

al

Czech

Rep

ublic

noyes

We further wanted to find out why trainers engage in continuing learning and why

not, i.e. identify trainers’ key motivational factors for up-dating their skills. Quite clearly, trainers in enterprises do not engage in continuing learning due to lack of incentives and support by employers. With incentives we referred to financial incentives, but also incentives related to improving career chances, increasing the professional status or other benefits such as better working conditions. While lack of training offers and access also seem to be important the lack of formal and informal recognition was found at the bottom end scoring around 10 per cent. Overall, it can be stated that if trainers are to increase their engagement in continuing learning, the creation of incentives within the company and a stronger support from employers may be the most effective measures to yield better results.

Why do trainers NOT engage in continuing learning?

8,1

8,6

12

12

17,7

17,7

23,9

0 5 10 15 20 25 30

not recognised in company

others

no access to offers

not formally recognised

no training offers

no support by employer

no incentives for training

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57

On the other hand, when exploring the key motivational factors why trainers do engage in continuing learning, it became apparent that the most important factor was personal interest: The continuing learning of trainers is by almost 70 per cent not based on some formal obligations or requirements. Further it is predominantly voluntary and self-initiated (also by almost 70 per cent).

Trainers' continuing learning is in the first place

30,8

30,6

69,4

69,2

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80

self-initiated

based on formal obligations

yes no

It is also important to trainers that their participation in continuing training

activities is valued and recognised by colleagues and within the company, although in most contexts this is not linked to fostering career progression. If we look at the five countries or country clusters below, we can see that only in the Baltic states are forms of continuing learning related to an individual’s career; In Finland and Austria it is most likely not related.

Are the forms of trainers' continuing learning an important aspect of the employees' career progression?

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

A / LI EE/LV/LT FI EL/CY UK/IE

yessometimesrather notno

Overall, only in some contexts are trainers in companies actively supported or required to engage in continuing learning activities by their employer. France, Hungary,


58

Romania and Turkey, for example, stand out with a structure that obliges trainers to up-date their knowledge, skills and competences on a regular basis due to formal obligations, whereas trainers’ continuing training in Austria and the Scandinavian countries is predominantly employer directed. Here, we find interesting combinations in that in Austria the continuing learning of trainers is high, partly based on formal obligations (by almost 60 per cent) and highly employer directed, whereas in the Scandinavian countries the continuing learning of trainers is markedly low although (or precisely because) it is also employer directed, meaning that if the employer does not support the training, trainers’ participation in continuing learning activities is markedly low. Overall we assume from the results that a self-initiated and voluntary approach might be a more effective motivational factor than an employer-directed approach as it seems to more successfully ensure high participation rates in continuing learning. On the other hand, it is important that the employer recognises and supports trainers’ active engagement in continuing learning activities and establishes a system of incentives. That trainers feel supported by their employer and get recognition for their efforts is important.

On the question of how much time trainers actually dedicate to continuing learning no clear picture could be obtained. One important outcome of the survey was that experts apparently know much about the system and the situation of trainers in general, but may not be the adequate target group to inform about the amount of time trainers actually spent on continuing learning. Almost 50 per cent of the respondents stated that they did not know or could not estimate this figure. Thus, we conclude that to find out how much time of their working time (and private time) trainers spend on training can probably best be found out from the trainers themselves.

The study further explored the content of the continuing training activities trainers pursue and here it was possible to obtain quite a clear picture, which matches our results on the required competence profile: In term of trainers’ continuing learning social competences were identified to be the most important area of training activities. Here we can clearly see a correspondence between social competences to be the most required competence a trainer should have, while at the same time being the area that scored highest when looking at the areas of continuing learning of trainers. Other training-related competences such as the monitoring and management of training and tutoring/mentoring also scored high, which confirm the trend that ‘secondary processes’ of training (see previous chapter) are gaining significance. With these results we can clearly identify the trend that the roles and responsibilities of trainers are changing, extending from narrowly defined training responsibilities which are centred around pedagogical issues and subject-specific instructions to involving broader educational functions and more complex training-related secondary processes such as the management of training and cooperation with other departments and institutions, among others. These new features of the work of trainers also require the adjustment of their skills, which needs to be addressed both in terms of trainers’ initial and continuing training, particularly in terms of enhancing trainers’ social competences and

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59

management and coordination capacities. These are regarded as central competences for the successful performance of the training activities a trainer in a company is expected to carry out.

Another important finding of the skills section of the questionnaire is that anything to do with the costs and budgeting of training apparently in most contexts is not managed or organised by the trainers themselves. Budgeting is neither a key area of their work task nor do trainers seem to need to be proficient to deal with the financial aspects of training.

Areas of trainers' continuing learning

5,4

15,2

17,6

18,7

20,6

22,4

0 5 10 15 20 25

budgeting

ICT

management

tutoring/guidance

monitoring/evaluation

social competences

Overall, we conclude that the continuing learning of trainers requires more

attention and support, because it is an important factor influencing the situation, work and qualification of trainers. We further found that the continuing learning of trainers had a statistically significant influence on the positive rating of the existing system of the training of trainers in all six opinion-based categories (see Chapter 7.3) plus the aspect of preparedness. This means that where the level of participation in continuing learning is higher, the overall system of the training of trainers is also perceived as being more effective.

7.2.4 Quality assessment and monitoring of training in companies

Trainers’ skills, competences and the level of their qualification is connected with whether and how the training that companies provide is being assessed, evaluated and monitored. We can assume that where the training in companies is subject to regular quality assessment and monitoring, the skills and competences of trainers are receiving more attention and the continuing learning of trainers is being promoted in order to


60

ensure that trainers are adequately supported to meet the companies’ demands in terms of carrying out training according to the companies’ standards and expectations. This explains why some countries connect issues of trainers in companies with establishing forms of quality assessment and monitoring for the training that companies provide. In Denmark, for example, establishing and supporting the quality assessment of training in companies is considered an important means to enhance the qualification, working conditions and recognition of trainers and better support them in performing their roles. Major initiatives are currently being promoted in order to support companies in establishing quality monitoring systems for their training.

Against this background, the study explored whether and with what priorities the training that companies provide is subject to quality assessment in the different European countries. Like it was the case for frameworks of reference, guidelines and standards of trainers’ qualification we found that also for the quality monitoring of training the companies themselves are the most important players, particularly because external evaluation and assessment by outside institutions is very uncommon. Overall, the category that no other institutions or agencies assess the training that companies provide yielded 75 per cent.

While outside evaluation is uncommon, the results indicated that overall only about 28 per cent of companies regularly assess and monitor the training they provide, while about 25 per cent never assess their training. With the most important response category being training assessment being done ‘on an irregular basis’, we conclude that an established system of regular quality assessment and monitoring of in-company training is rather the exception. Not having the right mechanisms in place for quality monitoring or not having access to adequate tools might be one reason for no or irregular assessment as this category yielded about 50 per cent. Countries where companies seem to have developed a more established system of quality monitoring for in-company training are France, Portugal and Italy, whereas Estonia, Denmark, Finland and Iceland stand out with rather weakly developed evaluation measures for training provisions in companies. Further do the country reports show that quality monitoring of in-company training is more common among large companies than among SMEs.

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Do companies assess the training they provide?

yes47%

regularly28%

no25%

In terms of evaluation criteria it can be summarised that the assessment of

training undertaken by companies is rather out-put oriented (65 per cent). The trainers/trainers’ performance are typically subject to evaluation (rated 89 per cent) as is the impact on the learners (rated 83 per cent). The learners are also involved and consulted in the process of training assessment (by 85 per cent). The (positive or negative) impact of the training on the company itself is also an important factor that is being evaluated (73 per cent). Overall, we received very high ratings on all suggested response categories for the questions on evaluation criteria.

Criteria of quality assessment of training in companies

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

trainer/trainer'sperform ance

impact on the learner im pact on the organisation are learners consulted

noyes


62

In line with the European Commissions’ guidelines, we hypothesise that the quality of the trainers’ work is highly relevant for learning outcomes.4 That the contents and profiles of the work of trainers are considered crucial factors for developing the competences of the workforce is partly reflected in formal regulations like the German trainer aptitude decree (‘Ausbilder-Eignungsverordnung’, AEVO), which defines specific requirements as regards the competences trainers should have. Similar regulations can be found in other European countries, sometimes establishing binding norms as concerns the responsibilities and the training of trainers, sometimes implying more indirect norms like for example in Italy. In Italy, companies that request financial support for in-company training need to meet recently introduced quality criteria, which are also relevant for the qualification of trainers.5 Such regulations are, directly or indirectly, regarded as elements of professionalisation, because they set new professional standards and norms for the work and performance of trainers.

Apart from regularity and criteria of quality assessment of the training that companies provide the questionnaire also addressed the assessment of trainers’ competences. While in the questionnaire the related questions form part of the skills section, the results are herein presented in the context of company’s overall quality monitoring of training.

The question on whether the qualification/competences of trainers in enterprises are assessed, monitored and adjusted allowed only one answer out of five different response categories. Since the responses spread over all five categories in most countries, no unambiguous national trends could be identified. This suggests that rather than being based on national standards the competence assessment of trainers more likely depends on the respective work environment, the company requirements and sectoral standards. France, for example, scored high on trainers’ competences being regularly assessed and never assessed. From the country reports and qualitative interviews we know that some large companies use training and the continuing improvement of the training they provide as a means to enhance their image and market themselves or their products, aiming to attract motivated and committed employees through an advanced and monitored training scheme. Those companies, and in some countries also segments of the public sector, were often mentioned as good practice examples in the respective national contexts. Thus we assume that the concrete company policy and working environment influence the monitoring of trainers’ qualifications and competences much more than any national-level regulation.

While ‘no assessment’ scored high with 25 per cent, overall the picture lead us to conclude that trainers’ competences and qualifications are most likely to be monitored 4 European Commission, Directorate-General for Education and Culture, & Working Group "Improving

Education of Teachers and Trainers". (2003). Implementation of "Education & Training 2010". Work Programme. Brussels: European Commission.

5 Leney, T., & The Lisbon-to-Copenhagen-to-Maastricht Consortium Partners. (2004). Achieving the Lisbon goal: The contribution of VET. London: QCA, London, UK; BIBB, Bonn, Germany; CEREQ, Marseille, France; CINOP, The Netherlands; ISFOL, Rome, Italy; ITB, University of Bremen, Germany; National Training Fund, Prague, Czech Republic; Navigator Consulting Group Ltd, Athens, Greece; Danish Technological Institute, Denmark..

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63

on an irregular basis, above all when work and training demands are changing and may require an up-dating of skills and training methods. The response category of trainers’ qualification being assessed ‘upon changing training demands’ scored highest with 39 per cent. Here again not having or being able to access adequate tools for trainers’ competence assessment is with almost 70 per cent a major issue of concern.

How often are the qualification/competences of in-company trainers being assessed and monitored?

never22%

every year14%

every couple of years8%

upon training demands

39%

others17%

7.3 The systems of the training of trainers in companies

The last section of the questionnaire presented a series of overall opinion items that addressed the quality and effectiveness of the systems of the training of trainers in the European countries the study covered. The system of training of trainers thereby did not only refer to formalised and established systems in a narrow sense, but made reference to the structures that exist in the respective countries to support and organise the training of trainers regardless of the level of formalisation. This means that ‘systems’ can be more or less formalised and that even under conditions of non-regulation and absence of formalisation it can be assumed that some forms of arrangements exist to structure and organise the training of trainers. Thus, even in countries where some experts stated that a system does not exist, we can assume that some form of training of trainers takes place at different levels, thus representing some kind of training structure even if less systematised.

Concretely, this section covered six areas, which can be regarded as the basic functions each system of education and training needs to fulfil in order to ensure some basic level of functionality.6 These functional areas are identical with the guiding structure for the country reports that the partners elaborated (see Chapter 5.5 and Volume II). They entail:

6 Greinert, Wolf-Dietrich: Das duale System der Berufsbildung in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland. Stuttgart,

1995.


64

Organisational aspects: How is the work and training of trainers in companies organised?

Economic aspects: How cost-effective are the work and training of trainers?

Allocation aspects: How are human resources allocated in terms of ‘having the right trainers in the right place’?

Integration into society: How is the reputation and recognition of trainers in the company and in society?

Qualification aspects: How well are trainers qualified?

Innovation and capacity for development: How innovative is the system of the training of trainers in terms of supporting capacity for future development?

In the questionnaire each of those functional areas was presented as a question of a very general opinion-biased statement. To assess experts’ overall opinion on the system of the training of trainers in terms of these six aspects a 4-item scale was applied, ranging from ‘1’ (best rating: very good, very attractive, very well prepared, etc.) to ‘4’ (worst rating: very bad, not attractive, badly prepared, etc.). On a 4-item scale most commonly the respondents tend to avoid extreme statements (‘1’ and ‘4’) and rather opt for a moderate response represented by the numbers ‘2’ and ‘3’. This response behaviour was clearly reflected in our results. Thus, for further analysis we combined the two positive items (‘1’ and ‘2’) and the two negative items (‘3’ and ‘4’) to obtain a dichotomised presentation of positive and negative judgments. This form of presentation in terms of dichotomisation makes it easier to identify trends and issues in the different countries and to follow up on good practice examples. It also may help to indicate routes of development of the situation of trainers.

In this section, we present the outcome and issues related to item 1, 2, 3 and 6, i.e. the systems’ different aspects of effectiveness and capacity for innovation and development. While item 4 on the qualification of trainers was presented in Chapter 7.1, item 5 on recognition will be presented in Chapter 7.4.

7.3.1 Effectiveness of the training of trainers

The first three items under this section of the questionnaire addressed three different aspects of effectiveness: how effectively the system of the training of trainers in the respective country is organised, whether it is cost effective and whether the allocation of human resources in terms of ‘having the right trainers in the right place’ is considered effective. Overall it can be stated that the expert opinions in terms of all three effectiveness dimensions was rather negative. The negative rating is contrasting the positive assessment in terms of the qualification of trainers, which we presented in Chapter 7.1.

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Expert opinions on the effectiveness of the system of training of trainers in contrast to trainers' overall qualification and preparedness (all countries)

40,9

47,850,8

59,7

65,0

59,1

52,249,2

40,3

35,0

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

effectively organised cost effective effective allocation ofstaff

overall qualification oftrainers

prepared to perform

positive rating

negative rating

On the first question of how effectively the training of trainers is organised the

negative assessment reached almost 60 per cent. The vast majority of countries presented a negative rating on the organisational aspects with Estonia, Iceland and Malta indicating severe problems. Also other transition countries – except for Hungary – obviously encounter problems with the training of trainers and are rather dissatisfied with how the training of trainers is organised. The Scandinavian countries present a similar picture. Hungary with its latest reform in 2005 stands out with the most positive rating on the effective organisation of the training of trainers.

How effectively organised is the training of trainers in your coutry?

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Hunga

ry

Austria

/Lich

tenste

in

German

y

The N

etherl

ands

UK/Irelan

d

France

Finlan

d

Greece

/Cyp

rus

Belgium

/Luxe

mbourg

Portug

alIta

lySpa

in

Turkey

Estonia

/Latvi

a/Lith

uania

Sweden

/Norw

ay

Bulgari

a

Poland

Czech

Rep

ublic

Denmark

Roman

ia

Icelan

dMalt

a

not effectiveeffective

Several reasons could be identified concretising why the system of the training of

trainers is not effective. In many transition countries an established system that can


66

support and recognise the training of trainers does not exist, leading to a highly unregulated sector. Also in the Anglo-Saxon country cluster and in France the lack of regulations leads to a variety of standards across sectors, which are not linked or coordinated. For Germany and Finland, for example, it was stated that the training of trainers is not always practice related, which means that it is not demand driven to effectively support trainers in their work and expected roles. In order to enhance the effectiveness some countries are putting forward new legislation for the training of trainers such as the Scandinavian countries. In the UK, a new Sector Skills Council has been established to encourage and promote the training of trainers and to coordinate initiatives of different sectors (see also Chapter 8 for details). However, those initiatives also need to be supported by companies in order to meet the desired goals. Thus, in some countries such as France and Denmark the active involvement of enterprises in any initiative concerning the training of trainers is pursued and highly promoted.

In terms of cost-effectiveness the results are slightly more positive than for the effectiveness in terms of organisational aspects, again with Iceland and Malta indicating major problems. The UK/Ireland cluster seems to stand out with a very cost-effective system. However, cost-effectiveness can mean different things as it was not specified in the questionnaire how cost-effectiveness was being defined. In the Anglo-Saxon cluster, for example, the training of trainers is considered to be cost-effective because it is privately financed, typically paid by the trainers themselves. By contrast, in Finland it is rather cost-effective because most training programmes are funded through the European Social Fund (ESF). In both cases no or little costs incur for companies or public institutions. On the other hand, cost-sharing models like established in Austria and Germany apparently also are perceived as being cost effective.

How cost effective is the training of trainers in your country?

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

UK/Irelan

d

Austria

/ Lich

tenste

in

France

German

y

Turkey

Finlan

d

The N

etherl

ands

Poland

Czech

Rep

ublic

Sweden

/Norw

ay

Denmark

Greece

/Cyp

rusSpa

in

Estonia

/Latvi

a/Lith

uania Ita

ly

Roman

ia

Bulgari

a

Portug

al

Hunga

ry

Belgium

/Luxe

mbourg

Icelan

dMalt

a

not cost-effective

cost-effective

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67

What is interesting when looking at these two items is that apparently the two dimensions of effectiveness are not necessarily connected. Some countries like Poland and the Czech Republic show a rather negative rating on the aspect of organisation, while cost-effectiveness has a positive bias. Hungary stands out with a positive rating on item 1, but has a negative rating on item 2. This indicates that distinguishing between the different functional aspects can help to obtain a differentiated picture, which can further be substantiated on the basis of the country reports (see Volume II).

The third functional aspect referred to the allocation of human resources in terms of having ‘the right trainers in the right place’. We wanted to know whether the job positions trainers have are generally corresponding with their qualifications and potentials or whether the allocation of trainers is rather ineffective. Here we obtained a mixed picture, calling for a more in-depth analysis of the situation in individual countries. Some deeper insight on this issue can be gained from the table of summary of national-level analysis presented in Chapter 8.2 and from the country reports in Volume II.

How effective is the allocation of in-company trainers in your country in terms of having 'the right trainers in the right place?'

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Belgium

/Luxe

mbourg

France

The N

etherl

ands

Czech

Rep

ublic

Finlan

d

German

y

Roman

ia

Turkey

Estonia

/Latvi

a/Lith

uania

Portug

alIta

ly

UK/Irelan

d

Sweden

/Norw

ay

Austria

/Lich

tenste

in

Greece

/Cyp

rus

Poland

Hunga

ry

Icelan

d

Bulgari

a

Denmark

Malta

Spain

ineffective allocationeffective allocation

7.3.2 Capacity for development and innovation

The last question in this section addressing the innovation aspect of the systems of the training of trainers stood out with the most pessimistic rating from the presented six opinion items. It referred to the innovative capacity of the systems in terms of being able to meet future needs and demands. Here, with the exception of Austria, experts in all countries were concerned that their current system was lacking development capacities to meet future challenges. For Austria it was stated that the issue of trainers and the training of trainers is currently receiving a lot of attention in the policy debates, initiating


68

a series of reforms to improve trainers’ recognition and qualification. This visibility of the topic and some concrete actions are most likely considered as the right approach when it comes to meeting future challenges. One major concern in most countries in terms of meeting future demands was that SMEs lack capacities for strategic planning and adequately supporting and qualifying their trainers. Thus, strategic focus and support to improve the training in SMEs might be a key area of future interventions (see also the conclusions chapter).

How do you consider the capacity for development in terms of being able to meet future needs and demands?

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Austria

/ Lich

tenste

in

Finlan

d

German

y

Czech

Rep

ublic

France

UK/Irelan

d

Denmark

Estonia

/Latvi

a/Lith

uania

Spain

Turkey

Roman

ia

Sweden

/Norw

ay Italy

The N

etherl

ands

Icelan

d

Greece

/Cyp

rus

Hunga

ry

Bulgari

a

Portug

al

Belgium

/Luxe

mbourg

Malta

Poland

bad

good

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69

7.4 Status and recognition

7.4.1 Recognition of trainers in society

The status and recognition of trainers was explored through a series of questions from different sections of the questionnaire. In order to get a first overview, the last section of the question with the six opinion items included the question “How is the work of trainers generally recognised in society?” By a 60 per cent rating experts stated that the work of trainers was not recognised. Complementing this, the graphical illustration (below) demonstrates that the recognition of trainers and their work is a major issue of concern in most countries.

How well is the work of trainers recognised in your country?

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Interestingly, in some countries which scored low on the effectiveness

dimensions to be a trainer seems to be a well recognised profession. Thus, we can assume that the recognition might be connected with aspects of qualification, professionalisation and the training system in general, but may also be influenced by other societal and cultural factors. In the Scandinavian countries, for example, professions related to teaching and training are generally highly valued and recognised even though they are not particularly well paid.

7.4.2 Why becoming a trainer?

In order to understand problems and issues of the situation of trainers and the training profession in general, it is helpful to know why people become trainers in the first place, that is identify what are the key motivational factors to chose this role – or whether


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altogether it is not a matter of choice, but employees are just appointed to assume training functions.

Connected to aspects of recognition we also investigated whether it was considered attractive or rather unattractive for employees to assume training responsibilities. Overall, we obtained a mixed picture on the question of attractiveness, but clearly better results than on the aspect of recognition in society. If recognition in society is poor, but becoming a trainer is still somewhat attractive, we conclude that there must be some benefits and incentives that do not relate to recognition and social status in general.

Recognition and attractivenes of the trainer position (all countries)

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70

Attractiveness of the trainerposition

Recognition in society

low

high

Then the next logical question would be to identify the motivational factors to

becoming a trainer and the associated benefits. The overall finding revealed that generally employees do not derive great benefits from assuming trainer responsibilities. The highest impact in terms of benefits deriving from the trainer position could be found on the professional status in terms of recognition and appreciation from colleagues and peers (rating about 45 per cent). Thus, an important distinction needs to be made between recognition in society and recognition within the company. Despite low recognition in society recognition among peers is a strong motivational factor to becoming a trainer. This is also supported by the qualitative interviews, which emphasise that employees who assume training functions have a special status within their company, assuming responsibilities to passing on knowledge to others and being recognised as a colleague with particular expertise, expanding beyond purely subject-specific or technical knowledge. To a much lesser degree (just about 20 per cent) the trainer position also may have a positive impact on the career, while the impact on salary improvements is minimal.

Overall then, the positive impact of the trainer position can be summarised as reverting from immaterial benefits rather than material benefits such as promotion or

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salary increase. This seems to be the case for all countries. Only in Southern European countries like Italy, Spain and Greece career aspects seem to be slightly more important than in the other countries. In the Northern European countries career and salary impact does not even reach 15 per cent.

Benefits deriving from the trainer position (all countries)

status impact45%

salary impact15%

career impact21%

other impacts19%

That immaterial aspects are most important corresponds with the finding that the principal motivation to becoming a trainer is personal interest – similar to personal interest being the key motivational factor for pursuing continuing learning. The second important category relates to qualification aspects, i.e. broadening ones skills and competences. This, however, is not directly linked to better career prospects, which are rather secondary. From the former questions it can be assumed that the incentives by employers – the third most important category – are rather related to recognition and higher status, but not necessarily to higher pay or salary increase. In the Northern European countries and countries with an established tradition of initial vocational training both factors scored particularly high with personal interest standing out with 90 per cent. While in Northern countries employer incentives and career chances only have a minor impact, in the transition countries employer incentives are the most important category followed by improved career prospects.


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Key motivational factors to becoming a trainer

2,9

7,3

12,3

14,9

17,1

18,8

26,8

0 5 10 15 20 25 30

others

career in general

re-directing

career in occupation

incentives

qualification

personal interest

7.4.3 Employment situation and status

The employment situation and status of trainers was assessed by two main questions: one on forms of recruitment of trainers, and the other on the employment status of trainers in companies (e.g. full-time versus part-time employees). As concerns the recruitment of trainers we found that trainers in enterprises are predominantly recruited internally, i.e. from within the company or employing organisation. However, particularly in Southern European countries a high proportion is also recruited externally: in many Southern European countries such as Greece, Italy, Malta, Portugal and Spain external recruitment varies between 50 to 80 per cent. By contrast, in the Northern European countries and countries with an established system of initial vocational training external recruitment is practically non-existent. Also, in the transition countries external recruitment is rather the exception. In addition, almost one third of all in-company trainers are not formally recruited. Here, we find a clear correlation between internal – external recruitment and level of formalisation: external recruitment is based on formal principles, while internal recruitment is often done informally. The highest numbers of informal recruitment is thus found in Northern European countries (Scandinavian countries in particular) in combination with internal recruitment procedures.

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Forms of recruitment of in-company trainers

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not formallyrecruited

internallyrecruited

externallyrecruited

Looking at the employment status of trainers in enterprises two findings are

important: the first one is that over two thirds of all trainers are full-time employees. That trainers are part-time employees seems to be the exception and even in countries with higher rates of part-time employed trainers (such as Bulgaria, Hungary, Malta and Spain) figures remain below 40 per cent. Only the UK/Ireland cluster stands out in that trainers are predominantly part-time employees. The second finding is that at least 20 per cent of all trainers in companies are not employed by the company, but are contracted from outside institutions. In some countries, this seems to be the rule rather than the exception such as in Italy or Greece. In Greece the external contracting of trainers to provide training in the company reaches almost 85 per cent.

Employment status of trainers in companies

59%

12%

19%

10%

full-time

part-time

external

others


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Generally, in-company trainers in Northern European and IVET countries predominantly work as full-time employees for the company, while contracting external trainers for in-company training is a common feature of Southern European countries. Trainers as ‘part-time employees’ is the most important category in the Anglo-Saxon countries.

Trainers typically are

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AT / LI EE/LV/LT FI EL/CY UK/IE All

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On the question of how much of their working time trainers in enterprises spend on training we could not get a clear picture. Similar to the question on how much time trainers spend on continuing learning a considerable number of experts (by 27 per cent in total) did not know or could not estimate this figure. From the categories we offered it seems that trainers either spend less than 30 per cent of their working time on training or more than 50 per cent. That trainers spend particularly little time on training, i.e. less then 10 per cent, was most often found in the Scandinavian countries. In Italy, France and the Czech Republic, by contrast, trainers spend most of their working time on activities and tasks related to training.

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7.5 Summary of key findings from the survey with experts

The interim survey results were interpreted to be indicative to give first insights into the work, qualification and status of trainers in enterprises and first evaluative ideas about the systems of the training of trainers in Europe. The final results comprising a larger data set largely confirm these results which were presented in the Interim Report. In fact, despite the larger sample size, which considered 100 more questionnaires than the interim evaluation, most outcomes of the quantitative analysis were almost identical. Thus, against the fact that we are aware of the limitations of the survey (see Chapter 7.6) we think that it is possible to draw some valuable conclusions. In the framework of the study these conclusions have been presented, discussed and refined during several stakeholder and partner workshops. They are presented herein as hypotheses, which need to be further explored, discussed and differentiated together with an extended group of experts and practitioners. In particular, more in-depth research and analysis is needed to specify the particular needs and issues in the area of in-company trainers in the respective national contexts. Some of such differentiation and contextual specifications against different national realities is presented in the tables in Chapter 8.2.

Summary of survey outcomes in form of hypotheses:

1. The systems of the training of trainers in Europe do not seem to be very effective in terms of (i) how the work and training of trainers is organised and (ii) in terms of cost-effectiveness. On both items we received predominantly negative ratings with some countries indicating severe problems. Thus, how to improve the effectiveness should be a major concern, also in terms of (iii) ensuring a more effective allocation of human resources (in terms of ‘having the right trainer in the right place’). Comment: This hypothesis refers to the first three opinion-biased items of the last section of the questionnaire. From the three items ‘effective organisation of the systems of training of trainers’, its ‘cost effectiveness’ and the ‘effective allocation of staff’ the first item in particular retains its negative bias while the other two items slightly improved compared to the interim evaluation. Looking at the situation in the individual countries, the data from the Anglo-Saxon and BENELUX countries improved the overall picture, particularly in terms of cost effectiveness and the effectiveness of allocation of human resources. The more balanced picture for these two items let us conclude that there is great potential to improve the situation, but that it is also important to look at the national contexts. Concurrently, we can uphold the statement that the system of the training of trainers is not effectively organised in most countries.

2. Accounting for national variations the overall qualification of trainers in enterprises does not seem to be a major issue of concern. This is reflected in the overall judgement on the qualification of trainers and the fact that a considerable number of trainers in companies possess well developed practical subject-specific knowledge as they are qualified as skilled workers. Also in many countries trainers seem rather well prepared to perform their training tasks.


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3. Capacities of innovation and development of the training of trainers in Europe are a major issue of concern. Although the overall qualification of trainers in enterprises is quite good and trainers generally are relatively well prepared to perform their training-related tasks, there are great concerns in almost all European countries that their national systems of training of trainers is not capable to meet future needs and demands. From the six opinion-biased items ‘capacity of development’ received the most negative ratings.

4. While the overall qualification of trainers is quite good, the competence profiles of trainers need to be adjusted to include a broader range of social competences and to be able to integrate concepts of lifelong learning (see also hypotheses no. 5 to 7). Profiling the skills and competences of trainers in enterprises is important, because the level of qualification and skills profile highly influence the methods that trainer apply and the responsibilities they are given in a company.

5. The training methods in-company trainers apply are not always appropriate to meet the demands of modern work contexts and lifelong learning. The training methods that trainers revert to are to a large degree based on conventional-traditional didactics and lack innovation and modern training elements, particularly in Southern European countries. Lifelong learning concepts are far from being implemented in the field of in-company training. However, great differences exist between countries, regions and sectors. Large and multinational companies were often cited as good practice examples when it comes to implementing innovative training methods.

6. Trainers need to enhance their social and pedagogical competences. Social competences were identified to be the most important single competence a trainer should possess. That social competences are also the most important field of the continuing learning of trainers suggests that more emphasis should be given to this area in terms of trainers’ competence development. Comment: Further qualitative analysis is needed to define the concrete dimensions of social competences that are in demand in the different national and sectoral contexts and how those could most effectively be acquired and transferred to training practice.

7. Technical competences in terms of vocational, subject-specific competences are required and a prerequisite to becoming a trainer in almost all European countries. Vocational competences are important and desired in combination with well developed pedagogical competences, while pedagogical competences alone are not enough. The relatively high figures of trainers, who are qualified as skilled workers demonstrate that practical subject-specific skills and knowledge are highly valued.

Comment: This finding let us conclude that trends towards the academisation of in-company training personnel may not be unproblematic. More detailed analysis is needed to specify what might be the most beneficial and effective combination of technical, pedagogical and social competences.

8. The continuing learning of trainers in enterprises is underdeveloped. In fact, in many countries it was raised as a major issue of concern. Personal interest was the most

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important motivational factor why trainers in enterprises engage in continuing learning activities with 37 per cent of in-company trainers not pursuing any kinds of continuing learning at all. The main reasons are lack of incentives, no support by employers, lack of training offers, limited access and lack of recognition within the company. Another reason may be that trainers’ competences and qualifications are not regularly or not at all being assessed.

Comment: In terms of the continuing learning and the great demand for social competences we certainly discovered an area which needs further support and requires action – if trainers do not engage in continuing learning it is almost impossible to up-date and adjust their competence profile. It should also be stressed that the continuing learning of trainers had a statistically significant influence on the positive rating of the existing system of the training of trainers in all six opinion-biased items plus the aspect of preparedness.

9. The quality assessment and monitoring of training in companies is only partly developed. Regular quality assessment and monitoring of training in companies is rather the exception than the rule. Neither are the competences of trainers regularly assessed nor the training that companies provide. Quality assessment and monitoring is most likely being done on an irregular basis. If the training is being assessed, it is done internal to the company and not validated by outside institutions. We found, however, some advanced examples of quality assessment in some segments (for example large international firms) and countries such as France, Portugal and Italy.

10. The trainer position lacks recognition and incentives. The single key motivation to becoming a trainer is personal interest followed by qualifying aspects. Career aspects and benefits such as promotion or salary increase only have a minor impact, particularly in Northern European countries. Here the response category ‘personal interest’ reached 90 per cent. In the Southern European countries career aspects seem to be slightly more important. If the trainer position is to become more attractive and raising the status of trainers is desired, it needs to be related to the enhancement of career prospects (promotion) and benefits such as salary increase. Particularly in the transition countries lack of recognition and attractiveness are major issues of concern.

11. The company is the most important framework of reference for trainers in enterprises. In-company trainers in the first place refer to their immediate work environment, i.e. the company. This highly influences their patterns of cooperation and the guidelines and standards that trainers follow. This means that the influence of the social partners, trainers from other companies or the chambers is relatively low. Thus, trainers in enterprises can best be reached through their immediate work environment, which means that any kinds of input for change should above all come from within the company. This also applies to guidelines. Guidelines and qualification standards that trainers should follow first of all need to be adopted at the company level.


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12. In-company trainers do not exist in all countries. On a European level, about 25 per cent of all training in companies is provided by external trainers. While in Northern European and IVET countries trainers in enterprises predominantly work as full-time employees for the company, contracting external trainers for in-company training is a common feature of Southern European countries. This figure in some countries can reach up to 85 per cent such as in Greece. Thus, findings of the study may not be equally relevant to all European countries and should be mirrored against the complimentary group of trainers working for private and public institutions, which is researched in the framework of the parallel study (Lot 2).

7.6 Limitations

The nature of the survey implies that the presented results are characterised by several forms of limitation. First, the presented results are not representative: neither the sample (experts) nor the data (numbers) are representative and it can be argued whether with different kinds of respondents (such as trainers themselves) the results would have been different. Also the number of questionnaires, even if the numbers were significantly higher, cannot reflect a representative sample.

Despite these limitations, we believe that the results indicate trends, which would be similar in nature even if the numbers of responses were to be significantly higher. This assumption, on the one hand, is based on the similarity of outcomes between the interim and final statistical analysis: Although the latter included 100 more questionnaires and extended form 21 to 29 national samples the outcomes are very similar if not identical for the vast majority of questions. Overall, the figures indicated positive or negative experts’ assessments of the systems of the training of trainers and the initially formulated hypotheses could remain surprisingly stable. On the other hand the quantitative outcomes to large extend reflect, confirm and replicate the main findings of the qualitative component of the study, i.e. the semi-structured interviews with national experts and the country reports. While the interviews were to support a more differentiated interpretation of particular issues, they complement and deepen the survey results, but do not indicate different trends or issues.

While we consider the sample size to be sufficiently large to explore indicative trends in the area of in-company trainers in Europe, it cannot be neglected that with 280 questionnaires the survey remains a non-representative, limited, small-scale survey. Thus, we have mostly restricted ourselves to conduct simple frequency and descriptive analyses and some correlations between items for the interpretation of data as we think that due to the small size of the sample a more sophisticated statistical analysis would not be appropriate and may even bring out misleading results.

Another limitation concerns the selection of the sample, i.e. taking a decentralised approach by which partners were to select national experts, stakeholders

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and multipliers who have expertise and knowledge in the area of in-company trainers. One critical argument raised during our workshops was that response attitudes may be very different depending on the background of the experts, for example whether they represent large enterprises or SMEs or public institutions. While we were not able to differentiate between large and small enterprises, we can show that the experts’ background did have some influence on the responses, particularly as concerns the so-called opinion-biased items in the last section of the questionnaire that assessed the systems of the training of trainers. Here we found that practitioners overall assess the system of the training of trainers more critically than representatives from public administration (see example charts below). Except for the last item on ‘recognition in society’ experts who represented public institutions and the social partners on average gave more positive ratings than practitioners and representatives from research and academia. However, the influence of experts’ background on the other questions of the questionnaire was not as marked.

Background of experts: 'How effectively is the training of trainers organised?'

0102030405060708090

100

Research Administration /Government

Enterprise Social Partners /Associations

Teaching /Training

institutions

others

bad

good

Background of experts: 'How cost-effective is the training of trainers?'

0102030405060708090

100

Research Administration /Government


Teaching /Training

institutions

others

bad

good


80

Background of experts: 'How well are trainers recognised in society?'

0102030405060708090

100

Research Administration /Governemnt


Teaching /Training

institutions

others

bad

good

Background of experts: 'How do you consider the overall qualification of trainers?'

0102030405060708090

100



Teaching /Training

institutions

others

bad

good

Background of experts: 'To what extent do you consider your national system of TOT being able to meet future needs and demands?'

0102030405060708090

100



Teaching /Training

institutions

others

bad

good

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8. Selected Findings from the Country-level Analysis

8.1 Country Reports – introduction and reflections

The country reports present the third pillar of the EUROTRAINER study apart from the semi-structured interviews with national experts and the small-scale survey involving 280 questionnaires. Compiled and elaborated by the project partners, the country reports are in the first place based on secondary analysis, but also include results from the qualitative interviews. The outcomes of the survey typically do not form part of the national-level analysis since the sample sizes by country were too small.

The country reports presented in Volume II make reference to the national education and vocational education and training systems, structures of vocational initial and further training and the situation of trainers in the respective country, among other aspects. Within the framework of the study, this national-level analysis was conceptualised to fulfil three objectives: first to serve as background material to support the interpretation of the empirical data generated; second to give a structured overview of the situation and work of trainers in relation to the existing VET system in the different countries; and third to highlight national specificities, innovative trends and research gaps in relation to the study’s context. In order to achieve comparability of the national-level presentation of information, all country reports are more or less organised along the following six dimensions:

1. Organisation: How is the work and training of trainers organised? 2. Economy: How is the work and training of trainers financed? 3. Selection and allocation: How are trainers selected and how are the human

resources allocated? 4. Qualification: How are trainers qualified? 5. Integration and recognition: How is the reputation of trainers and how are they

integrated in enterprises and society? 6. Innovation/future perspectives: Are there any innovations in the work and training

of trainers?

For the Final Report we can present 26 country reports in their final version. The country reports of Spain and the BENELUX countries are still pending. From those 26 reports we have selected twelve for a summary in form of a table to facilitate a national comparative perspective of some countries in terms of similarities and differences when looking at key dimensions relevant for the situation of in-company trainers in Europe. The selection of those twelve countries is based on two main criteria: to have countries represented which cover the different European regions including the transition countries, and to have the big countries included (except for Spain as the information


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was not available at the time the table was created; as a substitute we included Portugal from the Spain/Portugal cluster.)

When looking at the national-level analysis the first obvious finding is that the quality and availability of secondary and empirical material on the vocational training systems and situation of in-company trainers is very diverse so that for some countries key questions remain unanswered. The major gaps concern the area of CVET and lifelong learning, but also statistical data on the numbers of trainers and their employment status. Also information about trainers’ work profiles is not available in many countries. Overall is the area of trainers largely under-researched and not statistically documented. Particularly for the East and South European transition countries (like Poland, the Czech Republic, the Baltic States and Bulgaria) information on these aspects are scarce. This can be partly explained by the transition process under development as concerns the political and economic situation in these countries, which also affects the systems of initial and further vocational education and training as new and sustainable structures and institutions are partly not yet restored.

Apart from lack of relevant background material, another difficulty that the study was confronted with was to group the 30 countries the study covered according to basic characteristics of their VET systems. Such a grouping was pursued first to better structure the overview of the different country traditions and problems in the area of trainers in companies, and second to facilitate the statistical analysis of the questionnaire. The advantages and disadvantages of conducting a statistical analysis on the basis of country groups was discussed and explored in-depth with the consortium members during two partner meetings, but no consensus could be obtained concerning the categories according to which countries should be grouped together. The partners rather emphasised that a country level analysis would be more valuable than looking at groups of countries. Thus, for the statistical analysis the idea of grouping countries into larger country clusters was more or less abandoned (see Chapter 5 for details). However, while this exercise did not serve the purpose to group countries, looking at basic characteristics of country’s VET systems can be very useful in order to get an overview of similarities and differences of the VET systems in Europe. Concretely, the categories the project consortium considered included whether the national VET system has an established IVET or CVET tradition (or both), is rather school or company based (or both), and whether the national IVET and CVET components are rather regulated or unregulated or both (i.e. partly regulated and partly unregulated).

According to an assessment by the project partners as concerns the organisation of basic vocational education and training (IVET), three different types can be distinguished, namely school-based, company-based and mixed systems. The presented overview below reveals that based on this assessment IVET in most countries is either school-based or based on a mixed system. School based thereby also includes the vocational training in vocational training institutions or centres that can be publicly or privately run and that are not vocational schools in a narrow sense (such

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as in Portugal and Turkey). Only the German and Liechtenstein IVET systems were clearly categorised as being company based.

Overview of selected national IVET traditions and structures (appraisal of partners)

School based

Company based

Mixed System

Basically regulated

Partly regulated/ partly unregulat.

Austria X X Belgium X X Czech Rep. X X Denmark X X Estonia X X Finland X X France X X X Germany X X Greece X X Hungary X X Iceland X X Italy X X Latvia X X Liechtenstein X X Lithuania X X Luxembourg X X Poland X X Portugal X X Spain X X Netherlands X X Turkey X UK/Ireland X X

The varying types of VET systems are closely linked to the various types of in-company trainers that can be found in Europe. In countries where IVET is predominantly school based (like in Finland, France and Poland) in-company trainers are typically referred to as ‘instructors’, ‘practical instructors’ or ‘practical vocational training instructors’. This indicates that in school-based systems the role of the trainer in a company rather is to make trainees and students familiar with work practice and the company environment by providing some form of guidance. By contrast, the trainer in company-based systems or dual training arrangements much more instructs and prepares the trainees according to clearly defined training programmes and curricula. Thus, in school-based systems the full-time trainer is rather the exception as the instructor function is typically performed alongside the regular skilled worker tasks. In Austria and Germany, the full-time trainer is an established job profile and employee category typically to be found in large companies. Whether in these countries the in-company trainer assumes training functions on a full-time or part-time basis largely depends on the size of the company.

It was argued that the heterogeneity of trainer types makes it difficult to speak of trainers in enterprises as one employee category and to address them as a group. While, on the one hand, this is true and was recognised by the design of the study in


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addressing the issue of varieties of trainer types across Europe and in the different countries by means of national-level analyses, the survey, on the other hand, also indicates that issues concerning the work, qualification, competence profile, status and recognition of trainers in enterprises may to some degree equally be relevant to all kinds of in-company trainers. One of those issues that affect all trainers was their lower recognition in comparison to VET teachers, a phenomenon that could be observed in all the 30 countries the study covered. However, in terms of status and recognition of trainers in society and at the company level we also found major variations. While the social status of in-company trainers in most European countries is rather modest, particularly in comparison to the status and recognition of VET teachers, it is important to note that trainers are particularly disadvantages in countries where the vocational route generally is of low prestige.

Trends towards the professionalisation of in-company trainers on the basis of standardised qualifications and certificates and the establishment of an occupational profile and employee category of trainers is particularly to be found in VET systems with an established tradition of dual training. In school-based systems the professionalisation of trainers in enterprises is not a major issue except for trainers working in large and multinational companies.

Despite those differences the basic vocational training seems to be regulated in most countries (‘basically regulated’). Only Finland, Portugal and the Baltic states classified their IVET systems as being partly regulated and partly unregulated. Another similarity between most countries is that a clear distinction between IVET and CVET is not always possible as both areas partly overlap. In the Anglo-Saxon countries a distinction between the two kinds of vocational training is not possible as the basic vocational training typically takes place in settings that are characteristic for CVET in other national contexts. By contrast, in countries with a dual training tradition CVET typically is organised completely differently from IVET and presents its own field with specialised CVET institutions. In the majority of countries, however, the transition between IVET and CVET is rather gradual or continuous, also in terms of institutional arrangements in that training institutions typically cover both areas.

When looking at the area of continuing vocational education and training (CVET) we find that CVET in almost all countries is predominantly unregulated, taking place both in school-based as well as company-based contexts. Interestingly, some more regulation and standardisation in the area of CVET can be found in countries, where the IVET tradition is weak and the CVET area is more established such as in the UK/Ireland cluster, the BENELUX countries and France. What is also interesting is that many countries that commonly would not be expected to have a strong element of IVET in their national VET system were categorised as having a strong tradition in IVET (such as Italy, Portugal or Belgium). Notably, a strong IVET component can often be found in the East European transition countries due to the tradition of established skilled workers status of employees.

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Overview of selected national CVET traditions and structures (appraisal of partners)

School based

Company based

Mixed system

Regu-lated

Unre-gulated

Partly reg./ unregul.

IVET tradition

CVET tradition

Both

Austria X X X Belgium X X X Czech Rep. X X X Denmark X X X Estonia X X X Finland X X France X X X Germany X X X Greece X X X Iceland X X X Italy X X X Latvia X X X Liechtenstein X X X Lithuania X X X Luxembourg X X X Malta X X Norway X Poland X X X Portugal X X X Spain X X Sweden X Netherlands X X X UK/Ireland X X X

To conclude our reflections we would like to point to one general problem of international comparative studies that also is of relevance when reading and interpreting the presented country reports. Notably, not always was the guiding structure to organise the reports (as presented above) taken up by the partners as intended. While, on the one hand, the guiding structure was being applied in order to make the results better comparable, we also find that partners describe and address issues in a different way and under different sections. This hints to the influence of the different national backgrounds and contexts of the partners when presenting the material on trainers that they gathered. One example is that ‘IVET’, ‘CVET’ or ‘VET policy’ may mean something else or may address different areas in the respective national contexts. While international studies typically assume a consensus of terminology, concepts and understanding one has to keep in mind that similar terms may be interpreted differently from a given national perspective or tradition, a common issue all international studies are challenged to deal with.

Overall we can present national-level information on trainers that so far have not been available, filling some gaps of materials in the area of trainers in enterprises and beyond. In particular, we value that new insights could be gained through including findings from the interviews with national experts into the country reports. Concurrently, we were also able to identify existing gaps and areas that require more support. In


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addition, the reference sections of the national reports that some of the partners compiled present a valuable inventory of existing studies and literature in the field.

8.2 Trainers in companies: issues and trends in a national perspective

The following two tables present results of selected national summaries and perspectives on the situation of trainers in enterprises. For the first table, we have selected twelve country reports out of 26 to compile a summary that can facilitate a national comparative perspective (in terms of similarities and differences) on key dimensions relevant for the situation of in-company trainers in Europe. The selection of those twelve countries is based on two main criteria: to have countries represented which cover the different European regions including the transition countries, and to have the big countries included (except for Spain as the information was not available at the time the table was created; as a substitute we included Portugal from the Spain/Portugal cluster.)

The second table relates country-level developments in some countries to the findings generated through the EUROTRAINER survey in form of hypotheses. This table is essentially the outcome of a one day working session with the project partners during our second partner meeting where we discussed in-depth the survey outcomes, reflecting our hypotheses against the situation and current and anticipated developments in some European countries. While contents of the two tables may partly overlap, each of them follows a different logic and systematisation: whereas the first table is purely descriptive, structuring and synthesising material from the country reports in order to facilitate a structured comparison between countries, the second table reflects ten key hypotheses on trends in the area of trainers at a European level from a national perspective. In relation to each hypothesis, it discusses and presents issues of concern, related current developments and initiatives and the associated or anticipated relevant trends.

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(sta

tistic

al da

ta o

f 20

05/20

06)

GDP

p.c.: 2

7,600

€ Em

ploym

ent r

ate: 7

2%

Unem

ploym

ent r

ate: 4

,5%

Youth

unem

ploym

ent r

ate: 1

2,9%

GDP

p.c.: 2

5,400

€ Em

ploym

ent r

ate: 6

3%

Unem

ploym

ent r

ate: 8

,9%

Youth

unem

ploym

ent r

ate: 2

2,3%

GDP

p.c.: 2

3,600

€ Em

ploym

ent r

ate: 5

8,6%

Un

emplo

ymen

t rate

: 6,5

Youth

unem

ploym

ent r

ate: 2

4,0%

GDP

p.c.: 1

6,800

€ Em

ploym

ent r

ate 67

,5%

Unem

ploym

ent r

ate: 7

,2%

Youth

unem

ploym

ent r

ate: 1

6,0%

IVET

gen

eral

(sch

ool-b

ased

ve

rsus

com

pany

-ba

sed)

Marke

t-bas

ed m

odel/

emplo

yer-l

ed

appr

oach

of w

ork-b

ased

train

ing an

d VE

T po

licy.

Appr

entic

eship

is no

t re

gulat

ed by

the s

tate b

ut is

rega

rded

as

a priv

ate ar

rang

emen

t betw

een

emplo

yers

and t

raine

es.

IVET

in F

ranc

e is s

choo

l-bas

ed.

Stro

ng tr

aditio

n in I

VET.

Sc

hool-

base

d IVE

T (V

ET sc

hools

and

voca

tiona

l cen

tres)

as w

ell as

a co

mpan

y-bas

ed sy

stem

in for

m of

appr

entic

eship

s.

Stro

ng tr

aditio

n in I

VET

as m

ixed s

ystem

(sc

hool-

base

d as w

ell as

comp

any-

base

d), b

ut sc

hool

tradit

ion is

do

mina

ting.

IVET

is re

gulat

ed an

d the

mo

st im

porta

nt pa

rt of

the na

tiona

l VET

sy

stem.

IVET

in

com

pani

es

Wor

kforce

deve

lopme

nt is

large

ly un

regu

lated

and p

racti

ce ba

sed,

taking

pla

ce at

the w

orkp

lace.

This

refle

cts th

e vo

luntar

y bas

is of

VET

and s

kills

deve

lopme

nt. V

ET is

form

ally s

epar

ated

from

gene

ral e

duca

tion.

Appr

entic

eship

is en

tirely

on-th

e-job

tra

ining

by le

arnin

g fro

m ex

perie

nced

wo

rkers.

No r

equir

emen

ts for

enter

prise

s ex

ist to

have

quali

fied t

raine

rs, ev

en

when

they

are i

nvolv

ed in

gove

rnme

nt-fun

ded t

raini

ng sc

heme

s.

A

new

stran

d of IV

ET w

as in

trodu

ced i

n 19

99 as

High

er T

echn

ical E

duca

tion a

nd

Train

ing (I

FTS)

. It is

now

comp

ulsor

y to

rema

in in

on of

the t

hree

stra

nds o

f the

educ

ation

syste

m (g

ener

al ed

ucati

on,

voca

tiona

l train

ing or

appr

entic

eship

) un

til the

age o

f 18.

24%

of pr

ivate

secto

r ente

rpris

es of

fer

voca

tiona

l train

ing. T

he le

vel o

f train

ing

activ

ities i

ncre

ases

prop

ortio

nal to

the

size (

from

16%

in m

icro-

enter

prise

s to

74%

in la

rge e

nterp

rises

).

Data

from

2005

: of 4

6.053

enter

prise

s wi

th mo

re th

an 10

wor

kers

31 %

pr

omote

d VET

activ

ities r

elated

to

differ

ent s

ubjec

ts.

VET

polic

y Si

nce t

he 19

80s,

polic

y pro

motes

a lib

eral

marke

t mod

el as

conc

erns

skills

an

d tra

ining

polic

ies. N

ew S

ector

Skil

ls Co

uncil

s (SS

Cs) w

ere i

ntrod

uced

in

2002

. The

y cov

er m

ost o

f the e

cono

my

and c

ompr

ise 25

bodie

s inc

luding

the

Skills

for B

usine

ss N

etwor

k. Go

als ar

e to

− Re

duce

skills

gaps

and s

horta

ges

Re

orga

nisati

on an

d dec

entra

lisati

on of

the

VET

syste

m sin

ce th

e 199

0s.

Crea

tion o

f 20 r

egion

al tra

ining

syste

ms

to me

et the

need

s of lo

cal la

bour

ma

rkets,

enter

prise

s and

wor

kers.

Ef

forts

to es

tablis

h a na

tiona

l con

tinuin

g tra

ining

syste

m sin

ce 19

93 to

mod

ernis

e the

entire

VET

syste

m.

Youn

g peo

ple un

der 1

5 yea

rs ca

nnot

work

witho

ut ha

ving c

omple

ted an

initia

l tra

ining

cour

se.

For t

he de

velop

ment

of tra

iners’

train

ing

a com

munit

y sup

port

regu

lation

was

int

rodu

ced i

n 199

6. It r

equir

es th

at all

tra

ining

finan

ced b

y the

state

mus

t be

deliv

ered

by ce

rtified

train

ers.

EA

C09

/06/

Lot1

EU

RO

TRAI

NE

R –

FIN

AL R

EP

OR

T

88

− Im

prov

e pro

ducti

vity,

busin

ess a

nd

publi

c ser

vice p

erfor

manc

e −

Incre

ase o

ppor

tunitie

s for

skills

pr

oduc

tivity

and s

uppo

rt wo

rkfor

ce

deve

lopme

nt, i.e

. impr

ove l

earn

ing

supp

ly inc

luding

appr

entic

eship

s, HE

and N

ation

al Oc

cupa

tiona

l St

anda

rds (

NOS)

. Th

e imp

lemen

tation

of sk

ills po

licy r

ests

with

the Le

arnin

g and

Skil

ls Co

uncil

(L

SC) w

hich s

pent

arou

nd £1

1 billi

on in

20

06/20

07 to

fund

post-

comp

ulsor

y ed

ucati

on (a

part

from

HE) a

nd

gove

rnme

nt-fun

ded t

raini

ng sc

heme

s.

2000

-200

3: Int

rodu

ction

of an

integ

rated

an

d coh

eren

t poli

cy fr

amew

ork f

or

conti

nuing

train

ing.

Fina

ncin

g of

tra

inin

g an

d tra

iner

s

Whil

e mos

t train

ing ta

kes p

lace a

t wor

k, off

-the-

job pr

ovisi

on is

also

wide

spre

ad.

Train

ing is

rega

rded

as de

mand

drive

n, i.e

. emp

loyer

s tra

in wh

en th

ey se

e a

direc

t bus

iness

need

. Emp

loyer

s inv

est

abou

t £33

.3 bil

lion i

n tra

ining

ever

y yea

r. Mu

ch of

emplo

yers’

inve

stmen

t in sk

ills

takes

plac

e outs

ide th

e pub

licly

funde

d sy

stem.

Som

e 12%

of em

ploye

es re

ceive

tra

ining

to na

tiona

lly re

cogn

ised

quali

ficati

ons.

Less

than

10%

of

emplo

yer t

raini

ng is

deliv

ered

by co

llege

s or

furth

er ed

ucati

on in

stitut

es. T

hree

ma

in typ

es of

off-t

he-jo

b tra

ining

exist

: -

Colle

ges o

f furth

er ed

ucati

on

- Pr

ofess

ional

cour

ses a

t univ

ersit

ies

- Pr

ivate

traini

ng pr

ovide

rs

The t

raini

ng of

train

ers i

s eith

er

finan

ced b

y the

comp

any o

r by m

eans

of

media

tion o

f an O

PÄCA

(fina

ncial

co

llecto

r org

anism

) or it

is in

dividu

ally

finan

ced.

For t

utors

the tr

aining

can b

e fin

ance

d by t

he O

PCA

which

inve

sted 7

mi

llions

€ for

train

ing in

2005

.

Train

ing is

main

ly fin

ance

d by p

ublic

fun

ds w

ithin

the fr

amew

ork o

f nati

onal

laws,

the E

urop

ean S

ocial

Fun

d (ES

F)

and i

ndus

try-b

ased

train

ing fu

nds (

Joint

Mu

lti-se

ctora

l Fun

ds fo

r Con

tinuin

g Tr

aining

). Cr

eatio

n of a

spec

ial fu

nd fo

r voc

ation

al tra

ining

in 19

93 to

prom

ote in

-comp

any

traini

ng an

d the

train

ing of

train

ers.

The V

ET sy

stem

and t

raini

ng of

train

ers

are a

lmos

t fully

finan

ced b

y pub

lic fu

nds

throu

gh co

ntribu

tions

from

state

budg

et,

socia

l sec

urity

budg

et an

d main

ly the

Eu

rope

an S

ocial

Fun

d (ES

F).

IPTT

cour

ses b

y EVT

I are

nowa

days

fin

ance

d by i

ndivi

duals

them

selve

s.

The r

emun

erati

on fo

r tra

iners

is fix

ed by

law

in re

lation

to th

e lev

el of

quali

ficati

on

and t

ype o

f train

ing.

Type

s of i

n-co

mpa

ny tr

ainer

s

In UK

. , pe

ople

who c

arry

out tr

aining

ma

y not

desig

nated

as tr

ainer

in th

eir

orga

nisati

on, b

ut ma

y be r

eferre

d as

‘instr

uctor

’, ‘co

ach’

or ‘m

entor

’.

Thre

e typ

es of

train

ers i

n IVE

T:

- Te

ache

r/lectu

rer (

forma

l edu

catio

n sy

stem,

i.e. s

choo

ls);

- ap

pren

tice m

aster

(emp

loyee

In SM

Es th

e only

train

er pr

ofile

forma

lly

reco

gnise

d is t

he ‘tu

tor in

enter

prise

for

appr

entic

eship

’. The

tutor

is ge

nera

lly th

e em

ploye

r or a

quali

fied e

mploy

ee w

ith at

lea

st thr

ee ye

ars o

f pro

fessio

nal

In leg

al ter

ms, a

train

er is

defin

ed as

“the

pr

ofess

ional

who,

in a t

raini

ng si

tuatio

n, se

ts up

a pe

dago

gical

relat

ionsh

ip wi

th tra

inees

in or

der t

o fav

our t

he ac

quisi

tion

of kn

owled

ge, s

kills

and c

ompe

tence

s as

Janu

ary

2008

89

In-co

mpan

y tra

iners

and t

each

ers f

ollow

dif

feren

t initia

l train

ing an

d dev

elopm

ent

route

s. In

Engla

nd ho

weve

r, all

train

ers

come

unde

r the

clas

sifica

tion o

f ‘Te

achin

g Pro

fessio

nals’

in th

e sys

tem of

Na

tiona

l Occ

upati

onal

Stan

dard

s (NO

S)

from

which

Nati

onal

Voca

tiona

l Qu

alific

ation

s (NV

Qs) a

re de

rived

.

resp

onsib

le for

train

ing

appr

entic

es in

a co

mpan

y) -

tutor

(wor

ks in

a co

mpan

y as

sumi

ng di

ffere

nt tra

ining

task

s) Di

ffere

nt pr

ofiles

for C

VET

traine

rs:

- ‘tra

ining

man

ager

’ for s

trateg

ic an

d ma

nage

ment

functi

ons

- Tr

ainer

s, tra

ining

lead

ers a

nd

coor

dinato

rs wh

o dire

ctly p

rovid

e tra

ining

for c

lients

and c

oord

inate

traini

ng te

ams.

expe

rienc

e. Mo

st tra

iners

are f

reela

ncer

s wor

king f

or

comp

anies

that

outso

urce

train

ing

servi

ces.

well a

s the

deve

lopme

nt of

attitu

des a

nd

beha

viour

s app

ropr

iate t

o occ

upati

onal

perfo

rman

ce”.

In-co

mpan

y tra

iners

are

some

times

also

name

d tuto

rs sin

ce th

eir

traini

ng du

ties a

re pr

actic

e bas

ed.

The T

raine

r duti

es an

d acti

vities

are

regu

lated

sinc

e 199

4, re

quirin

g a

Peda

gogic

al Ap

titude

Cer

tifica

te (P

AC).

Stat

us o

f tra

iner

s/ re

cogn

ition

The r

eputa

tion o

f train

ers v

aries

ac

cord

ing to

the l

ocati

on an

d exte

nt to

which

the p

rogr

amme

s and

quali

ficati

ons

they d

elive

r are

perce

ived a

s hav

ing hi

gh

or lo

w sta

tus. In

contr

ast to

furth

er an

d HE

ther

e is n

o res

earch

addr

essin

g the

iss

ue of

the l

ow st

atus o

f gov

ernm

ent-

funde

d wor

k-bas

ed pr

ogra

mmes

for

youn

g peo

ple (s

uch a

s app

renti

cesh

ips),

which

also

affec

ts the

posit

ion of

train

ers

in so

ciety.

Larg

e Fre

nch c

ompa

nies o

pera

te the

ir ow

n voc

ation

al tra

ining

depa

rtmen

ts for

the

comp

any’s

vario

us si

tes an

d skil

ls ar

eas.

They

also

wor

k with

train

ing

cons

ultan

cies.

Comp

any t

raine

rs ar

e ge

nera

lly em

ploye

es w

ho do

not h

ave a

sp

ecific

inter

nal s

tatus

as a

traine

r, bu

t wh

o are

emplo

yed a

s man

ager

s or

techn

ical s

taff. O

nly in

some

larg

e int

erna

tiona

l com

panie

s is t

he w

ork o

f tra

iners

partic

ularly

reco

gnise

d.

Little

reco

gnitio

n of tr

ainer

s’ ro

le an

d sta

tus, e

xcep

t whe

re co

mpan

ies at

tribute

an

impo

rtant

role

to tra

ining

. The

re

cogn

ition o

f train

ers d

epen

ds m

ainly

on

comp

anies

’ poli

cies a

nd in

vestm

ents

in tra

ining

.

Well

reco

gnise

d in e

nterp

rises

and

socie

ty.

Selec

tion

and

alloc

atio

n

The U

K’s L

abou

r For

ce S

urve

y inc

ludes

tw

o occ

upati

onal

class

ificati

ons f

or

peop

le wh

o per

form

a tra

ining

-relat

ed

role

in en

terpr

ises:

a) P

erso

nnel,

Tra

ining

and I

ndus

trial

Emplo

ymen

t Rela

tions

Man

ager

s (IE

R)

b) V

ocati

onal

and I

ndus

trial T

raine

rs an

d Ins

tructo

rs.

More

fema

les ar

e emp

loyed

in pe

rsonn

el,

traini

ng or

IER

mana

geme

nt ca

pacit

y tha

n men

, whe

reas

male

s outn

umbe

r fem

ales a

s voc

ation

al tra

iners

and

instru

ctors.

The m

ajority

of tr

ainer

s are

priva

te co

ntrac

tors,

worki

ng fu

ll- or

part-

time.

They

are s

electe

d on t

he ba

sis of

their

qu

alific

ation

s, sk

ills an

d pro

fessio

nal

expe

rienc

e in a

partic

ular s

ector

. As

conc

erns

acce

ss to

the t

raine

r fun

ction

in C

VET,

no co

urse

of fo

rmal

traini

ng is

requ

ired.

The t

raine

r is

selec

ted ac

cord

ing to

the c

ompa

ny’s

need

s and

her/h

is co

mpete

nces

.

Recru

itmen

t and

selec

tion f

ollow

s the

co

mpan

y’s gu

idelin

es, b

ut in

prac

tice

often

thro

ugh i

nform

al ch

anne

ls. F

orma

l re

cruitm

ent p

roce

dure

s app

ly ma

inly f

or

publi

c VET

centr

es.

Larg

e com

panie

s usu

ally o

utsou

rce

traini

ng se

rvice

s to s

pecia

lised

exter

nal

prov

iders

or fr

eelan

ce tr

ainer

s.

2006

the n

umbe

r of c

ertifi

cate

traine

rs by

the

Nati

onal

Syste

m of

Voca

tiona

l Ce

rtifica

tion w

as ab

out 1

40.00

0 (tot

al nu

mber

of pr

ofess

ionals

who

requ

ested

the

PAC

). A

lot of

them

wor

k in t

he E

VTI

conte

xt, w

hich i

s the

mos

t impo

rtant

voca

tiona

l train

ing op

erato

r. En

terpr

ises s

hould

have

a PA

C.

Recru

itmen

t dep

ends

on th

e are

a and

/or

secto

r of tr

aining

and t

he si

ze of

the

comp

any.

Larg

er en

terpr

ises h

ave a

sto

ck of

fullti

me pe

rman

ent tr

ainer

s, SM

Es no

t. The

re is

also

a Na

tiona

l Stoc

k of

Train

ers.

EA

C09

/06/

Lot1

EU

RO

TRAI

NE

R –

FIN

AL R

EP

OR

T

90

Quali

ficat

ion

of

train

ers

In-co

mpan

y tra

iners

and t

each

ers f

ollow

dif

feren

t train

ing an

d pro

fessio

nal

deve

lopme

nt ro

utes.

In En

gland

, ho

weve

r, tra

iners

are c

lassif

ied as

“T

each

ing P

rofes

siona

ls” in

the s

ystem

of

Natio

nal O

ccup

ation

al St

anda

rds (

NOS)

fro

m wh

ich N

ation

al Vo

catio

nal

Quali

ficati

ons (

NVQs

) are

deriv

ed.

Sinc

e 200

1, tea

cher

s in f

urthe

r edu

catio

n co

llege

s hav

e to h

ave a

teac

hing

quali

ficati

on. T

raine

rs in

comp

anies

do

not n

eed a

train

ing qu

alific

ation

. The

mo

st co

mmon

ly us

ed qu

alific

ation

s for

in-

comp

any t

raine

rs ar

e tho

se pr

ovide

d by

CIPD

, whic

h hav

e high

curre

ncy i

n the

lab

our m

arke

t and

are s

ometi

mes l

inked

to

degr

ee an

d pos

tgrad

uate

cour

ses i

n un

iversi

ties.

The l

earn

ing an

d skil

ls se

ctor is

cove

red

by th

e new

SSC

‘Life

long L

earn

ing U

K’

(LLU

K). T

he se

ctor c

over

s tea

cher

s, tra

iners,

tutor

s, as

sess

ors a

nd ot

her

profe

ssion

als w

ith a

teach

ing fu

nctio

n as

part

of the

ir job

.

Each

comp

any d

efine

s and

orga

nises

the

train

ing of

train

ers a

ccor

ding t

o the

co

mpan

y’s re

quire

ments

and n

eeds

. Fo

r the

train

ing of

train

ers s

ome

comp

anies

coop

erate

with

gove

rnme

nt-ow

ned a

nd go

vern

ment-

assis

ted

traini

ng or

ganis

ation

s (GR

ETA,

AFP

A an

d diffe

rent

Cham

bers)

. Othe

r co

mpan

ies pr

efer t

o wor

k with

no-p

rofit

makin

g org

anisa

tion a

nd m

ost

comp

anies

colla

bora

te wi

th pr

ivate

orga

nisati

ons.

In CV

ET a

new

syste

m of

reco

gnitio

n an

d acc

redit

ation

of th

e qua

lifica

tions

the

train

ers h

as be

en es

tablis

hed

(AFP

A).

No fo

rmal

quali

ficati

ons a

re re

quire

d for

tra

iners,

no na

tiona

l stan

dard

s exis

t. Ho

weve

r, sta

ndar

ds fo

r emp

loyee

s of

Certif

ied T

raini

ng P

rovid

ers a

t reg

ional

level

exist

: “Tu

tor in

enter

prise

for

appr

entic

eship

” is a

traine

r pro

file

forma

lly re

cogn

ised i

n SME

s. Th

e ‘tut

or’

comm

only

is the

emplo

yer o

r a qu

alifie

d wo

rker w

ith at

leas

t thre

e yea

rs of

profe

ssion

al ex

perie

nce.

The t

utor h

as to

att

end a

train

ing co

urse

orga

nised

at

regio

nal le

vel w

ith du

ratio

n of 8

-32 h

rs.

Sinc

e 199

4 the

train

er pr

ofile

is re

gulat

ed

and r

equir

es a

Peda

gogic

al Ap

titude

Ce

rtifica

te (P

AC),

which

deter

mine

s wha

t co

mpete

nces

a tra

iner s

hould

have

. Th

e PAC

requ

ires a

peda

gogic

al tra

ining

co

urse

lasti

ng ab

out 9

0 hou

rs.

Train

ing of

train

ers i

s org

anise

d by t

he

Natio

nal C

entre

of T

raini

ng of

Tra

iners

(NCT

T). T

he E

mploy

ment

and V

ocati

onal

Train

ing In

stitut

e (EV

TI) o

ffers

traini

ng

cour

ses o

n var

ious s

ubjec

ts an

d ma

nage

s 31 V

ocati

onal

Train

ing C

entre

s. Mo

st tra

iners

with

PAC

work

in EV

TI

centr

es.

Inno

vatio

ns in

VE

T

All g

over

nmen

t-fun

ded w

ork-b

ased

tra

ining

is as

sess

ed by

Ofst

ed (U

K Of

fice

for S

tanda

rds i

n Edu

catio

n) an

d HMI

E (S

cottis

h HM

Inspe

ctora

te of

Educ

ation

).

All tr

aining

prov

iders

in the

skill

secto

r ar

e sub

ject to

the r

equir

emen

ts of

the

QIA

(Qua

lity Im

prov

emen

t Age

ncy).

UK

Skil

ls is

a gov

ernm

ent-s

pons

ored

ag

ency

, whic

h org

anize

s skil

ls co

mpeti

tions

. It ch

oose

s can

didate

s for

the

Skil

ls Ol

ympic

s and

also

runs

the

annu

al Na

tiona

l Tra

ining

Awa

rd.

Ther

e are

good

prac

tice e

xamp

les at

co

mpan

y lev

el es

pecia

lly in

larg

e co

mpan

ies lik

e Air F

ranc

e and

Ban

que

de F

ranc

e.

Reor

ganis

ation

and m

ajor r

eform

of th

e VE

T sy

stem

since

the 1

990s

. The

de

centr

alisa

tion a

nd ne

w ro

le of

the

regio

ns, p

rovin

ces a

nd m

unici

paliti

es ha

s lea

d to t

he es

tablis

hmen

t of 2

0 reg

ional

traini

ng sy

stems

.

The q

uality

and e

fficien

cy of

train

ers’

traini

ng ar

e sys

temati

cally

asse

ssed

by

EVTI

. Im

pleme

ntatio

n of th

e cer

tifica

tion o

f ac

quire

d non

-form

al an

d info

rmal

comp

etenc

es to

redu

ce th

e gap

betw

een

acad

emic

and v

ocati

onal

certif

icatio

ns.

Janu

ary

2008

91

Futu

re ch

allen

ges

Im

prov

emen

t of tr

aining

stan

dard

s thr

ough

gove

rnme

nt sp

onso

rship

of the

Inv

estor

s in P

eople

(IiP

) awa

rd. Ii

P UK

is

a non

-dep

artm

ental

publi

c bod

y and

re

spon

sible

for th

e IiP

‘stan

dard

s’ wh

ich

cove

r a ra

nge o

f are

as re

lated

to

perso

nnel

deve

lopme

nt an

d ma

nage

ment,

conn

ected

to bu

sines

s str

ategy

, nec

essa

ry for

the r

unnin

g of

effec

tive o

rgan

isatio

ns.

In 19

98, th

e Lab

our g

over

nmen

t int

rodu

ced t

he U

nion L

earn

ing F

und t

o en

able

worke

rs to

atten

d tra

ining

and

adult

educ

ation

cour

ses.

The N

ation

al Ins

titute

of Te

chnic

al an

d Vo

catio

nal E

duca

tion (

NUOV

) has

es

tablis

hed a

Nati

onal

Quali

ficati

on

Syste

m (N

ation

al Re

gister

of

Quali

ficati

ons)

to en

hanc

e the

quali

ty an

d tra

nspa

renc

y of q

ualifi

catio

ns.

In 20

09: R

enew

al of

the na

tiona

l ap

pren

tices

hip pr

ogra

mme (

2-3 y

rs pr

ogra

mmes

of se

cond

ary v

ocati

onal

scho

ols) t

o imp

act o

n abo

ut 30

0,000

yo

ung p

eople

. Pr

omote

good

prac

tice e

xamp

les of

VE

T in

comp

anies

.

Incre

ase t

he re

cogn

ition o

f the r

ole of

the

tutor

for a

ppre

ntice

ship

and b

road

en its

sc

ope o

f res

pons

ibiliti

es to

inclu

de al

l typ

es of

emplo

yees

, not

just tr

ainee

s. Re

cogn

ise th

e tra

iner’s

role

in co

llecti

ve

agre

emen

ts.

Stre

ngthe

n the

colla

bora

tion b

etwee

n pu

blic i

nstitu

tions

, ente

rpris

es an

d ex

terna

l train

ing pr

ovide

rs.

The r

ecen

t and

mos

t impo

rtant

achie

veme

nt in

the ar

ea of

train

ers w

as

the ad

optio

n of a

new

regu

lation

unde

r wh

ich al

l stat

e-fin

ance

d tra

ining

mus

t be

deliv

ered

by ce

rtified

train

ers.

Life

long

lear

ning

/ CV

ET

The f

inding

s of th

e late

st su

rvey o

f em

ploye

rs ab

out C

VET

in En

gland

(L

SC,20

05) s

hows

that:

-

The n

umbe

r of s

taff tr

ained

over

the

prev

ious 1

2 mon

th is

equiv

alent

to 61

% of

the c

urre

nt wo

rkfor

ce.

- Em

ploye

rs fun

ded o

r arra

nged

7.5

days

of tr

aining

p.a.

for ev

ery

worke

r. -

Total

train

ing sp

end w

as eq

uivale

nt to

£1,55

0 per

emplo

yee a

nd ju

st un

der £

2,55

0 per

perso

n tra

ined.

In Fr

ance

, CVE

T is

finan

ced b

y a fu

nd.

All c

ompa

nies h

ave t

o pay

a fee

to th

is fun

d. Th

e par

ticipa

tion r

ate is

5,6%

.

Train

ing fo

r adu

lts is

prov

ided b

y CTP

s (P

erma

nent

Regio

nal C

entre

s for

Adu

lt Ed

ucati

on),

CVET

insti

tution

s or in

form

of

voca

tiona

l and

refre

sher

train

ing fo

r ad

ult w

orke

rs. M

ajor b

enefi

ciarie

s of th

e tra

ining

supp

ly ar

e adu

lt wor

kers

and

appr

entic

es. M

ost o

f the t

raini

ng (5

9%)

takes

plac

e in t

hree

regio

ns.

At th

e end

of th

e 199

0s Ita

ly wa

s at th

e bo

ttom

end o

f Eur

opea

n clas

sifica

tions

on

CVE

T: on

ly 24

% of

priva

te se

ctor

enter

prise

s sup

plied

voca

tiona

l train

ing

(aga

inst th

e Eur

opea

n ave

rage

of 62

%)

and o

nly 20

% of

emplo

yees

bene

fited

from

traini

ng of

fers (

again

st 40

% in

Eu

rope

). Tr

aining

offer

s inc

reas

e pro

portio

nally

to

the si

ze of

the e

nterp

rise,

varyi

ng fr

om

16%

in m

icro-

enter

prise

s to 7

4% in

larg

e en

terpr

ises i

n 200

6. Th

e nati

onal

aver

age o

f In-co

mpan

y tra

ining

is 5

days

pe

r yea

r.

Incre

ase o

f par

ticipa

tion o

f com

panie

s wi

th 10

and m

ore s

taff: 1

994 (

7.7%

) 200

3 (1

9.6%

). ‘Tr

aining

clau

se’ in

the L

abou

r Cod

e (2

003)

, whic

h defi

nes a

comp

ulsor

y mi

nimum

of 20

hour

s (at

pres

ent 3

5 ho

urs)

per y

ear o

f con

tinuin

g tra

ining

for

all w

orke

rs an

d emp

loyee

s. Th

e gov

ernm

ent r

ecog

nises

that

it is

nece

ssar

y to m

ake e

nterp

rises

and

indivi

duals

awar

e of th

e imp

ortan

ce an

d ne

ed fo

r con

tinuo

us tr

aining

, in pa

rticula

r in

the fie

ld of

ICT.

The

inclu

sion o

f ICT

in the

curri

cula

byf 5

0 per

cent

of co

ntinu

ing

traini

ng co

urse

s has

been

set a

s a ta

rget.

An

other

key a

spec

t of P

ortug

al’s L

ifelon

g Le

arnin

g St

rateg

y is

the c

ertifi

catio

n of

acqu

ired

forma

l an

d no

n-for

mal

comp

etenc

es.

EA

C09

/06/

Lot1

EU

RO

TRAI

NE

R –

FIN

AL R

EP

OR

T

92

CVET

regu

latio

n an

d st

ruct

ure

UK ha

s the

seco

nd la

rges

t mem

bersh

ip or

ganis

ation

cove

ring t

he H

RD an

d HRM

co

mmun

ities,

the C

harte

red I

nstitu

te of

Perso

nnel

and D

evelo

pmen

t (CI

PD).

CVET

and w

orkfo

rce de

velop

ment

are

large

ly un

regu

lated

.

CVET

is ba

sicall

y unr

egula

ted. It

is

prov

ided b

y sch

ools

and c

ompa

nies.

Sinc

e 200

6, so

me re

gulat

ion w

as

intro

duce

d thr

ough

the A

ct of

Verifi

catio

n and

Rec

ognit

ion of

Fur

ther

Educ

ation

Res

ults.

CVET

is ba

sicall

y unr

egula

ted. S

ome

rece

nt re

struc

turing

has b

een s

uppo

rted

by E

SF, w

hich f

inanc

es m

ore t

han 8

0%

of all

CVE

T wi

thin t

he fr

amew

ork o

f Re

giona

l and

Nati

onal

Oper

ation

al Pr

ogra

mmes

. The

mos

t rele

vant

innov

ation

s in C

VET

are t

he Jo

int M

ulti-

secto

ral F

unds

estab

lishe

d dur

ing th

e las

t dec

ade.

They

enab

le the

socia

l pa

rtner

s to p

artic

ipate

in the

plan

ning a

nd

mana

geme

nt of

budg

ets an

d res

ource

s all

ocate

d to C

VET.

CVET

is pa

rtly re

gulat

ed an

d par

tly

unre

gulat

ed an

d, lik

e IVE

T, a

mixe

d-sy

stem.

The

unre

gulat

ed pa

rt pr

edom

inates

.

Coun

try

GERM

ANY

AUST

RIA

DENM

ARK

FINL

AND

Popu

latio

n

82,3

Mill.

8.03 M

ill.

5.4 M

ill.

5.2 M

ill.

Natio

nal e

cono

my

(sta

tistic

al da

ta o

f 20

05/20

06)

GDP

p.c.: 2

5,800

€ Em

ploym

ent R

ate: 6

7,5%

Un

emplo

ymen

t rate

: 8,1%

Yo

uth un

emplo

ymen

t rate

: 15,%

GDP

p.c.: 2

8,900

€ Em

ploym

ent r

ate (1

5-64

): 70

,2%

Unem

ploym

ent r

ate: 4

,8%

Youth

unem

ploym

ent r

ate: 9

,1%

GDP

p.c.: 2

8,600

€ Em

ploym

ent r

ate: 7

7%

Unem

ploym

ent r

ate: 3

,9%

Youth

unem

ploym

ent r

ate: 8

,6%

GDP

p.c.: 2

5,900

€ Em

ploym

ent r

ate: 7

0%

Unem

ploym

ent r

ate: 7

,7%

Youth

unem

ploym

ent r

ate: 2

0,1%

IV

ET g

ener

al (s

choo

l-bas

ed

vers

us co

mpa

ny-

base

d)

Abou

t 60%

of an

age c

ohor

t join

the ‘d

ual

syste

m’, w

hich i

s a co

mbina

tion o

f vo

catio

nal s

choo

l edu

catio

n and

co

mpan

y-bas

ed tr

aining

. A 2-

3½ ye

ar

traini

ng le

ads t

o a st

ate-w

ide

stand

ardis

ed ce

rtifica

te in

one o

f the 3

43

reco

gnise

d occ

upati

onal

profi

les. T

he

dual

syste

m is

mainl

y fina

nced

by

emplo

yers.

Stro

ng tr

aditio

n in I

VET,

whic

h is

scho

ol-ba

sed a

s well

as a

comp

any-

base

d (mi

xed-

syste

m). A

domi

nant

featur

e is t

he co

mpan

y-bas

ed

appr

entic

eship

train

ing in

form

of th

e du

al sy

stem.

App

renti

ces s

pend

abou

t 80

% of

the t

raini

ng pe

riod i

n the

co

mpan

y and

20%

in th

e voc

ation

al sc

hool.

Se

cond

ary V

ET sc

hools

and a

dvan

ced-

level

seco

ndar

y VET

colle

ges r

epre

sent

the sc

hool-

base

d sys

tem.

IVET

is ba

sed o

n the

dual

traini

ng

princ

iple,

i.e. s

choo

l-bas

ed ed

ucati

on

alter

natin

g with

train

ing in

a co

mpan

y, wh

ich ca

n tak

e up t

o 75%

of th

e init

ial

traini

ng pr

ogra

mme.

Appr

entic

eship

tra

ining

also

play

s an i

mpor

tant r

ole.

IVET

is to

tally

finan

ced b

y the

state

, wh

ile th

e cos

ts for

appr

entic

eship

s are

co

vere

d by t

he co

mpan

ies.

VET

lasts

betw

een 2

and 4

year

s and

qu

alifie

s for

eithe

r ente

ring t

he la

bour

ma

rket a

s skil

led w

orke

r or f

or sp

ecific

sh

ort c

ycle

HE pr

ogra

mmes

at vo

catio

nal

colle

ges.

VET

is sc

hool-

base

d. Ap

pren

tices

hip

also i

s pos

sible

but m

ost p

upils

do th

eir

IVET

in vo

catio

nal s

choo

ls. In

the s

choo

l-ba

sed I

VET

the pr

actic

al tra

ining

in

comp

anies

is be

comi

ng in

creas

ingly

impo

rtant.

In th

e 3-ye

ar vo

catio

nal u

pper

se

cond

ary e

duca

tion t

he pu

pils h

ave t

o do

20 w

eeks

of pr

actic

al tra

ining

in a

comp

any.

Janu

ary

2008

93

After

comp

ulsor

y edu

catio

n, 95

% of

a co

hort

conti

nue i

n eith

er ge

nera

l or

voca

tiona

l upp

er se

cond

ary e

duca

tion

(app

roxim

ately

55%

of an

age c

ohor

t), or

in

VET

(30%

of an

age c

ohor

t).

IVET

in

com

pani

es

Appr

entic

es ha

ve em

ploye

e stat

us ba

sed

on th

eir tr

aining

contr

act w

ith th

e co

mpan

y. 2/3

of th

eir tr

aining

time i

s sp

ent in

the c

ompa

ny, w

hile 1

/3 is

spen

t in

a voc

ation

al sc

hool.

The

re ar

e no

forma

l entr

y req

uirem

ents

for in

dividu

als

to joi

n the

dual

syste

m ex

cept

for a

scho

ol lea

ving c

ertifi

cate.

Com

panie

s se

lect a

nd re

cruit t

heir a

ppre

ntice

s.

Over

40%

of a

youth

coho

rt (a

ged 1

5 ye

ars)

starts

an ap

pren

tices

hip tr

aining

in

the du

al sy

stem.

It co

mpris

es 80

% of

tra

ining

time i

n the

comp

any a

nd 20

%

in a v

ocati

onal

scho

ol.

Ther

e are

abou

t 116

.000 a

ppre

ntice

s pla

ced i

n alm

ost 4

0.000

comp

anies

(as

of 12

/2006

).

In-co

mpan

y tra

ining

cons

titutes

2/3 t

o 3/4

of the

Dan

ish IV

ET pr

ogra

mme.

VET

is ba

sed o

n the

dual

traini

ng pr

incipl

e, i.e

. sc

hool-

base

d edu

catio

n and

train

ing

alter

natin

g with

train

ing in

a co

mpan

y. Th

is me

ans t

hat c

ompa

ny-b

ased

train

ing

is str

ongly

estab

lishe

d in t

he D

anish

dual

syste

m.

Sinc

e 200

6, stu

dents

have

3 to

5 skil

ls de

mons

tratio

ns du

ring t

heir p

racti

cal

traini

ng in

comp

anies

over

the 3

-year

vo

catio

nal u

pper

seco

ndar

y edu

catio

n pe

riod.

Skills

demo

nstra

tions

are

asse

ssed

by th

e stud

ents

thems

elves

tog

ether

with

the t

each

er an

d tra

iner.

The

traini

ng is

sue h

as be

come

a ma

jor

chall

enge

for t

he co

oper

ation

betw

een

comp

anies

and v

ocati

onal

scho

ols.

VET

polic

y VE

T pr

actic

es ac

ross

diffe

rent

indus

trial

secto

rs we

re br

ough

t toge

ther in

to a

mode

rn V

ET sy

stem

and w

ere c

odifie

d in

the V

ocati

onal

Train

ing A

ct (1

969,

rece

ntly r

evise

d in 2

005)

. This

Act

spec

ifies i

nitial

train

ing th

roug

h var

ious

traini

ng re

gulat

ions,

thus e

nsur

ing th

at un

iform

stan

dard

s of tr

aining

are m

et thr

ough

out th

e Fed

eral

Repu

blic o

f Ge

rman

y.

Major

goals

of V

ET po

licy a

re:

- Mo

re di

ffere

ntiate

d and

exten

ded

appr

entic

eship

train

ing;

- Es

tablis

h new

appr

entic

eship

s in

new

occu

patio

nal fi

elds

- Int

egra

tive V

ET , i

.e. pa

rtially

qu

alifyi

ng ap

pren

tices

with

dis

abilit

ies or

lear

ning w

eakn

esse

s -

The p

romo

tion o

f lifel

ong l

earn

ing

The s

ocial

partn

ers p

lay a

key r

ole in

the

Danis

h VET

syste

m as

well

as tr

ade

comm

ittees

, whic

h are

resp

onsib

le for

in-

comp

any t

raini

ng. T

hey c

onsis

t of

repr

esen

tative

s fro

m co

mpan

ies,

emplo

yer o

rgan

isatio

ns an

d unio

ns an

d ex

ist fo

r all b

ranc

hes i

n Den

mark

(60-

66).

The n

ation

al tra

de co

mmitte

es as

sign

local

trade

comm

ittees

to su

ppor

t and

ad

vice t

he vo

catio

nal s

choo

l boa

rds

rega

rding

in-co

mpan

y tra

ining

.

Sinc

e 198

0, the

educ

ation

syste

m fol

lows

a stro

ng de

centr

alisa

tion t

rend

. In

educ

ation

and t

raini

ng th

e mos

t dec

ision

-ma

king p

ower

is at

the l

ocal

level.

The

fra

mewo

rk (tim

e allo

catio

ns in

educ

ation

, co

re cu

rricu

la an

d qua

lifica

tion

requ

ireme

nts) is

deve

loped

by th

e Na

tiona

l Boa

rd of

Edu

catio

n, wh

ich

belon

gs to

the M

inistr

y of E

duca

tion.

Fina

ncin

g of

tra

inin

g an

d tra

iner

s

The G

erma

n dua

l sys

tem is

main

ly fin

ance

d by e

mploy

ers (

with

traine

es

being

paid)

. Voc

ation

al sc

hools

are

finan

ced b

y the

state

. Tr

ainer

s’ qu

alific

ation

certif

icates

in m

ost

case

s are

finan

ced b

y the

train

ers

thems

elves

. Som

e lar

ge co

mpan

ies

supp

ort th

e ‘Me

ister

’ qua

lifica

tion o

r find

ind

ividu

al ar

rang

emen

ts.

Mixe

d fina

ncing

syste

m sh

ared

be

twee

n the

state

and c

ompa

nies.

Indus

try su

ppor

ts the

conti

nuing

train

ing

of the

ir emp

loyee

s. Th

e com

panie

s pay

sa

laries

for t

heir a

ppre

ntice

s. Th

e tra

ining

of

traine

rs ca

n be f

inanc

ially

supp

orted

if vo

catio

nal c

olleg

es ar

e able

to ad

apt

AMU-

base

d cou

rses (

AMU

are l

abou

r ma

rket tr

aining

centr

es).

Usua

lly th

ere a

re no

full-t

ime t

raine

rs in

comp

anies

. Tra

iners

rece

ive no

rmal

salar

ies. T

he tr

aining

form

s par

t of th

eir

regu

lar w

ork.

Be

twee

n 200

0 and

2006

the t

raini

ng of

tra

iners

has b

een f

inanc

ed by

ESF

-fund

s. Du

ring t

he E

SF-p

eriod

almo

st 25

,000

workp

lace i

nstru

ctors

were

being

train

ed.

EA

C09

/06/

Lot1

EU

RO

TRAI

NE

R –

FIN

AL R

EP

OR

T

94

Type

s of i

n-co

mpa

ny tr

ainer

s Th

ree d

omina

nt tra

iner t

ypes

, two i

n IV

ET an

d one

in C

VET:

Ty

pe 1:

Par

t-tim

e tra

iners

, who

are

skille

d wor

kers

resp

onsib

le for

the i

nitial

tra

ining

of ap

pren

tices

alon

gside

othe

r tec

hnica

l task

s. Ty

pe 2:

Full

-tim

e tra

iners

in IV

ET

prim

arily

to be

foun

d in t

he in

dustr

ial

manu

factur

ing se

ctor a

nd la

rge

comp

anies

. The

y usu

ally h

ave a

n ad

vanc

ed qu

alific

ation

as m

aster

cra

ftsma

n. Ty

pe 3:

Tra

iners

in CV

ET, w

ho ty

picall

y wo

rk wi

th the

ir tar

get g

roup

on a

much

mo

re se

lectiv

e bas

is. W

hile I

VET

traine

rs pr

ovide

a ve

ry co

mpre

hens

ive tr

aining

, tra

iners

in CV

ET fo

cus o

n spe

cific

techn

ical a

nd/or

soft s

kills

acco

rding

to

the ne

eds o

f adu

lt emp

loyee

s .

Disti

nctio

n betw

een f

ull-tim

e tra

iners

(9,60

0) an

d par

t-tim

e tra

iners

(10,0

00)

withi

n com

panie

s. Si

milar

to G

erma

ny

full-ti

me tr

ainer

s are

wor

king i

n lar

ger

comp

anies

, whil

e par

t-tim

e tra

iners

typica

lly w

ork i

n SME

s.

Train

ers i

n IV

ET ar

e res

pons

ible f

or th

e tra

ining

of ap

pren

tices

. The

majo

rity of

tra

iners

train

appr

entic

es on

a pa

rt-tim

e ba

sis al

ongs

ide th

eir re

gular

wor

k. Bu

t the

re ar

e also

full-t

ime t

raine

rs an

d full

-tim

e tra

ining

supe

rviso

rs, pa

rticula

rly in

lar

ge en

terpr

ises.

Train

ers i

n CV

ET pr

ovide

conti

nuou

s tra

ining

to em

ploye

es in

vario

us fie

lds

depe

nding

on th

e nee

ds of

the

comp

any a

nd th

e ind

ividu

al (IC

T,

langu

ages

, bus

iness

admi

nistra

tion,

proje

ct ma

nage

ment,

etc.)

.

No m

ajor d

iffere

ntiati

on be

twee

n diffe

rent

kinds

of in

-comp

any t

raine

rs. F

or in

-co

mpan

y tra

iners

there

are n

o for

mal

requ

ireme

nts. T

radit

ionall

y, co

mpan

ies

are u

sed t

o man

age r

ecru

itmen

t and

qu

alific

ation

them

selve

s and

avoid

rules

an

d reg

ulatio

ns.

No of

ficial

reco

gnitio

n of th

e tra

iner

functi

on. In

enter

prise

s, ap

pren

tices

typ

ically

wor

k und

er th

e guid

ance

of an

old

er, e

xper

ience

d wor

ker o

r for

eman

wh

ile th

eir th

eory

instru

ction

take

s plac

e in

VET

institu

tions

and i

s pro

vided

by

quali

fied t

each

ers.

The t

raine

rs re

spon

sible

for st

uden

ts of

voca

tiona

l up

per s

econ

dary

educ

ation

and t

raini

ng

durin

g the

ir com

pulso

ry on

-the-

job

learn

ing ar

e like

wise

expe

rienc

ed

forem

en an

d skil

led w

orke

rs. T

hose

fre

quen

tly ha

ve a

voca

tiona

l but

no

peda

gogic

al qu

alific

ation

s. Th

e wor

kplac

e app

oints

on-th

e-job

ins

tructo

rs, w

ho w

ill pa

rticipa

te in

instru

ctor t

raini

ng. In

struc

tors m

ust

cons

tantly

impr

ove t

heir s

uper

vision

sk

ills. T

he ed

ucati

onal

admi

nistra

tion h

as

been

able

to off

er co

urse

s for

instr

uctor

s.

Stat

us o

f IVE

T tra

iner

s/ re

cogn

ition

In sp

ite of

the i

mpor

tant r

ole of

IVET

tra

iners

in the

dual

syste

m, th

eir im

age

and r

eputa

tion h

as su

ffere

d dur

ing th

e las

t yea

rs. T

he ge

nera

l tren

d tow

ards

co

st-be

nefit

asse

ssme

nts an

d the

tight

econ

omic

situa

tion o

f man

y com

panie

s ha

s lea

d to r

ation

alisa

tion.

A lot

of

pres

sure

is pu

t on t

he tr

aining

de

partm

ents.

Train

ers a

re re

cogn

ised,

the pr

ofess

ion

is att

racti

ve. C

ompa

red w

ith sc

hool-

teach

ers t

raine

rs’ im

age i

s wor

se.

Exce

pt for

larg

e com

panie

s, tra

iners

work

as re

gular

emplo

yees

in a

comp

any a

nd

the tr

aining

is m

ore o

r less

part-

time

work.

St

ill, it

is qu

ite an

unre

cogn

ised t

ask t

o tra

in. T

here

is no

offic

ial re

ward

for

traini

ng ac

tivitie

s.

Attra

ctive

ness

and s

tatus

of tr

ainer

s de

pend

on th

e com

panie

s. Ov

erall

, the

status

and a

ppre

ciatio

n of tr

ainer

s is

quite

good

. Stud

ents,

teac

hers,

co

lleag

ues a

nd H

R ma

nage

ment

in co

mpan

ies ap

prec

iate t

he tr

ainer

s’ wo

rk,

but th

e role

of tr

ainer

s cou

ld be

mor

e va

lued p

ublic

ly, e.

g. in

the m

edia.

Selec

tion

and

alloc

atio

n

In 20

05, 7

55.26

0 emp

loyee

s wer

e off

iciall

y reg

ister

ed as

IVET

train

ers

(‘Aus

bilde

r’). M

ost o

f the p

racti

cal

appr

entic

eship

train

ing is

carri

ed ou

t by

skille

d wor

kers

on a

part-

time b

asis.

Full

-tim

e tra

iners

are p

rimar

ily fo

und i

n the

ind

ustria

l man

ufactu

ring s

ector

Abou

t 40.0

00 to

45.00

0 IVE

T tra

iners

are r

ecru

ited b

y emp

loying

comp

anies

. Th

ey ar

e inte

rnall

y rec

ruite

d as f

ull-tim

e wo

rkers;

train

ers’

tasks

are c

arrie

d out

in ad

dition

to th

eir re

gular

job.

Train

er is

sues

are t

he re

spon

sibilit

y of

the en

terpr

ises.

For in

-comp

any t

raine

rs,

there

are n

o for

mal tr

aining

requ

ireme

nts.

They

are m

ostly

recru

ited i

ntern

ally.

Usua

lly tr

ainer

s are

skille

d wor

kers

or

worke

rs wi

th lon

g wor

k exp

erien

ce w

ithin

the pr

ofess

ional

field.

Only

larg

e

Train

ers a

re se

lected

by th

e com

panie

s, mo

stly i

ntern

ally.

In mo

st ca

ses t

he

traine

rs ar

e moti

vated

to de

liver

train

ing

activ

ities.

Most

traine

rs ar

e skil

led w

orke

rs,

expe

rienc

ed fo

reme

n with

a vo

catio

nal

Janu

ary

2008

95

(comp

anies

> 20

0 emp

loyee

s). T

hey

usua

lly ha

ve a

‘mas

ter cr

aftsm

an’

quali

ficati

on an

d are

recru

ited w

ithin

the

comp

any a

s a pa

rt of

their c

aree

r.

comp

anies

have

full-t

ime t

raine

rs an

d we

ll-stru

cture

d tra

ining

plan

s. bu

t with

out a

ny pe

dago

gical

quali

ficati

on.

Quali

ficat

ion

of

train

ers

Pre-

servi

ce tr

aining

of in

-comp

any

traini

ng st

aff in

IVET

is re

gulat

ed by

the

feder

al law

(Voc

ation

al Tr

aining

Act,

§§

28-3

0), w

hich d

efine

s tha

t train

ers

have

to be

perso

nally

and p

rofes

siona

lly

eligib

le to

train

youn

g peo

ple. ‘P

erso

nally

su

ited’

is an

y citiz

en w

ithou

t a cr

imina

l re

cord

; ‘pro

fessio

nally

suite

d’ is

a per

son,

who p

asse

d a fin

al vo

catio

nal

exam

inatio

n cor

resp

ondin

g to t

he ar

eas

in wh

ich tr

aining

is de

liver

ed an

d who

ha

s the

requ

ired w

ork e

xper

ience

. In

addit

ion to

the v

ocati

onal

quali

ficati

on,

traine

rs mu

st ha

ve pa

ssed

an

exam

inatio

n as d

efine

d in t

he T

raine

r Ap

titude

Reg

ulatio

n (AE

VO, §

2) or

have

a m

aster

craft

sman

diplo

ma.

IVET

train

ers d

ispos

e of a

form

al qu

alific

ation

whic

h is b

eing a

cquir

ed in

a t

raine

r’s co

urse

or by

pass

ing th

e tra

iner e

xami

natio

n. Us

ually

IVET

tra

iners

have

wor

ked a

s skil

led w

orke

rs be

fore o

btaini

ng th

e for

mal tr

ainer

qu

alific

ation

. Pr

e-se

rvice

train

ing: R

equir

ed co

urse

s for

train

ers (

‘Aus

bilde

rkurs’

) of 4

0 hrs,

tra

iners’

exam

inatio

n or m

aster

cra

ftsma

n qua

lifica

tion.

For in

-comp

any t

raine

rs the

re ar

e no

forma

l train

ing re

quire

ments

. Com

panie

s ar

e use

d to m

anag

e stan

dard

s the

mselv

es an

d avo

id ru

les an

d re

gulat

ions.

Some

comp

anies

have

ed

ucati

on an

d tra

ining

depa

rtmen

ts tha

t off

er in

-comp

any t

raini

ng co

urse

s for

the

ir tra

iners.

As

a co

nseq

uenc

e of th

e disc

ussio

ns

abou

t incre

ased

drop

-out

rates

, qua

lity

monit

oring

and n

ew tr

aining

tools

seve

ral

trade

comm

ittees

have

initia

ted tr

aining

co

urse

s for

train

ers.

Base

d on a

pilot

pr

oject

some

trad

e com

mitte

es in

2006

ar

rang

ed a

stand

ard t

raini

ng co

urse

ac

ross

diffe

rent

secto

rs to

stand

ardis

e the

train

ing of

train

ers.

Ther

e are

no fo

rmal

quali

ficati

on

requ

ireme

nts fo

r tra

iners.

Mos

tly tr

ainer

s the

mselv

es vo

luntee

r to u

p-da

te the

ir sk

ills. P

ossib

ilities

for s

trictly

regu

lating

in-

comp

any t

raini

ng ar

e lim

ited s

ince

comp

anies

prefe

r dec

entra

lised

mod

els.

In the

conte

xt of

imple

menti

ng sk

ills

demo

nstra

tions

abou

t 40%

of tr

ainer

s too

k par

t in C

VET

cour

ses (

worth

3 EC

TS) b

ased

on co

re cu

rricu

la ap

prov

ed

by th

e Finn

ish N

ation

al Bo

ard o

f Ed

ucati

on.

Train

ers w

ho ar

e res

pons

ible f

or st

uden

ts in

voca

tiona

l upp

er se

cond

ary e

duca

tion

are g

ener

ally e

xper

ience

d for

emen

and

skille

d wor

kers

with

a voc

ation

al, bu

t pe

dago

gical

quali

ficati

on.

Inno

vatio

ns in

VE

T

Amen

dmen

t of th

e Tra

iners

Aptitu

de

Regu

lation

(AVE

0) in

1998

to pu

t in pl

ace

a new

actio

n-or

iented

meth

odolo

gical

appr

oach

and a

new

curri

culum

stru

cture

for

the t

raini

ng of

train

ers,

tackli

ng

traini

ng in

a mo

re ho

listic

and p

roce

ss-

orien

ted w

ay. T

he A

EVO

is cu

rrentl

y be

ing as

sess

ed an

d has

been

su

spen

ded u

ntil 2

008.

Intro

ducti

on of

quali

ty mo

nitor

ing an

d as

sura

nce a

t diffe

rent

levels

: (i) t

hrou

gh

traini

ng re

gulat

ions;

(ii) sp

ecific

co

mpan

y req

uirem

ent if

they

wish

to

offer

train

ing; a

nd (ii

i) for

mal

quali

ficati

on re

quire

ments

for I

VET

traine

rs.

Raise

the n

umbe

r of s

ector

prog

ramm

es

for vo

catio

nal c

olleg

e pro

gram

mes f

rom

7 in

2007

to 12

in 20

08.

In 20

00, a

refor

m wa

s ado

pted w

hich

create

s stro

nger

cohe

renc

e with

in ad

ult

educ

ation

and c

ontin

uing t

raini

ng by

pr

ovidi

ng a

new

frame

work

of life

long

learn

ing op

portu

nities

.

In VE

T the

re ha

ve be

en im

porta

nt inn

ovati

ons s

ince 1

998:

- On

-the-

job tr

aining

and s

kills

demo

nstra

tions

wer

e intr

oduc

ed to

vo

catio

nal u

pper

seco

ndar

y ed

ucati

on

- Go

als of

on-th

e-job

train

ing ar

e set

at the

regio

nal le

vel w

ith st

uden

ts,

teach

ers a

nd tr

ainer

s foll

owing

the

regio

nal s

choo

l cur

ricula

.

Futu

re ch

allen

ges

Ini

tiated

by th

e Ger

man I

VET

traine

r as

socia

tion (

BDBA

) and

supp

orted

by

ESF,

BIB

B se

vera

l acto

rs ha

ve

deve

loped

and a

re cu

rrentl

y ass

essin

g a

Austr

ia aim

s to

- Es

tablis

h IVE

T tra

iner s

choo

ls (‘A

usbil

dera

kade

mien

’) -

Stan

dard

ise fu

rther

train

ing fo

r

Some

trad

e com

mitte

es ha

ve in

itiated

the

integ

ratio

n of c

ourse

s for

train

ers i

nto th

e AM

U sy

stem,

whic

h mea

ns th

at the

vo

catio

nal c

olleg

es’ C

VET

depa

rtmen

ts

The n

ation

al co

re cu

rricu

lum fo

r diffe

rent

fields

will

be re

newe

d. On

e main

focu

s wi

ll be t

he ev

aluati

on an

d the

quali

ty

EA

C09

/06/

Lot1

EU

RO

TRAI

NE

R –

FIN

AL R

EP

OR

T

96

conti

nuing

voca

tiona

l train

ing co

urse

of

abou

t 500

hour

s for

full-t

ime I

VET

traine

rs.

IVET

train

ers.

- Int

rodu

ce a

state

certif

icate

for

IVET

train

ers.

- Pr

omote

comp

etitio

ns of

good

pr

actic

e for

comp

anies

that

offer

tra

ining

.

will o

ffer t

raine

r cou

rses i

n futu

re.

Versi

ons o

f the w

eb-to

ol Tr

ainer

Guide

un

der c

onstr

uctio

n in d

iffere

nt se

ctors

will

be in

terna

tiona

lised

. It co

mpris

es

desc

riptio

ns of

the t

raine

r job a

nd go

od

prac

tice e

xamp

les.

assu

ranc

e of o

n-the

-job l

earn

ing.

The t

raine

rs’ (in

struc

tors)

role

will g

ain

signif

icanc

e in t

he fu

ture a

nd ne

eds

prom

otion

.

Life

long

lear

ning

/ CV

ET

Acco

rding

to th

e Con

tinuin

g Voc

ation

al Tr

aining

Sur

vey (

CVTS

3) 30

hrs w

ere o

n av

erag

e ded

icated

to LL

L in 2

005 p

er

Germ

an pa

rticipa

nt wi

th gr

eat v

ariat

ions

betw

een d

iffere

nt ind

ustrie

s.

Partic

ipatio

n rate

: 12,9

%;

High

leve

l of e

ngag

emen

t of c

ompa

nies

in LL

L-ac

tivitie

s (ab

out 7

2%).

In De

nmar

k, the

publi

c sec

tor pl

ays a

ma

jor ro

le in

the pr

ovisi

on of

CVE

T as

we

ll as g

ener

al ad

ult ed

ucati

on.

CVET

regu

latio

n an

d st

ruct

ure

In Ge

rman

y, CV

ET is

of gr

eat

impo

rtanc

e. It i

s cha

racte

rised

by:

- plu

ralis

m of

prov

iders

- a m

arke

tplac

e cha

racte

r -

a com

para

tively

mini

mal d

egre

e of

state

regu

lation

-

volun

tary p

artic

ipatio

n and

mult

i-fun

ction

ality.

CVET

is ba

sicall

y unr

egula

ted. It

take

s pla

ce in

CVE

T pr

ovide

r insti

tution

s (sc

hool-

types

arra

ngem

ents

with

front

tutor

ing) a

nd in

comp

anies

with

mor

e ha

nds-o

n tra

ining

. The

socia

l par

tners

have

estab

lishe

d the

ir own

CVE

T ins

titutio

ns.

The l

egal

basis

for C

VET

is the

Adu

lt Ed

ucati

on P

romo

tion A

ct (‘E

rwac

h-se

nenb

ildun

gsför

deru

ngsg

esetz

’) of

1973

. It sp

ecifie

s the

cond

itions

for

supp

ortin

g adu

lt edu

catio

n.

The p

ublic

secto

r play

s a m

ajor r

ole in

the

prov

ision

of C

VET

as w

ell as

gene

ral

adult

educ

ation

. The

main

type

s of C

VET

are a

dult v

ocati

onal

traini

ng pr

ogra

mmes

off

ered

by lo

cally

-bas

ed la

bour

mar

ket

traini

ng ce

ntres

and v

ocati

onal

colle

ges.

Thes

e pro

gram

mes a

re im

porta

nt in

the

frame

work

of LL

L poli

cies.

Offic

ially

reco

gnise

d cou

rses a

re pa

rtly re

funda

ble.

Howe

ver,

in the

last

10-2

0 yea

rs, pr

ivate

prov

ision

s of C

VET

and a

dult e

duca

tion

have

grow

n.

Coun

try

POLA

ND

CZEC

H RE

PUBL

IC

HUNG

ARY

TURK

EY

Popu

latio

n

38,5

Mill

10.2

Mill.

10.1

Mill.

75 M

ill.

Natio

nal e

cono

my

(sta

tistic

al da

ta o

f 20

05/20

06)

GDP

p.c.: 1

1,700

€ Em

ploym

ent r

ate: 5

5,5%

(200

2)

Unem

ploym

ent r

ate: 1

3,8%

(200

6)

Youth

unem

ploym

ent r

ate: 3

6,9%

GDP

p.c.: 1

7,300

€ Em

ploym

ent r

ate 65

,3%

Unem

ploym

ent r

ate: 7

,1%

Youth

unem

ploym

ent r

ate: 1

9,2%

GDP

p.c.: 1

4,700

€ (20

06)

Emplo

ymen

t rate

: 57,3

%

Unem

ploym

ent r

ate: 7

,5%

Youth

unem

ploym

ent r

ate: 1

9,2%

GDP

p.c.: 8

,200$

Em

ploym

ent r

ate: 4

3,7%

(200

4)

Unem

ploym

ent r

ate: 1

1%

Youth

unem

ploym

ent r

ate: n

o data

IVET

gen

eral

(sch

ool-b

ased

ve

rsus

com

pany

-

The I

VET

syste

m is

scho

ol ba

sed a

nd

mostl

y tak

es pl

ace i

n voc

ation

al sc

hools

; on

ly a s

mall p

art is

carri

ed ou

t in

IVET

is sc

hool-

base

d. It p

redo

mina

tes

in tw

o for

ms: 3

-4 yr

s of s

econ

dary

techn

ical s

choo

ls (S

TS) o

r sec

onda

ry

The I

VET

syste

m is

scho

ol-ba

sed

wher

eby s

choo

ls co

ver t

he th

eore

tical

and c

ompa

nies t

he pr

actic

al pa

rt.

IVET

is sc

hool-

base

d. It s

tarts

after

8 ye

ars o

f com

pulso

ry ba

sic ed

ucati

on.

Ther

e exis

t thre

e path

ways

to be

come

Janu

ary

2008

97

base

d)

coop

erati

on be

twee

n sch

ools

and

comp

anies

. vo

catio

nal s

choo

ls (S

VS).

Appr

entic

eship

train

ing do

es no

t exis

t. If I

VET

takes

plac

e at th

e wor

kplac

e it

is no

t refe

rred t

o as a

ppre

ntice

ship

traini

ng.

Ther

e are

two f

orms

of IV

ET: v

ocati

onal

scho

ols or

seco

ndar

y voc

ation

al sc

hools

. In

both

types

pupil

s obta

in qu

alific

ation

s of

the N

ation

al Qu

alific

ation

Reg

ister

(O

KJ).

skille

d: for

mal e

duca

tion,

appr

entic

eship

tra

ining

and n

on-fo

rmal

educ

ation

. Fo

rmal

VET

institu

tions

are d

ivide

d into

vo

catio

nal h

igh sc

hools

(4 yr

s) an

d tec

hnica

l high

scho

ols (4

yrs).

Ap

pren

tices

hip tr

aining

take

s plac

e at

voca

tiona

l edu

catio

n cen

tres.

Most

of the

se pr

ogra

mmes

are u

nder

the M

oNE.

IVET

in

com

pani

es

Only

a sma

ll but

rising

part

of IV

ET is

ca

rried

out in

comp

anies

. In-co

mpan

y tra

iners

are n

ot dis

tingu

ished

as su

ch

from

other

wor

kers.

Of a

ll tra

iners

only

prac

tical

voca

tiona

l train

ing in

struc

tors

who w

ork i

n both

IVET

and C

VET

have

a cle

arly

defin

ed st

atus w

hich w

as fix

ed in

the

2002

Reg

ulatio

n of th

e Mini

stry o

f Na

tiona

l Edu

catio

n and

Spo

rt.

38%

of al

l sec

onda

ry sc

hool

leave

rs op

t for

a 2-

3 yrs

SVS-

prog

ramm

e, bu

t only

35

% of

all S

VS-st

uden

ts co

mplet

e the

ir pr

actic

al wo

rkplac

e-re

lated

train

ing.

STS

of 4 y

rs pr

epar

e pup

ils fo

r HE

and

mid-

level

techn

ical, b

usine

ss or

simi

lar

jobs (

35.6%

of al

l sch

ool le

aver

s). W

ork

place

ments

last

6-8 w

eeks

.

Two t

ypes

of V

ET sc

hools

lead

to O

KJ

quali

ficati

on: v

ocati

onal

scho

ols (2

yrs

gene

ral a

nd 2

yrs vo

catio

nal e

duca

tion)

an

d sec

onda

ry vo

catio

nal s

choo

ls (4

yrs

gene

ral p

lus on

e opti

onal

year

of V

ET.

Thre

e for

ms of

prac

tical

traini

ng ex

ist:

appr

entic

eship

s, sc

hool-

base

d wo

rksho

ps an

d coo

pera

tion a

gree

ments

be

twee

n sch

ools

and e

nterp

rises

(‘a

ltern

ance

’). Mo

st stu

dents

do th

eir

prac

tical

traini

ng w

ithin

scho

ol-wo

rksho

ps

or in

alter

nanc

e.

The p

eriod

alloc

ated t

o skil

ls tra

ining

in

the la

st gr

ade o

f voc

ation

al hig

h sch

ools

is in

gene

ral 2

4 hou

rs pe

r wee

k. Th

us

stude

nts sp

end t

hree

days

a we

ek at

the

comp

any t

o acq

uire p

racti

cal s

kills.

VET

polic

y Th

e ins

titute

for S

ustai

nable

Te

chno

logies

(ITe

E-PI

B) is

a sta

te-ow

ned r

esea

rch an

d dev

elopm

ent

institu

tion e

ngag

ed in

build

ing

comp

etenc

es of

train

ers a

nd te

ache

rs in

three

phas

es. IT

eE de

signs

mod

ular

traini

ng an

d foc

uses

on bu

ilding

did

actic

al/me

thodic

al co

mpete

nces

du

ring p

ilot tr

aining

of tr

ainer

s.

Th

e Nati

onal

Deve

lopme

nt Pl

an (2

005)

es

tablis

hes p

rogr

amme

s for

inno

vatio

ns

in VE

T:

- Im

prov

ing th

e qua

lity of

VET

by

restr

uctur

ing th

e VET

syste

m ac

cord

ing to

OKJ

-

Deve

lop st

rateg

ies fo

r the

en

hanc

emen

t of L

LL

- Vo

catio

nal S

choo

l Dev

elopm

ent

Prog

ramm

e (SZ

FP) t

o enh

ance

the

comp

etenc

es of

voca

tiona

l sch

ool

grad

uates

and i

mpro

ve th

e ima

ge of

VE

T sc

hools

.

In 19

86, IV

ET ha

s bee

n res

tructu

red t

o co

ver a

ll for

mal a

nd no

n-for

mal V

ET,

includ

ing ap

pren

tices

hip tr

aining

. With

a ne

w law

the s

ocial

partn

ers h

ave b

een

given

key r

oles i

n the

plan

ning,

imple

menta

tion a

nd ev

aluati

on of

IVET

. A

Voca

tiona

l Edu

catio

n Cou

ncil a

t nati

onal

level

and P

rovin

cial V

ocati

onal

Educ

ation

Co

uncil

s hav

e bee

n esta

blish

ed.

In 20

04, th

e Law

on T

urkis

h Cha

mber

s an

d Ind

ustry

gave

the c

hamb

ers r

ights

to i) o

ffer v

ocati

onal

cour

ses o

r ass

ist th

e alr

eady

exist

ing on

es; ii

) issu

e cer

tifica

tes

in un

reco

gnise

d occ

upati

ons u

nder

ap

pren

tices

hip tr

aining

.

EA

C09

/06/

Lot1

EU

RO

TRAI

NE

R –

FIN

AL R

EP

OR

T

98

Fina

ncin

g of

tra

inin

g an

d tra

iner

s

IVET

train

ing ta

kes p

lace i

n IVE

T sc

hools

an

d is c

arrie

d out

by te

ache

rs in

voca

tiona

l sch

ools

or te

chnic

al lyc

eum

finan

ced b

y the

state

. In-

comp

any t

raine

rs’ tr

aining

is no

rmall

y fin

ance

d by t

he em

ploye

r or b

y the

em

ploye

e.

Seco

ndar

y voc

ation

al an

d tec

hnica

l sc

hools

are m

ainly

publi

cly fin

ance

d. Si

nce 2

001 t

he re

gions

are r

espo

nsibl

e.

Mixe

d sys

tem of

centr

al bu

dget

fundin

g, loc

al go

vern

ment

subs

idies

, Lab

our

Marke

d Fun

d and

non-

state

funds

(co

mpan

ies, e

tc.).

Comp

anies

cove

r in-

comp

any I

VET-

relat

ed pr

actic

al tra

ining

. Si

nce 1

997 c

ompa

nies c

ontrib

ute w

ith

1.5%

of th

eir to

tal la

bour

costs

(33.6

Mill.

€ i

n 200

4).

Enter

prise

s and

insti

tution

s in T

urke

y are

no

t awa

re of

the n

eces

sity o

f train

ing.

They

do no

t hav

e a pe

rspec

tive o

n the

lon

g-ter

m be

nefits

of tr

aining

. Th

e inv

estm

ents

made

by th

e MoN

E ca

n be

seen

in th

e stat

istics

. In 20

07 th

e Bu

dget

of Mo

NE w

as 21

.35 M

ill. Y

TL. It

wa

s mor

e tha

n 3%

of th

e GNP

Sha

re.

Type

s of i

n-co

mpa

ny tr

ainer

s

Prac

tical

voca

tiona

l train

ing in

struc

tors

are e

mploy

ees,

emplo

yers

or pe

rsons

ru

nning

priva

tely o

wned

firms

. The

y pr

ovide

prac

tical

voca

tiona

l train

ing as

pa

rt of

IVET

or C

VET

at the

wor

kplac

e. Th

e ins

tructo

r or t

raine

r in P

oland

is a

role

or a

functi

on in

a wo

rk-ba

sed s

etting

, bu

t no o

ccup

ation

al ca

tegor

y. Th

ere a

re

full-ti

me an

d par

t-tim

e pra

ctica

l vo

catio

nal tr

aining

instr

uctor

s.

Vo

catio

nal tr

ainer

s (em

ploye

d by

voca

tiona

l sch

ools)

and p

racti

ce tr

ainer

s (e

mploy

ed by

enter

prise

s) ar

e the

re

levan

t acto

rs in

appr

entic

eship

train

ing.

Both

prov

ide tr

aining

with

in the

scho

ol sy

stem.

Comp

etenc

es an

d title

s of tr

ainer

s in

voca

tiona

l and

tech

nical

educ

ation

are

not c

learly

defin

ed. T

he tr

aining

of

traine

es in

enter

prise

s migh

t be d

one b

y: ex

pert

traine

rs wh

o hav

e rec

eived

a pe

dago

gical

forma

tion a

nd ha

ve

expe

rtise,

voca

tiona

l train

ing te

ache

rs,

engin

eers

or te

chnic

ians.

Stat

us o

f tra

iner

s/ re

cogn

ition

Train

ers i

n Pola

nd ar

e not

perce

ived a

s pe

ople

with

a spe

cific

occu

patio

nal s

tatus

bu

t rath

er as

regu

lar em

ploye

es. T

his

leads

to th

e situ

ation

whe

re th

e ove

rall

occu

patio

nal s

tatus

of tr

ainer

s wor

king i

n en

terpr

ises i

s und

erva

lued.

Reco

gnitio

n of th

e wor

k of tr

ainer

s is

rathe

r mod

est.

The p

resti

ge of

IVET

is lo

w as

well

as th

e so

cial s

tatus

of sk

illed w

orke

rs.

Acco

rding

to a

2002

surve

y the

statu

s of

traine

rs an

d voc

ation

al sc

hool

teach

ers i

s low

er th

an th

e stat

us of

skille

d wor

kers

and t

each

ers i

n gen

eral.

Mana

geme

nt do

es no

t pro

vide m

ateria

l an

d moti

vatio

nal a

ppre

ciatio

n to t

raine

rs thu

s und

erva

luing

their

role

and f

uncti

on.

Selec

tion

and

alloc

atio

n

As tr

ainer

s are

not r

ecog

nised

as a

distin

ct ca

tegor

y in t

he le

gislat

ion, n

o sta

tistic

al da

ta on

their

wor

king s

tatus

, or

igin,

age o

r gen

der d

istrib

ution

are

colle

cted.

Ther

e is n

o spe

cial s

tructu

re fo

r attr

actin

g pe

ople

to the

teac

hing o

r tra

ining

pr

ofess

ion. T

each

ers a

nd tr

ainer

s are

Train

ers v

ery r

arely

wor

k in t

he IV

ET

conte

xt. IV

ET tr

ainer

s (ins

tructo

rs) ar

e re

cruite

d acc

ordin

g to c

ompa

ny

guide

lines

in co

oper

ation

with

the

voca

tiona

l sch

ools.

The

y are

sepa

ratel

y pa

id for

their

wor

k. Th

ere w

ere 5

.720

IVET

train

ers i

n the

CR

in 20

03/20

04.

Most

of the

in-co

mpan

y IVE

T tra

iners

are

recru

ited i

ntern

ally w

ithin

the co

mpan

y.

In 20

07 ab

out 4

5.000

train

ers g

radu

ated

from

24 te

chnic

al tra

ining

facu

lties.

The

total

numb

er of

tech

nical

traine

rs wh

o gr

adua

ted fr

om th

ese f

acult

ies is

16

0.000

. Th

ere a

re so

me en

terpr

ises w

hich h

ave

traini

ng ce

ntres

, alth

ough

their

numb

er is

no

t high

. Gen

erall

y in t

hese

units

and

Janu

ary

2008

99

recru

ited b

y ind

ividu

al ins

titutio

ns an

d or

ganis

ation

s. Tr

ainer

s in e

nterp

rises

are

recru

ited b

oth ex

terna

lly an

d inte

rnall

y, as

full o

r par

t-tim

e emp

loyee

s or

some

times

as ex

terna

l train

ers.

centr

es, tr

aining

and h

uman

reso

urce

s ex

perts

wor

k. Ho

weve

r, mo

st of

the

enter

prise

s pre

fer pu

rchas

ing tr

aining

se

rvice

form

unive

rsitie

s or p

ublic

or

priva

te tra

ining

insti

tution

s.

Quali

ficat

ion

of

train

ers

Requ

ireme

nts fo

r pra

ctica

l voc

ation

al tra

ining

instr

uctor

s are

defin

ed as

a co

mbina

tion o

f form

al qu

alific

ation

s in a

giv

en fie

ld/oc

cupa

tion a

nd pe

dago

gical

comp

etenc

e (Re

gulat

ion of

the M

iniste

r of

Natio

nal E

duca

tion a

nd S

port,

2002

). Th

e mini

mum

level

of for

mal q

ualifi

catio

n is

eithe

r a m

aturity

certif

icate

from

a IS

CED

3A sc

hool

comb

ined w

ith w

ork

expe

rienc

e or t

he ‘m

aster

craft

sman

’ ce

rtifica

te, w

hich v

alida

tes kn

owled

ge

and s

kills

acqu

ired w

hile i

n emp

loyme

nt.

Sinc

e IVE

T is

prim

arily

scho

ol-ba

sed,

teach

ers h

ave t

o fulf

il qua

lifica

tion

requ

ireme

nts. T

he nu

mber

of al

l qua

lified

tea

cher

s in P

oland

in 20

04 w

as 58

8,419

. Th

ere a

re cl

ear q

ualifi

catio

n re

quire

ments

for f

ull- a

nd pa

rt-tim

e pr

actic

al vo

catio

nal tr

aining

instr

uctor

s.

IVET

train

er (in

struc

tor) is

not a

spec

ific

profe

ssion

, thus

requ

ireme

nts ar

e not

legall

y defi

ned.

IVET

train

ers t

ypica

lly

have

comp

leted

a sp

ecial

scho

ol lev

el.

The p

edag

ogica

l train

ing fo

r instr

uctor

s is

also n

ot re

gulat

ed. T

here

are s

hort

cour

ses (

40 hr

s) of

furthe

r tra

ining

, wh

ich fo

cus o

n psy

cholo

gical

and

peda

gogic

al top

ics.

Train

ers i

n com

panie

s (pr

actic

e tra

iners)

typ

ically

are q

ualifi

ed as

skille

d wor

kers

befor

e bec

oming

a tra

iner.

They

need

a vo

catio

nal q

ualifi

catio

n plus

five y

ears

of pr

ofess

ional

expe

rienc

e. Pr

actiti

oner

s wi

th ma

ster c

rafts

perso

n exa

mina

tion

(sinc

e 199

6) m

ust b

e give

n pre

feren

ce in

the

selec

tion p

roce

ss. A

partic

ular

peda

gogic

al qu

alific

ation

is no

t req

uired

. Pr

actic

e tra

iners

acqu

ire th

eir tr

ainer

sk

ills in

publi

c sch

ools,

CVE

T ins

titutio

ns

and o

n the

job.

A sp

ecific

stan

dard

isatio

n or r

egula

tion i

n for

train

er qu

alific

ation

does

not e

xist.

Howe

ver,

traine

rs mu

st ha

ve a

deep

kn

owled

ge of

the e

nterp

rise,

its pr

oduc

ts an

d pro

ducti

on pr

oces

ses i

n add

ition t

o the

ir bas

ic vo

catio

nal s

kills.

The

y also

ne

ed to

pass

thro

ugh a

comp

rehe

nsive

or

ientat

ion pr

ogra

mme.

Thos

e who

have

a ma

ster c

rafts

man

certif

icate

can a

ttend

train

er co

urse

s wi

thout

any p

reco

nditio

ns. In

dividu

als

who p

artic

ipate

in pe

dago

gic co

urse

s aft

er ha

ving r

eceiv

ed a

maste

r cra

ftsma

n qu

alific

ation

are g

iven a

‘Mas

ter T

raine

r Ce

rtifica

te’, w

hich a

uthor

ises t

hem

to tra

in ap

pren

tices

and v

ocati

onal

and

techn

ical tr

ainee

s in e

nterp

rises

. Ove

rall,

the ed

ucati

on le

vel o

f the e

xper

t teac

hers

is low

, esp

ecial

ly in

the ho

tel se

ctor.

Inno

vatio

ns in

VE

T

In or

der t

o emp

loy ne

w lea

rning

meth

ods,

traine

rs ca

n use

the o

ffer o

f the I

nstitu

te for

Sus

taina

ble T

echn

ologie

s (IT

eE)

which

prov

ides t

raini

ng in

mod

ular

curri

cula

and t

raini

ng. T

raine

rs an

d tea

cher

s can

also

apply

inno

vativ

e too

ls.

The m

ost p

opula

r is e-

learn

ing fo

r tra

iners

and t

each

ers a

nd tr

aining

for

using

e-lea

rning

/ICT

solut

ions t

o cre

ate

traini

ng.

Ther

e has

been

a re

form

and r

enew

al of

the na

tiona

l app

renti

cesh

ip pr

ogra

mme d

ue to

grow

ing de

mand

s.

An in

forma

l qua

lity m

onito

ring s

ystem

ha

s bee

n esta

blish

ed.

The ‘

Natio

nal D

evelo

pmen

t Plan

’ and

‘S

trateg

y of D

evelo

pmen

t of V

ocati

onal

Educ

ation

and T

raini

ng un

til 20

13’

gene

rate

vario

us R

& D

in th

e fiel

d of

VET.

Whil

e tra

iners

are n

ot the

main

foc

us, li

nked

activ

ities i

nclud

e: -

Rene

wal o

f the N

ation

al Qu

alific

ation

Reg

ister

-

Deve

lopme

nt of

comp

etenc

e-ba

sed

VET

curri

cula

- Pr

omoti

on of

appr

entic

eship

s and

qu

ality

assu

ranc

e in I

VET

A re

cent

VET

Mode

rnisa

tion P

rojec

t (M

VET)

fund

ed by

the E

U to

mode

rnise

an

d ada

pt VE

T to

be m

ore r

espo

nsive

to

the so

cio-e

cono

mic n

eeds

of th

e cou

ntry

and L

LL pr

incipl

es.

Estab

lishm

ent o

f a N

ation

al Qu

alific

ation

Sy

stem

para

llel w

ith E

QF ha

s bee

n on

the co

untry

’s ag

enda

for t

he pa

st 10

ye

ars.

EA

C09

/06/

Lot1

EU

RO

TRAI

NE

R –

FIN

AL R

EP

OR

T

100

Futu

re ch

allen

ges

Es

tablis

h effe

ctive

colla

bora

tion t

hrou

gh

the P

olish

Netw

ork o

f Mod

ular e

duca

tion,

a netw

ork t

o fos

ter co

oper

ation

in V

ET

betw

een d

iffere

nt ins

titutio

ns.

Enha

nce

the

com

pete

nces

of t

raine

rs:

the In

stitut

e for

Sus

taina

ble T

echn

ologie

s (IT

eE-P

IP) is

a sta

te-ow

ned r

esea

rch an

d de

velop

ment

institu

tion,

which

enga

ges

in bu

ilding

comp

etenc

es of

train

ers a

nd

teach

ers i

n 3 ph

ases

: iden

tifica

tion o

f co

mpete

nce n

eeds

; des

ign of

train

ing

offer

s/pro

gram

mes;

piloti

ng of

train

ing

imple

menta

tion.

NQS:

The

Nati

onal

Institu

te of

Tech

nical

and V

ocati

onal

Educ

ation

(N

UOV)

is es

tablis

hing a

Nati

onal

Quali

ficati

on S

ystem

(Nati

onal

Regis

ter

of Qu

alific

ation

s) to

enha

nce t

he qu

ality

and r

ealis

e tra

nspa

renc

y of th

e qu

alific

ation

s of tr

ainer

s. In

2009

: Ren

ewal

of th

e na

tiona

l ap

pren

tices

hip p

rogr

amm

e (2-

3 yrs

prog

ramm

es of

seco

ndar

y voc

ation

al sc

hools

) to i

mpac

t on a

bout

300,0

00

youn

g peo

ple.

Prom

ote go

od pr

actic

e exa

mples

of

VET

in co

mpan

ies.

Mor

e re

sear

ch on

train

ing a

nd q

uality

: Im

prov

ing th

e tra

ining

of tr

ainer

s and

the

syste

m of

quali

ty as

sura

nce h

as be

en

prior

itised

as a

futur

e res

earch

topic

.

Lega

l fram

ewor

k of a

Voc

ation

al Qu

alific

ation

Aut

horit

y (VQ

A) to

set u

p a

Natio

nal Q

ualifi

catio

n Sys

tem:

Estab

lishe

d in 2

006,

the V

QA is

an

auton

omou

s tri-

partit

e nati

onal

autho

rity

in ch

arge

of m

aking

natio

nal le

gislat

ion

for qu

alific

ation

s; the

deve

lopme

nt of

occu

patio

nal a

nd ed

ucati

on st

anda

rds;

desig

ning c

ertifi

catio

n pro

cedu

res;

and

autho

rizati

on of

VET

insti

tution

s and

oth

er or

ganis

ation

s tha

t pro

vide V

ET

certif

icates

.

Life

long

lear

ning

/ CV

ET

No in

forma

tion a

vaila

ble

Partic

ipatio

n rate

: 5,6%

CVET

partic

ipatio

n rate

: 3,8%

Oppo

rtunit

ies fo

r tra

iners

in en

terpr

ises

conc

ernin

g life

long l

earn

ing an

d pr

ofess

ional

deve

lopme

nt ar

e un

derd

evelo

ped.

CVET

regu

latio

n an

d st

ruct

ure

The l

egisl

ation

appli

cable

to tr

ainer

s wo

rking

in C

VET

prov

ides o

nly th

at tra

iners

shou

ld ha

ve a

voca

tiona

l qu

alific

ation

appr

opria

te to

the ty

pe of

tra

ining

prov

ided.

Spec

ific re

quire

ments

ar

e defi

ned b

y ind

ividu

al ins

titutio

ns an

d or

ganis

ation

s emp

loying

train

ers.

CVET

is ba

sicall

y unr

egula

ted. It

is

prov

ided b

y sch

ools

and c

ompa

nies.

Sinc

e 200

6, so

me re

gulat

ion w

as

intro

duce

d thr

ough

the A

ct of

Verifi

catio

n and

Rec

ognit

ion of

Fur

ther

Educ

ation

Res

ults.

Fo

r tra

iners

who h

ave a

cquir

ed th

eir

traini

ng co

mpete

ncies

infor

mally

, no

mech

anism

s exis

t to ce

rtify t

heir s

kills.

Th

e imp

ortan

ce gi

ven t

o life

long l

earn

ing

in the

Tur

key’s

Acc

essio

ns P

roce

ss to

the

EU

can b

e reg

arde

d as a

n op

portu

nity f

or tr

ainer

s to g

et the

ir skil

ls re

cogn

ised a

nd ce

rtified

.

Janu

ary

2008

101

Trai

ners

in E

urop

e: Is

sues

and

tren

ds m

irror

ed a

gain

st s

elec

ted

natio

nal p

ersp

ectiv

es

Hypo

thes

is De

scrip

tion

of is

sues

of c

once

rn

Curre

nt d

evelo

pmen

ts an

d in

itiat

ives

Antic

ipat

ed tr

ends

1. Th

e sys

tem of

train

ing of

tra

iners

is no

t effe

ctive

in

terms

of or

ganis

ation

, cos

t-eff

ectiv

enes

s and

alloc

ation

of

traini

ng st

aff

In so

me co

untrie

s, the

train

ing of

train

ers i

s not

effec

tive b

ecau

se it

is no

t alw

ays p

racti

ce re

lated

an

d dem

and d

riven

, but

supp

ly dr

iven (

Germ

any,

Finlan

d). O

ften,

peop

le wh

o dec

ide up

on tr

aining

ha

ve an

acad

emic

back

grou

nd in

HRD

, not

a pr

actic

al on

e. Pa

rt-tim

e tra

iners

(par

ticula

rly in

SME

s) ar

e not

supp

orted

(Ger

many

and F

ranc

e).

Lack

of re

gulat

ion le

ads t

o a va

riety

of sta

ndar

ds

acro

ss se

ctors

and r

egion

s (UK

, Irela

nd, F

ranc

e)

or to

no st

anda

rds a

t all (

Roma

nia an

d Pola

nd).

New

legisl

ation

and r

egula

tions

for t

he tr

aining

of

traine

rs ar

e put

in pla

ce, r

ecog

nising

the r

ole of

tra

iners

(Finl

and,

Swed

en, N

orwa

y).

New

Secto

r Skil

ls Co

uncil

s enc

oura

ge an

d pr

omote

the b

etter

train

ing of

train

ers (

UK).

Full-t

ime t

raine

rs ar

e mor

e sup

porte

d by

mana

geme

nt thr

ough

train

ing pl

ans (

Fran

ce).

The t

raini

ng of

train

ing is

incre

asing

ly su

ppor

ted as

part

of the

Eur

opea

n Soc

ial F

und (

ESF)

(Finl

and a

nd ne

w me

mber

state

s suc

h as P

oland

). Mu

ltinati

onal

comp

anies

deve

lop th

eir ow

n stan

dard

s an

d inte

rfere

with

the n

ation

al sy

stems

. Pos

sible

posit

ive in

fluen

ce on

othe

r nati

onal

comp

anies

(e.g.

Gr

eece

); po

ssibl

e neg

ative

influ

ence

as th

ey ar

e not

conn

ected

to th

e nati

onal

stand

ards

(e.g.

Ger

many

). Tr

ainer

s and

the r

ole of

train

ing ar

e gain

ing re

cogn

ition

and s

ignific

ance

as on

-the-

job tr

aining

of V

ET

prog

ramm

es is

incre

asing

(Sca

ndina

vian c

ountr

ies).

2. Th

e ove

rall q

ualifi

catio

n of

traine

rs is

not a

majo

r issu

e of

conc

ern.

Train

ers a

re ge

nera

lly w

ell qu

alifie

d, bu

t the

diver

sity o

f the p

rofes

siona

l pro

files f

or tr

ainer

s re

sults

in th

e defi

nition

of th

e occ

upati

onal

profi

les fo

r tra

iners

is no

t clea

r (Ro

mania

, Fra

nce,

Polan

d, De

nmar

k).

Many

type

s of q

ualifi

catio

ns ar

e ava

ilable

for

traine

rs, bu

t they

are v

ery e

xpen

sive (

UK).

Ther

e are

a se

ries o

f initia

tives

to m

odify

, re-

defin

e and

/or se

t up n

ew qu

alific

ation

profi

les fo

r tra

iners

(Rom

ania,

Pola

nd, P

ortug

al, F

ranc

e, Ge

rman

y, Au

stria,

Finl

and,

Denm

ark,

UK).

Estab

lishin

g aca

demi

c tra

ining

for t

raine

rs (G

erma

ny, U

K, A

ustria

, Pola

nd).

On th

e one

hand

, ther

e is h

igher

reco

gnitio

n of th

e ov

erall

skills

and c

ompe

tence

portf

olio o

f train

ers t

han

just th

eir fo

rmal

quali

ficati

ons.

On th

e othe

r han

d, the

re

is a g

rowi

ng in

teres

t in ad

dition

al tra

iner q

ualifi

catio

ns,

also a

t the a

cade

mic l

evel.

Ov

erall

, the f

orma

l qua

lifica

tions

of tr

ainer

s are

inc

reas

ingly

monit

ored

, par

ticula

rly at

the s

ector

al lev

el (R

oman

ia, G

erma

ny, U

K, F

ranc

e, Hu

ngar

y).

3. Th

e sys

tem of

train

ing of

tra

iners

are l

ackin

g cap

acity

for

deve

lopme

nt an

d inn

ovati

on in

term

s of b

eing

able

to me

et fut

ure n

eeds

an

d dem

ands

.

Over

all, th

ere i

s a la

ck of

awar

enes

s of r

eturn

s of

inves

tmen

ts in

the tr

aining

of tr

ainer

s. Th

ere i

s a la

ck of

train

ing of

fers f

or pa

rt-tim

e tra

iners

(Ger

many

) and

an ov

erall

lack

of

strate

gic pl

annin

g and

capa

cities

to tr

ain tr

ainer

s (P

oland

, Sca

ndina

vian c

ountr

ies, U

K, G

erma

ny).

The m

any s

takeh

older

s inv

olved

only

have

fra

gmen

ted de

cision

-mak

ing re

spon

sibilit

ies an

d po

wer (

Germ

any).

Decre

ase o

f nati

onal

regu

lation

s and

incre

ase o

f de

centr

alise

d pro

jects

to ge

nera

te loc

al/

indivi

dual

solut

ions (

Scan

dinav

ian co

untrie

s, Ge

rman

y).

Reco

gnitio

n of th

e role

and d

eficie

ncies

of

traini

ng an

d tra

iners

at the

polic

y lev

el (P

oland

, ne

w me

mber

state

s).

The c

apac

ity fo

r the

deve

lopme

nt of

the tr

aining

of

traine

rs wi

ll inc

reas

ingly

depe

nd on

EU

fundin

g (ne

w me

mber

state

s and

some

othe

r cou

ntries

). Mu

ltinati

onal

comp

anies

are i

ncre

asing

ly as

sume

d to

take t

he le

ad fo

r the

train

ing of

train

ers s

o tha

t the

natio

nal b

odies

refus

e to t

ake o

n majo

r res

pons

ibiliti

es.

EA

C09

/06/

Lot1

EU

RO

TRAI

NE

R –

FIN

AL R

EP

OR

T

102

4. Tr

ainer

s’ co

mpete

nce

profi

les re

quire

adjus

tmen

t, pa

rticula

rly as

to in

clude

a br

oade

r ran

ge of

socia

l co

mpete

nces

. 5.

Soc

ial co

mpete

nces

are

the m

ost im

porta

nt co

mpete

nces

a tra

iner s

hould

po

sses

s.

Over

all, tr

ainer

s inc

reas

ingly

assu

me ed

ucati

onal

and i

ntegr

ating

func

tions

(migr

ation

and

immi

gran

t wor

kers)

, whic

h req

uires

socia

l co

mpete

nces

, whic

h are

not in

clude

d in

quali

ficati

on co

ncep

ts for

train

ers.

All c

ountr

ies un

derlin

e the

impo

rtanc

e of s

ocial

co

mpete

nces

, but

a clea

r con

cept

does

not e

xist

– how

to tr

ain an

d dev

elop s

ocial

comp

etenc

es is

no

t clea

r.

Ther

e are

some

sing

le pil

ot pr

ojects

that

focus

on

conv

eying

socia

l com

peten

ces w

hen t

raini

ng

traine

rs (F

inlan

d, UK

).

All c

ountr

ies: tr

ainer

s inc

reas

ingly

assu

me ed

ucati

onal

and i

ntegr

ating

func

tions

(migr

ation

and i

mmigr

ant

worke

rs) du

e to e

nhan

ced m

obilit

y and

demo

grap

hic

chan

ge.

Incre

asing

impo

rtanc

e of tr

aining

-relat

ed se

cond

ary

proc

esse

s, wh

ich re

-defi

ne tr

ainer

s’ re

spon

sibilit

ies an

d re

quire

a ne

w co

mpete

nce p

rofile

of tr

ainer

s.

6. Te

chnic

al co

mpete

nces

ar

e also

impo

rtant

and

desir

ed in

comb

inatio

n with

we

ll dev

elope

d ped

agog

ical

comp

etenc

es, w

hile

peda

gogic

al co

mpete

nces

alo

ne ar

e not

enou

gh.

“Goo

d pra

ctitio

ners

are n

ot au

tomati

cally

good

tra

iners”

. Pe

dago

gical

comp

etenc

es ar

e only

rega

rded

as a

‘supp

lemen

t’, bu

t they

are a

n imp

ortan

t dim

ensio

n of th

e self

-und

ersta

nding

of a

traine

r.

Some

full-t

ime t

raine

rs ar

e bein

g pus

hed t

o link

the

ir tra

ining

back

to w

ork p

racti

ce by

going

pe

riodic

ally b

ack i

nto pr

oduc

tion,

for ex

ample

(G

erma

ny).

Awar

enes

s rais

ing in

itiativ

es ab

out th

e de

velop

ment

of sp

ecial

ist co

mpete

nces

for

traine

rs (S

cand

inavia

n cou

ntries

).

The c

ontin

uing l

earn

ing of

train

ers w

ill inc

reas

ingly

need

to co

mbine

s and

integ

rate

techn

ical a

nd

peda

gogic

al co

mpon

ents.

Th

e inc

reas

ed fo

cus o

n tra

ining

-on-

the jo

b (UK

, Po

land,

Finlan

d) w

ill br

ing th

e two

comp

etenc

e co

mpon

ents

close

r tog

ether

.

7. Tr

aining

meth

ods t

raine

rs ap

ply ar

e not

innov

ative

and

inapp

ropr

iate f

or m

oder

n wo

rk co

ntexts

and m

eetin

g de

mand

s of li

felon

g lea

rning

.

Train

ers a

lso ne

ed to

conti

nuou

sly up

-date

their

tec

hnica

l skil

ls to

keep

up w

ith th

e cha

nging

tec

hnolo

gy.

Tech

nolog

y-bas

ed to

ols, e

-lear

ning a

nd bl

ende

d lea

rning

are b

eing d

evelo

ped,

but m

uch o

f it is

ap

plied

with

out th

e pro

per e

xper

tise a

nd tr

ainer

s do

not k

now

how

to us

e the

m (F

ranc

e, UK

).

Ther

e are

vario

us m

ethod

s ava

ilable

, but

traine

rs do

not a

lway

s hav

e acc

ess a

nd do

not k

now

how

to ap

ply th

em.

Some

inno

vativ

e meth

ods a

re ap

plied

at

comp

any l

evel,

but a

re di

scon

necte

d.

The b

ig ch

allen

ge is

to tr

ansfe

r inno

vativ

e meth

ods a

nd

good

prac

tice t

hat is

deve

loped

in pr

ojects

to pr

actic

e. E-

learn

ing m

ust b

e inte

grate

d in p

edag

ogic

conc

epts

and t

he tr

aining

of tr

ainer

s in o

rder

to be

effec

tive.

Comp

etitio

ns of

good

prac

tice e

xamp

les of

train

ing an

d tra

ining

meth

ods i

n com

panie

s (Au

stria,

UK,

Finl

and,

Fran

ce).

8. Th

e con

tinuin

g lea

rning

of

traine

rs in

enter

prise

s is

unde

rdev

elope

d, pa

rticula

rly

due t

o lac

k of in

centi

ves.

Most

traine

rs ar

e not

awar

e of b

eing a

train

er an

d the

ir tra

ining

need

s. Du

e to e

cono

mic r

ation

alisa

tion H

R an

d tra

ining

de

partm

ents

are t

he fir

st on

es to

be cu

t dow

n. Th

e con

tinuin

g lea

rning

of tr

ainer

s is s

olely

base

d on

perso

nal in

teres

t and

resp

onsib

ility.

Often

, it is

re

lated

to ne

gativ

e exp

erien

ces (

unem

ploym

ent)

and d

eficie

ncy c

once

pts.

Requ

ireme

nts fo

r all v

ocati

onal

traine

rs ar

e give

n an

d the

y hav

e to p

roof

a cer

tain a

moun

t of C

PD

(30 d

ays p

er ye

ar af

ter in

itial q

ualify

ing) (

UK).

Valid

ation

of pr

ior le

arnin

g for

train

ers l

eadin

g to

a qua

lifica

tion/d

iplom

a (Ro

mania

, Fra

nce)

. St

rong

er pr

actic

e orie

ntatio

n thr

ough

‘Skil

ls de

mons

tratio

ns an

d ass

essm

ent’ l

eads

to m

ore

offer

s of c

ontin

uing t

raini

ng co

urse

s (Fin

land)

.

The c

ontin

uing l

earn

ing of

train

ers i

s inc

reas

ingly

indivi

duali

sed.

Train

ers i

ncre

asing

ly ha

ve to

pay f

or th

eir ow

n co

ntinu

ing tr

aining

. The

re sh

ould

be in

centi

ves f

or

comp

anies

to co

-finan

ce th

e con

tinuin

g lea

rning

of

traine

rs.

Conti

nuing

train

ing w

ill be

come

an in

tegra

ted pa

rt in

the co

oper

ation

betw

een v

ocati

onal

traini

ng in

stitut

es

and c

ompa

nies (

Finlan

d).

Janu

ary

2008

103

9. Qu

ality

asse

ssme

nt an

d mo

nitor

ing of

train

ing in

co

mpan

ies is

only

partly

de

velop

ed an

d not

evalu

ated

exter

nally

.

Quali

ty as

sess

ment

is no

t link

ed to

train

ing ne

eds

asse

ssme

nt, pa

rticula

rly in

SME

s. Qu

ality

asse

ssme

nt sy

stems

in co

mpan

ies

typica

lly co

nside

r com

pany

need

s, bu

t not

peda

gogic

al ne

eds.

So

me ex

terna

l ass

essm

ent e

xists,

but la

rgely

on

the ba

sis of

pape

r doc

umen

tation

s, no

t on t

he

basis

of pr

actic

e (UK

).

Awar

enes

s abo

ut the

bene

fits of

quali

ty mo

nitor

ing is

incre

asing

and b

ecom

ing m

anda

tory

in so

me co

ntexts

(Fra

nce)

, whic

h lea

ds to

a gr

adua

lly ch

angin

g eva

luatio

n cult

ure.

Th

ere a

re se

vera

l nati

onal

proje

cts to

estab

lish

metho

ds fo

r qua

lity as

sura

nce i

n tra

ining

(P

oland

). So

me co

mpan

ies es

tablis

h eva

luatio

n stan

dard

s no

t only

for t

heir p

rodu

cts, b

ut als

o for

their

hu

man r

esou

rces (

Germ

any).

Qu

ality

assu

ranc

e sys

tems i

n com

panie

s and

for

traini

ng ha

ve ad

vanc

ed as

an im

porta

nt po

licy

issue

(Sca

ndina

vian c

ountr

ies).

Some

comp

anies

profi

le the

quali

ty of

their

traini

ng to

impr

ove t

he im

age o

f the c

ompa

ny.

Natio

nal q

ualifi

catio

n ass

uran

ce pr

ogra

mme f

or

VET

is ex

pecte

d, wh

ich al

so af

fects

traine

rs (G

erma

ny, R

oman

ia).

Quali

ty mo

nitor

ing w

ill be

come

a ke

y elem

ent in

the

deba

tes ab

out tr

ainer

s and

train

ing in

man

y cou

ntries

an

d at th

e Eur

opea

n lev

el.

10. T

he tr

ainer

posit

ion la

cks

reco

gnitio

n and

ince

ntive

s to

make

the p

rofes

sion

attra

ctive

.

Train

ers a

re pa

id be

low th

e nati

onal

aver

age

incom

e and

VET

instr

uctor

s are

poor

ly pa

id (U

K,

Hung

ary).

Th

ere i

s no f

orma

l reco

gnitio

n of th

e tra

iner

profe

ssion

. The

low

salar

y neg

ative

ly aff

ects

the

status

(Pola

nd).

Lack

of re

cogn

ition i

n ter

ms of

form

al re

gulat

ions

is no

t a pr

oblem

(exc

ept fo

r the

salar

y)

(Sca

ndina

vian c

ountr

ies, F

ranc

e).

In alm

ost a

ll cou

ntries

, train

ers h

ave a

lowe

r sta

tus th

an te

ache

rs of

gene

ral a

nd vo

catio

nal

educ

ation

and t

raini

ng.

A co

mmon

Eur

opea

n Com

peten

ce F

rame

work

for V

ET

profe

ssion

s may

help

to en

hanc

e the

statu

s and

re

cogn

ition o

f train

ers.


104

9. Conclusions

At first glance one would expect that in the framework of national economies trainers as a target group can most easily be reached by integrating the training perspective into national or sectoral policies that structure education and labour markets. However, our analyses revealed that the issues relating to the situation of trainers is much more complex and that trainers in enterprises are difficult to reach out to, particularly if companies and management do not acknowledge the importance and changing role of training in knowledge-based economies. The national reports made clear that whether companies value the training they offer and invest in training does not only depend on the national training tradition and legal frameworks of educational and labour market policies, but also to large extent on current economic and overall labour market developments. Where due to the tight economic situation companies are put under pressure for rationalisation, resources for training and the continuing professional development of staff, including trainers, typically is one of the first areas affected by cost saving measures. Only in exceptional cases do companies compensate quantitative rationalisation with higher investments in quality and human resources. On the other hand, the labour market situation in terms of unemployment rates also has a strong impact on the investments companies make in training. We found that in countries where the workforce supply is higher than the demand due to high rates of unemployment – youth unemployment rates in particular – companies tend to pay less attention to the quality of the training they provide. This is the case in most transition countries, for example, where companies largely ignore the important role of training and its possible benefits. One reason might be that companies have a choice in their recruitment process from an abundant workforce supply. By contrast, in countries where labour supply is less than labour demand and companies have difficulties finding enough people and new recruits with the right sets of skills, training turns into an important factor of competitive advantage to attract young motivated trainees. In Austria, Denmark and Finland, for example, workforce shortages have induced new debates and measures in the area of training in which aspects of quality monitoring and generating organisational commitment of employees through training offers are important factors. Where companies regard training as being important, trainers also derive benefits, because their work is put in the centre of attention and becomes more highly valued and recognised. Ultimately, if training and trainers’ work are considered important for the company, a positive impact is generated on trainers’ status and their further continuing professional development as they will receive more support from their employer.

While the organisational approach towards training – either at the level of the individual company or at a more collective level, for example, in a particular sector – is one key determinant of the situation and status of trainers it is important to keep in mind that the status of trainers also depends on the status of their work environment in

January 2008

105

general, such as the sectoral or occupational area in which they work and what status vocational training, the vocational route and skilled workers have in general in society. The reputation and responsibilities of trainers vary a lot according to the location and extent to which the programmes and qualifications they deliver are perceived as having high or low status. This variability due to status extends beyond organisational policies at the company level, but rather addresses national policies of different areas. In the UK, for example, government-funded work-based programmes for young people (such as apprenticeships) generally are of very low status and this also affects the position of trainers in society. In Hungary, the social status of skilled workers is generally low so the vocational route and basic vocational training are also of very low prestige. In Germany and Austria, by contrast, the vocational route has traditionally been well recognised and receives a lot of support at different policy levels. From such a tradition trainers are much better positioned.

One major difficulty in addressing trainers and assessing their work, qualification and status in Europe derives from the fact that most trainers – in fact the vast majority of trainers in most European countries – are not recognised as a distinct category, neither in terms of their function nor as an occupational group. In the first place this is true for skilled workers in companies who assume training functions as part of their regular job and thus operate as part-time trainers. But even where full-time trainers exist, they may not be recognised as a particular employee category by legislation or the company. Where the occupational or employee category of ‘trainer’ is absent no statistical data are being generated for this group, which could specify their socio-economic characteristics such as employment status, social background, educational level, age or gender. This partly explains why in many countries data and background information on the situation of trainers are not available. In most cases only limited data were available on the basis of national statistics on training or from educational institutions in charge of certifying the training of trainers at different levels. Thus, one important step forward to better assess the situation of trainers would be a requirement to include this perspective or category when national or sectoral employment and labour market statistics are being generated.

Apart from statistical difficulties other issues derive from the trainer, tutor or instructor not being designated as a professional profile, but rather as a functional role. Obviously, employees who assume training functions without obtaining a certain status, recognition or designation as ‘trainer’ or ‘tutor’ will not develop an identity as a trainer. Not surprisingly, part-time trainers typically do not see themselves as trainers but as ordinary workers for whom training constitutes one feature of their regular work. Those trainers will not have developed vocational identities as trainers and thus will not feel addressed when trainer issues are being raised. This lack of identification particularly affects any issue related to trainers’ continuing professional development and the enhancement of their skills. For example, courses for trainers will not reach those employees and skilled workers who do not consider themselves as trainers unless management makes them aware of their special role. However, we found that


106

even management may not be aware and supportive of special training requirements, particularly in SMEs. Where no particular requirements are established for companies which offer or implement training, management tends to lack awareness of the particular responsibilities related to providing training. As a consequence, management will not be supportive of enhancing the quality of training the company provides or trainers’ competences unless there is some market pressure (such as workforce or skills shortages), which brings the training issue onto the company’s agenda. In Turkey, Greece and the Baltic states, for example, it was stated that management is largely unaware of the important role of training and trainers and this significantly limits the professional development and continuing learning of trainers. In other countries, by contrast, training issues that have long been ignored by companies until recently have become more important due to workforce shortages and the rising demand for young qualified workers on the labour market. As a result countries such as Denmark, Finland, Hungary and France have entered into a new discussion about training where quality and the role of trainers and how to enhance their competences to meet changing labour market demands have become major issues of concern. In some countries, these debates have led to emphasising more the practical part of vocational education and training (as in Finland). Strengthening or reintroducing apprenticeship programmes may be another way to respond to skilling needs, but also to problems of social integration of young people (as in France).

The absence of a trainer identity as one major reason why it is difficult to address trainers in enterprises as a target group also explains why there exist hardly any interest groups for this occupational category in Europe. As most trainers have a vocational identity as skilled workers that is anchored in their respective vocational background and occupational expertise, some countries pursue a sectoral approach as a way forward to reach out to trainers and training issues at the company level. The sectoral approach is taken, for example, in the UK with the new Sector Skills Councils or in Denmark where the Trade Committees are in charge of training and the training of trainers. The case, however, will be somewhat different for trainers who work in companies as external contractors either on a part-time or full-time basis as it can be expected that those have developed some kind of trainer identity and can thus be reached through the ‘trainer label’.

Apart from the sectoral route to addressing in-company trainers, we also found that in countries where no regulations exist in terms of company requirements for companies to provide minimum training standards an alternative approach in some cases could be established through following up on basic workplace health and safety regulations with which companies have to comply (like in the Czech Republic or Greece). As workplace health and safety is typically a highly regulated area, it could be identified as one possible route for establishing basic standards for training and trainers in some national or sectoral contexts. In sectors where health and safety issues play an important role such as in health care, energy, transport, public administration or defence, training in general but also the training of trainers is typically

January 2008

107

much more regulated. This may partly explain why in some countries training and the training of trainers in health care or public administration were cited as good practice exemplars (in Finland, Greece, Estonia and the Czech Republic, for example). Thus, in countries where introducing minimum standards proves to be extremely difficult, the route via workplace health and safety is being followed by some countries as a way to raise the level of responsibility and recognition of trainers and enhance their basic qualifications.

In terms of qualifications and skills, we found that in most countries trainers in companies are not expected to have a particular trainer qualification, but need to be skilled workers with a certain period of work experience (typically several years). In fact, considerable practical work experience was found to be important in most countries. Thus, countries tend to focus on trainers’ vocational background and expertise as a prerequisite for becoming a trainer, while only a minority of trainers are also expected to have received some pedagogical training to be able to train others. In countries where the IVET tradition is strong (such as in Germany and Austria) certain standards for trainers also apply in terms of providing evidence of their capacity to work with young people and pedagogical competences typically are a requirement to train young apprentices. Another focus in those countries is placed on trainers having some basic knowledge of health and safety issues and legal frameworks, also as they concern youth.

Overall, trainers in those countries are generally higher formally qualified, which also influences the roles and responsibilities they assume in the company. The survey outcomes suggest that there is a connection between the level of the formal qualification of in-company trainers and their work tasks and the training methods they apply. Higher qualified trainers are more strongly involved in assuming training responsibilities in broader terms, including mentoring and counselling functions, skills assessment and introducing innovations in training, whereas not formally qualified trainers more strongly focus on narrowly defined training tasks and instructions. They are also given less responsibility within the organisation. We hypothesise that this also influences the recognition of their work within the company.

In terms of competences, three levels of competences are of relevance to trainers: first, vocational competences that enable the trainer to train work-practice related, basic vocational and technical skills; second, pedagogical and social competences to facilitate didactic processes and the work with young people and colleagues, in particular fostering the integration function of training, mentoring, corporate learning elements and the effective transfer of knowledge; and third management competences to support so-called secondary training-related processes, including quality monitoring and assurance, project management, cooperation with different company departments or with external training institutions and vocational schools, among others. Management competences are gaining significance, particularly as concerns training activities in larger companies, but also in SMEs in the


108

context of new forms of cooperation and networking between smaller companies to combine their training efforts and offers.

The study revealed that the vocational competences, which are in almost all European countries a prerequisite to become a trainer, are well developed among trainers throughout Europe both in terms of quantity and quality. In contrast most trainers lack pedagogical and management competences. As concerns pedagogical and social competences, most countries have realised the increasing demand for such competences and are struggling with strengthening the pedagogical component in trainers’ basic and further qualification. In terms of management competences, these anticipate the future role of trainers and do not yet form part of trainers’ training agenda in most countries. With a few exceptions, companies and training institutes are not (yet) aware of the changing role of trainers and therefore do not realise that coordinating and management skills are key competences in the effective organisation and delivery of training.

Essentially, the changing role of trainers seems to refer to two aspects: one is an internal role re-definition of the trainer from ‘instructor’ to ‘coach’ or ‘facilitator’, questioning the former authoritarian position of the trainer and requiring new forms of communicative and social competences to engage in team working, mentoring and facilitating innovative forms of learning. The other aspect addresses the changing responsibilities of the trainer as the nature of the training itself is changing with more elements of project-oriented learning, new aspects of quality assessment in the learning processes and more complex coordination with other training facilities and institutions. The re-orientation towards work processes, which could be observed in some countries, also increases the amount of management functions trainers are expected to assume. Overall, we conclude that trainers are not qualified and prepared to realise and deal with those new tasks and changing role expectations. This presents a major challenge for the future.

Possible routes to tackle the area of trainers / Innovations in the area of training and trainers in enterprises

Quality management and quality assurance Introducing quality management and monitoring of training in enterprises is a popular route to address the role, recognition and qualifications of trainers (e.g. in Finland, Denmark, the UK, Austria and Cyprus). While some countries aim to establish quality assurance through a centralised approach, which should make quality monitoring compulsory for all companies that provide training (such as in Austria) other countries prefer a decentralised, voluntary approach, which is expected to be more accepted by companies (such as in Denmark or the Czech Republic).

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Competitions between companies of good practice examples of training and skills development Some countries aim to encourage companies to develop good practices of training by organising competitions, which also evaluate and recognise the role of trainers. ‘UK Skills’, for example, is a government-sponsored agency, which organises skills competitions at local, regional and national level. It chooses candidates for the Skills Olympics and also runs the annual National Training Awards. The Austrian ‘Fit For Future’ competition is targeted towards companies that provide basic vocational and apprenticeship training.

Funding/awarding/sponsorship of promising initiatives in training Similar to the competition approach, one way to enhancing the trainers’ role and improving training standards is through financially supporting promising and effective initiatives and practices. One example is the UK government sponsorship of the Investors in People (IiP) award. IiP UK is a non-departmental public body responsible for the IiP ‘standards’, which cover a range of areas related to personnel development and management, connected to business strategies and the running of effective organisations. Also the UK Union Learning Fund seeks to enable workers to attend training and adult education courses.

Regulation and standardisation One of the most common routes countries follow is enhancing trainers’ status and work situation through introducing different packages of regulation and standardisation. These packages can be realised at different levels, affecting in the first place companies, trainers or the training of trainers: i) Establish minimum standards/requirements for companies who offer training

places to young trainees (Austria, Germany, Estonia); ii) Establish minimum requirements in terms of trainers’ basic skills and

competences which are considered necessary to effectively deliver training (France, Germany, Austria, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Turkey). Countries increasingly seek to introduce certification for trainers. In Portugal, for example, all state-financed training must now be given by certified trainers. Other countries operate a register of certified trainers such as Germany and Greece. The standardisation/regulation of trainers’ basic skills in some countries is linked to profiling the training profession and aiming to establish a professional profile for trainers (like in Germany, the UK, Poland and Romania) and/or to defining the required basic competences of trainers in relation to the establishment of a National Qualification Framework (Czech Republic, Malta, Hungary, Romania, Turkey);

iii) Establish qualifications/certification for the continuing training of trainers (Austria and Germany). Germany, for example, seeks to implement a new action- and process-oriented methodological approach and new curriculum structure for the training of trainers. Austria is establishing a CVET Academy on the basis of a partnership concept concerned with the two-level certification and recognition of competences of adult trainers according to clearly defined standards.


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Accreditation of prior (informal) learning How trainers’ informally accrued competences and experiences can be transformed into a formal qualification is of concern in many countries since most trainers have acquired their knowledge, skills and competences through non-formal and on-the-job learning. France and Portugal, for example, have put procedures in place that accredit trainers’ prior learning by means of a formal qualification or certification. The formal recognition of prior learning is also regarded important in order to enhance trainers’ mobility.

Decentralisation of responsibilities for training implementation and policies The decentralisation of responsibilities to regional, sectoral and/or local authorities and institutions including chambers of commerce and industries to structure, organise and implement training (Italy, Finland, Turkey) and the training of trainers (Norway) is an observed trend in some European countries.

Establish or revitalise apprenticeship programmes/Strengthen the practical part of vocational training Almost all European countries at some point in their history had established a well functioning apprenticeship system, which in most countries collapsed or was significantly restructured due to economic and/or political changes. Some countries seek to revitalise, newly establish or strengthen apprenticeship programmes as a means to give a stronger role to practice-oriented training in companies (England, Scotland, France, Czech Republic, Hungary, for example). Apart from strengthening the trainers’ position through apprenticeship programmes, apprenticeships are also considered to support the social integration of young people if effectively implemented. An alternative to apprenticeship programmes is strengthening the practice component of vocational training systems that are predominantly school based. Finland, for example, has significantly increased the practice part of vocational programmes through skills demonstrations, generating not only a stronger work practice orientation of the Finnish vocational education system, but also fostering the training of trainers and the cooperation between vocational schools and enterprises.

Strengthen collaboration and partnership between different institutions responsible for training Many countries have realised that bringing the different stakeholders of training together in order to facilitate cooperation, partnership and networking between the different actors can be an important step forward to making vocational training programmes more effective and strengthening the trainers’ role as key actors in this area. In particular, cooperation between vocational schools, enterprises and public administration in the implementation of training and the training of trainers has become a key strategy in some countries such as in Finland, Italy and Poland. Other countries such as the Czech Republic facilitate stronger exchange and networking between different key stakeholders and research institutes that cover the area of training in companies.

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Support research in the area of training, trainers and the training of trainers Research addressing the situation of trainers is largely underdeveloped and one reason for the lack of data and background information on trainers in enterprises across Europe. This does not only make it difficult to assess the current work and situation of trainers, but also to plan and predict future developments and needs. Realising the changing and increasingly important role of trainers some countries (such as Hungary and Germany) are pioneering the route towards investing in the research on trainers.

• Introduce or integrate training and trainer issues into other policy areas and make them strategically a key focus and/or priority Another route that countries pursue is to integrate aspects of training, trainers and the training of trainers into different policy areas. Which policy area might be most suitable and promising to advance on the topic can depend on the set priorities, national traditions, the respective policy frameworks and possibilities of intervention, among other aspects. Some countries address, structure and strengthen the field of training and trainers in enterprises by making it form part and strategically a focus of

1. Lifelong learning policies (in Austria, Greece, Hungary); 2. Sectoral policies for skills development (UK, Denmark); 3. Human Resources Development policies at the company and national level

(Czech Republic, Poland); 4. Policies on workplace health and safety regulations with which companies have

to comply (Czech Republic, Greece).

The above listed routes to tackle issues emerging around training in enterprises and the situation of trainers illustrates that countries pursue different strategies depending on their cultural, political and economic traditions and established frameworks of possibilities for interventions and innovation. On the one hand, national traditions somewhat correlate with the presented routes such as the UK engaging in competitive, benchmarking and sectoral approaches; the Scandinavian countries favouring decentralisation and cooperation; and Germany and Austria focusing on regulation and standardisation. We can also see that in countries where traditions have been interrupted and fundamentally challenged due to severe economic and political changes (such as in the transition countries or Malta) policies and recommendations promoted at the European level are more openly picked up and implemented. Those European policy recommendations include, for example, the development of a National Qualification Framework and lifelong learning strategies, which are both used to establish competence standards for trainers or enhance the role of training in the respective national context. However, it is also apparent that a clear categorisation of countries’ strategies is extremely difficult. In fact, most countries pursue a combination of different avenues to foster the role of trainers, which can be regarded as complementary in some cases, but which may also induce contradictory developments counteracting each other. In Turkey, for example we find on the one hand a centralised


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approach towards the standardisation of trainers’ basic skills and competences that should be linked to the establishment of a National Qualification Framework and, on the other hand, a tendency to decentralisation that gives more autonomy to the chambers in establishing their own competence requirements and training of trainers programmes. The coordination of both approaches is not yet very effective thus partly leading to contradictory developments. In Portugal and Greece, much regulation has been put in place in terms of certifying and registering trainers, but the quality of training and the status of trainers remain rather poor. Those examples indicate that more in-depth analysis is still needed at the level of the respective national context to identify possible effective combinations of intervention.

Future Trends

The country reports and expert interviews predict that the decreasing number of skilled workers and overall workforce shortages in most European countries combined with efforts towards implementing lifelong learning policies will increase the importance and recognition of training staff in the mid and longer term. While training personnel in large and multinational companies in most contexts have already gained a prominent role this trend is also expected to trickle down to SMEs in the future, even if in many countries companies have not yet realised that the quality of training and skills development are key factors to enhance a company’s economic performance.

The growing importance of training will certainly affect the position and status of trainers in enterprises in a positive way. It will also make it easier to support investment in training and the training of trainers and address trainers in enterprises as a target group. However, it is not clear whether overall this will induce higher or lower numbers of specialised trainers – employees who spend more or even most or all of their working time on training as full-time trainers. On the one hand, it is expected that particularly in countries with a strong IVET tradition the numbers of full-time trainers will decrease in line with fewer numbers of apprentices and young trainees due to demographic changes and the strengthening of the academic route among school leavers. Those countries expect that instead of some big companies having many trainees, there will increasingly be many companies who each train a few people, leading to increasing numbers of part-time trainers, i.e. workers, who integrate training functions into their job to various degrees. This will induce more inter-company cooperation for training, which will also affect and re-define the status and work of trainers. On the other hand it can be argued that if training is gaining significance, more employees will need to specialise in delivering training, acquiring particular expertise in training and assuming full-time training responsibilities. This will particularly be the case in countries where until now the role of training and trainers is underdeveloped. Also, it is not clear whether those trends will lead to more external or more in-company training. On the one hand, many school-based vocational systems are already partly being substituted and/or complemented with more practice-based elements that take

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place in the company, strengthening the role of in-company training and trainers. This trend of higher proportions of practice-based learning is likely to expand in the future. On the other hand, it is expected that cooperating structures between companies to organise training will also lead to more training being offered outside the company and former in-company trainers will move to external training environments in the course of different training cooperation initiatives. This is likely to affect trainers in large companies as well as in SMEs. Overall, it is expected that networking and cooperation between companies, but also between companies and other institutions such as vocational schools, training institutions, research institutes, etc. will gain significance in the area of training and the training of trainers, particularly for SMEs seeking to optimise their resources. In this context, new technologies and learning and exchange tools, particularly those supported by new information technologies and e-learning, will become more important.

One other dominant trend indicates that the role and image of trainers is fundamentally changing: While formerly the trainer was recognised as an authority, who ‘knows everything’ trainers in enterprises have become more of a ‘learning coach’ or ‘facilitator’. To which degree the notion of trainer as a facilitator can further develop highly depends on the internal structure of the company (such as the levels of hierarchies) and the tasks and responsibilities allocated to trainers. It also depends on opportunities for the continuing professional development of trainers and forms of raising awareness of the new trainer role within companies. Closely linked to the changing role of trainers is the profiling of trainers’ pedagogical and social competences, which become increasingly important to facilitate didactic processes, mentoring, corporate learning, team working, the effective transfer of knowledge and the integration function of training. It was observed in all countries that trainers increasingly assume educational and integrating functions (e.g. in the context of working with immigrant workers) due to enhanced mobility and demographic changes.

While instruction-based training approaches no longer seem to be appropriate and accepted, neither by trainees nor companies, the EUROTRAINER study indicates that a considerable proportion of trainers still revert to conventional learning methods and training styles. Apparently, this is linked to the lack of continuing learning and training opportunities for trainers and lack of knowledge of and access to innovative training methods.

In addition to the growing importance of pedagogical and social competences, trainers are becoming more involved in so-called secondary processes such as quality monitoring and assurance, project management and cooperation with different company departments and training institutions outside the company, including vocational schools. While management competences are gaining significance, particularly as concerns training activities in larger companies, but also in SMEs in the context of new forms of cooperation and networking between smaller companies to combine their training efforts and offers, they do not yet form part of trainers’ training agenda in most countries. With a few exceptions, companies and training institutes are


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not (yet) aware of the changing role of trainers and therefore do not realise that coordinating and management skills are key competences in order to effectively organise and deliver training.

Overall, there is a growing interest in basic and additional qualifications and certification for trainers and more offers for the academic training of trainers and recognition of their prior (informal) learning. Also, a trend towards the sectoral monitoring of trainers’ qualifications can be observed (for example in Romania, Germany, UK, France and Hungary). In addition, the recognition of the overall skills and competence portfolio of trainers extending beyond their formal qualifications is growing. It is expected that trainers will increasingly need to fund and structure their own continuing learning instead of relying on initiatives and support from management or public initiatives. It could further be observed that the continuing learning of trainers is becoming increasingly individualised.

On an international and European level it can be expected that international benchmarking and the competitive element of identifying and promoting examples of good practice will gain significance and affect training strategies and the situation of trainers at the national and company level, too. The challenge, however, remains how to effectively transfer innovative methods and good practice, which are developed in some companies or through specific projects, to practice. In many countries multinational companies develop their own standards that do not necessarily interface with the national systems. This can have a positive influence in that it creates ideas and incentives for national companies (such as in Greece), while it sometimes also has a negative impact, for example if those standards are not connected with the nationally established standards (such as in Germany). In some countries, multinational and large companies are increasingly assumed to take the lead for the training of trainers so that national bodies may be tempted to deny their major responsibilities in this area. This also addresses the crucial issue of the financing of the training of trainers, which in the new European member states and also some other countries is highly dependent on EU-funding, typically provided through the European Social Fund (ESF). Here, it was critically noted that countries need to find their own ways to ensure sustainable funding for the continuing professional development of trainers that does not rely on financial support from the European Union.

Recommendations

In the area of trainers in enterprises, the study identified a number of levels and areas that may provide a good starting point for interventions to improve the situation of trainers. The examples of the previous section, which also identified innovations and routes for improvements in the area of trainers in enterprises, have shown that countries pursue different avenues and strategies. The country reports in Volume II illustrate that what is most promising and suitable in a given context largely depends on the labour market traditions and the political and economic situation and established

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frameworks of the respective national context. Thus, an aggregation at the European level is not only a difficult task, but likely to be impossible. In fact, much more in-depth analysis is still needed and the lack of data and background material on trainers in companies present one major difficulty and future challenge to better map possible effective interventions in this area. Despite these difficulties, we have concluded five general recommendations or areas of intervention, which from the results of the EUROTRAINER study seem to be promising and beneficial to all European countries. These areas include:

• Raising awareness Raising awareness about the key role training and trainers assume in knowledge economies needs to be prioritised. While raising awareness is important at several levels, such as at the national level, and can be pursued using a variety of available policy frameworks (such as lifelong learning and sectoral policies, workplace health and safety regulations and HRD policy frameworks), the study indicates that the most effective way to reach out to trainers is through awareness raising at the company and management level. As the company is the most important framework of reference for trainers in companies, reaching out to companies and management is one effective means to support trainers’ continuing professional development, the development of their pedagogical and social competences and the sharing of experiences and innovative training tools. Here, a horizontal exchange and cooperation between companies might be very promising.

• Support the continuing professional development of trainers to optimise their skills and competence profile Three levels of competences are of relevance to trainers: vocational competences (to train work-practice related, basic vocational and technical skills), pedagogical and social competences (to facilitate didactic processes, the work with young people, the integration function of training, mentoring, corporate learning and the effective transfer of knowledge) and management competences (to support secondary training-related processes such as quality monitoring and assurance, project management, cooperation with different company departments and external training institutions). The study has shown that the vocational competences of trainers are well developed throughout Europe and are in almost all European countries a prerequisite to become a trainer. By contrast most trainers lack pedagogical, social and management competences. While most countries have realised the increasing demand for pedagogical and social competences and are struggling with strengthening the pedagogical component in trainers’ basic and further education, management competences, which anticipate the future role of trainers, do not yet form part of trainers’ training agenda in most countries.

• Develop, share and ensure accessibility to effective and innovative training tools In all countries we found that trainers in companies need to be supported in their work with new tools and ideas for delivering innovative training, coaching, training assessment and engaging young people in the learning process. The majority of trainers have not been trained and still work quite traditionally, applying instruction


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methods which are based on their own experience. Innovative tools and materials are most commonly found in large and multinational companies since those organisations have more resources to invest in developing their own training programmes. Overall, innovative training tools are scarce and where developed, accessibility was a major issue of concern. While some countries are engaging in e-learning and on-line learning and networking initiatives (such as France, Italy, Poland, Denmark, Spain, Germany), it can be expected that only a minority of trainers will be able to use such tools. Thus, the development of alternative training materials and their easy distribution, exchange and application should be one priority in the future.

• Support for SMEs In almost all countries large companies often have developed good practice in training and have the resources to employ full-time, well qualified trainers and to support the continuing learning of their training personnel. Many large companies operate their own training centres and develop their own training materials and methods. In other cases, large companies contract external professional training personnel and training providers for delivering in-company training. SMEs, by contrast, were mentioned as disadvantaged at many levels, partly due to lack of resources, but also due to pressures of rationalisation, staff shortages, lack of knowledge and know-how when it comes to training, lack of young motivated trainers and lack of time for training. Very small companies can only offer basic training if they cooperate with other companies. Thus, SMEs would largely benefit from more support for inter-company cooperation in the area of training and the training of trainers and exchange with large or even multinational companies, which were often cited as good practice examples. In such kinds of exchange, cooperation and knowledge transfer external trainers and training providers should also be involved.

Support research and data generation on trainers and training providers Research addressing the situation of trainers is largely underdeveloped in all European countries. In addition, hardly any statistical data are being generated on trainers, which could specify their socio-economic characteristics such as employment status, social background, educational level, age or gender. The main reason why statistical data on trainers are not being generated is because trainers are not recognised as a distinct category, neither in terms of their function nor as an occupational group. Even full-time trainers may not be recognised as a particular employee category by legislation or the company. Lack of background information and data makes it extremely difficult to assess the situation, status and qualification of trainers and plan and predict future developments and needs in the area of training and trainers. Thus, more research and data generation on trainers should be promoted, encouraged and supported at the regional, national and European level.

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10. Looking Ahead – Continued Cooperation in the Area of Trainers

The EUROTRAINER study can be regarded as a successful initiative, not only in terms of generating first insight into the work, situation and qualification of in-company trainers across Europe, but also in establishing a committed partnership among key stakeholders, who will continue to collaborate and exchange in the area of trainers in Europe. Already during the study it was noticeable that the topic received much attention at the national level. Throughout the 12 months project period the partners demonstrated a high level of commitment to the topic and the study and engaged in promoting the initiative and established partnership. Also the cooperation between the EUROTRAINER consortium and related studies – such as Lot2, TTNet, the CEDEFOP studies on the professionalisation of trainers and the Leonardo da Vinci project TTPlus – has been very good and inspiring to continue an extended collaboration on the topic. The follow-up new Leonardo Network EUROTRAINER II – Network to Support Trainers in Europe, which started in November 2007, will provide a framework to continue the work that was initiated under Lot1 and Lot2 studies. It will provide a platform for all national and international activities in the area of trainers, integrating innovative networking features with research and practice.

A stepping stone for this new network are the good linkages and cooperation with other national leading stakeholders, experts and agencies that the consortium partners established throughout the 30 European countries the study covered. Consulting with those experts was a major methodological tool supporting the study. With this approach it was possible to create a network of national experts and expert institutions across Europe, which have a leading role in the area of trainers in their respective countries and which can now be linked and better supported in their efforts to enhance the status and situation of trainers.

In addition, the network will continue the research and material gathering started under Lot1 and Lot2 studies on Trainers in Europe. For example, the network will apply and implement in a modified version the questionnaire developed under the EUROTRAINER study to carry out a second and extended assessment. During this second implementation phase in 2008 the sample will predominantly consist of trainers and practitioners instead of experts. Moreover, we will continue the integration of findings from different ends and continue the difficult challenge of transferring relevant insight and research outcomes to policy. In fact, policies and programming is the main focus of the second joint network activity which will take place in 2009. Thus, there will still be ample opportunities to collaborate to further discuss and validate our findings on an on-going basis. Another key element of the network will be a virtual platform to involve more experts, practitioners and other interested people in this process.

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Annex

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Annex I

Trainers in Vocational Education and Training Key actors to make lifelong learning a reality in

Europe

EUROTRAINER

A study commissioned and funded by the European Union

We appreciate the support you are providing to this EU study by filling out the following questionnaire.

All information will be treated confidentially not disclosing personal data or

information. The purpose of the questionnaire is confined to research purposes.

Projekt EUROTRAINER Institut Technik+Bildung, Universität Bremen

Dr. Roland Tutschner Tel.: 0421/218-4646 Fax. 0421/218-9009

Email:[email protected]

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Contact details* Organisation______________________________________________________ Address__________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ Email___________________________________________________________

* Proving your contact details is voluntary. The contact details do not form part of data analysis, but will only be used for internal purposes. The aim is to establish a network of expert institutions across Europe in particular to further facilitate information exchange on the situation of in-company trainers. This sheet will be removed before processing the questionnaire for data analysis.

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Background information Country_________________________________________________________ Type of organisation_______________________________________________ Job position______________________________________________________ Sectoral background_______________________________________________ Date____________________________________________________________

This study investigates the situation of in-company trainers. These are people, who stimulate learning and integrate initial and/or continuing training and education functions into their jobs (preferably by actively engaging in carrying out training activities) and who are employed by a private or public enterprise

I. Trainers’ job and work profile 1. In your country, a trainer in a company typically is belonging to or involved in the

following company units/divisions (multiple answers possible) Initial vocational training Continuing vocational training Human resource development Organisational development A technical division/specialised unit of the company Others, please specify________________________________________________

2. The typical work tasks of a trainer in a company cover (multiple answers possible)

Recruitment/selection of staff or trainees Organisation and conceptualisation of training activities/courses Carry out and implement training activities Evaluate training outcomes and results Plan and evaluate the quality and costs of training activities Assess the skills and competences of employees and/or trainees The counselling/mentoring of trainees Facilitate trainees’ and/or employees’ personal development and growth Resolve conflicts and/or balance different interests Implement new training and teaching methods Introduce learning-supportive elements in the work environment Establish linkages with other vocational training institutions/schools Vocational rehabilitation Others, please specify________________________________________________

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3. Investigating the situation of in-company trainers in your country, it is important to

differentiate between different types of trainers? Yes No (please continue with question 6)

4a. If yes, please name the types 4b. If yes, differentiation is required between trainers who (multiple answers possible)

Are involved in initial versus continuing training Work in small and medium size versus large companies (more than 500

employees) Work in industry versus crafts/trade or service sectors Work full-time as a trainer versus part-time in addition to other assignments Are formally qualified as trainers versus not formally qualified

5. When answering this questionnaire the dominant type of trainer you have in mind works

(multiple answers possible) In the area of initial training In the area of continuing training In a small or medium size company In a large company (with more than 500 employees) In industry In crafts/trade In the service sectors Full-time as a trainer Part-time in addition to other assignments in the company

6. Which do you consider the training methods that trainers most commonly apply? (multiple

answers possible) Lecture format/trainer-centred learning Textbooks and/or working sheets Demonstration - imitation Task-oriented learning supported by guidelines Self-organised learning Experimenting Exploration Projects Tele-teaching/e-learning Others, please specify________________________________________________

7. Most of the training activities take place (multiple answers possible)

In classroom settings In the workshop In a practical-oriented teaching-learning arrangement (such as learning stations) In the work process Others, please specify________________________________________________

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8. In their work, trainers closely cooperate with (multiple answers possible)

Other trainers in the company Management Colleagues of the technical divisions Trainers working for other companies The social partners/trade unions Teachers/trainers in general or vocational schools The labour office/employment agency Chambers of commerce, industry and others Others, please specify________________________________________________

9. In organising and carrying out their training duties trainers follow in the first place

(multiple answers possible) Legal regulations/recommendations of vocational education and training Company-specific training guidelines Guidelines provided by management Guidelines provided by employer associations Guidelines, which have been negotiated with staff associations/trade unions/social

partners Guidelines provided by the respective chambers of commerce, industry and others Guidelines provided by professional associations Guidelines provided by the respective qualification/certification authorities Others, please specify________________________________________________

II. Skills, competences and formal qualification of in-company trainers 1. Trainers in enterprises typically hold a formal qualification certificate as trainers.

Yes No

2. Generally, trainers in enterprises have completed an initial vocational training programme

to acquire skilled worker status. Yes No Not applicable

3. A trainer in a company most commonly is somebody who (up to 3 answers possible)

Is formally qualified as a trainer Holds the job position of a trainer Is assigned as trainer by management or supervisors Assumes training responsibilities Is recognised by colleagues as a trainer Others (please, specify)______________________________________________

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4. To become a trainer in a company, somebody in the first place needs to have (multiple answers possible)

Subject-specific/technical competences Pedagogical competences/teaching abilities A combination of both technical and pedagogical competences Social competences (such as related to communication, interaction, counselling,

conflict resolution) Organisational competences (such as relating to course and training organisation) Long work experience No particular competences or experience Other competences (please specify):_____________________________________

5. In your country, trainers in companies generally are well prepared to perform their training

duties? Please mark the corresponding answer on a scale from 1 to 4 (1= well prepared; 2= prepared; 3= rather prepared; 4= not prepared)

well prepared not prepared

1 2 3 4

6. The qualification/competences of trainers in enterprises in your country are based on

(multiple answers possible) National standards (please specify)_____________________________________ Regional standards (please specify)_____________________________________ Sectoral standards (please specify)_____________________________________ Company-specific standards (please specify)_____________________________ Others (please specify) ______________________________________________

7. Are those standards the same that apply to teachers?

Yes No

7a. If no, to what degree are they more or less formalised than the standards for teachers? Please mark the corresponding answer on a scale from 1 to 4 (1= much more formalised; 3 = equally formalised; 5= less formalised) much more formalised less formalised

1 2 3 4 5

8. The qualification/competences of trainers in enterprises are assessed, monitored and

adjusted (only one answer possible) Never Every year Every couple of years Upon changing training demands Others (please specify)_____________________________________

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9. Are there any methodological tools in place to assess the qualification/competences of trainers in enterprises in your country?

Yes No

If yes, please specify______________________________________________________ 10. Generally, trainers in enterprises engage regularly in continuing training to up-date their

knowledge and skills related to their training activities. Yes (continue with 10b) No (continue with 10a)

If no 10a. Trainers do not engage in continuous learning to up-date their knowledge and skills

related to their training activities because (multiple answers possible) There are no adequate training offers Trainers typically do not have access to such offers Trainers are not supported by their employer to participate in continuous learning

(financially or in terms of freeing them from their regular work duties) Participating in such training is not recognised within the company Participating in such training is not formally recognised (outside the company) There are no incentives to participate in training (in terms of remuneration,

status, career) Others, please specify ____________________________________________

If yes 10b. Are there any formal obligations that require trainers’ continuing learning?

Yes No

10c. How many hours per week do trainers in enterprises typically dedicate to continuing

learning to up-date their skills? Less than 20 minutes per week Between 20 and 60 minutes per week Between 1 and 2 hours per week More than 2 hours per week I don’t know

10d. Does this happen on a voluntary/self-initiated basis or is it rather employer directed

according to particular frameworks and/or obligations? Rather self-initiated Rather employer directed

10e. Which are the topic-related priorities of the continuing learning activities trainers engage

in? (multiple answers possible) Tutoring/providing guidance Management, planning and organisation of training activities Monitoring and evaluation of training activities Budgeting/financial aspects of training Information technologies Social competences (communication, interaction, counselling, leadership)

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10f. Which are the main kinds of continuing learning activities that trainers engage in? Experience-based learning in the process of work Individual/self-organised learning E-learning Projects Workshops/seminars Formal classroom courses Others (please specify)_____________________________________

10g. Such forms of trainers’ continuing learning are Please mark the corresponding answers on a scale from 1 to 4 (1= yes; 2= sometimes; 3= rather not; 4= no) Valued and recognised by employers yes no

1 2 3 4

Actively supported by employers yes no

1 2 3 4

An important aspect for the employee’s career progression yes no

1 2 3 4

10h. Are there any methods in place or being developed in your country in order to support

trainers’ continuous competence development? Yes No

If yes, please specify___________________________________________________ III. Do companies assess the training they provide? 1. Do enterprises assess the quality of the training they provide?

Yes, on a regular basis Yes, on an irregular basis No

2. Do companies have mechanisms in place or can they access tools to assess the quality of

the training provided? Yes No

If yes, please specify____________________________________________________ If 1 or 2 ‘yes’ continue with 3a If 1 and 2 ‘no’ continue with 5 3a. Are the trainers (such as their methods, training design, competences) subject to the

quality assessment? Yes No

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3b. Are the learners being consulted in this process? Yes No

3c. Are the evaluations input (i.e. curriculum, content, method) or rather output (performance)

oriented? Rather input oriented Rather output oriented

3d. Do company’s evaluations consider the impact on the learner?

Yes No

3e. Do the evaluations consider the (positive or negative) impact on the organisation?

Yes No

4. On the basis of what kinds of other criteria is the training being evaluated (please specify)? ________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ 5. Apart from or complementary to companies, do other institutions/agencies regularly

evaluate in-company trainers? Yes No

If yes, what kind of institutions (please specify)_________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

IV. Employment situation, status and professional development of trainers 1. Trainers in enterprises in your country are typically recruited

Externally Internally Not formally recruited

2. Trainers in enterprises typically are

Full-time employees in the enterprise Part-time employees in the enterprise External trainers/tutors/counsellors Others (please specify)_______________________________________________

3. Trainers in enterprises typically dedicate

Less than 10% of their working time to training-related activities Between 10% and 30% of their working time to training-related activities Between 30% to 50% of their working time to training-related activities More than 50% of their working time to training-related activities I don’t know.

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4. Are there any benefits for a trainer in terms of being a trainer in terms of having a positive impact on the status of the employee a positive impact on the salary of the employee a positive impact on the career progression of the employee other positive effects for the person concerned (please

specify)___________________________________________________ 5. What might be the key motivational factors for employees to assume the role of a trainer in

an enterprise? (multiple answers possible) Employer-related incentives such as higher pay, higher status, better career prospects Broadening general career perspectives in the occupational domain Non-employer and non-occupational related incentives such as better career chances

on the labour market in general Qualifying aspects (broadening the range of skills) Re-directing work tasks and routines Personal interest Others (please specify)___________________________________________________

6. Assuming a training role in a company is attractive or rather unattractive for employees?

Please mark the corresponding answer on a scale from 1 to 4 (1= very attractive; 2= attractive; 3= little attractive; 4= not attractive)

very attractive not attractive 1 2 3 4

7. Have there been any concrete measures and/or practices in order to raise the attractiveness

of assuming a training role in a company and to enhance to overall status of this role? Yes No

If yes, please specify________________________________________________________

V. Open questions 1. What are the major issues in relation to the situation of in-company trainers in your

country? 2. Are there any regional/sectoral/company-specific differences that need to be highlighted in

this context?

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VI. Overall evaluation of the training of trainers On a scale of 1 to 4, please evaluate the following items. 1. How effectively organised is the training of trainers in your country? very well organised badly organised

1 2 3 4

2. How cost-effective is the training of trainers in your country? very cost effective not at all cost effective

1 2 3 4

3. Do the job positions of trainers generally reflect their qualifications and potentials in terms

of having ‘the right trainers in the right place’ or is the allocation of trainers rather ineffective?

very effective rather ineffective 1 2 3 4

4. Is the work of trainers generally well recognised in society? highly recognised not at all recognised

1 2 3 4

5. How do you consider the overall qualification of trainers in your country? very good very bad

1 2 3 4

6. To what extent do you consider your national training system of trainers being able to meet future needs and demands?

very well prepared not well prepared 1 2 3 4

We thank you very much for your participation!

Ann

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137

ANNEX III

Workshop: European Study on Trainers in VET - Trainers, tutors and others in enterprises (Lot 1)

May 4th 2007

AGENDA 09.00 – 09.30 Registration

09.30 – 10.00 Welcome and introduction of participants

10.00 – 10.45 Presentation of the EUROTRAINER study and connection with LOT2-study on Trainers in Private and Public Institutions in VET by Aline Jürges (EC), Martin Fischer (ITB), Anton Nijssen (RvB)

10.45 – 11.00 Coffee break 11.00 – 12.30 Presentation of interim results by Simone Kirpal (ITB)

Results of questionnaires Country backgrounds Trends

12.30 – 14.00 Lunch 14.00 – 15.00 European perspective on company-based VET trainers in Europe –

external inputs

“The professional development of in-company trainers: towards a European framework” by Anne de Blignières, University Paris-Dauphine, France

“European Concepts and National Practice – Experiences from Austria“ by Gabriele Schmid, Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Arbeit, Austria

15.00 – 16.00 Working groups 16.00 – 16.15 Coffee break 16.15 – 17.00 Reporting back from the working groups

138

17.00 – 18.00 General discussion and policy implications moderated by Peter Baur

18.00 End of meeting

139

Trainers in Europe

Studies on trainers in vocational education and training – key actors to make lifelong learning a reality?!

The Lisbon Agenda and the European Union’s focus on lifelong learning policies have underlined the strategic role of VET teachers and trainers in Europe. Within this framework, increasing the status and attractiveness of the training profession as well as the competences, motivation and commitment of trainers have advanced to key priority areas of the EU agenda.

To find out more about VET trainers the European Commission, DG Education and Culture, commissioned two studies in 2006. One of the studies was set out to focus on trainers in enterprises (Lot 1), while the second study was to address trainers in private and public institutions (Lot 2). In combination, both studies shall help to i) assess the developments and progresses made in the area of VET trainers; ii) formulate guidelines to better support this target group in their work; and iii) make the trainer profession more visible and attractive.

The conference on Trainers in Europe will present, discuss and evaluate the results of both studies together with relevant national and international experts and stakeholders in the area of VET trainers. The aim is to provide a forum that can stipulate innovation and policy recommendations in the area of VET trainers for future activities at national and European level. While each of the two studies applied its own approach and analysis, the conference will facilitate developing an integrated perspective of the two target groups.

As coordinators of the two studies the Institute Technology and Education (ITB) of the University of Bremen, Germany and Research voor Beleid, the Netherlands would like to invite you to participate in a one and a half day conference to be held in Leiden, the Netherlands to assess the final outcomes of the studies and discuss with selected experts its impact and possible policy implications at the national and European levels.

The workshop will be held from 24-25 October 2007 at the

University of Leiden The Netherlands

We hope that you will be able to attend and are looking forward to meeting you in Leiden. Yours sincerely, Simone Kirpal Anton Nijssen Institut Technik & Bildung, Universität Bremen Research voor Beleid Am Fallturm 1, 28359 Bremen Schipholweg 13-15, 2316XB Leiden phone: +49 - (0) 421 218 4646 phone: +31- (0) 71 525 37 37 [email protected] [email protected]

140

Trainers in Europe Conference 24-25 October 2007

AGENDA Wednesday, 24 October 2007

10.00 – 10.30 Registration

10.30 – 10.45 Welcome Peter Baur, European Commission, DG Education & Culture & Jaap van Lakerveld, PLATO/University of Leiden, the Netherlands

10.45 – 11.45 Presentation part 1 of results of EUROTRAINER study – Trainers in

enterprises Simone Kirpal, ITB/University of Bremen, Germany & Martti Majuri, HAMK University of Applied Studies, Finland

11.45 – 12.00 Coffee Break 12.00 – 13.00 Presentation part 1 of Lot 2 results: Trainers in private and public

institutions Jaap van Lakerveld, PLATO/University of Leiden, the Netherlands

13.00 – 14.30 Lunch 14.30 – 15.15 Presentation part 2 of Lot 2 results: policy implications and

recommendations Jaap van Lakerveld, PLATO/University of Leiden, the Netherlands

15.15 – 16.00 Presentation part 2 of results of EUROTRAINER study:

trends, scenarios and policy implications Martin Fischer, University of Karlsruhe, Germany & Liliana Voicu, Romania

16.00 – 16.15 Coffee Break 16.15 – 17.45 Interactive thematic working group sessions on selected key issues

16.15 – 17.00 Round 1 17.00 – 17.45 Round 2

17.45 – 18.15 Presentation of the results of the working group sessions; general

discussion 18.15 End of meeting 19.30 Reception and Conference Dinner

141

Thursday, 25 October 2007 9.00 – 10.00 Evaluation of studies and results:

Two working groups with partners and experts from Lot 1 and Lot 2 10.00 – 11.00 Evaluation of findings in view of related European studies

TTPlus – towards a framework for the continuing professional

development of trainers (Graham Attwell, Pontydysgy, UK)

Studies on defining VET Professions (Herold Gross, BIBB, Germany)

11.00 – 11.30 Coffee Break 11.30 – 13.00 Structured debate on trends, scenarios and policy implications Moderated by Barry J. Hake 13.00 End of meeting / departure of participants / lunch

A study of the situation and qualification Final Report ...€¦ · A study of the situation and...

Documents

Transcript of A study of the situation and qualification Final Report ...€¦ · A study of the situation and...