Community statistics: analysis of continuing vocational training in enterprises

In accordance with the requirements Regulation (EC) No 1552/2005, the Commission presents a report on statistics relating to vocational training in enterprises which documents the progress made by the Member States and Norway (Participating Countries) with respect to the provisions of Regulation (EC) No 1552/2005 and the implementing Commission Regulation (EC) No 198/2006. The report was endorsed by the European Statistical System Committee (ESSC).

The contents of the report are based upon quality reports, data and other information received from the countries concerned, in addition to analyses of the national questionnaires sent to enterprises, as harmonised statistics relating to vocational training in enterprises were made available through Continuing Vocational Training sample Surveys (CVTS) in all Participating Countries.

The Commission states that the implementation of Regulation (EC) No 1552/2005 is satisfactory as regards the type of data collected, and that the level of compliance with Regulation (EC) No 1552/2005 by the participating countries is largely appropriate. All participating countries took the necessary steps to ensure the quality of the results as required by the Regulation. All participating countries delivered the data in accordance with the 14 topics required. The delivery of certain quantitative and secondary information was difficult in some participating countries due to the complexity and length of the questionnaires sent to enterprises. Rather than impeding the production of national and EU results for the 14 topics, this actually helped to reduce the number of variables in the 2010 survey conducted under Regulation (EU) No 822/2010.

CVTS: under the terms of the Regulation, the Commission shall transmit a report to the European Parliament and the Council on the implementation of the Regulation in order to assess the benefits accruing in relation to the burden on the respondents, and identify areas for potential improvement and amendments considered necessary in the light of the results obtained. The CVTS results were published in the context of the European Commission's annual reports on progress towards the Lisbon objectives in education and training. These progress reports provide strategic guidance on policy cooperation at EU level and assess progress in attaining overall objectives in the education and training fields. The CVTS data also used to analyse the progress made as regards vocational training at the workplace, as well as by specialists of vocational training policies in Member States and at EU level by the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (CEDEFOP). All in all, the political context implies an increasing demand for, and importance of, the data on continuing vocational training.

Nevertheless, the high burden and cost of the CVTS require a deeper assessment, since there are many technical issues preventing the wider use of the data:

• burden on enterprises: the length and complexity of the questionnaire have meant low response rates from enterprises in some participating countries, as a number of local departments need to be contacted in order to cover all the topics of the questionnaire;
• reliability of the quantitative data collected: many enterprises do not have precise records of the content and characteristics of the training provided in a given year. Possibilities of collecting quantitative data on continuing vocational training through other existing surveys shall be examined;
• coverage of the survey: the cost and burden of enlarging the CVTS to include small enterprises and public sectors is regarded as far too large by participating countries;
• timeliness: the transmission of complete micro-data delays the publication of EU results because of the large number of checks that have to be performed before dissemination. Despite the efforts of the Commission and participating countries to streamline the survey, a number of difficulties will still persist. This might require an adaptation of the technical requirements laid down in Regulation (EC) No 1552/2005 on the basis of the 2010 survey results.

In the light of the Europe 2020 strategy, the Commission will assess the outcomes of Regulation (EU) No 822/2010 (implementation of the 2010 CVTS) before proposing any further actions to streamline statistics relating to vocational training in enterprises. Reflection on the future development of the CVTS should include a review of potential complementarities with other instruments, notably the Adult Education Survey (AES).