2003 discharge: European Training Foundation

PURPOSE : to present the accounts and the balance sheets of the European Training Foundation (ETF) for the financial year 2003.

CONTENT : this report presented by the European Training Foundation presents the expenditure accounts and the activities of the training foundation throughout the year 2003.

The Foundation's budget amounted to EUR 17.2 million which was entirely financed by the Commission.

As regards the staffing policy, the ETF, whose headquarters is based in Torino, had officially 104 posts in the establishment plan of which 99 were occupied. 31 other employees (auxiliaries, national experts, interimaires). The total staff occupied amounted to 130 of which 80 carried out operational tasks, 35 administrative tasks and 15 carrying out mixed tasks.

The main tasks of the ETF are to give assistance to define the needs and priorities for training; to provide information on initiatives and future needs; to finance pilots projects; to implement programmes of the Commission in eligible countries.

More specifically, the ETF support covers a wide range of areas including: initial vocational education; lifelong learning; continuing (adult) training; human resource development in companies;

employment policies; training of unemployed people; poverty alleviation and social inclusion and training to encourage local development.

The ETF established a network of observatories in eligible countries. It equally carried out country sector studies, statistics on education, policy advice to countries.

In parallel, the ETF concluded technical Assistance conventions with Cards, Meda and Tacis for Tempus scheme covering:

- Joint European Projects (JEP): applications received 507; funded 129;

- Structural and Complementary Measures (SCM) applications received 36; funded 12;

- Individual Mobility Grants applications received 1 246; funded 286.

The management of activities of Tempus covers the standard functions of contract management,

desk monitoring and overall support to projects in progress. 1 149 annual grants were issued to run Tempus projects and 255 reports were assessed.