Marco conceptual

0 0,2 0,4 0,6 0,8 1 1,2 Au stria Bu lgari a Cy prus Czech R epu blic Den mar k Est oni a Fin lan d Hun gar y Latv ia Lithuania Lux em bou rg Malt a Ne ther lands Pol and Slovak ia Sw eden

Source: Eurostat, UOE

Investment of enterprises in continuing vocational training

The investments in vocational training of European employers are between 60 Euro per employee in Latvia and 993 in Denmark (in Purchasing Power Standards). The average figure dropped by nearly 30% from 633 Euro in 1999 to 461 Euro in 2005. However some countries have witnessed a sizeable change for example Slovenia, Romania, Hungary,

Lithuania and Poland increased their investments substantially in the period although from very low levels. Country rankings by cost of CVT courses follow closely those by participation and training duration. With the exception of Slovenia, the cost of vocational training per employee is much lower in the eastern Member States (see Table Ann II.4).

A similar pattern can be observed for the cost of vocational training as a proportion of total labour costs:

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it follows closely the participation figures. The share of enterprises' investment in vocational training as a share of total labour costs also decreased from 1999 to 2005. For the average of the EU, the share decreased from 2.3% in 1999 to 1.6% in 2005. In more than half of the countries participating in CVTS this share dropped and only one third of countries experienced an increase. In 2005 the share varied from 0.6% in Greece to 2.7% in Denmark.

Under the current economic downturn, a typical firm that is hit by the recession could find it harder to finance training on the job. As shown by the CVTS 3 results, a decrease in employers' investment in training would be all the more worrying as expenditures on continuous vocational training courses by enterprises had already fallen before the crisis. Evidence from past downturns suggests that training is more likely to hold up within firms having clear training plans and budgets and firms operating in markets subject to rapid technological change. Training is also strongest in sectors and occupations where training was partly dictated by government and professional regulations of

different kinds and/or quality assurance.29

2.3 Third country comparisons

Cedefop30 has compared some of the European

priorities in the Copenhagen process (such as rising the attractiveness of VET and the responsiveness to labour market needs) with examples of VET policies in advanced economies (Australia, Canada, Japan and the United States) and in emerging economies (China, India, Russia and South Korea).

According to Cedefop, in the advanced economies there is a negative image of VET which continues to have a low status and is seen as a second-best option for students and for low achievers. Consequently, the proportion of graduates from VET is lower than the average of 50% in the EU. In Australia students can switch from general education to VET and vice-versa. More students than before are using VET as a bridge to access higher education in Australia. Canada, Japan and Australia have experienced an increase in higher education graduates that attend VET courses to improve their job prospects. Statistics in the emerging economies indicate that enrolment in VET at secondary level in the four countries ranges from 30% to 40%. To attract more students, setting up more vocational schools and opening access to higher education through VET studies are implemented.

2.4 Individual outcomes of vocational education and training

Currently there is a lack of robust evidence on the individual outcomes of VET. Some research (Cooke, L.P, 2003) found that vocational certification predicted

higher wages for youth from different school tracks; for cohorts in which general education was more prevalent, formal vocational certification was an important predictor of higher initial wages for both high and low quality school tracks. By comparing the earnings five, ten and 13 years after labour market entry, it appears that vocational training results in higher initial wages while apprenticeship leads to higher wages over time. Avoiding early labour market difficulties is particularly important for youth since they may have persistent effects on employment and wages later in life. Recent evidence from CRELL based on EU-SILC data show that students who fail to attain upper secondary education are strongly penalized in terms of wages in countries with a prevalence of vocational programmes at the upper secondary level. Countries like the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Slovenia, but also Austria, Germany and Luxembourg, where over 60% of the upper secondary students follow a vocational program, also show the highest wage penalties for lower- educated individuals. These can range between 26% and 31%. In all these countries the wage penalties for not completing upper secondary education is likely to be related to the structure of the educational system. These findings concur somehow to the idea that vocational programs offer better integration in the labour market and higher salaries.

Recent empirical findings also provide further support for the idea that apprenticeships have a positive effect on avoiding early career unemployment. The dual systems have proven quite successful in giving young people a good start in the labour market. OECD data shows that Austria, Denmark and Germany are among the countries with the lowest share of youth experiencing repeated unemployment spells; in Germany and Austria, where the apprenticeship system is well developed, more than half of those leaving school find a job without experiencing any unemployment (OECD, 2006a). Van der Velden et al. (2001) show that European countries with apprenticeship systems enjoy better youth employment patterns, particularly in terms of larger employment share in skilled occupations and in high-wage sectors, than those with little or no apprenticeship. Along similar lines, Gangl (2003) found that apprenticeships perform rather favourably both compared to school-based education at the same level of training and across different qualification levels. Ryan (2001) and Steedman (2005) put forward the argument that part of this effect may come through a better matching of training to labour market demand that results from apprenticeship training.

These studies show that the impact of apprenticeships on labour market success over the whole life cycle needs further study.

3. Higher education

There are currently several quantitative EU

objectives relating to higher education:

- The benchmark of an increase in the number of mathematics, science and technology graduates by at least 15% by 2010, while at the same time reducing the gender imbalance (Council, 2003a). - The objective of investing 2% of GDP in higher

education (currently 1.3%), put forward by the Commission (European Commission, 2006c). - The goal of 3 million Erasmus students by 2012

(Council, 2006c).

-The benchmark of a tertiary attainment rate of 40% of 30-34 year olds by 2020 (Council, 2009).

An overarching benchmark on learning mobility of young people (incl. in higher education) will furthermore be developed by the end of 2010. The Barcelona objective of spending 3% of GDP on research and development by 2010, also has implications for higher education, since about 22% of R&D spending in Europe goes into university-based research. Taking the policy developments and goals outlined above into account, the first section of this sub-chapter on higher education looks at the Bologna process and progress achieved in it, followed by a section on quality at institutional level. The remaining sections look at progress in participation in higher education by analysing growth in the number of students and graduates.

3.1 The Bologna Process in higher education

Currently 46 European countries are participating in the Bologna process, which started with the signing of the Bologna Declaration in 1999. Bologna aims at establishing a European area of higher education. On 28-29 April 2009 Ministers responsible for higher education met in Leuven/Louvain-la-Neuve to establish the priorities for European Higher Education until 2020. The importance of lifelong learning, widening access and mobility were underlined. The goal was set that by 2020 at least 20% of those graduating in the European Higher Education Area should have had a study or training period abroad.

A Bologna Process Stocktaking Report 2009 was presented at the ministerial meeting in April 2009 . For each Bologna country the report has a scorecard showing performance in 10 indicators on a scale from dark green (best performance) to red (see Chart II.3.1). EU Member States in general perform well as regards the implementation of the 2 cycles (Bachelor, Master), except for Germany and Slovenia.

Implementation of the access to the next cycle is very good, while many countries still lag behind when it comes to the implementation of a national qualifications framework

Chart II.3.1: Bologna scorecards 2009 -