Experiences from the Integrated Nordic Labour Market
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VOCATIONAL TRAINING NO. 4 EUROPEAN JOURNAL CEDEFOP Editor: Fernanda Oliveira Reis European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training Editorial committee: Jean Monnet House Chairman: Jean François Germe Bundesallee 22 Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers D-10717 Berlin (CNAM), France Tel.: 4930+88 41 20 Matéo Alaluf Telex: 184 163 eucen d Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Belgium Tina Bertzeletou Fax: 4930+88 41 22 22 CEDEFOP Keith Drake Manchester University, Great Britain Julio Sanchez Fierro As of 1.9.1995 the seat of Asociación de Mutuas de Trabajo, Spain Gunnar Eliasson CEDEFOP will be The Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), Sweden Paolo Garonna Thessaloniki (GR) Istituto nazionale di statistica (ISTAT), Italy Eduardo Marçal Grilo Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian, Portugal Alain d’Iribarne Laboratoire d’Economie et de Sociologie du Travail (LEST-CNRS), France Bernd Möhlmann CEDEFOP Fernanda Oliveira Reis CEDEFOP Arndt Sorge Humboldt-Universität Berlin, Germany Enrique Retuerto de la Torre CEDEFOP Reinhard Zedler Institut der deutschen Wirtschaft Köln, CEDEFOP is a Community body Deutschland established by Regulation (EEC) No 337/75 of the Council of the Eu- ropean Communities, last amen- Representative of the Management Board: ded by Council Regulation (EC) No Anne-Françoise Theunissen Confédération des Syndicats Chrétiens de 251/95 of 6 February 1995 and Belgique (CSC), Belgium Council Regulation (EC) No 354/95 of 20 February 1995. It is managed by a quadripartite Management Board on which are represented the trade union and employer or- ganizations, national governments Published under the responsibility of: The contributions were received on and the European Commission. Johan van Rens, Director or before 16.02.1995 Stavros Stavrou, Deputy Director Pursuant to Article 2 of the found- Enrique Retuerto de la Torre, Deputy Director Reproduction is authorized, except for commercial ing regulation, CEDEFOP “has the purposes, provided that the source is indicated mission of assisting the Commis- Technical production, coordination: sion in order to promote at Com- Bernd Möhlmann, Barbara de Souza Catalogue number: HX-AA-95-001-EN-C munity level the development of vocational training and continuing Responsible for translation: Colin Mc Cullough Printed in training”. the Federal Republic of Germany, 1995 Layout: Werbeagentur Zühlke Scholz & Partner Through its academic and techni- GmbH, Berlin This publication appears three times a year in cal activities, CEDEFOP is called Spanish, Danish, German, Greek, English, French, upon to produce relevant knowl- Technical production on DTP: Axel Hunstock, Berlin Italian, Dutch and Portuguese edge of a precise and comprehen- sive nature on the Community per- spective to assess the issues in the Work Programme which is ap- proved by the Management Board The opinions expressed by the authors do not necessarily reflect the position of CEDEFOP. in agreement with the Commis- The European Vocational Training Journal gives protagonists the opportunity to present sion. The Work Programme cur- analyses and various, at times, contradictory points of view. The Journal wishes to contribute rently focuses on two major is- to criticial debate on the future of vocational training at a European level. sues: ❏ trends in qualifications ❏ trends in training systems Call for contributions and to implement this programme CEDEFOP uses a variety of means: The Editorial Committee wishes to publication. It will inform the authors of ❏ studies and analyses encourage the spontaneous contribution its decision. Articles (5 to 10 pages, 30 ❏ dissemination of information (in a variety of forms using vari- of articles. Articles submitted will be lines per page, 60 characters per line) ous media) examined by the Editorial Committee should be addressed to the editor of the ❏ the promotion of opportunities which reserves the right to decide on Journal. Manuscripts will not be returned. for the exchange and transfer of knowledge. CEDEFOP 2 VOCATIONAL TRAINING NO. 4 EUROPEAN JOURNAL Editorial This volume celebrates the accession to the and Sweden at 79 per cent march with Den- European Union of three new Member mark (79 per cent in 1991) and Norway (71 States. Of the Nordic countries, Denmark is per cent) in using training (and public sec- a long-standing member, Finland and Swe- tor employment) to target particular groups. den have now joined, Norway and Iceland In this case, the enhancement of flexible remain outside the Union. Austria has joined facilities enables more women to combine but Switzerland remains outside the Union. family and job. Long periods of political sta- The statistical section speaks of the material bility in several Nordic countries facilitated status of the new members - their demo- an alliance of the social partners and cen- graphic, employment and educational pro- tral government to make unusually exten- files. The absence of comparative data on sive provision for the remote rural inhabit- training - as opposed to publicly-financed ant as well as the city dweller, for women primary, secondary and tertiary education - as well as for men, for the older at-risk is revealing. There are national training data worker as well as for the young entrant to for all three new entrants. But the FORCE the workforce. Austria, like Sweden, has a programme’s Tableau de Bord on Continu- highly corporatist approach to the setting ing Vocational Training1 demonstrated the and implementation of training policy. But non-comparability of much of the existing Austrian corporatism is of a different vari- training data in Member States. Where reli- ety, combining a strong social democratic ably comparable data do not yet exist, at- flavour with adherence to a social market tempts to manufacture it are more likely to model of economic management. mislead than to inform. The warmth of the welcome derives from the commitment of Riemer reveals that for Austria accession Austria, Finland and Sweden to the values coincides with an impetus towards realistic of democracy and social solidarity, and the and self-critical analysis, openness to new expression of these values in their systems solutions and a vision of integration which of vocational education and training. goes beyond economic issues to the devel- opment of a ‘Europe of citizens’. Like Ger- Finland and Sweden share many character- many and Switzerland, Austria’s training istics with the other Nordic countries. system is based on the apprenticeship Lundborg reflects on forty years experience model: 41 per cent of its young people of their integrated, five country labour mar- graduate each year from its dual system. But ket. This experience suggests that sustained one of its most pressing concerns is not ini- income narrowing across EU Member States tial vocational training but the sheer size of will reduce migratory flows - as it did in the continuing training effort which it faces. the eighties between Finland and Sweden. Echoing an earlier plea (in 2/94) by Eliasson Lundborg also argues that migrations re- for institutional reform to stimulate and fa- sponding to increased labour demand in cilitate increased self-investment by indi- some better off Member States may require viduals, Riemer favours improved incentives policy changes to ensure that unemploy- for investment in continuing training both ment compensation does not prevent job by individuals and by companies. search. He develops in a fresh direction a concern with the operations of Nordic la- Finland and Sweden share the Nordic pro- bour markets which was addressed in an pensity for a very high level of unioniza- earlier volume (2/94) by Eliasson (inefficient tion and priority accorded to training in labour market matching can render ineffec- centralized collective bargaining. Of course, tive the best education and training systems) economic circumstances differ across Nor- and by Skedinger (the benefits of Sweden’s dic countries. Norway’s oil sheltered its active labour market policies have probably economy from the effects of international been exaggerated). competition in a way not experienced by Finland. Institutional solutions also vary. The characteristics and values of political Whereas the role of apprenticeship is gen- systems influence not only economic per- erally marginal in Nordic countries, Den- formance but also the structure and perform- mark is an exception. It successfully coun- ance of training systems. At 58 per cent in tered the decline of traditional apprentice- 1 European Commission FORCE 1992, Austria’s female labour force partici- ship in the seventies by developing the EFG (1994), ‘Tableau de bord’ on continu- pation rate is nearly identical to that of West (basic vocational training) and integrating ing vocational training, Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the Germany. By contrast, Finland at 71 per cent it with the apprenticeship route. By con- European Communities CEDEFOP 1 VOCATIONAL TRAINING NO. 4 EUROPEAN JOURNAL trast, Finland is experimenting with a bu- siveness of training to business and indus- reaucratic devolution of control to munici- try is to be improved (see Kyrö). palities and increased reliance on new multi- Kämäräinen argues that repeated attempts sectoral polytechnics, i.e. a redevelopment by Nordic countries to bridge the gap be- of the vocational school model (see tween academic and vocational tracks and Kämäräinen). improve the linkage between school-based provision of vocational education and train- Nordic authors naturally