European Framework for Quality and Effective Apprenticeships - Main contents

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 153/1

Quality and effective apprenticeships that lead to a combination of job related skills, work based experience and learning, and key competences facilitate young people’s entry in the labour market, as well as adults’ career progression and transition into employment. They are part of the formal vocational education and training (VET) systems and they exist in parallel to other work-based learning and/or vocational pathways.

Well-designed apprenticeship schemes benefit both employers and learners as well as reinforce the link between the world of work and the world of education and training. High quality standards avoid that apprenticeships are geared towards low-skilled jobs and poor training that damage their reputation. In addition to providing a pathway to excellence, quality apprenticeships can also contribute to fostering active citizenship and social inclusion by integrating people of different social and personal backgrounds into the labour market.

Quality and effective apprenticeships are established through structured partnerships involving all relevant stakeholders, particularly social partners, businesses, intermediary bodies such as chambers of industry, commerce and crafts, professional and sectorial organisations, vocational education and training institutions, youth and parent organisations, as well as local, regional and national authorities. Since 2013, the Commission in cooperation with Member States and relevant stakeholders promotes the supply, quality and image of apprenticeship through the European Alliance for Apprenticeships, which has so far mobilised more than 700 000 offers for apprenticeships, traineeships or first jobs offers. Business led initiatives like the European Pact for Youth have mobilised more offers and helped promote business-education partnerships across the Union.

The European cross-industry social partners have collected evidence building on quality and cost-effectiveness of apprenticeships through their parallel work and their Joint Statement Towards a Shared Vision of Apprenticeships from June 2016 that was the basis for the opinion on A Shared Vision for Quality and Effective Apprenticeships and Work-based Learning adopted on 2 December 2016 by the Advisory Committee on Vocational Training (ACVT).

In order to ensure an even deeper and broader involvement of stakeholders, the Commission organised hearings at two stages, on 30 March and 7 June 2017, with European cross-industry and sectoral social partners, and the chambers of commerce, industry and crafts.

The European Qualifications Framework (EQF) first established in 2008 and revised in 2017 (1), improves the transparency, comparability and portability of citizens’ qualifications, including apprentices.

The Council Recommendation of 18 June 2009 on a European Quality Assurance Reference Framework for Vocational Education and Training (EQAVET) (2) established a reference instrument to help Member States promote and monitor continuous improvement of their vocational education and training systems.

Through the 2012 European Quality Charter on Internships and Apprenticeships, the European Youth Forum urged the European countries, European institutions and social partners to establish or...