“Apprenticeship-type schemes” are forms of Initial Vocational Education and Training (IVET) that formally combine and alternate company based training with school based education. This definition makes no explicit reference to the existence of a contractual direct relationship between the employer and the apprentice. Apprenticeship-type schemes are well spread all over the European Member States.

“24 EU Member States have VET schemes, which can be labelled as mainly company based. However, in a wide majority of these countries, company-based apprenticeships coexist with other mainly school-based training schemes” – Mihkel Nestor

In the whole EU-27, approximately 3.7 million pupils follow apprenticeship studies in a strict sense (2009 data). However, another 5.7 million students attend other apprenticeship-type schemes, mainly school-based VET training with some compulsory work-based training in companies. All in all, European enterprises supplied company-training positions for a total of about 9.4 million students in total.

Apprenticeship-type students represent approximately an 85% of total secondary VET students and 40.5% of total secondary students in the EU-27. The countries with the highest numbers of VET students following apprenticeship-type schemes are the largest countries, e.g. Germany, Italy or France.

This in-depth analysis of nine specific case studies in an array of selected member states shows the existence of important differences amongst schemes and countries:

• in terms of the main actors involved in the design of these schemes
• in the role that enterprises play in the provision of vocational skills and professional qualifications
• the uneven distribution of work-based training and school training
• the existing requisites for enterprises and students to participate in the schemes
• the presence of work contracts versus agreements between enterprises and students
• in criteria used to select students who access to apprenticeship places
• the presence of work contracts versus agreements between enterprises and students
• the different available financing and quality assurance mechanisms

 

Recommendations provided:

1. Improve the general image of VET.
2. Increase the importance and use of the workplace training dimension in VET.
3. Ensure a correct balance in the provision of both occupational skills and generals skills to students
4. Adapt apprenticeship-type VET contents and systems to enterprises’ real needs.
5. Ensure homogeneous quality standards of apprenticeship-type VET studies, specially the work-based training dimension.
6. Ensure lifelong leaning possibilities of apprenticeship-type VET students.