The conclusion of the third agreement (the second ran from 1997 to 2000)
marks the renewal of an institutional framework of vocational training for
employed people which was set up by the first agreement in 1992. Since then the
social partners have jointly managed and negotiated public funds devoted to
training employees in Spanish companies. Half of these funds come from the
vocational training contributions of employers and employees, with the remainder
provided by the European Social Fund, which
co-finances this type of initiative for Spain, and the direct contributions of
the state budget through the National Employment Institute (Instituto
Nacional de Empleo, INEM).
The development of the previous agreements, from 1993 to 2000, led to the
extension and consolidation of continuing training in Spain (in 1999 more than
1,400,000 workers received training), particularly in small and medium-sized
enterprises. In this process, a major role has been played by the bipartite
Foundation for Continuing Training (Fundación para
la Formación Continua, FORCEM), made
up of the employers' organisations and trade unions that signed the agreements,
as an instrument for managing training initiatives and complementary actions.
This foundation has also enriched the social dialogue at the sectoral and
company level.
Based on these experiences, the Spanish social partners have consolidated a
continuing training model based on social dialogue and joint management, under
which the system is developed by integrating the competences of the state
administration with the action of the social partners.
On 19 December 2000, the third National Agreement on Continuing Training
(Acuerdo Nacional de Formación Continua, ANFC)
was signed by the employers' organisations - the Spanish Confederation of
Employers' Organizations (Confederación Española de
Organizaciones Empresariales, CEOE) and
the Spanish Confederation of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (Confederación
Española de la Pequeña y Mediana Empresa, CEPYME)
- and the trade unions - the Trade Union Confederation of Workers' Commissions (Comisiones
Obreras, CC.OO), the General Workers'
Confederation (Unión General de Trabajadores,
UGT) and the Galician Trade Union
Confederation (Confederación Intersindical Gallega,
CIG), endorsed by a
tripartite agreement signed in addition by the Spanish
Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs.. It will be in force
for the period 2001-4.
Half of the funds come from the vocational
training contributions of employers and employees, with the
remainder provided by the European Social Fund, which
co-finances this type of initiative for Spain, and the direct
contributions of the state budget through the National
Employment Institute (Instituto Nacional de Empleo, INEM).
In Spain, the management of the continuing vocational
training system is based on joint dialogue and
consultation between the most representative employers'
organisations and trade unions. Training is an issue in
sectoral collective bargaining, so training and bargaining
are therefore linked. At intersectoral level, a first
national agreement on continuing training (Acuerdo
Nacional de Formación Continua) was signed by trade union
and employers' confederations in 1992 and was later
endorsed by a tripartite agreement between the social
partners and the government. The agreement radically
overhauled the institutional, legal and financial
framework of continuing training in Spain. It was followed
in December 1996 by a second national agreement on
continuing training, again later endorsed by a tripartite
agreement, regulating the continuing training system for
the four-year period from 1997 to 2000.
The conclusion of the third agreement marks the renewal
of an institutional framework of vocational training for
employed people which was set up by the first agreement in
1992.
The development of the previous agreements, from 1993 to
2000, has led to the extension and consolidation of
continuing training in Spain, particularly in small and
medium-sized enterprises. In 1999 more than 1,400,000
workers received training (about 10% of the working
population). According to companies size, in 1999
continuing training initiatives covered nearly 80% of
companies with more than 1,000 employees; 57% of companies
with 200 to 999 employees; 38% of companies with 50 to 199
employees; 20% of companies with 6 to 49 employees and 5%
of companies with less than 5 employees. According to age,
44% of beneficiaries were in the age group 25-35 (while
31% of working population is in this age group); 25.6% in
the age group 36-45 (while 24.8% of working population);
11.3% in the age group of the under 25‘s (14.4% of
working population) and 19.1% of the over 45‘s (29.7% of
working population). Women participate in continuing
training 6 percentual points more than in the employed
population (Fundación para la Formación Continua, 2001)
In Spain there is general agreement that the development
of the continuing training agreements has provided a major
stimulus for continuing training. It has helped both to
create a training culture in sectors, companies and groups
of workers in which traditionally little training had been
carried out, and to promote training in areas that already
had a certain tradition of training. In this process, a
major role has been played by the bipartite Foundation for
Continuing Training (Fundación para la Formación
Continua, FORCEM), made up of the employers' organisations
and trade unions that signed the agreements, as an
instrument for managing training initiatives and
complementary actions. This foundation has contributed to
enrich the social dialogue at the sectoral and company
level.
The problems most often mentioned related to the
management of FORCEM are: the need for improving
monitoring and financial management and control of the
activities receiving funding; and the need to monitor
training plans as a whole, rather than only the part
carried out with the FORCEM grant. There is general
agreement that quality criteria must be developed to
validate the continuing training funded through the
agreements.
It has been detected that it is difficult for unskilled
workers to receive training funded through the national
agreements, related to the labour market and the
production structure in Spain that present major obstacles
in this area. The emergence of training opportunities is
linked to the spread of new technologies and of new forms
of human resources management. However improving the
quality of personnel management and the recognition of
skills is a competitive strategy still limited in Spain.
On the other hand there is a predominance of small
companies managed according to traditional paradigms with
a short-term perspective that does not include continuing
training.
The high level of bureaucratisation makes it difficult
for the users to manage the plans. Users have continually
demanded greater transparency in the changing criteria of
technical and financial evaluation used in each call for
plans. Especially the SME have had more difficulty in
participating in the continuing training system.
A tripartite approach. Based on the previous experience,
the Spanish social partners have consolidated through this
third agreement a continuing training model based on
social dialogue and joint management, under which the
system is now developed by integrating the competences of
the state administration with the action of the social
partners.
Maintaining the quantitative extension of training in
companies, consolidating the incentive for companies to
invest on continuing training, focusing more specially on
less qualified workers and on small and medium-size
enterprises (SME).
Improving the quality and suitability of training in
relation to the needs of companies and workers; and
establishing the conditions for accrediting the
acquisition of vocational qualifications by workers who
receive training in the continuing training subsystem, in
line with the current National Vocational Training
Programme.
The third ANFC continues to develop a wide vision of
continuing vocational training for the employed population
as a factor in social cohesion and an instrument for
reinforcing the competitiveness of companies and future
employment, in line with the recommendations of the
European Union and the International Labour Organisation
Conventions signed by Spain. This vision is that
"continuing training should have a function of
permanent adaptation and improvement of skills and
qualifications to favour both the competitiveness
situation of companies and employment, a function of
social and personal promotion and of development of
workers' employability." The new agreement also
maintains the system of different levels of training
initiatives: company plans for companies with over 99
employees; group plans, which are sectoral and do not
depend on the number of workers in particular companies;
multi-sector plans initiated by employers' organisations
or trade unions at the appropriate level; and individual
training leave.
However now group plans can be now promoted by
individual representative companies in one sector (e.g. an
important car company can promote a plan for its network
of providers and authorized dealers). This enhances
employers’ initiative.
The agreement also provides for a new form of training
initiatives for companies in the social economy
(co-operatives and labour anonimous societies) that now
can ask for funding for the different types of training
initiatives.
The management and operational follow-up of the new
agreement will be conducted through joint structures
similar to those used for the previous accords, as
follows:
a Tripartite national Commission for Continuing Training
(Comisión Mixta Estatal de Formación Continua) will be
set up, with the role of determining priorities between
different training initiatives (a previous bipartite
commission has been eliminated)
joint sectoral training commissions in the various
sectors, linked with collective bargaining, as before and
joint regional training commissions in the regions
(Autonomous Communities) as before, bringing together the
most representative trade unions and employers'
organisations in their area, with functions similar to the
sectoral commissions.
The bipartite Foundation for Continuing Training FORCEM
created in 1993 has been replaced by a new Tripartite
Foundation for Training in Employment.
Achieving the goals of the continuing training requires
continuous concertation in the management of the system,
between the social partners and the government.
Care must be taken on one hand to ensure that unskilled
workers are also able to benefit from training, on the
other hand to improve the participation of the SME.
A better public control should avoid more
burocratisation of the funding mechanisms, as this would
hinder the necessary dynamism and adaptability that such
type of training requires (e.g. flexible formats for
training actions adapted to the wide diversity of
continuing training needs, instead of intending to
standardize them too much).
The agreement is part of the set of institutional and
economic resources for the development of the continuing
training, but it is not the unique one. In particular
regional governments (Comunidades Autónomas) also have
resources and funds to promote continuing training. It is
very important to overcome the lack of coordination among
different public policies and instruments to promote it.
This happens for example in the case of the Basque Country
where there is a tripartite Foundation Hobetuz formed by
the Basque regional administration and the social partners
in the scope of the Basque Country, but it is not
coordinated with the national agreement.
To extent the continuing training system to the SME and
to the no-profit sector.
To extent the continuing training initiatives to
prioritarian groups identified in the European Employment
Strategy (women, youth, over 45’s, and the less
qualified)
The bipartite Foundation for Continuing Training FORCEM
has been replaced by the new Tripartite Foundation for
Training in Employment (Fundación Tripartita para la
Formación en el Empleo)
The first call for training proposals under this Third
Agreement has been opened in July 2001, with higher
funding than for previous calls.
Educational policies: it paves the way for the requested
integration of the continuing training system into the
foreseen new national system of qualification, presently
under parliamentarian discussion.
Employment policies: it reinforces the principle of
life-long learning, adaptability and initiatives towards
focused groups in the Employment Strategies (less
qualified, women, youth, over 45’s)
The main opposition to the reform has been oriented
towards a more liberal system and towards restricting the
joint management and dialogue on continuing training. The
opponents to the reform have been a sector of employers’
organisations demanding direct forms of suport to
companies, without social partners intermediation, with
the support of some governmental sectors.
Various regional governments (Comunidades Autónomas)
demand descentralisation and its direct participation in
the continuing training system.
