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As part of the European continuing vocational training survey, this paper aims to give an overview of the evolutions in continuing vocational training (CVT) in Belgian companies, by comparing both the results of the survey of 1994 and those of 2000/2001.

In Belgium 1,129 companies took part in the survey of 2000/2001. The sample was representative of Belgian companies with more than ten employees, making use of two criteria: company size and economic activity. The data were collected by telephone, post and face‐to‐face interviews based on a standardised questionnaire.

The findings suggest that the Belgian companies increasingly invested in both formal and informal learning. The results concerning “access to CVT courses” and “efforts in financial terms” also show a positive evolution. Finally, the study reveals that the CVT‐policy within companies has become more formal. Despite this positive tendency in general, not all employees seem to have the same opportunities to take part in CVT. The company size and, to a lesser extent, the activity of the company are two important determinants for the investment in CVT.

The study focused on the formal types of CVT; consequently, it gives only a partial outline of the training efforts in Belgian enterprises. Future research should also include the other forms of CVT. Furthermore, the data are taken from enterprises; as such, they do not enable us to take into account the individual heterogeneity.

A two‐track policy is required to stimulate both training and non‐training enterprises to invest in their human resources. More specifically, the opportunities of on‐the‐job training and external CVT courses should be enhanced and it is recommended to examine which role the different providers can play.

The CVT survey is a useful source of statistical information for monitoring continuing vocational training by both policy‐makers and enterprises.

Places the reform of the Spanish vocational education and training (VET) system in context, identifying the salient events and deficiencies in this modernization process. The most significant reaction to the need for improving, rationalizing and modernizing the former vocational training system was the development of the National Programme for Vocational Training in 1993. After several years’ negotiations, in 1992 the employers’ associations and trade unions signed the National Agreement on Continuing Training, which has given a notable impulse to this type of training in the last four years. It has been the first opportunity to set up a regulatory framework for the allocation of public funds to promote open access to continuing training for the employed populations. In 1996 the second plan was agreed, shoring up a sectoral model organized through collective agreements which aims to enrich the Spanish industrial relations model. Finally, analyses the new problems and deficiencies which could neutralize the reform’s innovative effects, as happened in the last reform under different historical conditions (1970). The success of a new Spanish VET system depends on actors’ capability to shore up a professionalized model for management and provision.

An attempt is made to illustrate the multi‐faceted and multifarious nature of human resource development worldwide, following a definition of it and a description of how it operates in a number of countries throughout the world, including the US, the EEC countries, India, Singapore, Japan, Australia and New Zealand. The roles and functions of HRD practitioners are examined, and the competences required listed. A short history of the International Federation of Training and Development Organisations is offered and a list of conferences described.

This monograph is on developments and trends in vocational education and training in Europe. An overview is given of what is being planned in Western Europe. This is illustrated by a detailed description of the educational systems of a selection of EC and non‐EC countries (Austria, Denmark, France, Germany, Holland, Sweden and Switzerland), followed by discussion of the current provision for vocational education and training within those systems and also in commerce and industry. Also provided are additional information on the work of CEDEFOP and of the European Commission, further reading, useful addresses and a glossary of some European language vocational education terms.

This article presents some of the initial results of the National Young Adult Survey (YAS), which is currently collecting data on the cross‐curriculum competencies of 14,905 18‐ to 22‐year‐olds in Switzerland. Young adults show a willingness to continue their education during the first five years after school. Using a regression model, it was found that the willingness of these young people to continue their education and training is dependent on achievement motivation, contingency beliefs, self‐efficacy, cooperation, independence and level of education.

Examines environmental protection as a training concept which is receiving increasing attention in all fields of the education system. Discusses systems employed in the German education system and suggests that all young people should be allowed to develop ethical standards as an orientation for their future lives. Proposes that environmental protection should become part of vocational training. Suggests that this is however a slow and labourious process and offers recommendations for the promotion of vocational environmental training.

A comparison of state‐regulated provision of continuing vocational training in France with the voluntarist British model highlights Britain′s poor record in the 1980s and 1990s. The widespread well‐financed training culture in France contrasts with piecemeal provision in Britain where TECs have little room for manoeuvre. The FORCE programme encourages innovation and good practice in ongoing training in the workplace throughout the European Union but there is no move towards legislating for compulsory training rights, which would benefit British workers as levelling up would take place. Europe needs a coordinated training policy, to maintain competitiveness as its industrial base becomes increasingly service‐dominated.

This article investigates the formation of vocational identities of workers in the sector of tourism in the Czech Republic, Greece and Spain. Major challenges and conflicts shape the sector of tourism as a particular labour space. Emerging issues relate to the need for diversifying the offer of services to face seasonality, strategies of entrepreneurial merging and demands for mobility and flexibility of the workforce. For the individual worker, a complex combination of related factors lead to tensions and contradictions, particularly in terms of changes in work organization, flexibility and how vocational identities of workers are shaped. An active policy for social dialogue and the improvement of working conditions seem to be vital in order to avoid flexibility becoming a synonym for precariousness of employment. Furthermore, the promotion of continuing training, greater recognition of formal vocational education and the development of an entrepreneurial culture are key elements that would enhance opportunities to develop a professional career in tourism.

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the extent to which the quality of the jobs of low‐skilled young workers is affected by the structure of education and training systems in various European countries. It focuses on the differences between countries providing fairly general education (internal labour market (ILM) contexts) and countries offering more specific vocational education (occupational labour market (OLM) contexts).

Logistic regression analyses.

It is found that low‐skilled young workers are worse off in OLM countries than in ILM ones, with respect to employment in a permanent job, employment in a non‐elementary job and participation in continuing vocational training. However, in OLM countries low‐skilled young workers are less often involuntary part‐time employed than those in ILM countries. With regard to participation in continuing vocational training, the ILM‐OLM contrast is larger in manufacturing than in services; regarding employment in a permanent job the reverse is true.

It is shown that the labour market position of low‐skilled young workers is affected by the structure of education and training systems in various European countries. The upgrading of the skills demanded in the European “knowledge economies” will therefore have less severe consequences for low‐skilled young workers in ILM countries than in OLM countries, since the acquisition of occupationally specific skills is organized differently between the two institutional contexts.

To explore social dialogue over vocational education and training in Europe, comparing the role of the social partners in different national training systems and different industrial relations contexts.

A survey of European member states (EU15 before enlargement) and two EFTA countries addressed to the national agencies or ministries responsible for vocational education and training and representing the contacts of the CEDEFOP Refernet network, supplemented by a literature review and discussions with the social partners at European level.

Throughout Europe the social partners have a formal role in developing vocational training policy and are involved in implementation, particularly at sector and local levels. While the structures of participation vary according to the degree of state regulation and the locus of training, social partner involvement is extensive irrespective of the nature of the regulatory framework.

Only 13 countries responded to the survey and respondents were not always aware of workplace developments. The gaps were addressed through the literature and discussions but inevitably the study is not comprehensive.

Valuable information for those seeking to identify common and good practice in social dialogue to improve the quality and relevance of vocational training.

A useful baseline study of the role of the social partners in vocational education and training in Europe.