In the declaration adopted this morning at a Council meeting, the EU Ministers of Employment and Social Affairs reaffirmed their commitment to combat unemployment and youth unemployment, openly supporting the European Alliance for Apprenticeships launched in Leipzig on July 2 by a few European countries led by Germany. In addition to calls for making this type of training more appealing in all countries, sectors and businesses, regardless of their size, the Ministers laid down a series of guiding principles the governments can use to improve their apprenticeship programs. (Ref. 130620)
These principles are, among others:
- establishing an appropriate regulatory framework, whereby the responsibilities, rights and obligations of each party involved are clearly formulated and are enforceable;
- promoting national partnerships with social partners in the design, implementation and governance of apprenticeship schemes, together with other relevant stakeholders such as intermediary bodies (chambers of commerce, industries and crafts, professional and sectoral organizations), education and training providers, youth and student organizations, and local, regional as well as national authorities;
- guaranteeing adequate integration of the apprenticeship schemes into the formal education and training system through a system of recognized qualifications and competences which may allow access to higher education and life-long learning;
- involving employers and public authorities sufficiently in the funding of apprenticeship schemes, whilst ensuring adequate remuneration and social protection of apprentices;
- ensuring that the qualifications and competences gained and the learning process of apprenticeships are of high quality, with defined standards for learning outcomes.
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