Training throughout life is a continuum between the initial training, or vocational, and all situations where gaining skills: continuing training, professional activities, voluntary associations or implications. It includes the steps of orientation, assessment, support to employment, training and accreditation of prior experience.
The training is based on the requirement for employers to help finance the training of employees, and on the right, for the latter to form on their working time. In each sector, the employer shall implement the inter-national agreements negotiated by the social partners. Employees who lost their jobs can also benefit from training programs. Their funding based primarily on unemployment insurance, regions or the state.
The State
Two departments are particularly concerned by the continuing professional education.
- The Ministry of Economy, Industry and Employment
- directs the policy of continuing vocational training in a logical career security and access to employment
- proposes legislative changes
- encourages dialogue between social partners
- little involvement in the financing of adult education but helping to fund the formation of some target groups (migrants, disabled people, prisoners, etc....)
This Department:
- organizes and finances, the state budget, initial vocational training of young
- has an operational mission of continuing education of adults.
- also involved, at the institutional level, the collective thinking about the evolution interdepartmental orientation and training throughout life.
Regional Councils decide on the territories of the regions, training policies based on local economic and social priorities. Since the decentralization process, the regions do indeed have a general responsibility for vocational training for youth and adults: they implement the Regional Plan for Development of Vocational Training. Since the law on vocational guidance and vocational training throughout life promulgated November 2009, the regions must sign contracts with the state of their regional development of vocational training.
Companies
Businesses have a lawful obligation for funding of continuing education. This legitimate obligation is 1.6% of payroll, but many companies see training as an investment and spend a much larger share. Approved joint bodies, or inter-specific industries:
- organize the collection of assessed contributions
- pooling the resources
- finance training policies defined by the professional sectors
Beneficiaries
The three main features that enable employees to form on the working time without loss of pay are:
- the training plan: employees form on their working hours, according to business priorities.
- the individual right to training: employees have twenty hours each year to train; they can build from one year to another.
- the individual training leave: employees choose their training. Duration (one year), how (on working time or outside working hours) and the dates are decided by agreement with the company.
Public employers - state, local governments and public hospital - set up similar systems for all of their agents.
Job center, which provides the interface between job seekers and businesses, prescribed training taking into account individual requirements, but also employment opportunities in the territory. It promotes programs, including operational readiness for use. Another access to training, employment contracts based on the alternation. Many young people or job seekers are offered this type of employment contract to fit with better qualifications.
The self-employed (farmers, craftsmen, freelancers, traders, professionals) can also receive training through their contributions to collecting organizations responsible for pooling and allocating funds.
Providers
The training can be made by employers, with the support of their in-house training or "purchased" with various organizations. It lists over 48 000 training organizations, public or private. This is the competitive performance and operating the selection of operators.
The public training
They provide 20% of the training activity. The most important, the institutions under the Ministry of Agriculture, the continuing education departments of universities. Associations such as chambers of commerce or professional chambers play an important role.
Private organizations
Any person or entity may engage in continuing education they account for 80% of the training activity.
Key figures
Overall expenditure on training is 27.11 billion dollar, or 1.5% of GDP (source: Ministry of Labour - 2009). It is as follows:
companies: 41.2%
State: 27.2%
regions: 14.4%
other communities: 6.6%
Unemployment insurance: 6.8%
Households: 3.8%
This expense includes:
Remuneration of trainees (salaries, allowances, etc....): 10 billion dollar
direct expenditure on education (educational expenses, engineering, support, etc....): 16.5 billion dollar, of which 10 billion are the training market.
