Apprenticeships

Well-functioning apprenticeships and other forms of work-based learning ease the transition from school to work by enhancing the employability of learners and providing them with the skills needed for the labour market. Apprenticeships thus provide benefits for companies and society at large. But the quality of apprenticeships in most Member States needs improvement.

In July 2013, through the European Alliance for Apprenticeships (EAfA), the European Commission, Member States and the European social partners committed themselves to improving the quality, supply and attractiveness of apprenticeships.

In December 2016, the tripartite opinion on ‘A Shared Vision for Quality and Effective Apprenticeships and Work-based Learning’ paved the way for a common European strategy on quality apprenticeships, and the launch of a Commission consultation.

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  • 17.02.2020 Page

    Apprentices in Swiss insulation industry tap into minimum wage

    Apprentices in the Swiss insulation industry will, for the first time, be sure of earning a guaranteed minimum wage as of January 2020. A collective bargaining agreement (Gesamtarbeitsvertrag – GAV) between the industry association ISOLSUISSE and the trade union Unia not only benefits learners but also increases wages and expenses for around 2,000 insulation plumbers. Apprentices starting out in the business will receive a minimum wage of 1,000 francs (€932,40) per month, increasing in the second and third years of apprenticeship.
  • 17.02.2020 Page

    Unity is strength for young trade unionists

    Trade union collective bargaining is helping young workers in Belgium and elsewhere to obtain better pay and working conditions. In 2016 the Belgian government introduced unfair, sub-minimum wage levels for young workers, supposedly to create 1,000 new jobs in the wake of the economic crisis. But while the jobs never materialised, this austerity measure had a disastrous impact on the working and living conditions of some 45,000 young people, who suffered cuts in social protection and a drop in wages of up to 18%.
  • 25.11.2018 Page

    Austrian pay deals benefit apprentices

    Collective bargaining in Austria has brought positive results for workers in the metal and railway sectors. A trade union agreement with the Association of Metal Industries will mean significant wage and salary increases of 3% to 4.3%, or at least €1,120 per year. Apprentices in particular will benefit from a pay hike of up to 16%. Some 6,600 apprentices in the metal-working industry will get an increase in their first year of €100 euros to raise their earnings to €719, rising to €920 in the second, €1,204 in the third and €1,590 in the fourth year of training.
  • 22.03.2018 Press release

    Council adopts trade union proposals for apprenticeships

    Today the European Council will approve a ‘European Framework for Quality and Effective Apprenticeships’. This is largely based on proposals made by the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) https://www.etuc.org/press/trade-union-contribution-quality-apprenticeships-europe in 2016 - the culmination of work by trade unions including through European ‘social dialogue’ with employers.  
  • 12.11.2017 Page

    It's official: trade unions are a good thing!

    New research published by the British TUC demonstrates that strong trade union organisation in the workplace benefits both workers and employers. Independent academics Alex Bryson and John Forth analysed employment relations surveys from 2004 to 2011, taking account of different types of workplaces and employee profiles so as to produce robust evidence of the impact of unions and collective bargaining agreements.
  • 10.06.2016 Press release

    Skills Agenda: ETUC welcomes Skills Guarantee

    ETUC
    Commenting on the Skills Agenda launched today by the European Commission, Thiébaut Weber, ETUC Confederal Secretary, said “Europe needs a big push to support workers to increase their skills, and to cope with the transition to a digital, carbon-free and ageing society.” “The Skills Agenda is a useful step forward and the proposal for a Skills Guarantee, which was an ETUC demand, is very positive.”
  • 06.06.2016 Press release

    EU Skills Agenda – the big questions

    ETUC
    Tomorrow European Commissioner Marianne Thyssen will unveil proposals for an EU Skills Agenda in the European Parliament, with a press conference later in the week. The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) believes that an ambitious agenda with concrete actions is essential: to upgrade skills to enable people seeking work to get jobs, for workers to remain employed and to move to better jobs, and to enable the European economy to meet the many challenges ahead.
  • 02.06.2016 Press release

    Social partners' shared vision on apprenticeships

    As part of the EU Social Dialogue programme, European social partners have undertaken separate projects on apprenticeships focusing on the cost-effectiveness of apprenticeship schemes (employers) and a European quality framework for apprenticeships (trade unions). The project outcomes were presented in a joint conference on 26-27 May in Brussels.
  • 26.04.2016 Press release

    Trade union contribution for quality apprenticeships in Europe

    ETUC source
    Twenty quality standards for apprenticeships are proposed by the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) and Unionlearn (TUC) in their new publication “A European Quality Framework for Apprenticeships –  a European Trade Union Proposal”. Despite increased interest by policy-makers in apprenticeships as a means to combat youth unemployment, apprenticeships have been in decline in recent years (and even more so since the 1980s).
  • 15.03.2016 Publication

    A European Quality Framework for Apprenticeships

    The European quality framework for apprenticeships was launched during a conference held on 14 April 2016 in Brussels. This framework consists of 20 quality criteria, which have been developed in a bottom-up approach through engaging with experts at national and European levels over the course of 4 joint sectoral seminars and 20 national country visits. Other language versions of the publication will follow shortly.
  • 11.05.2015 Page

    Austrian apprentices have their say

    The Austrian Trade Union Federation (ÖGB) and the Chamber of Labour (AK) have together produced the first Austrian Apprenticeship Monitor: a national survey enabling young apprentices to assess their experiences at the end of their vocational training.

Contacts

Mr Ludovic VOET

Confederal Secretary