Overview of Cedefop main activities on apprenticeship: Events, news publications

Empowering young people by expanding and improving apprenticeships. Young people have been hit particularly hard by the crisis. Apprenticeships and other work-based training schemes help young people make smoother transitions from school to employment. To help increase provision and quality of apprenticeships and to change mind-sets towards apprenticeship-type learning, Cedefop supports network building among countries, reports on development of national apprenticeship schemes and researches governance and financing of apprenticeships.

There is broad consensus today in Europe that apprenticeship-type programmes can be an efficient way of addressing labour market imbalances. Thus, the European Commission’s Communication, Rethinking Education: Investing in skills for better socio-economic outcomes (2012) identified quality apprenticeship and work-based learning as a strategic priority. It also announced the European Alliance for Apprenticeship, which is now being implemented.

Despite this recognition, obstacles to establishing good apprenticeship programmes persist. Several necessary conditions must converge, which are not always present. Also, these conditions vary considerably among Member States, making a single apprenticeship model inappropriate.

The Directorate General for Education and Culture of the European Commission has asked Cedefop to take a leading role in supporting the European Alliance for Apprenticeship and the implementation of youth guarantee schemes. In practice, Cedefop is to support European cooperation on apprenticeships both among Member States and within individual countries.