Vocational training and qualifications law proposed

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The Spanish Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport and Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs have jointly proposed a draft bill on vocational training and qualifications. The proposal, which is generally supported by the social partners, was approved in June 2001 by the Sectoral Education Conference, which brings together central and regional governments, despite opposition from seven autonomous communities.

The Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport and the Ministry of Labour and Social Affair have jointly presented a draft bill for a new law on vocational training and qualifications, which will be the first law that is exclusively devoted to this subject. It reflects the provisions of the Second National Vocational Training Programme (1998-2002) - which was approved in March 1998 by the tripartite General Vocational Training Council (Consejo General de Formación Profesional) (ES9804152F) - and raises them to the status of legislation.

The new law will integrate the three subsystems of vocational training: 'regulated' or initial training; occupational training, which is aimed at unemployed people; and continuing training, which includes the retraining of workers in employment. A network of integrated centres will be set up to provide the three types of vocational training. The law will also create an integrated national qualifications system, which will establish an integrated list of professional qualifications that will accredit professional experience and non-regulated training. Furthermore, a network of 'reference centres' will be set up at national level for experimentation and the introduction of new training. Another objective is the harmonisation of qualifications that are obtained in Spain with those elsewhere in the European Union, in order to facilitate worker mobility.

The representatives of seven autonomous communities (or regions) opposed the approval of the draft vocational training bill because central government had been unwilling to enter into a dialogue on the subject. The draft bill had been presented twice to the General Vocational Training Council, the body responsible for concertation on vocational training between the social partners and the central and regional governments - on 19 December 2000 and on 31 May 2001 (on the latter occasion the representatives of the seven communities, plus Catalonia, failed to attend). Despite this, no meeting of the specific body for coordination between regional and central governments, the Sectoral Education Conference (Conferencia Sectorial de Educación), had at this stage been called since July 2000. These communities also considered that the central government's intention to create a network of national reference centres for experimenting with and approving new training was an infringement of the regions' competences. However, on 5 June 2001 Sectoral Education Conference met and approved the draft bill.

The social partners approve the draft bill in general, though there has been some opposition to certain aspects of it. The Trade Union Confederation of Workers Commissions (Comisiones Obreras, CC.OO), for example, criticised the management model of the new integrated centres, which allows state-assisted centres (which are private but receive public funding) to be included. It also criticised the establishment of procedures for direct access from the middle to the higher levels of regulated vocational training, and is sceptical about the maintenance of a stable funding framework.

After the issuing of reports by the Economic and Social Council (Consejo Económico y Social, CES), on 27 June 2001, and the State School Council, on 29 June, the draft bill on vocational training and qualifications now only has to be debated by the Council of Ministers and put to parliament.