Frequently asked questions

Launched in 2013, the European Alliance for Apprenticeships (EAfA) is a multi-stakeholder platform to strengthen the quality, supply, image and mobility of apprenticeships in Europe through national commitments and voluntary pledges from stakeholders.

At the launch, a Joint Declaration between the EU Presidency, the Commission and the European Social Partners was signed, acknowledging the aims of the Alliance, recognising the value and benefits of apprenticeships for youth employment, social inclusion, skills matching and economic competitiveness, stressing that apprenticeships are one of the main elements of the Youth Guarantee, and committing to concrete measures to strengthen apprenticeships.

This was followed by a Council Declaration, where Member States agreed to common guiding principles for quality apprenticeships, and individual pledges.

With the Youth Employment Support package of 1 July 2020, the Alliance commitment toward apprenticeships was renewed establishing six new priorities. They were a synthesis of inputs from different EU documents and policies, the first and foremost of which being the European Framework for Quality and Effective Apprenticeships.

In 2018, EU Member States agreed on a European Framework for Quality and Effective Apprenticeships (EFQEA). The EFQEA encompasses 14 quality criteria that were agreed upon to ensure that apprenticeships offer high added value to employers (providing them with future workers with robust qualifications), apprentices (qualifying them to be employable across jobs within an occupation or a sector, now and in the future) but also European economies and societies as a whole: a well-trained workforce supports innovation and competitiveness in the transition to a greener and more digital world.

Among the criteria identified by the EFQEA, seven focus on learning and working conditions, as social protection and pay for apprentices, or the importance of training the trainers; and seven concern framework conditions, encompassing areas as the involvement of social partners and the need to provide career guidance.

Apprenticeships are a particularly successful form of work-based learning, which is based on the following principles:

• Apprenticeships are formal vocational education and training programmes;
• Apprenticeships combine company-based training (periods of practical work experience at a workplace) with school-based education (periods of theoretical/ practical education in a school or training centre);
• Apprenticeships lead to a nationally recognised qualification.

Most often there is a contractual relationship between the employer and the apprentice, with the apprentice being paid for his/her work.

Apprenticeships differ from other types of in-company learning, such as internships/traineeships, which are often outside formal education and training programmes, and not linked to recognised qualifications. For open market traineeships, a Quality Framework for Traineeships was adopted in 2014.

VET-systems with strong work-based learning, such as apprenticeships, are effective in easing the transition of young people into jobs.

By alternating between school and work, the apprentice develops the skills and knowledge that employers are looking for. This benefits the companies which get a better access to skilled workers. Typically, 60-70% of apprentices secure employment immediately upon completion, and training firms usually recoup their training investments by the end or shortly after the training period.

Moreover, countries with strong apprenticeship systems tend to have less youth unemployment than others.

The Alliance is open to all EU, EFTA and Candidate countries, and stakeholders from these countries.

All stakeholders involved in apprenticeships and contributing to the objectives of the Alliance can join. In addition to governments, members include businesses, social partners, chambers of commerce, industry and crafts, sectoral and professional organisations, vocational education and training (VET) providers, regions, youth and non-profit organizations, and research bodies.

Apprenticeships depend on the willingness of companies to engage with VET schools and training centres, and to invest in the future skills of young people. Larger companies are more likely to be active in this type of training. Across the EU, 44% of companies with more than 250 employees offer apprenticeships, compared to only 22% of companies with 10-49 employees.

At the same time, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), including micro-enterprises are the backbone of the European economy providing around 2/3 of private sector employment in Europe. They can face more difficulties in providing apprenticeship placements due to a lack of resources and personnel to supervise apprentices, as well as expertise to manage administrative requirements.

Supporting companies, and in particular SMEs, is crucial in order to boost the supply of apprenticeships across Europe. Member States have increased efforts focused on targeted support and enabling measures for SMEs involvement in apprenticeships along three lines of action:

1. financial incentives;
2. infrastructure and non-financial support;
3. support to in- company trainers.

The Education and Training 2020 Working Group on Vocational Education and Training (VET) has developed a Guidance Framework on ‘Support for companies, in particular SMEs, offering apprenticeships', which will be published in 2015. The aim is to help Member States introduce or reform support for companies, in particular SMEs and micro enterprises, taking part in apprenticeship schemes. It includes seven principles:

The Alliance is a platform for sharing experiences and learning from best practices. You can also find partners, promote your activities, develop new ideas and initiatives, and access the latest news and tools on apprenticeships. During EAfA networking meetings you will have the opportunity to inform the other members on your latest developments and activities.

Each year, the Alliance delivers a range of events and learning tools designed to help EAfA members design and implement quality and effective apprenticeships in Europe. You can learn more by viewing the activity plan.

To get involved, all you need to do is complete the pledge application form and submit your pledge. You should clearly describe your aims and actions. You will receive our feedback and we will help you to finalise the pledge, before it will be published on our website.

The Alliance is a platform for sharing experiences and learning from best practices. You can also find partners, promote your activities, develop new ideas and initiatives, and access the latest news and tools on apprenticeships. During EAfA networking meetings you will have the opportunity to inform the other members on your latest developments and activities.

The pledge should demonstrate concrete commitment and actions that will strengthen apprenticeships. You can choose between one or more of the following objectives of the Alliance:

• Increasing supply – How do you increase the number of apprenticeships offered by your organisation?
• Improving the quality – How do you plan to raise the quality of apprenticeships? You may choose to develop new tools, schemes, research projects, studies etc.
• Improving the image – How will you enhance the image of apprenticeships? Some of the options may include awareness campaigns, media involvement, new partnerships, research projects, etc.
• Enhancing mobility – How will you enhance apprenticeship mobility between countries? How many apprentices will be involved in the mobility scheme? What type of mobility (e.g. short or long duration, EU scheme or private company scheme, etc.)?
• Supporting the twin green and digital transitions – How will you support the development of robust green and digital competences in apprenticeships? Activities may include dedicated schemes for the acquisition of green and digital skills.

If you are an employer providing apprenticeships and/or other labour market integration activities for migrants and refugees, please consider also joining the Employers together for Integration initiative.

Your pledge should be as concrete as possible, aiming to achieve a goal in one or more of the four EAfA objectives (supply, quality, image, mobility). After having identified the goal, applicants should indicate specific targets, indicators of success and a timeline, whenever possible.

Here are three examples:

"We pledge to increase the supply by offering n apprenticeships in the period 2017-2020, with an increase of 10% if compared with the period 2013-2016."

"We will enhance the quality of apprenticeships by funding a research project on work satisfaction of apprentices working in German SMEs"

"We pledge to improve the image of apprenticeships in the period 2017-2020 by involving local media in our region to share the success stories of our apprentices."

Each section in the online pledge form has a character limit, meaning that pledges should be clear and to the point. Please consider that the content of your finalised pledge will be published online and should thus produce a brief description of your activities in order to make it easy for stakeholders within the Alliance that might be interested in your organisation to reach out to you.

All the pledges are in the online database. You will see that they vary in length and content. The most important is that your pledge is clear and shows ambition. Please find at these links (company, chamber, VET provider, social partner) four examples of pledges that might help you develop your pledge.