Quality of apprenticeships in Europe

Five years after Cedefop’s previous comparative analysis on the implementation of the European framework for quality and effective apprenticeships (EFQEA), and ahead of the forthcoming European strategy for vocational education and training, the analysis identifies areas of strength and progress, as well as gaps across the countries and schemes studied.

Facts and findings

• Criteria related to learning and working conditions of the European Framework for Quality and Effective Apprenticeships (EFQEA) are usually addressed in the analysed schemes. Quality elements are typically present across all 7 Criteria at this level. Since the 2021 Cedefop comparative analysis and the DG Employment monitoring report, further improvements have been traced in several countries, even if incremental in many cases given the strong 2021 baseline. What may require additional attention is the extent or depth of coverage of several criteria among the studied schemes, given the variety in which countries address them.
• The comparative analysis of Criteria related to the framework conditions of the European Framework for Quality and Effective Apprenticeships (EFQEA) produces a mixed picture. Several areas of strength can be identified, and the exercise has enabled the identification of quality elements in most of the areas for which the 2021 Commission analysis has called for more attention. However, several indicators are unevenly met across the analysed schemes, while differences in the depth of coverage are also frequently observed in this set of criteria.

Key messages

• A cross-criteria review of the patterns emerging from the comparative analysis reveals an association between the extent to which social partners and/or chambers are involved in decision-making and coordination of apprenticeship schemes, and the degree of their investment and involvement at the implementation level. Limited roles at this level, are in turn, associated with narrower or uneven coverage of indicators across several quality criteria. Conversely, when the participation of social partners and/or chambers is stronger in decision-making and coordination, similar contribution is more frequently identified at the implementation level, and in numerous criteria related to that
• Changes to framework conditions related to the regulatory framework and governance, based on a fair and equitable partnership approach (Criterion 8) and to the role of social partners in the design and implementation of apprenticeship schemes (Criterion 9) may be harder to introduce and slower to catch on and produce effects on other criteria. However, even if progress towards higher quality levels is incremental, its significance cannot be underestimated, as it has the potential to trigger future improvements across various other criteria in the medium run.

Policy pointers

• The more social partners are involved in decision-making and coordination, the more vested they are in the quality and the outcomes of the apprenticeship system and are potentially more likely to invest resources in all functions, activating a virtuous cycle for quality and effectiveness.
• The challenge for several countries that were analysed in this report is to achieve both broader coverage, i.e. address all the EFQEA criteria when this is not the case, but also deeper coverage of quality elements within each criterion across the full set of indicators devised for this analysis.
• While incremental improvements across all criteria can be pursued, it is also important for EU Member States, especially those undergoing or considering reforms, to further examine the interconnection between quality criteria and address the equitable participation of key actors in governance, decision-making and coordination as the lynchpin for higher quality levels in their apprenticeships.