Promote vocational training in the form of apprenticeship

Legislation in 2015 introduced provisions for the implementation of apprenticeships. It stipulated that apprenticeships can be organised by a VET institution together with employers, with practice and theory to be provided in alternating periods at the company and VET provider. The measures stated that a teacher should be appointed by the VET school to manage apprenticeship training in the workplace, while company staff appointed by the employer are put in charge of organising and coordinating the apprentice's work and practical training. Assessment remained the responsibility of the teacher and VET institution.

The 2016 Labour Code (approved in September 2016) and accompanying legislation, which entered into force on 1 July 2017, introduced two types of apprenticeship contract (pameistrystes darbo sutartis): those with and those without learning agreements. For apprenticeships that are part of formal VET, the regulation stipulated that it was the employer's responsibility to ensure apprentices achieved the learning outcomes defined in programmes. An overall framework specified that:

1. combined work and learning time should not exceed 48 hours per week;
2. salaries for apprentices should not be less than the minimum wage;
3. learning time spent in VET institutions would not be paid by the employer and should not exceed a third of the contract duration.

Significant adjustments were made in late 2018 and early 2019 to the new Labour Code approved at the end of 2016. Article 83 of the Code provides that, when concluding an apprenticeship contract, the relevant parties may make an agreement for the reimbursement of training costs incurred by the employer. Such an agreement should specify the value of these costs (services, materials, etc.), which may be reimbursed at a level of up to 20% of the apprentice's monthly salary and should be spread evenly over the contract duration. If the employment relationship ends before conclusion of the apprenticeship contract, the employer is not entitled to claim any subsequent reimbursement of training costs. Article 84 of the Code states that the apprentice should be paid the salary specified in the apprenticeship contract for the time actually worked; this salary may not be lower than the minimum monthly or hourly wage approved by the Government of the Republic of Lithuania. Time spent in an education institution is not included in working time and the employer is therefore not obliged to pay a salary for it. This period should not exceed 30% of the duration of an apprenticeship contract.

The VET Law, adopted in 2017, emphasised the importance of workplace-based learning and apprenticeships, further clarifying the provisions on apprenticeships and stating that sectoral professional committees should participate in planning apprentice intake. The same year, a cooperation agreement was signed between the Ministry of Education, Science and Sport, the Association of Lithuanian Chambers of Commerce, Industry and Crafts, and the Lithuanian National Road Carriers Association; by 2017, eight such cooperation agreements had been signed. One of the areas for collaboration defined in these was work-based training for VET learners in companies belonging to partner businesses.

The action plan for implementation of the government programme approved in March 2017 included measures to encourage the participation of enterprises in apprenticeships: employers who hire people under an apprenticeship contract receive 40% wage compensation, not exceeding 1.5 of the minimum monthly salary approved by the Government of the Republic of Lithuania. A regular mechanism for compensating company expenditure on apprenticeships was also set up. Item 15 of the Description of the procedure for the application of active labour market policy measures to employers, approved by the Director of the Employment Service in 2017, stipulates that employers providing apprenticeship training may apply for partial reimbursement of costs incurred after employing a person under an apprenticeship contract. Pursuant to item 18 of this description, partial grants are available for the salary paid to the apprentice and the costs of organising and coordinating the apprentice's work activities and practical training. The amount of the subsidy is determined by evaluating the information and documents provided by the employer and applying the formula indicated in the description for each of the two cases. Recruitment under apprenticeship contracts increased in 2018, with 361 people taken on under these. At the end of 2019, almost 700 such contracts had been counted since the beginning of the procedure.