More than double the average number of hours of continuing vocational training is provided to people working in financial intermediation.
Hours in Continuing Vocational Training courses per employee (all enterprises) by NACE sector of economic activity: EU27, highest and lowest in 2005.


(click image for full size)    Data source: provisional data, CVTS III, Eurostat

Cedefops medium-term skill needs forecast predicts substantial net and sectoral change in the European labour market until 2020. One of the indicators of the importance of vocational education in different countries is how much training people receive in their jobs, and how this differs across sector of economic activity.

This indicator expresses the number of hours of continuing vocational training courses that, on average, an employee receives by sector of economic activity. This can also be complemented by indicators that look at the proportion of employees that receive training, or the proportion of enterprises that provide training.

Key points 

  • The financial intermediation sector, which includes banking, insurance and pensions, provided the highest number of hours CVT per employee in 2005: on average 20 hours in the EU, and with a high of 46 hours in the Czech Republic.
  • The manufacturing sector had the next highest country level investment in CVT (in terms of hours): Luxembourg and Sweden both provided 22 hours of courses per employee on average.
  • Fewest hours of CVT courses were provided in the combined sectors wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles, motorcycles and personal and household goods: at the EU level only 6 hours on average, and a low of 3 hours in these sectors for Greece, Latvia, Lithuania and Romania.

Read more about Cedefops sectoral approach to identification of skill needs, and about financing vocational education and training through sectoral training funds.

More information on continuing vocational education and training in each country can be found in Cedefops National VET systems database.

The data come from Eurostats third Continuing Vocational Training Survey (CVTS3), conducted every five years, and are subject to its methodology.