Public committee recommends a moderate further education and training reform

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A public committee recommended in October 1997 that all Norwegian employees should be ensured a right to leave of absence for educational and training purposes. Employees with no more than nine years of education should be given a statutory right to upper secondary education.

The question of further education and training has been both on the Norwegian national political agenda and on the agenda of the labour market parties during the past two years. One of the demands of the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (Landsorganisasjonen i Norge, LO) in the wage settlement in 1996 was the introduction of an arrangement to ensure further education and training. The parties agreed that during the period of the agreement the question would be more closely examined, and it is expected that the issue will be part of the bargaining agenda at the next round of negotiations. During the autumn of 1996 the Government appointed a committee to look into questions related to adult education as well as further education and training. A broad group of interests were represented on the committee, including representatives from employee and employer organisations. The committee's recommendations were presented on 1 October 1997 and will now be circulated for public comment among interested parties.

The committee's recommendations

The committee's report regarding further education and training (NOU 1997:25) has looked into a wide range of questions related to further education and training, and most of the recommendations presented gained unanimous support. The committee has considered adult needs for education and development and considered different models for how any reform could be organised and financed. The question of a statutory right to further education and training was discussed. The need to document employees' actual qualifications was also raised by the committee. The committee estimates that the proposals put forward will cost the state between NOK 1.2 billion and NOK 1.8 billion a year.

Statutory right to further education

One of the committee's proposals is that adult employees are given the opportunity to achieve an education within the present educational system. Today, all youths in the 16 to 19 age-group have a right to three years of further education. The committee has proposed that adults with fewer than 10 years of education should be given the same right. This right should apply for a period of 10 years.

Right to leave of absence for educational purposes

The committee proposes that all employees should have a statutory right to leave of absence for educational and training purposes. The committee discussed whether the employer should have the right to decide what type of training or education the employees are entitled to, but found such a right impractical. The committee has, however, pointed out that leave of absence for educational purposes may have adverse effects for the employer, and that limits to its use should be defined so that employers can plan ahead. It is left to both sides to propose guidelines on how the right to leave of absence should be put into practice.

The proposal does not include a right to pay during the leave of absence for educational purposes. The committee has left the question open as to how it can be made it financially possible for employees to exercise their right, leaving the issue to the labour market parties themselves. One possible solution is to use wage settlements to set aside funds.

The documentation of actual qualifications

The committee believes that it is important to build up a system which documents employees' actual qualifications. The system should, amongst other items, include information about job tasks, on-the-job training, external courses and further education and training. The committee emphasises that these systems need to be developed in cooperation with the labour market parties. The development and testing of such a system should be defined as a project in itself. The system ought to be linked to the state school system, so that adults without the required formal qualifications may have access to schools and colleges of further education.

Educational material and motivational measures

The committee has proposed that financial resources be allocated to the development of educational programmes and teaching material which is adapted to the needs of enterprises and employees. Before such resources are provided, contact should be made between the provider of the training and the companies, organisations etc, requiring the training.

Comments from the parties

Both LO and the Confederation of Norwegian Business and Industry (Næringslivets Hovedorganisasjon, NHO) have stated that they are satisfied with the committee's recommendations. LO is particularly pleased with the fact that all adults should have a right to further education, and believes that a system to document actual qualifications is a step in the right direction. However, LO emphasises that it is important that employees who want to proceed to higher education should also be given the financial means to do so.

NHO is also mainly positive about the recommendations, and believes that this is a reasonable compromise, considering the different interests. NHO emphasises that the committee has brought the need to improve the link between supply and demand of education and training to the fore, and is pleased with the committee's proposal to soften the admission rules for adults to the educational system.

Randi Bjørgen, the head of the Confederation of Vocational Unions (Yrkesorganisasjonenes Sentralforbund, YS), is disappointed over the fact that the committee did not go further in the question of financial means, and has suggested that a "time account" system should be established, whereby employees can accrue a right to paid further education and training. Apart from this, YS supports the recommendations. The head of the Confederation of Academic and Professional Unions (Akademikernes Fellesorganisasjon, AF), Magne Songvoll, emphasises that it is important that all employees should benefit from the reform, including those who have already undergone further training or who hold a degree, but who nevertheless need new to replenish their knowledge.

Commentary

The proposed reforms in further education and training must be seen as moderate, and they are to be introduced gradually. Significant parts of the reform are also left to the parties themselves to define and implement. This means that the question of financing the reform will be on the agenda during the next round of wage bargaining. Further education and training will therefore be coupled with wage growth, the choice between other "welfare goods" and the state's incomes policy. This has again meant that several employee organisations are disappointed with the fact that the committee has not gone further in committing the employers to finance the reform.

It is worth emphasising that increased attention is being given to meet qualification needs in the economy. In several cases, the committee's recommendations means that training and education will be placed outside the formal educational system, and it is based on the presumption that the public educational system will have to be modified to meet the needs of the business community. The labour market parties will have significant influence on how the documentation system, courses and teaching material are designed. A substantial amount of the state funds will go to measures that presuppose participation from the labour market parties. Increased weight will be placed on actual qualifications, and when these qualifications are documented it will be possible to deviate from the formal entry requirements of the institutions of higher education. A majority of the committee members also recommends that the tasks associated with further development of the reform should be placed in a unit outside government offices. (Kristine Nergaard, FAFO Institute for Applied Social Science)