ABSTRACT
The various Member States have evolved widely differing systems of vocational education and training (VET) and the available aggregate statistical evidence shows wide variations in the level of VET activity, its forms and the eventual output of qualified personnel. This chapter summarises this evidence, necessarily focusing upon the relatively well documented ‘initial’ VET systems, which in any case underpin the various national systems. International comparisons of VET are fraught with difficulty and need to be treated with considerable caution. The chapter considers the particular problems facing small and mediumsized enterprises (SMEs) within the training sphere - a relatively neglected field in spite of the fact that SME training seems more likely to reflect national systems and their differences than training in giant multinational enterprises. The increasing role of SMEs in employment growth across the EU has focused attention on the ‘quality’ of the jobs provided including the training records of SMEs and their impact on labour productivity.
