In the face of a real increase in awareness of the need to undergo training throughout one’s professional life, there is an excessive dependence upon public intervention or the actual effectiveness of this training.

Vocational training in Spain, nowadays called a training system for employment, has traditionally been divided into three types or sub-systems according to the recipients and managers thereof: initial vocational training (also known as regulated vocational training), occupational vocational training (aimed at unemployed workers) and continuous vocational training aimed at employed workers.

In reality, there is nowadays a fusion between occupational and continuous training, financed by the State, and serving to invigorate economic competitiveness through life-long education of workers, whether actively working or not.

Today, the system of training for employment includes in principle two types of actions, namely supply actions and demand actions. The former are effected by the social agents (company associations and trade unions) that manage the system together with the autonomous administrations. This supposes the greatest economic contingent and the contingent of greatest diffusion.

Training in relation to demand is characterised by the fact that it is the companies themselves that request specific training for their workers from the competent body (in this case the Tripartite Foundation for Training in Employment).

The level of maturity of the system is high and the initial objectives have been amply fulfilled - according to our modest understanding - by instilling in the minds of workers the need for continuous vocational training during their whole working lives. This statement is ambitious, given that there is still a very high percentage of workers who do not carry out periodic training. However, it is unquestionable that there is a general increase in awareness and a real demand on the part of workers to be continuously trained. The number of hours dedicated annually to this purpose has been growing continuously, thereby reducing the disparities from other leader countries.

Creating habits was the first objective and this has been fulfilled. The second is increasing awareness among companies that they must invest in training in the same way as they seek to do so in innovation. The change to a system of bonuses (the company pays first and then discounts the portion corresponding to Social Security contributions) has undoubtedly been a success.

We are continuing to observe that many companies do not break the credit barrier that they have in training and do not even reach it (in particular the small and medium-sized businesses, which form the majority in this country). However, we are optimistic in these circumstances that the power of the people, namely of those who are already accustomed to demanding continuous re-training, will force a greater change in this aspect.

Maybe the most pressing problem and the problem to which the least time has been dedicated relates to the evaluation of this training. Is it really effective? Does it contribute towards an improvement in our competitiveness? We do not have a magic formula for analysing the Return on Investment (ROI) exactly, but we are clear that everything we are doing has contributed towards achieving this objective. It is certain, however, that it will soon be time to devote our efforts to the strategic objectives vis-à-vis the large-scale objectives.

The re-negotiation of the model of training for employment facing us this year, 2010, will have to deal with the doubts of the past in order to keep moving forward with continuous improvement of our citizens.