.
for adults with basic training needs in Spain takes place in a special
framework for adult training within the educational legislation; however, to obtain a
complete view of adult training in “basic skills” we will also have to mention other programmes,
such as the Social Guarantee (Garantía Social6 ) programmes oriented towards young adults
who have failed their compulsory schooling, or those programmes developed within the
framework of Occupational and Ongoing Training (Formación Ocupacional y Continua) managed
by the Labour Administration.
Then, we will present the main programmes, as well as the number of participants in each one
(data presented are the most recent available). We have organised them according to the three
areas defined above: 1) instrumental or basic training, 2) job/vocational training, and 3)
training for participation. They can take place in very different sites and institutions, such as
council classrooms, schools, secondary schools or enterprises.
5.1. Basic education
- Basic education: levels I, II, III.
These programmes are carried out in institutions specialised in adult training or in ordinary
educational centres outside normal school hours. Weekly training does not exceed 12 hours
(morning, afternoon or evening).
- Initial Training . Level I, literacy.
. Level II, consolidation of basic knowledge
and instrumental techniques.
- Secondary Education Training
. Level III or Secondary Education for adults.
At the end of Level III, the Graduate of Compulsory Secondary Education Certificate
(Graduado en Educación Secundaria Obligatoria) is issued, identical to the certificate issued at
the conclusion of the compulsory schooling period.
6
With the recently passed new educational Law (LOE), Social Guarantee programmes have become
Initial Professional Qualification Programmes (Programas de Cualificación Profesional Inicial).
Nevertheless, we have kept the original name for the purposes of this report (Social Guarantee
Programmes), as the new programmes are not yet in force.
14
Table 1: BASIC TRAININGS
Level I 90,535 users
Level II 45,307 users
Level III 112,481 users
Source: Official statistics of the MEC (Ministry of Science and Education) for the 2004-
05 school year.
Experience nevertheless shows that the profiles of the students attending each level is very
different, so that we are often dealing with different “courses” that are not usually consecutive.
Thus, for instance, in Level I, the students’ profile corresponds to people advanced in years,
with a very high percentage of women. Most students between 18 and 40 who participate in
basic training enrol directly in Levels II or III, based on the VIA test or the validations they
complete. This is the level that best suits their needs and aims for obtaining the basic certificate
of Graduate of Compulsory Secondary Education (GESO).
The younger group of students (16-
20 years) have failed in Compulsory Secondary Education and choose this educational
programme in order to obtain the basic qualification to access the labour market in better
conditions (during the IV quarter of 2005, 27% of the young people of this age, did not have
any basic qualification).
- Training oriented toward obtaining official certificates and the access to higher level training
through open examinations.
Adults with basic training needs may participate in training to prepare for the examinations to
obtain the Certificate of Graduate of Compulsory Secondary Education, which provides access to
Medium-level Vocational Training Cycles (Ciclos Formativos de Grado Medio)
Table 2: TRAININGS FOR CERTIFICATES AND ACCESS
Graduated in Secondary Education (enrolled students) 7,145
Access to Medium-level Vocational Training Cycles (enrolled students) 3,580
Source: Official statistics of the MEC (Ministry of Science and Education) for the 2004-
05 school year.
There is also specific training to prepare for examinations to access Higher Secondary
Education, Higher VET vocational training and for access to University.
15
- Social Guarantee Programmes7
.
These training programmes are for students older than 16 and under 21 years old (in some
Autonomous Communities, the maximum age may be 25) who have not attained the aims of
Compulsory Secondary Education and who do not have any certificate whatsoever in Vocational
Training. These programmes are planned for improving their general training and to enable
them to acquire skills to carry out some specific trade, work and professional profile, and to
facilitate professional placement or returns to further education. Usually, the length of the
training varies between 720 and 1 800 hours, distributed between 26 and 30 hours per week; in
addition, some modalities are compatible with a work contract. They also consider the
possibility of carrying out practical training in companies.
Table 3: SOCIAL GUARANTEE PROGRAMMES
Students enrolled 45,120
Training centres 1,615
Source: Official statistics of the MEC (Ministry of Science and Education) for the
2004-05 school year.
5.2. Vocational training.
- Occupational workshops.
At the different territorial levels and in collaboration with other public or nonprofit organisations,
the Labour Administration fosters the following free programmes which are easily accessible:
. Workshop Schools (Escuelas Taller) and Trade Schools (Casas de Oficios), for
unemployed young adults between 16 and 25 years old. No certificate is required.
These programmes combine vocational training in a first period with professional
practical training in a second period. Learners also receive training oriented towards
finding a job, such as the prevention of work hazards, and on computer literacy.
General training for those who do not have any basic official certificate is also offered.
The aim is for students to learn a trade and to be prepared to work in it at the end of
the programme, thus favouring their professional placement. During the first stage of
the programme, students receive a grant, and during the second one, a salary
equivalent to 75% of the minimum interprofessional wage (salario mínimo
interprofesional) based on the training contract that has been signed with the
7 Although we are referring to compensatory basic training, we could also include Social
Guarantee programmes in the field of Vocational Training, for they have a twofold aim: to
provide basic training and to improve the employability of young people who have failed at
school, initiating them into some specific trades in order to make their professional placement
easier.
16
promoting organisation/administration. The length of these programmes is from 1 to 2
years.
Table 4: WORKSHOP SCHOOLS AND TRADE SCHOOLS
Participants within
the programme
32,318 participants
64.86% men
35.14% women
Training centres 969 training centres
788 Workshop Schools
181 Trade Schools
Source: Official statistics of the MTAS-INEM for the 2004-05 school year.
. Employment Workshops (Talleres de Empleo), for unemployed people over 25 years
old, especially for those individuals belonging to groups with greater difficulties in
professional placement (long-term unemployed, those over 45 years old, women and
individuals with disabilities). No certificate is required, and the programmes that are
carried out also combine theoretical with practical training, in addition to computer
literacy. Students sign a training contract from the very beginning of the programme,
and they receive a salary equivalent to 1.5 times the minimum interprofessional wage.
Programme lengths vary between 6 months and 1 year, and public works or services
are carried out for the community, usually related to new sources of employment.
These programmes are partly financed by the European Cohesion Fund.
Table 5: EMPLOYMENT WORKSHOPS
Participants
within the
programme
20 784
31.67% men
68.33% women
Training centres 1,032 Employment Workshops
Source: Official statistics of the MTAS-INEM for the 2004-05 school year.
- Training in Professional Placement (FIP Plan, Formación en Inserción Profesional).
The National Plan of Training and Professional Placement includes a series of schemes of
vocational training targeting unemployed workers, to provide them with the qualifications
required to enter the labour market in case they lack specific vocational training, or their
qualifications are inadequate or insufficient. Thus, these courses, which must include a practical
aspect such as hands-on training carried out in workshop schools or companies, may deal with
special fields according to the training needs of each region and production branches of
economic activity. These courses are carried out in Collaborating Training Centres authorised by
the Labour Administration.
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Table 6: FIP PLAN
Participating within the
programme
272 094
Trained students 262 245
Courses concluded 21 095
Source: Official statistics of the MTAS-INEM for the 2003 school year.
- On-going Training
Ongoing training includes training schemes which address those individuals who are active in
the labour market, with the aim of improving their employability, broadening their skills, as well
as encouraging retraining and professional specialisation. Since 2002 these programmes have
been managed by the Tripartite Foundation for Employment Training (Fundación Tripartita para
la Formación en el Empleo, FORCEM), a body made up of trade unions, entrepreneurs’
associations and the Public Administration. Schemes are carried out by the Collaborating
Training Centres that may be managed by the Labour Administration itself, the very same
companies, entrepreneurs’ organisations or other training centres.
Table 7: ON-GOING TRAINING
Participants 1 763 569
Schemes 43 762
Training hours 62 262 451
Source: Official statistics of the MTAS-INEM for year 2001.
5.3
. Training for participation.
- Spanish for immigrants8
.
“Spanish for immigrants” refers to free Spanish courses carried out in the Training Centres for
Adult People, in order to support the integration of immigrants living in Spain through language
learning. The courses are given by specialised teachers using specific material elaborated and
published by the Ministry of Education. Basque, Catalan and Galician courses are also offered in
the Autonomous Communities in which there is a co-official language (Catalonia, the Basque
Country and Galicia).
8
We have included Language for Immigrants in the Training for Participation field, as it includes courses
that aim at the integration of immigrants, for whom knowledge of language is essential.
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Table 8: SPANISH FOR IMMIGRANTS
Spanish 32 446 students enrolled
Other Spanish languages 6 793 students enrolled
Source: Official statistics of the MEC (Ministry of Education and Science) for the 2004-
05 academic year.
- Mentor Classrooms (Aulas Mentor).
These are open and distance-learning courses initiated by the National Centre of Information
and Educational Communication (Centro Nacional de Información y Comunicación Educativa)
throughout the Spanish territories using computers and several support materials. Courses are
given in Mentor Classrooms, in which there is a networked computer, an administrator who
plays the role of “learning facilitator”
, and a telematic tutor. Courses are available for learners
studying at home, if the Internet is available. These classrooms are mostly in rural areas,
located in Centres of Adult Training, in prisons or town councils. There are over 100 different
courses on very different subjects, including many aspects of computer science relative to the
environment, as well as health care, entrepreneurship, languages, history or electricity.
Students learn at their own pace and have absolute flexibility of hours, paying a small monthly
fee to study any of these subjects.
When participants finish a course, they take an examination and the corresponding Certificate
(Certificado de Aprovechamiento) is awarded. They have the opportunity to repeat the test, if
they don’t pass the first time. Courses for beginners (mostly those in computer studies) have a
large number of students without any previous training in this subject.
