ESF Social Partner Initiative "Securing the skilled labour base: vocational training and education (CVET) and gender equality"

The programme seeked to support the social partners and in-company stakeholders in securing the supply of skilled labour and adapting to demographic change:

• Creation of staff development structures, particularly by upgrading the skills of key individuals and by implementing CVET measures for older workers, women, semi-skilled and low-skilled workers and staff from a migrant background
• Creation of interlinked CVET structures at SMEs and implementation of in-company and supra-company CVET measures for SMEs
• Initiation of dialogue across branches of industry
• Development of work time models and career pathway plans geared towards specific phases in a worker's life
• Strengthening the ability of stakeholders within the business to act to promote equality of opportunities

The planned measures were due to make a contribution to establishing systematic further training in businesses, organisations and industries and to promote equality of opportunity in business enterprises. The efforts of the social partners were supported to this end. The specific guidelines were developed and implemented in close collaboration with the partners. Collective agreements on training or agreements with the social partners on skills development and equal opportunities were a prerequisite to be eligible for funding.

The initiative was a joint initiative of the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, the Confederation of German Employers' Associations and the Confederation of German Trade Unions. It was the follow-up programme to the "weiter bilden" and "Gleichstellen" programmes, focussing on further training and equal opportunities, from the 2007-2013 ESF programming period.