This handbook, first published in 2014, aims at helping policy makers and social partners understand some of the ways in which learning in the workplace can be encouraged and how its quality can be improved. It is also intended to help them understand some of the ways that such learning can be organised in a structured manner so that it benefits…

In this paper, the authors first discuss the Neumark and Troske piece, and then compare the U.S. context to that in Europe and Korea, as described by the Caspar, Hartwig, and Moench and the Cho and Shin contributions. Although they are in basic agreement with Neumark and Troske on the extent and depth of the current employment situation, they…

Small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) play an important role in creating a dynamic and successful European economy. Time-poor managers in these organisations generally have fewer opportunities for training and development than their counterparts in larger organisations. As a result, different requirements are placed on training. The aim of…

This is a unique and groundbreaking collection of questions and answers coming from higher education institutions on diverse fields and across a wide spectrum of countries and cultures. It creates routes for further innovation, collaboration amidst the Sciences (both Natural and Social), the Humanities, and the private and public sectors of…

Presents several aspects of the development of actionable competitive intelligence into SMEs (small and medium enterprises). Describes types of information used in SMEs, economic intelligence in France, suggestions for information management, and various works undertaken through the European Community. (Contains 11 references.) (Author/LRW)

Time sharing, in which professionals distribute their working hours among several enterprises through part-time contracts, creates jobs, enables small businesses to take advantage of skills and experience, and gives flexibility. The question of how benefits, retirement, and unemployment insurance apply remains to be resolved. (SK)

Across the European Union there has been an increase in the number of programmes and initiatives aiming to promote small business and entrepreneurship. In line with this general trend, enterprise creation and entrepreneurship are increasingly recognised as vital for French post-industrial society, yet France is lagging behind Spain, the UK, Italy…

The European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training's (CEDEFOP) activities and research relating to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have focused on three areas of action: (1) development of training for SMEs; (2) information on the training provision available in the member states; and (3) promotion of the exchange and…

Over the past 20 years, continuing vocational training in France has evolved within an innovative institutional system that has produced results. The goals of the institutional program are to: (1) give individuals who had been excluded from initial training a second chance; (2) give people greater control over their lives by improving their level…

A study of four European countries (France, United Kingdom, Italy, and Spain) was conducted to gather data on the business start-up process and its impact on the generation of jobs, small business start-up support programs, training and counseling programs, and characteristics of successful business starters. (The original aim of the study was to…

In France, a "Very Small Enterprise" (VSE) is defined as a legally independent company with fewer than 10 salaried employees. VSEs are characterized by a great deal of movement in the creation, transformation, and disappearance of jobs and the extent of turnover, which seems tied with intensive use of public employment programs, notably…

An examination of the ways in which vocational training can be extended to small and medium-sized enterprises in the European Economic Community, this document consists of: an introduction; four parts containing multiple chapters; 10 case studies; and a bibliography. Following the introduction, which is an update of a report made in 1985, part one…

An international meeting explored work on business start-up undertaken jointly by CEDEFOP (European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training) and France's Agence Nationale pour la creation d'entreprise. One opening presentation (Melis) addressed the basic idea underlying the research: to identify and highlight the role of training and…

A study examined the training needs of women working in moderate-sized enterprises owned by their husbands. Information collected from interviews with spouses of business owners in Belgium, Denmark, the Federal Republic of Germany, France, and Italy confirmed the original hypothesis that in the kind of enterprise studied it is the man who owns the…

This publication contains four national studies, conducted in Spain, France, the United Kingdom, and Italy, that collected data on the role of training as an element of support for business start-up and as an essential factor for the survival of newly established businesses. The study of the Spanish situation examines public and private bodies…