Glossary:Continuing vocational training survey (CVTS)
The continuing vocational training survey, abbreviated as CVTS, is a European Union-wide survey on continuing vocational training in enterprises. It is part of the European Union (EU) statistics on lifelong learning. CVTS collects information on investments by enterprises in the continuing vocational training of their staff. Continuing vocational training (CVT) refers to education or training measures or activities which are financed in total or at least partly by the enterprise (directly or indirectly).
Information available from the CVTS covers the following topics:
- Provision of CVT courses and other forms of CVT (training/non-training enterprises)
- CVT strategies
- Participants in CVT courses
- Costs of CVT courses
- Time spent in CVT courses
- Characteristics of CVT courses
- Assessment of CVT activities
CVTS 1 (reference year 1993) was of a pioneering nature. Results are no longer disseminated online but are available here.
CVTS 2 (reference year 1999) was carried out under a gentlemen’s agreement between Eurostat and 15 EU Member States.
CVTS 3 (reference year 2005) was the first CVTS underpinned by European legislation – Regulation (EC) No 1552/2005. This regulation makes it a mandatory EU survey that is conducted every 5 years.
Further rounds of CVTS for which data are available are CVTS 4 (reference year 2010), CVTS 5 (reference year 2015) and CVTS 6 (reference year 2020).
Further information
- Eurostat’s education and training statistics - overview Education statistics
- Access to microdata - continuing vocational training survey
- EU legislation for the continuing vocational training survey
- Continuing Vocational Training Survey methodology