El derecho individual a la capacitación continua de los trabajadores: un análisis de las mejores prácticas en el marco internacional
10.6092/issn.2421-2695/12922
L’articolo si concentra sull’impatto della digitalizzazione nel mercato del lavoro a livello internazionale e sull’importanza dell’apprendimento continuo nel fronteggiare le esternalità negative derivanti dal progresso tecnologico, come la frammentazione del lavoro, l’obsolescenza dei lavori tradizionali e ripetitivi e il disallineamento delle competenze. Il contributo intende fornire degli spunti di riflessione riguardo ai recenti sforzi per l’implementazione di modelli di apprendimento continuo dei lavoratori nell’attuale quadro giuridico, portando avanti in particolare un’analisi di significative esperienze pratiche e sottolineando i differenti approcci all’accrescimento e alla riqualificazione professionale della popolazione in età lavorativa.
Prendendo in considerazione l’idea di un “diritto soggettivo alla formazione continua” introdotto sia mediante intervento legislativo, sia tramite contrattazione collettiva, l’articolo intende evidenziare alcune delle buone pratiche in materia di apprendimento permanente che potrebbero essere adottate per contrastare la crescente polarizzazione tra lavoratori altamente e scarsamente qualificati. Nella parte finale, il contributo cerca principalmente di fornire le basi per un dibattito circa l’efficacia e la portata delle misure esaminate. A tal proposito, viene sottolineata l’importanza di tutele sociali derivanti non soltanto dal contratto di lavoro, ma garantite direttamente dallo stesso mercato del lavoro e applicate a tutta la popolazione attiva. In particolare, viene ribadita la necessità di rafforzare l’occupabilità dei lavoratori durante il corso di tutta la vita lavorativa per contrastare la disoccupazione involontaria, evidenziando così l’importanza e l’attualità della teoria dei mercati transizionali del lavoro (TLM).
application/pdf
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12922
1
it
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0
Labour & Law Issues
transitional labour markets
Il diritto soggettivo alla formazione continua dei lavoratori: un’analisi delle buone pratiche nel panorama internazionale
Text.Serial.Journal
https://labourlaw.unibo.it/
7
Comparative & International Overview
2021-06-29
2021-05-18
2021-06-29
2021-06-29
C.54-C.88
LLI
Carlo Valenti
2021/06/29
10.6092/issn.2421-2695/12922
C.54
University of Verona
2421-2695
1
transitional labour markets
it
C.88
Yang J. - Schneller C. - Roche S., The role of higher education in promoting lifelong learning, in UIL publication series on lifelong learning policies and strategies, 2015, 3, 2015, 17-39.
Il diritto soggettivo alla formazione continua dei lavoratori: un’analisi delle buone pratiche nel panorama internazionale
https://labourlaw.unibo.it/article/download/12922/12715
7
The individual right to continuous training of workers:
             an analysis of best practices
            in the international framework




                   CARLO VALENTI
                  Università di Verona




                   vol. 7, no. 1, 2021
                     ISSN: 2421-2695
 The individual right to continuous training of
    workers: an analysis of best practices
        in the international framework


                                                              CARLO VALENTI
                                                           University of Verona
                               PhD student in European and International Law
                                                             University of Siena
                            Subject expert and teaching assistant in Labour Law
                                                          carlo.valenti@univr.it


                                  ABSTRACT

        The article moves from the impact of digitalisation on the international
labour market to the importance of lifelong learning measures in countering the
negative externalities arising from technological progress, such as labour
fragmentation, obsolescence of traditional and repetitive jobs, and skill
mismatch. It aims to provide insights regarding the latest efforts in
implementing models for continuous training of workers in the current legal
framework by carrying out an analysis of remarkable practical experiences and
emphasising the different approaches to upskilling and reskilling of the working-
age population. By taking into account the idea of an “individual right to
continuous training” implemented both by legislative interventions and
collective bargaining, this study highlights some of the best practices concerning
lifelong learning that could be adopted to counter the growing polarisation
between high and low qualified workers. In the final part, the study mainly aims
to provide the basis for a discussion regarding effectiveness and scope of the
examined measures. In this respect, it also suggests the importance of social
safeguards not embedded into employment contracts alone but guaranteed by
the labour market itself and applied to the whole labour force. In particular, it
stresses the need to strengthen workers’ employability throughout their working
 C. VALENTI, The individual right to continuous training of workers: an analysis of best practices in the
                                      international framework


life to counter involuntary unemployment, highlighting the importance and
topicality of the theory of transitional labour markets (TLM).


Keywords: digitalisation; lifelong learning; individual right to continuous
training; upskilling and reskilling; transitional labour markets.



                                         https://doi.org/10.6092/issn.2421-2695/12922




      LLI, Vol. 7, No. 1, 2021, ISSN 2421-2695                                                        C.56
  C. VALENTI, The individual right to continuous training of workers: an analysis of best practices in the
                                       international framework


    The individual right to continuous training of workers:
                an analysis of best practices
               in the international framework

SUMMARY: 1. The international labour market and the risks of automation: the need for a
     proper approach to lifelong learning. – 2. The recognition of an individual right to
     continuous training in Italy: different results from legislative and collective bargaining
     interventions. – 3. Different schemes for different approaches: individual learning
     accounts or individual saving accounts?. – 3.1. The importance of lifelong learning in
     France: from the droit individuel à la formation (DIF) to the Compte personnel de formation
     (CPF). 3.2. An overseas perspective on continuous training and individual learning
     accounts: the case of SkillsFuture Credit (SFC) in Singapore. 4. Conclusions.



     1.     The international labour market and the risks of
automation: the need for a proper approach to lifelong learning

        The main concerns related to the future of the global labour market
commonly revolve around the implications of automation, particularly with
regard to the dangers of an increase in unemployment and social inequalities ( 1).
Such issues have been further highlighted by the current pandemic crisis, which
– combined with the disruptive power of technological progress – will indeed
lead to serious effects on employment in both the short and long term ( 2).
        Though it may be too early to assess the overall impact of the ongoing
transformations, it can be safely stated that the digitalisation processes could
result, if poorly managed, in a drastic loss of jobs (3) and socioeconomic
distortions or, if well handled, in significant improvements in the quality of work
and production and organisational efficiency ( 4). After all, the evolution of the
means of production keeps inevitably changing working methods, tasks, and
very concept of work, forcing labour law to enforce or even redraw its legal

         (1) Cfr. D. Acemoglu - P. Restrepo, The Race between Man and Machine: Implications of
Technology for Growth, Factor Shares, and Employment, in American Economic Review, 2018, 108 (6),
1488-1542; A. Sundararajan, Crowd-Based Capitalism, Digital Automation, and the Future of Work,
in University of Chicago Legal Forum, 2017, 19, 487-511.
         (2) S. Smit - T. Tacke - S. Lund - J. Manyika - L. Thiel (eds.), The future of work in Europe:
Automation, workforce transitions, and the shifting geography of employment, McKinsey Global Institute
Discussion paper, 2020.
         (3) On this point, see the so-called “technological unemployment” in: J.M. Keynes,
Essays in Persuasion, W.W. Norton & Co., 1963, 358-373.
         (4) D. Guarascio - S. Sacchi, Digitalizzazione, automazione e futuro del lavoro, in INAPP
paper, 2017, 2, 5 ss.


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  C. VALENTI, The individual right to continuous training of workers: an analysis of best practices in the
                                       international framework


framework depending on the new context in order to intervene on the existing
loopholes in the current legislation (5).
        This perspective can also be observed in the latest efforts of the
international doctrine and case-law, which confronted the challenges of the gig
economy over the past several years by focusing on the true legal qualification
of platform workers (6). Such abrupt changes in the traditional dualistic model
of work – commonly based on the dichotomy “subordination and self-
employment” (7) – have indeed prompted to plug the gaps in the law concerning
the so-called “tertium genus” and rethink the nature of these hybrid workers
arising from digitalisation on account of the present employment legislation.
        In this regard, a recent and increasingly clear stance of the international
courts (8) has gradually recognised the subordinate (or at least para-subordinate)
nature of these professional figures, although ad hoc legislative interventions
have been often suggested as the easiest and fastest way to regulate the gig
economy and provide its workers with basic standards of social security. As is
well known, labour law’s roots run deep into the socioeconomic ground, making
it the most receptive juridical branch to technological progress and changes
occurring in the socioeconomic framework (9).
        Therefore, it is becoming clear that the new impending challenges of
digitalisation demand not only to tackle pressing issues (gradual
dematerialization of workplaces, strong diffusion of hybrid workers, lack of
social safeguards for platform works, etc.), but also to focus on the medium to

           (5) Cfr. P. Ichino, Le conseguenze dell’innovazione tecnologica sul diritto del lavoro, in RIDL,
2017, 4, I, 525-563; C. Carboni, Lavoro ed evoluzione tecnologica, in il Mulino, 2016, 2, 346-354.
           (6) A detailed analysis of the topic can be seen, ex plurimis, in: P. Digennaro,
Subordinazione o dipendenza? Uno studio sulla linea di demarcazione tra lavoro subordinato e lavoro
autonomo in sei sistemi giuridici europei, in LLI, 2020, 6, 1; P. Tullini, Il lavoro nell’economia digitale:
l’arduo cammino della regolazione, in Lavoro autonomo e capitalismo delle piattaforme, edited by A. Perulli,
Wolters Kluver Cedam, 2018, 171-195; N. Countouris, The concept of ‘worker’ in European Labour
Law – Fragmentation, Autonomy, and Scope, in Industrial Law Journal, 2018, 47, 2, 192 ss.; P. Tullini,
L’economia delle piattaforme e le sfide del diritto del lavoro, in Economia e società regionale, 2018, 36, 1; A.
Donini, Il lavoro su piattaforme digitale “prende forma” tra autonomia e subordinazione. Nuove regole per
nuovi lavori?, in DRI, 2016, 1.
           (7) On the relevance of such dichotomy, see: M. V. Ballestrero, La dicotomia
autonomia/subordinazione. Uno sguardo in prospettiva, in LLI, 2020, 6, 2, 1-15.
           (8) Cfr. A. Todolí Signes, Commento alla sentenza del Tribunale Supremo spagnolo che considera
i riders lavoratori subordinati: Tribunal Supremo Sala de lo Social, 25 settembre 2020, n. 805, in LLI,
2020, 6, 2; M. Barbieri, Il luminoso futuro di un concetto antico: la subordinazione nell’esemplare sentenza
di Palermo sui riders: Tribunale di Palermo, 24 novembre 2020, in LLI, 2020, 6, 2; G. Pacella, Drivers
di Uber: confermato che si tratta di workers e non di self-employed, in LLI, 2017, 3, 2, 48 ss.
           (9) The same Lodovico Barassi used to emphasise the important relation between work
and technological innovation by addressing it as the «modern breath of practical life» at the core of
labour law.


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  C. VALENTI, The individual right to continuous training of workers: an analysis of best practices in the
                                       international framework


long-term forecasts of a global market characterised by the spread of new
professional figures, the obsolescence of many traditional jobs, and a greater
demand for high skilled workers.
        On this point, there is no unambiguous position: reports from the World
Economic Forum (10) estimate a global displacement of 75 million jobs due to
repetitiveness and replicability (e.g., telemarketers, bank teller, clerks) in the face
of a spread of 133 million new professional figures with high skilled
competences up to 2022. Conversely, the McKinsey Global Institute ( 11)
suggests serious changes at a global level, attesting a loss between 400-800
million of workplaces and a workforce transition of 75-375 million workers by
the end of 2030.
        Disregarding the different scenarios depicted by empirical studies, the
forecasts concerning the future of work still divide the socioeconomic and legal
doctrine into two main views: on one side, a moderate current of thought that
promotes the positive effects of occupational disruptions and job-creation
arising from digitalisation (12), on the other side, a catastrophic vision focused
on the idea of the job-destructive power of technological progress (13). Of
course, it is still too early to assess the impact of these ongoing transformations,
particularly now that the Covid-19 pandemic is worsening both the present and
future outlooks (14). In addition, every country will eventually face different
outcomes with respect to the drawbacks arising from the automation of labour,
since it will depend on their own ability to adapt throughout the evolution of
the global market.
        However, it can be safely stated that the progressive digitalisation of
labour is urging all policymakers to reconsider the current social security system
(15) and take into account, inter alia, reskilling and upskilling measures for the

          (10) Cfr. World Economic Forum, The Future of Jobs Report, Insight report, 2018; World
Economic Forum, The Future of Jobs. Employment, Skills and Workforce Strategy for the Fourth
Industrial Revolution, Global Challenge Insight Report, 2016.
          (11) Cfr. McKinsey Global Institute, Jobs Lost, Jobs Gained: Workforce transitions in a time
of automation, McKinsey & Company, December 2017.
          (12) D. Autor, Why are there still so many jobs? The history and future of workplace automation,
in The Journal of Economic Perspectives, 2015, 3, 3-30.
          (13) Cfr. J.A. Johannessen, Automation, Innovation and Economic Crisis: Surviving the Fourth
Industrial Revolution, Taylor & Francis Ltd, 2018; R. Staglianò, Al posto tuo. Così web e robot ci stanno
rubando il lavoro, Einaudi, 2016.
          (14) These forecasts will also be affected by the distortions of the current pandemic
crisis, which is expected to increase the negative consequences on employment. Cfr. ILO, ILO
Monitor: COVID-19 and the world of work. 7th edition, Briefing notes, 25 January 2021.
          (15) Cfr. T. Treu, Trasformazioni del lavoro: sfide per i sistemi nazionali di diritto del lavoro e di
sicurezza sociale, in WP C.S.D.L.E. “Massimo D’Antona” .IT – 371/2018, 19-27.


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  C. VALENTI, The individual right to continuous training of workers: an analysis of best practices in the
                                       international framework


whole workforce. That is because technology does not have a neutral impact on
the labour market (16), putting in prominence specific abilities instead of others
and changing the very concept of expertise over time (17). Moreover, the value
of skills and knowledge tends to evolve rapidly nowadays, pushing businesses
to demand new and high competences that the actual model of education has
not been quite able to provide in such short times. Thus, it is unavoidable that
– whatever the number of jobs destroyed or created by the digitalisation
processes – the population will still need keep pace with the evolution of the
labour market (18) by acquiring higher skills and marketable competences.
        For these reasons, it is crucial to further strengthen the cooperation
between policy makers and social parts in order to increase their accountability
in the definition of effective legal measures of lifelong learning and continuous
training, as already emphasized by the article 5 of the ILO Convention No. 142
in 1975 (19). A joint approach could indeed contribute to counter the negative
impacts of the polarisation in the labour market, which keeps significantly
pushing the demand of work towards high skilled professional figures; in fact,
the involvement of both sides of industry (20) might be able not only to better
identify the desired soft and hard skills (e.g., digital, technical) in accordance
with the current needs of the market, but also to mitigate negative externalities
such as skill mismatch and shortage.
        Broadly speaking, the first one can be depicted as the gap between the
skills currently offered by the workforce and those actually required on the
labour market, while skill shortage can be better defined as the lack of the skills



           (16) Cfr. M. Brollo, Tecnologie digitali e nuove professionalità, in DRI, 2019, 2, 468-491; E.
Dagnino, Occupazione e progresso tecnologico nel mondo del lavoro del XXI secolo: tra sostituzione, creazione,
localizzazione e forme, in La nuova grande trasformazione del lavoro. Lavoro futuro: analisi e proposte dei
ricercatori ADAPT, edited by E. Dagnino, F. Nespoli, F. Seghezzi, ADAPT Labour Studies e-
Book Series, 2017, 62, 96-100.
           (17) E. Dagnino, Dalla fisica all'algoritmo: una prospettiva di analisi giuslavoristica, ADAPT
University Press, 2019, 92-107.
           (18) Cfr. World Economic Forum, Towards a Reskilling Revolution. A Future of Jobs for All,
Insight report, 2018.
           (19) According to the ILO Convention No. 142 on human resources development
«policies and programmes of vocational guidance and vocational training shall be formulated and implemented
in co-operation with employers’ and workers’ organisations and, as appropriate and in accordance with national
law and practice, with other interested bodies».
           (20) An interesting report on efficient joint collaborations between trade unions and
companies in the definition of contractual provisions regarding training and education can be
found in: D. Mosca - P. Tomassetti (eds.), La trasformazione del lavoro nei contratti aziendali. Una
analisi di buone pratiche contrattuali, ADAPT Labour Studies e-Book Series, 2015, 44.


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  C. VALENTI, The individual right to continuous training of workers: an analysis of best practices in the
                                       international framework


sought for a specific job position (21). Such misalignments of competences
inevitably aggravate the labour supply and demand balance, increasing the
number of vacancies due to the inability to find adequate professional figures
and generating major socioeconomic distortions (22); for instance, these burdens
affect the efficiency and productivity of businesses (23), which are therefore
unable to fully harness the positive potential of technology (24). Thus, the labour
market is gradually approaching skills and competences with human-centric
view, seeking for further adaptability and flexibility from workers. After all,
work-based learning (25) is crucial both to ensure smoother transitions between
employments and manage job and skill mismatches (26).
        However, the current juridical framework could be unfit to provide
efficient solutions for reskilling and upskilling of the whole workforce, mainly
because of the recent growth of non-standard workers that makes it more
difficult to draw the line for the scope of social safeguards ( 27). Moreover, the
fragmentation of professional careers throughout the course of the working life
complicates the efficiency of continuous training due to the lack of policies’
portability. Many of the actual models introduced by legislative intervention or
collective agreements are inevitably characterised by a rigid structure that
concerns the eligible beneficiaries on the basis of the employment status alone.
        Therefore, the outlook of a global labour market characterised by a
growing skill mismatch and a rise in non-standard and short-term employment
contracts necessarily demands a comprehensive approach to upskilling and


          (21) For a detailed analysis: Cedefop, Insights into skill shortages and skill mismatch: learning
from Cedefop’s European skills and jobs survey, Cedefop reference series, 2018, 106.
          (22) These misalignments are due not only to technological progress and obsolescence
of certain jobs, but also to growing ageing population and lack of investments in research and
innovation caused by economic downturns. Cfr. M. Velciu, Job mismatch – effects on work
productivity, in SEA - Practical Application of Science, 2017, 5, 15, 395 ss.
          (23) According to the Boston Consulting Group estimates on the OECD countries,
skill mismatch represents «a hidden tax and a qualifications trap» that includes over 1,3 billion
persons worldwide. Cfr. J. Puckett - V. Boutenko - L. Hoteit - K. Polunin - S. Perapechka - A.
Stepanenko - E. Loshkareva - G. Bikkulova, Fixing the Global Skills Mismatch, Boston
Consulting Group, report 15 January 2020.
          (24) Cfr. European Investment Bank, Who is prepared for the new digital age? - Evidence from
the EIB Investment Survey, EIB report, 2020.
          (25) G. Alessandrini, “Pathways for upskilling”: un nuovo messaggio dalla Commissione Europea,
in ADAPT International Bulletin, 2016, 42.
          (26) As suggested by the transitional labour markets (TLM) theory.
          (27) Cfr. P. Tullini, La salvaguardia dei diritti fondamentali della persona che lavora nella gig-
economy, in Costituzionalismo.it, 2020, 1, 52 ss.; V. De Stefano, The Rise of the «Just-in-Time
Workforce»: On-Demand Work, Crowdwork, and Labor Protection in the «Gig Economy», ILO
Conditions of Work and Employment Series, 2016, 71.


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  C. VALENTI, The individual right to continuous training of workers: an analysis of best practices in the
                                       international framework


reskilling; in particular, such provisions need to consider the whole workforce
regardless the nature of their occupational status, since lifelong learning schemes
have to concretely help individuals not only to achieve marketable competences
and versatility, but also to take more responsibility into their own professional
future (28) so that they can adapt to the swift changes of the market.


         2. The recognition of an individual right to continuous training in
            Italy: different results from legislative and collective bargaining
            interventions

        The ongoing labour market trends are rapidly changing productive and
organizational models, demanding a continual adaptability throughout the
course of the working life. Consequently, such challenges require to intervene
on the capabilities of workers, establishing further provisions in the legal
framework concerning skill development pathways for the whole workforce ( 29).
        After all, it is becoming clear that the former and traditional educational
models alone cannot quite fit anymore into the current employment context,
since mainly based on the acquisition of the basic and necessary skills before
entering the labour market (30). In addition, after the gradual transition to the
so-called “flexicurity” (31), the employment safeguard system has not been
capable of countering involuntary unemployment as much as the previous
model, which on the contrary was able to reduce the risk of occupational
mobility on account of its stronger protections regarding dismissals (32).
        Therefore, these changes of the labour market and its juridical
framework have prompted once again the need to improve the adaptability of
workers, especially regarding the acquisition of new and marketable
competences. It has proven to be of crucial importance to facilitate employment
transitions and strengthen the very employability of the workforce by investing


           (28) Cfr. A. Carr, K. Balasubramanian, R. Atieno, J. Onyango, Lifelong learning to
empowerment: beyond formal education, in Distance Education, 2018, 39(5), 69-86.
           (29) Cfr. ILO, Skills for Employment Policy Brief - Formulating a national policy on skills
development, International Labour Office Report, 2011.
           (30) Besides, there was a greater number of jobs that did not require high levels of
professionality from the beginning.
           (31) On the new labour framework after “flexicurity”, see: T. Treu, Una seconda fase della
flexicurity per l’occupabilità, in DRI, 2017, 3, 597 ss.; L. Casano, La riforma del mercato del lavoro nel
contesto della “nuova geografia del lavoro”, in DRI, 2017, 3, 634 ss.
           (32) Cfr. V. Speziale, La mutazione genetica del diritto del lavoro, in WP C.S.D.L.E. “Massimo
D’Antona”.IT – 322/2017, 26 ss.


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  C. VALENTI, The individual right to continuous training of workers: an analysis of best practices in the
                                       international framework


in the continuous training patterns and, thus, providing intrinsic protections in
the labour market. Just like Marco Biagi ( 33) suggested during the previous
socioeconomic transformations, such measures are vital to enforce a firmer
protection throughout the evolution of the labour market.
        This issue has been the subject of many debates ( 34) and dispositions over
many years, especially regarding the need to balance the regular working hours
and the frequency to courses of study or continuous training programmes ( 35).
In this respect, legislative interventions developed in two main approaches: the
provision of paid leave days for educational reasons and the implementation of
contracts based on the mixed cause of training and work (e.g., training or work-
experience contracts, apprenticeships) ( 36). Focusing on the first kind, it can be
observed that many countries have already implemented provisions on paid
educational leaves in their national legal framework, as warmly encouraged at
the international level by the ILO Convention No. 140/1974.
        Regarding the Italian legal framework, such issue was already recognised
in Italy with the article 10 of the Law No. 300/1970 (the so-called “Workers’
Statute”), which provided workers who attend courses of study and professional
training programmes to achieve a qualification with additional time flexibility
(37). By assuring daily paid leaves for exams and exemption from mandatory
overtime or work during public holidays, the Italian juridical framework
established an important milestone for continuous training, facilitating the
participation to study programmes and, thus, professional development.
Subsequently, articles 5 and 6 of Law No. 53/2000 have further implemented
such provisions, detailing the scope of the paid and unpaid educational leaves
for workers.


          (33) M. Biagi, Formazione e qualità: note per una strategia comunitaria dell’occupazione, in DRI,
1996, 2, 75-83.
          (34) Cfr. ex plurimis: T. Treu, Nuova professionalità e futuro modello del sistema di relazioni
industriali, in Innovazione tecnologica e professionalità del lavoratore, edited by L. Galantino, Cedam,
1987, 17 ss.
          (35) On this topic, other relevant ILO recommendations are: R088 - Vocational
Training (Adults) Recommendation, 1950 (No. 88), R117 - Vocational Training
Recommendation, 1962 (No. 117), and R150 - Human Resources Development
Recommendation, 1975 (No. 150).
          (36) The establishment and spread of apprenticeship itself are a valid answer to the
need to combine educational purposes with the working life, providing not only a first
approach to the labour market for young students, but also a solid strategy to define the
workers’ competences in accordance with the needs of businesses.
          (37) In particular, student workers (e.g., university students) who have to attend
examinations are entitled both to paid daily leave and preferential working hours to facilitate
exam preparation.


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  C. VALENTI, The individual right to continuous training of workers: an analysis of best practices in the
                                       international framework


        However, similar dispositions often tend to be limiting, since they are
mostly referred to the courses designed to achieve a qualification/certificate and
cast aside those learning programmes based on “informal knowledge” ( 38). That
is the reason why the former approach to continuous training is developing in
a more elaborated concept, moving towards the idea of lifelong learning in order
to be more inclusive. In fact, although many juridical frameworks already
consider the need to attend courses and degree programmes for workers as a
natural necessity, reskilling and upskilling pathways are still to be fully
recognised as part of a personal right for workers.
        In this respect, incisive interventions are also required to encourage
minor adjustments of professional skills throughout the working life, especially
after organisational and productive changes in the business’ structure. Still on
the Italian legal framework, it can be mentioned the “training obligation”
established in 2015, which demands the employer to provide the necessary
knowledge to workers who are assigned new tasks that differ from those
previously performed (39).
        In particular, the Legislative Decree No. 81/2015 has reformed the
article 2103 of the Civil Code ( 40), acting on two levels and providing new
dispositions regarding the power of the employer to change workers’ tasks (ius
variandi). Firstly, it extended the limits of the ius variandi by eliminating the
previous criterion of equivalence of tasks and introducing new criteria based on
the same level and legal category of classification ( 41). By doing so, it provided
employers with a greater organisational flexibility regarding workers’ tasks, since
the reference to “level and legal category” allows businesses to resort to more
solutions and assignable tasks.
        Secondly, it has been also established that such changes must be backed
up by a training obligation, namely a legal burden for the employer aimed at


           (38) On this point, the recognition of both formal and informal knowledge by article
4, comma 51-53 of Law No. 92/2012 has to be considered as a positive signal from the Italian
juridical framework.
           (39) Cfr. C. Alessi, F. Ravelli, Commento all’art. 2103 c.c. (commi 1-7 e 9), in Codice
commentato del lavoro, edited by R. Del Punta - F. Scarpelli, Ipsoa, 2020, 436 ss.
           (40) On this point, see ex plurimis: C. Pisani, La nuova disciplina del mutamento delle mansioni,
Giappichelli, 2015; M. Brollo, La disciplina delle mansioni dopo il Jobs Act, in ADL, 2015, 20, 6; F.
Liso, Brevi osservazioni sulla revisione della disciplina delle mansioni contenuta nel decreto legislativo n.
81/2015 e su alcune recenti tendenze di politica legislativa in materia di rapporto di lavoro, in WP
C.S.D.L.E. “Massimo D’Antona”. IT – 257/2015.
           (41) M. Brollo, Disciplina delle mansioni (art. 3), in Commento al d. lgs. 15 giugno 2015, n. 81:
le tipologie contrattuali e lo jus variandi, edited by F. Carinci, ADAPT Labour Studies e-Book series,
2015, 48, 29 ss.


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                                       international framework


favouring, if deemed necessary, the adaptation of the worker to the new tasks.
To be specific, the third comma of the article 2103 of the Civil Code states that:
«The change of tasks shall be accompanied, where necessary, by the fulfilment of the training
obligation, the non-fulfilment of which does not however determine the nullity of the deed of
assignment of the tasks. Failure to do so, however, does not result in the nullity of the
assignment of the new tasks». Although this obligation is not enforced with specific
sanctions in the event of non-compliance, it still represents an individual right
for workers to receive ad hoc training if the new assigned tasks require knowledge
or abilities that they do not possess at the moment.
         At a first reading, such training obligation appears to be deeply
connected with the professional status of the employee, making the entity of
such burden placed on the employer very variable (42); after all, this latter would
be weighed in accordance with the specific professional needs of the worker
and the level of the new required tasks. Thus, it can be stated that the reform of
article 2103 of the Italian Civil Code mainly aimed at encouraging greater
organisational flexibility for companies, while safeguarding the professional
competence of workers through the introduction of a training obligation
conceived from a defensive perspective (43).
         Indeed, such obligation can be considered as an efficient tool to
recognise an individual right to continuous training for workers, despite
applicable only when the assigned tasks are changed. However, similar
dispositions tend to adopt a defensive approach to the professional status,
focusing on a protective perspective rather than a proactive one; that is because
safeguards inevitably seem to consider the professional level of workers more
as a standard to be maintained above a minimum threshold, and less as a
development opportunity.
         Therefore, new efforts in providing an effective “individual right to
continuous training” for workers are still needed. After all, the ILO itself has


          (42) Another peculiar case concerning training obligation and new tasks can be
observed in the specific instance of workers mandatory training on safety in the workplace
issues. In this regard, it is worth noting that a worker’s refusal to change workstation and tasks
is justified and cannot legitimate a dismissal if the employer did not provide training and
information requested by worker in relation to new risks (Supreme Court 31 January 2012,
No. 1401). On this point, see: P. Tullini, La formazione per la sicurezza sul lavoro, in Diritto della
Sicurezza sul Lavoro, 2017, 1, 80-81.
          (43) As stated by: L. Calafà, La formazione oltre il contratto di lavoro, in I lavoratori e i cittadini.
Dialogo sul diritto sociale, edited by G.G. Balandi - A. Avio - F. Bano - S. Borelli - S. Buoso - L.
Calafà - S. Renga, il Mulino, 2020, 149-154. In addition, see: G.G. Balandi, Formazione e contratto
di lavoro, in DLRI, 2007, 113, 135 ss.


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                                       international framework


sought to promote skill development ( 44) by outlining the importance of
personal skill acquisition policies as a key factor for the growth of high-skilled
workforce in the labour market and carrying out specific policy consultancy ( 45).
In this regard, two main approaches can be identified, namely provisions
through collective agreements and legislative interventions.
        In the first case, a recent disposition regarding the right to continuous
training can be observed in Italian national collective agreement for metal
workers signed by Federmeccanica, Assistal, Fim, Fiom, and Uilm (2017-2019)
(46). To be specific, as stated by the article 7, fourth section, title VI, the signatory
parties are bound to activate individual continuous training programmes of 24
hours for all permanent, full-time and part-time, employees in the three-year
period (47). Such provision aims to ensure the development of digital, technical,
and linguistic competences (48) by formally entitling workers a “subjective right to
training” to improve their professional status.
        Despite its limited application to specific industrial sectors, this
disposition provides an initial and important milestone to introduce a formal
right to continuous training for every worker (49) and, thus, empower individuals
with their own professional future (50). Moreover, it is also important to
underline that companies are not only bound to fulfil such right over the three-
year period for every beneficiary, but also subject to a fine in case of non-
compliance with the agreed obligations. In fact, if the employers were negligent
toward the fulfilment of such continuous training programmes ( 51), employees



          (44) To be specific, its activities of consultancy involve the evaluation, monitoring, and
planning of national policies aimed at improving lifelong learning policies in the different
juridical frameworks.
          (45) Especially the ILO Recommendation No. 195/2004 on human resources
development.
          (46) A. Maresca, Il rinnov(ament)o del contratto collettivo dei meccanici: c’è ancora un futuro per il
contratto collettivo nazionale di categoria, in DLRI, 2017, 39, 4, 156, 709 ss.
          (47) Although different means of implementation may be envisaged for fixed-term and
part-time (e.g., hourly adjustments).
          (48) In particular, training programmes can be carried out with different methods (e.g.,
training on the job, distance education and e-learning, tutoring, etc.).
          (49) Cfr. V. Bavaro, Il contratto nazionale dei metalmeccanici 2016: una prospettiva sulle relazioni
industriali italiane, in DLRI, 2017, 39, 4, 156, 729-742; P. Ichino, Il nuovo “articolo 18”: la formazione
come diritto soggettivo, www.pietroichino.it.
          (50) Regarding the importance of professional status for collective bargaining, see: D.
Mosca - P. Tomassetti, La valorizzazione economica della professionalità nella contrattazione aziendale,
in DRI, 2016, 3, 791-816.
          (51) Such provision is also applied if organisational needs have prevented its activation
before the end of the three-year period.


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                                       international framework


would be provided with a €300 credit to invest in reskilling or upskilling
programmes according to their needs.
        The topicality and relevance of this disposition can be observed in the
renewal of the national collective agreement for the 2021-2024 period (52), which
confirmed the subjective right to training and extended its scope (53). In
particular, the signatory parties decided to entitle it also to all fixed-term workers
with a contract of at least 9 months and to those workers returning from an
absence period longer than 6 months. In addition, they also allowed
beneficiaries to use the spare ones from the previous three-year period (2017-
2019) in the following six months or by the end of 2021. Although the hours of
continuous training have not been increased over the years, it is interesting to
highlight such initial will to introduce a sort of “portability” for such provision.
        Therefore, while it is true that the full recognition of such subjective right
to training still experiences different issues regarding its practical utilisation from
workers (54), it still possesses a symbolic value, since it remains a first and original
attempt from which few other national collective agreements are starting to
draw inspiration. For example, the national collective agreement of the
electricity industry (2019-2021) has recently assured no less than 28 hours of
continuous training over the three-year period for each employee and, therefore,
acknowledged a sort of subjective right to training as well.
        Of course, regarding collective agreements it is unavoidable that such
provisions would apply to signatory parties alone. The subjective right to
training introduced by the national collective agreement for metal workers
(2017-2019) can only concern this specific industrial sector and its employers’
associations and trade unions. In this respect, it is clear that the effectiveness
and the scope of an individual right to continuous training through collective
bargaining are deeply tied not only to the strength of trade unions and
employers’ associations, but also to the industrial relation system in the country
(55). Consequently, it is up to the social parts to implement and further promote

          (52) M. Tiraboschi, CCNL metalmeccanica, un cambio di passo per le relazioni industriali?, in
ADAPT Special Bulettin, 2021, 1.
          (53) G. Machì, Diritto alla formazione e formazione continua, in ADAPT Special Bulettin, 2021,
1.
          (54) G. Impellizzieri - G. Machì, Verso un “sistema” della formazione nel settore
metalmeccanico?, in ADAPT Special Bulettin, 2021, 1; D. Porcheddu - A. Zoppo, Mercato del lavoro
e formazione, in ADAPT Special Bulettin, 2021, 1; T. Galeotto, Glossario, competenze trasversali e
declaratorie. Le innovazioni linguistiche e concettuali dell’ipotesi di accordo, in ADAPT Special Bulettin,
2021, 1.
          (55) Such relations between trade unions, employers’ associations and governments
can be based on different models (conflictual, collaborative, concerted).


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                                       international framework


the subjective right to training in order to really make it effective, otherwise it
could risk having the same limited impact of the provisions regarding paid leave
days for educational reasons (56).
        Therefore, if the implementation of an individual right to continuous
training by collective agreements were to inevitably suffer from a limited scope
due to a weak industrial relations system, it would be more useful to implement
it by legal intervention. Surely, the introduction of such provisions in different
national collective agreements could be able to prompt policy makers to grow
more interest in the matter and directly intervene through legislative
intervention.
        That is the case of France, which, after the initial spread of provisions
regarding continuous training in different collective agreements, has attempted
to rearrange the different models by introducing a “droit individuel à la formation”
(DIF) (57) for all private workers with the Law No. 391/2004. Such disposition
– before its repeal by the reform of the social safeguards in 2014 (see infra 3.1)
– applied to all fixed-term employees with a minimum of one year’s service in
the company and allowed to accrue 20 hours of continuous and personal
training each year (58). In particular, workers needed to take the initiative in order
to stipulate a written agreement with the employer and receive the authorisation
on the chosen training programme. This latter could include promotional
actions, qualification actions, and actions aimed at acquiring or improving
competences (59).
        Surely, the droit individuel à la formation provided both workers and
companies with a useful tool to achieve reskilling and upskilling programmes.
In fact, on the one hand, employees could improve their competences and
employability by exercising an undeniable right to receive qualifying and non-
qualifying training, on the other hand, employers could benefit from high-skilled


          (56) On this point, Gino Giugni underlined how, despite «the clamour and enthusiasm that
was generated around the enormous political achievement» of the 150 hours study leaves introduced by
the article 10 of the Law No. 300/1970, the signatory trade unions were unable to concretely
implement it and, thus, lost «a great opportunity for acculturation and autonomous elaboration». See: G.
Giugni, Intervista, curated by P. Ichino, in RIDL, 1992, I, 411 ss.
          (57) Ministerio de Trabajo, Migraciones y Seguridad Social, Formación professional:
Francia, in Revista de Actualidad Internacional Sociolaboral, 2009, 125, 142-145.
          (58) The credits accrued by the worker get annually added within the limit of 120 hours
over six years.
          (59) In addition, unless otherwise provided, was to be carried out outside regular
working times and partially reimbursed by the company. The costs of the training are borne
by the company, which must provide the worker with 100% of the salary, if it is carried out
during working hours, or half of it, if carried out outside the regular working hours.


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                                       international framework


workforce by giving a small contribution for continuous training ( 60). In
addition, the subsequent modification made by the Law No. 1437/2009 (61)
increased the efficiency of this lifelong learning provision by extending its
portability between different jobs and allowed entitled workers to use their
personal credit with the next employer or attend training programme as
unemployed with employment centres on termination of employment.
        In any case, the efficiency of these interventions still suffered from the
complexity of the structure and a limited practicality, leading to a disincentive
for workers due to the difficulty of use. In fact, the preliminary bureaucratic
procedures and uncertainty of the number of credits accrued often ended up in
discouraging the activation of continuous training activities.
        Such issues inevitably lead to reflect on the efficiency of interventions
carried out through legislative interventions as opposed to those through
collective bargaining: while it is clear that the definition of lifelong learning
patterns needs the intervention from social parts, it is also true that most of the
trade unions do not have enough bargaining power and resources to provide an
efficient provision. Conversely, an implementation by legislative intervention
alone, despite being a more suitable solution on account of its scope and
extension, could still be characterised by a rigid structure and limited portability;
indeed, centralised interventions can often lack an overall picture concerning
issues in the practical application.
        Therefore, it appears unavoidable that the individual right to continuous
training for workers still need a joint approach with respect to its
implementation. That is because, as already stressed by the ILO, lifelong
learning policies would be much more effective if implemented through a
concerted dialogue between social parts and policymakers. By doing so, it would
be indeed able not only to extend its scope and effectiveness beyond the
employment status, but also to provide with greater precision upskilling and
reskilling solutions.



         3. Different schemes for different approaches: individual learning
            accounts or individual saving accounts?

         (60) The contribution to Groupe Caisse des Dépôts amounts to the 0.55% of the worker’s
pay for companies with up to ten employees and 1% for the ones with more than eleven.
         (61) To be specific, the employees who left or lose their job could use their accrued
credits only if they expressed their intention with advance notice. In any case, it was not
permitted if the firing was due to gross negligence of the worker.


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                                       international framework




        The first dispositions regarding paid leave days for educational reasons
indeed paved the way for the recognition of an individual right to continuous
training, promoting the idea that companies need to take responsibility in
providing opportunities for upskilling and reskilling of their workers. In this
perspective, such step forward is needed to fully harness the positive effects of
digitalisation, since the implementation of new technologies in the workplaces
constantly requires businesses to adapt and obtain viable expertise not only by
hiring new and young workers, but also through the continuous professional
development of the current ones (62).
        In this regard, the measures described above still suffer from a limited
scope, because they exclusively concern workers on account of their
employment status: the French droit individuel à la formation was initially applied
to all private workers and later extended to public ones (63), for instance. In
addition, it did not even concern the portability of accrued training hours until
its reform in 2009. However, although its difficult usability and structure have
resulted in a limited spread over the territory and its abrogation in 2015, it still
represents a reforming break from the previous system of education and access
to work (64).
        Such reasoning could be also adopted for the Italian framework, since
the training obligation established by the article 2103 of the Civil Code is deeply
tied not only with the employment status, but also with the prior change of the
assigned tasks for workers. As regards the latest collective national agreement
for metal workers in Italy, it is still too early to assess its overall effectiveness,
given that the results of the adopted upskilling programmes will be seen in some




          (62) Cfr. J. Field - R. Canning, Lifelong learning and employers: reskilling older workers, in
International Handbook on Ageing and Public Policy, edited by S. Harper - K. Hamblin, Edward
Elgar Publishing, 2014, 36, 463-473; B. Crossan - J. Field - J. Gallacher - B. Merrill,
Understanding Participation in Learning for Non-traditional Adult Learners: learning careers and the
construction of learning identities, in British Journal of Sociology of Education, 2003, 24, 1, 55-67.
          (63) In particular thanks to the French reform of the public sector adopted with Law
Act No. 148/2007 (modernization of the civil service), Law Act No. 209/2007 (territorial civil
service), Decree Law No. 1470/2007 (civil servants), and Decree Law No. 824/2008 (lifelong
vocational training of hospital civil servants).
          (64) V. Merle, La formation tout au long de la vie, une proposition pour les sociétés démocratiques,
in La formation tout au long de la vie. Nouvelles questions, nouvelles perspectives, edited by Y. Morvan,
PUR, 2006, 23-38.


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                                       international framework


time. In any case, it remains a measure strongly linked only to the sole
negotiation and to a specific industry sector (65).
         Therefore, it can be safely stated that the implementation of an individual
right to continuous training requires firmer interventions to involve
beneficiaries regardless the nature of their occupational status. In fact, even
though these solutions involve a significant proportion of the population, it is
still crucial to extend their scope and structure, since the lack of digital and
professional competences is an issue that goes beyond the notion of
employment and affects the whole population (66).
         However, although it is important to evaluate whether it would be more
effective to introduce an individual right to continuous training by legislative
intervention or collective agreements, it is also equally relevant to determinate
the most appropriate tools to ensure such right. After all, the lack of a
comprehensive framework for skill development policies still affects the
performance of lifelong learning strategies in many countries (67).
         In this perspective, it could be useful to take into account the individual
learning schemes (ILS), namely «training schemes attached to the individuals and which
are at their disposal to undertake continuous training along their working live and at their
own initiative» (68). Individual learning accounts (ILA) and individual saving
accounts (ISA) have indeed attracted a lot of attention over the last years on
account on their effective usability ( 69). In particular, it could be interesting to
consider two of the main schemes highly welcomed by the latest reports of the
OECD: the French Compte personnel de formation (CPF) and the Singaporean
SkillsFuture Credit. According to these reports, the first one can be considered as
the only real individual learning account to date, while the second one
constitutes an interesting hybrid model that place itself between ILA and ISA.

         (65) Indeed, even though the initiative of social parts regarding continuous upskilling
is strongly encouraged by the ILO, the entitlement of an individual right depending on the
employment status alone tends to represent a half-measure.
         (66) As stressed by the European Commission, the current socioeconomic context
requires stronger interventions to counter skill shortages and skill mismatch of the whole
population. In particular, it has been highlighted the lack of basic digital skills for
approximately 169 million Europeans (range 16-74 years). Cfr. European Commission, The
Digital Skills Gap in Europe, factsheet 19 October 2017.
         (67) A wider analysis regarding difficulties in skill acquisition can be seen in: J. Tarun -
M. Pushkar - M. Subha, Barriers to Skill Acquisition: Evidence from English Training in India, in IZA
DP, 2016, 10199, 1-30.
         (68) As defined in: OECD, Individual Learning Accounts: Panacea or Pandora's Box?, OECD
Publishing, 2019, 7-11.
         (69) These latter can be broadly described as virtual or real individual accounts to
accrue continuous training rights/credits over the course of the working life.


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                                       international framework


        Indeed, despite belonging to such different legal frameworks and
socioeconomic contexts, an analysis of these two learning schemes could give
some useful insights regarding efficient instruments to promote reskilling and
upskilling both for workers and jobseekers, especially on account of their
effectiveness concerning scope and usability. In addition, such analysis could
give further insights regarding the different impacts and differences between
different individual learning schemes.



         3.1.    The importance of lifelong learning in France: from the
              droit individuel à la formation (DIF) to the Compte personnel
              de formation (CPF)

        After the introduction of the droit individuel à la formation (DIF) in 2004
and its subsequent reforming process in the following years, the French Ministry
of Labour decided to answer the new challenges of the labour market by
extending the scope and intensity of its continuous training provisions. Despite
the initial positive effect for both private and public sector workers and the
further improvements implemented with the introduction of portability
between different employments in 2009, the need for extensive measures
triggered a wider process of changes in the French legal system ( 70).
        Therefore, in the desire to continue the previous reforming process,
France introduced substantial changes to its individual right to continuous
training in the following years through the use of individual learning accounts.
In particular, an extensive reform came to the light between 2014 and 2018,
along with an intervention on the pension and social security systems that led
to an overall rethinking of welfare and employment measures.
        The first step involved the abrogation of the droit individuel à la formation
with the Law No. 288/2014 in favour of the Compte personnel de formation (CPF)
in 2015, which established itself as comprehensive public funding mechanism
for continuous training. Unlike its predecessor, this individual learning account
extended its scope to the whole working-age population (and not just those with
an employment contract) by including all individuals aged 16 and over and

          (70) After all, as can be inferred from the ILO recommendation No. 195/2004, the
evolution of the labour market demand policymakers not only to take into account the notion
competencies and qualifications as frameworks to define different levels of knowledge and
skills, but also to consider lifelong learning and employability as key goals to assure a proper
development of the socioeconomic fabric.


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                                       international framework


initially increased the credit to 24 hours a year for a maximum cumulative of
150 hours over eight years. In this respect, the ambitious disposition introduced
an individual right to continuous training universally recognized to the person
on grounds of citizenship, eligible for capitalisation, and portable from one job
to another. Indeed, this reform represents a major change in the perspective of
French labour law, since the right to continuous training evolved from being a
right embedded in the employment contract to a personal right guaranteed to
the individual in the labour market (71).
         However, as previously arranged with the droit individuel à la formation,
credits were solely calculated on the basis of hours worked during the year, thus
limiting its usability to workers alone and presenting the same critical issues.
Moreover, the difficulties in converting the accumulated credits into training
hours hindered the overall efficiency, since the costs of educational programmes
tended to differ and did not have a unique price for every training institution.
Consequently, beneficiaries faced obstacles in the first approach to training
courses, as they did not have enough prior information on the total cost of
access.
         Therefore, as initially proposed in the article 38 of the Law No. 994/2015
and later implemented with the Law No. 1088/2016, the reform of French
labour policies resulted in the provision of the Compte personnel d’activité (CPA),
namely an extensive and multifunctional individual account for the French
citizens to manage their socioeconomic situation and improve the fungibility of
their subjective rights (72). To be specific, this measure aimed not only at
reforming the continuous training dispositions on account of an increasingly
fragmented labour market, but also at reshaping the way social protections were
structured (73) by empowering the population with their own self-determination
through a points/hours credit system. Thus, such disposition included – in
addition to the above-mentioned individual learning account – the “Compte
professionnel de prévention” (C2P) (74) and the “Compte engagement citoyen” (CEC).

         (71) For a deeper analysis of workers’ rights in the labour market, see: M. Tiraboschi,
Persona e lavoro tra tutele e mercato. Per una nuova ontologia del lavoro nel discorso giuslavoristico, ADAPT
University Press, 2019.
         (72) C. Tourres, Un “conto personale di attività” per il lavoratore del futuro: il caso francese, in
ADAPT Bulletin, 25 January 2016.
         (73) F. D’Addio, Flexicurity alla francese: con il CPA-Compte Personnel d’Activitè diritti maturati
e competenze seguono il lavoratore nelle transizioni occupazionali, in Il Sole 24 Ore, article from January
20, 2017.
         (74) In particular, it was implemented with the Law No. 1389/2017, which reformed
the previous “Compte personnel de prévention de la pénibilité” (C3P) and introduced with Law No.
40/2014.


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         The first one aims to provide social benefits to workers exposed to health
risk factors, namely to grant them credit points designed to reduce working time
without any reduction in pay or invest in training programmes leading to the
acquisition of new skills for less onerous jobs. Such health prevention account
is automatically created when, following the company’s declaration, a worker
with at least one month of seniority is subject to one or more risk factors above
the prescribed thresholds (75). In particular, an attempt is made to compensate
for the dangerousness of possible damage to health by assigning “difficulty
points” in proportion to the intensity of the risk factors and allowing to freely
use these accrued credits (76) to obtain hourly reductions for equal pay, early
retirements, or continuous training opportunities for less demanding jobs.
         Conversely, the Compte engagement citoyen is designed both to involve
citizens in voluntary work and ensure jobless citizens to undertake community
service activities in order to earn credits for their Compte personnel de formation.
This latter allows citizens involved in voluntary activities and organisations with
social purposes (e.g., educational, scientific, humanitarian, sporting, family,
cultural) to acquire up to €240 per year (over a maximum of €720). In this
respect, it is quite interesting to stress the intention to stimulate the enrichment
of the personal account by encouraging volunteering instead of enabling direct
monetary contribution from the beneficiaries.
         However, the improved efficiency and wider coverage (e.g., employees
and self-employed, public and private workers, job seekers, students) of the
Compte personnel de formation still did not facilitate the hoped-for spread and
fungibility of the measure after this reform. In fact, despite the first positive
results after the reforming process ( 77) and the possibility to replenish the
account through the Compte engagement citoyen, the credit system was still a major
issue. For these reasons, Law No. 771/2018 «for the freedom to choose one’s
professional future» reformed such matter and introduced better credit
measurement solutions. In particular, it converted the CPF hours in actual


          (75) Thresholds for harshness of work are determined on the basis of the intensity
(pressure, extreme temperatures, noise), magnitude (1 or more) and minimum duration of
exposure (50-120 nights or 900 hours per year) to health risk factors.
          (76) As stated by the Public service of the French administration, the conversion ratio
assigns one point for every three months of exposure to a single risk factor and the overall
limit of the account is 100 points (namely 25 years of exposure to professional risks).
          (77) The number of CPF accounts at the beginning of 2018 were approximately
5.468.534 against the 2.496.809 opened in 2015. For a better analysis of the topic, see: S.
D’Agostino - S. Vaccaro, Nuove tutele per i lavoratori: il diritto soggettivo alla formazione Francia e Italia
a confronto, in INAPP Public Policy Innovation, 29 November 2019.


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money-credit (€15 per hour), thus providing workers with up to €500 credit (78)
each year for an overall cumulative of €5.000. Moreover, this change was
followed by a campaign of promotion of the Compte personnel d’activité in 2019,
which encouraged an autonomous management of the account through the
online platform “Mon Compte Formation” (79).
        To be specific, the online application ( 80) allows both to easily consult
the credits accrued for each account of the Compte personnel d’activité and to
explore the extensive catalogue of training courses provided. In this respect, it
is interesting to note that, following the digitalisation process launched on 21
November 2019, the Ministry of Labour has reported an average of 25.000
downloads per day of the application (600.000 after the first month) and the
validation of more than 32.000 training courses concerning different topics (e.g.,
languages, driving licence, skills certification, entrepreneurial assistance, etc.)
(81). Moreover, these latter had an average cost of €1.200 compared to €2.370
before the reform. Such results indeed confirm the increase in competitiveness
and, consequently, in the quality of the training providers affiliated to the
platform (82), paving the way for a wider spread of the personal accounts for
continuous training.
        Although the Compte personnel d’activité has been criticized and depicted as
an attempt to undermine the system of social protections through virtual points
and merge pre-existing provisions, it can be taken into account as a remarkable
step towards the collective extension of the individual right to continuous
training to the entire population (83). In fact, by assuring the continuity of social
rights during employment transitions and regardless of the occupational status




          (78) This amount is increased up to €800 per year for a total of €8000 for beneficiaries
with disabilities or low qualification levels (source: Compte personnel de formation (CPF)-
service-public.fr).
          (79) J. Sallet, Compte personnel de formation: on vous explique tout!, in 20 Minutes Production,
article from December 2, 2019.
          (80) L. Casano, Il governo francese lancia Moncompteformation: il diritto alla formazione, su
piattaforma, in ADAPT Bulletin, 2019, 42.
          (81) A. Ruello, Démarrage encourageant pour l'application mon compte formation, in Les Echos,
article from December 20, 2019.
          (82) For a better analysis of the quantitative results of the measure, see: Ministère du
Travail de la République Française, Lancement de MonCompteFormation, press dossier, 21
November 2019 (source: https://travail-emploi.gouv.fr).
          (83) S. D’Agostino - S. Vaccaro, Nuove tutele per i lavoratori: il diritto soggettivo alla formazione.
Francia e Italia a confronto, in Professionalità Studi, 2020, III, 2, 127 ss.


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  C. VALENTI, The individual right to continuous training of workers: an analysis of best practices in the
                                       international framework


(84), continuous training has been promoted along with the empowerment of
citizens in their own professional status and future.
        In conclusion, it is significant to notice how the link between right to
training and individual changed from 2004 to 2019, switching from an
entitlement to the employment contract to an individual right for the French
citizens. Despite being taken into consideration nowadays as the only real
example of individual learning account that involves both workers and
jobseekers, the French personal accounts can be appointed as an innovative
model (85) for other countries with weak lifelong learning frameworks to strive
for (86).




         3.2. An overseas perspective on continuous training and
             individual learning accounts: the case of SkillsFuture Credit
             (SFC) in Singapore

       As noted above, the continuous changes in the global labour market
demand workforce to strengthen their resilience and flexibility by investing in
their own professional development. After all, smooth employment transitions
also depend on the improvement of adaptability – and, thus, employability –
through lifelong learning, especially now that, as stressed by many reports ( 87),
the spread of new high-skilled professional figures will further polarize the
demand of labour on the medium to long-term.
       In this respect, low-skilled and poor workers are the hardest-hit
categories by digitalisation, since they require specific and inclusive supports (88).
However, one of the most common solution adopted by policy makers often
involves the introduction of training vouchers to disadvantaged individuals (e.g.,
unemployed, low-income workers, etc.). Another similar approach involves
countering such socioeconomic inequalities by implementing individual saving

           (84) P. Vesan, Le promesse di un’utopia concreta: in Francia arriva il Conto Personale di Attività,
in Percorsi di Secondo Welfare, article from January 4, 2017.
           (85) L. Casano, Ripensare i Fondi Interprofessionali per la formazione continua: uno sguardo ai
progetti di riforma francesi, in ADAPT Bulletin, 2018, 12.
           (86) Cfr. L. Casano, Formazione e instabilità del lavoro: una sfida impossibile? I fondi bilaterali
per la formazione dei lavoratori tramite agenzia in Italia e in Francia, Franco Angeli Editore, 2013.
           (87) World Economic Forum, The Future of Jobs Report, op. cit., 3-14.
           (88) Cfr. J. Yang - C. Schneller - S. Roche, The role of higher education in promoting lifelong
learning, in UIL publication series on lifelong learning policies and strategies, 2015, 3, 17-39.


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  C. VALENTI, The individual right to continuous training of workers: an analysis of best practices in the
                                       international framework


accounts (ISAs), namely tools to accumulate and use resources for the
educational and training reasons. These latter, although positively designed to
favour disadvantaged beneficiaries, have often proven to be too demanding
regarding eligible criteria (89); that is also due to the fact that cross compliance
not only limits the scope to specific categories, but it could also discourage those
excluded from investing in their professional status. Thus, excessive difficulties
in the administration of the personal accounts can result in the creation of access
barriers and, thus, disincentives.
        In this respect, more inclusive dispositions concerning lifelong learning
can be seen in other models, especially the ones that place themselves between
individual learning accounts and individual saving accounts. This is the case of
the Singaporean learning scheme named SkillsFuture Credit (SFC), namely an
individual learning/saving account that applies to all citizens aged 25 years old
and up and provide them with a credit of S$500 for educational purposes (90).
        Such model can be taken as a best practice model for its approach to
fragile categories, since, unlike other learning accounts ( 91), it aims for the
development of skills by distributing one-off credits to all citizens on the basis
of age and providing additional funds and incentives for the most vulnerable
ones. In particular, as part of the so-called “Mid-Career Support Package”, elder
citizens (40-60 years old) were given an additional one-time contribution (92) in
order to promote career transitions and adaptability.

          (89) On this note, it is worth mentioning the Canadian ISA known as “Learn$ave”,
which was designed to encourage the personal investment of beneficiaries by tripling the value
of contributions paid into the account. To be specific, eligible individuals could accrue up to
$6.000 in credits for training and educational reasons in the three-year reference period.
However, despite the positive impact on low-skilled people, beneficiaries were subjected to
strict eligibility criteria (e.g., between 21-65 years old and not full-time PSE students, with low
income, up to $3.000 in liquid assets, and a house value below the median value of the ones in
the area) and were required to regularly save credits (at least $10 monthly for one year).
Moreover, the conditionality of such dispositions on the number of hours worked, the type of
contract applied, and the kind of beneficiary unfortunately prevent to define it as a tool to
establish an “individual right to continuous training” for the whole working-age population.
Cfr. N. Leckie - T.S. Hui - D. Tattrie - J. Robson - J.P. Voyer, Learning to Save, Saving to Learn:
Final Report of the learn$ave Individual Development Accounts Project, Social Research and
Demonstration Corporation, 2010 final report.
          (90) Cfr. P.T. Ng, SkillsFuture: The Future of Lifelong Learning in Singapore, in Future
Directions of Educational Change: Social Justice, Professional Capital, and Systems Change, edited by H.J.
Malone - S. Rincón - Gallardo - K. Kew, Routledge, 2018, 205-221.
          (91) To be fair, the Compte personnel de formation provides increased credits for
beneficiaries with disabilities or low qualification levels as well.
          (92) Unlike the first credit donation, which does not have a deadline for its use, the
additional contributions are made on 31 October 2020 and must necessarily be deployed
within 5 years.


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  C. VALENTI, The individual right to continuous training of workers: an analysis of best practices in the
                                       international framework


        Although its structure mainly resembles a sort of “lifetime voucher” for
continuous training, the SkillsFuture Credit programme still provides all
beneficiaries with an individual account, making it a hybrid model in the context
of learning schemes. Of course, further contributions to this programme are
strictly tied to economic situation of the country (e.g., fiscal position, national
budget) and the efficiency of the adopted measures (e.g., utilization rates,
participation in training programmes rates). Nonetheless, the government of
Singapore seems quite determined to pursue such lifelong learning strategy. This
is proved by the decision to confirm it and provide all eligible beneficiaries, aside
from the first opening contribution, with a one-off $500 credit top-up for their
SkillsFuture Credit accounts as of 31 December 2020. After all, this provision was
not only encouraged by the Committee for the Future of Economy (CFE) in
2016 (93), but it has also gained the support of educational institutions due to its
involvement in a series of programs concerning career guidance, job-placement,
and work-study courses.
        In addition, it is also important to mention that, as specified in the Act
No. 24/2016 of the SkillsFuture Singapore Agency, all training institutions and
partners are subject to specific requirements and conditions in order to provide
high quality learning services. Thus, citizens can access to a wide catalogue of
courses pre-approved by the Government based on their personal situation and
receive personal assistance in order to guarantee an easy research of the available
solutions. In this regard, such individual learning account managed to ensure
accessibility and simplification for the users, providing an easy-to-understand
digital profile with information concerning credit levels and chat-bots
assistance.
        Therefore, it can be said that such investment in skill development has
managed both to involve the whole population and pay greater attention to the
most vulnerable beneficiaries, improving the empowerment of citizens with
their own professional status. In fact, according to the 2018 SCG report (94), the
SkillsFuture programme has supported approximately 465.000 beneficiaries and
involved more than 12.000 businesses since its launch in 2014 (95), increasing


         (93) This commission support the Singaporean government by analysing the evolution
of the global economy and suggesting strategic policies. In particular, the key topics concern
the future of the economic fabric (markets and industries), companies’ capabilities and
innovation, jobs and marketable skills, landscape of cities, and connectivity.
         (94) Cfr. SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG), SkillsFuture 2018 Year-In-Review, report 2019.
         (95) On this point, see: M. Fung, Developing a Robust System for Upskilling and Reskilling
the Workforce: Lessons from the SkillsFuture Movement in Singapore, in Anticipating and Preparing for


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  C. VALENTI, The individual right to continuous training of workers: an analysis of best practices in the
                                       international framework


training participation in Singapore by 14% in four years and bringing it to a total
of 49% in 2019 (96).
       Surely, such individual learning account would be more effective if given
the possibility to accrue more credit through personal contribution or other
functionalities (e.g., voluntary activities). However, it still constitutes one of the
most comprehensive and efficient examples of individual right to continuous
training for the whole population at the present day. Indeed, such programme
represents a remarkable instrument to tackle the issues related to the
obsolescence of the skills and, thus, the challenges arising from the Fourth
Industrial Revolution.



         4. Conclusions

        As can be observed from the renewed interest in lifelong learning
policies, the digitalisation processes have divided countries in two main groups
according to the method adopted for reskilling and upskilling: on the one hand,
some of them have decided to leave to social parts the efforts to bring an
individual right to continuous training through collective bargaining (e.g., Italian
national collective agreement for metal workers), on the other hand, others have
decided to adopt extensive dispositions through legislative interventions (e.g.,
Compte personnel de formation, SkillsFuture Credit).
        On this point, it could be also interesting to reflect on the impact of an
individual right to continuous training for workers, especially regarding its effect
on the matter of dismissals for objective reasons. After all, the attribution of
such right to attend upskilling and reskilling programmes throughout the course
of the working life could indirectly limit the decisional power of the employers
to fire for objective reasons, given that potential incompatibilities could arise
from this provision and subsequent strengthen of the social safeguards for
dismissal.
        For example, if an employer were to fire a worker due to the futility of
the tasks or the obsolescence of the services, the employee could defend himself
by arguing that the company has not taken action to ensure the full exercise of


Emerging Skills and Jobs, Key Issues, Concerns, and Prospects, edited by B. Panth - R. Maclean, 2020,
55, 321-327.
         (96) A. Teng, Singapore Budget 2020: $500 SkillsFuture Credit top-up for Singaporeans aged 25
and above, in The Straits Times, article from February 18, 2020.


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  C. VALENTI, The individual right to continuous training of workers: an analysis of best practices in the
                                       international framework


his/her right to improve employability and skills. Thus, if that were true, the
truthfulness of the employer’s motives would suffer from the failure to comply
with the employee’s individual right to attend continuous training.
         Focusing on the above-mentioned legal frameworks, possible examples
of legal provisions regarding professional development and employer
obligations can be observed in the former “obligation d'employabilité” in France,
which, as stated by article L. 6321-1 of the Labor code, places on the employer
the responsibility to assure updated capabilities (97) and marketable skills for the
employees along the evolution of the labour market. To be specific, it can be
appointed as the obligation of guaranteeing the adaptability of workers by
providing reskilling and upskilling programmes in relation to the use of new
technologies and techniques.
         A similar perspective might be observed in the case of the “repêchage
obligation” (98) in the Italian juridical framework, since the introduction of an
individual right to continuous training by legal provision could strengthen the
defensive position of workers during dismissal proceedings. In particular, the
procedural burden known as repêchage require the employer to verify the
impossibility of assigning the employee to other tasks or positions before
proceeding with an objective dismissal (99). Thus, an employer’s negligence to
activate any reskilling or upskilling processes at the request of the worker, before
the dismissal procedure, could be considered by the judges as a failure to fulfil
the right to continuous training and, consequently, as an impediment to the
acquisition of skills useful to remain in the company and avoid a firing.
         However, it is likewise clear that such provisions could not affect and
limit the freedom of economic initiative. Thus, such assumptions on the
potential limit to dismissal should not be formulated before the introduction of
a clear “individual right to continuous training” to the whole working-age
population by legal disposition. After all, it should be first clarified who is the


           (97) On this point, see: R. Del Punta, Labour Law and the Capability Approach, in
IJCLLIR, 2016, 32, 4, 383 ss.; B. Caruso, Occupabilità, formazione e “capability” nei modelli giuridici
di regolazione dei mercati del lavoro, in DLRI, 2007, 113; S. Deakin, F. Wilkinson, “Capabilities”,
ordine spontaneo del mercato e diritti sociali, in DLM, 2000, 2.
           (98) On this point, see ex plurimis: R. Del Punta, Sulla prova dell’impossibilità del ripescaggio
nel licenziamento economico, in Giuseppe Santoro Passarelli Giurista della contemporaneità -Liber Amicorum,
edited by A.A V.V, Giappichelli, 2018, 1189-1203; M.T. Carinci, L’obbligo di ripescaggio nel
licenziamento per giustificato motivo oggettivo di tipo economico alla luce del Jobs Act, in RIDL, 2017, I,
203-240; F. Amato, Licenziamenti economici e responsabilità d'impresa: obbligo di repêchage nel
licenziamento per g.m.o. e tutela della professionalità del lavoratore, in RCDL, 2006, 7 ss.
           (99) Also considering other suitable professional positions inside the company.


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  C. VALENTI, The individual right to continuous training of workers: an analysis of best practices in the
                                       international framework


subject responsible to fulfil such worker’s right, i.e., if the employer or the State
itself.
        Returning to the main subject, it can be stated that some of the challenges
arising from the evolution of the labour market can be initially tackled by
entitling an individual right to the whole population and providing a strong
safety net of social protections to workers with direct subsidies for occupational
purposes. After all, new generations are experiencing a recent increase in
fragmentation of their working lives and, therefore, require individual labour
rights to be a portable provision through different employments, as often
stressed in the transitional labour markets (TLM) theory. In particular, this latter
suggests the importance of considering the labour market by a social
perspective, providing equal opportunities and right to all working age
individuals despite their occupational status in order to achieve full employment.
        Nonetheless, the implementation of an individual right to continuous
training for the whole working-age population can be surely achieved through
different tools, although individual learning accounts are getting acknowledged
more and more as remarkable ways to improve continuous training and
promote both adaptability and autonomy for the beneficiaries ( 100). In fact,
policy makers can rely not only on individual learning accounts, but also on
individual saving accounts, vouchers for educational purposes, and other
instruments (101).
        In this respect, broadly speaking, criticism can also be made against
provisions introduced through legislative intervention, such as individual
learning accounts, individual saving accounts for training, and training vouchers
(102). This occurs when such measures are limited to few and peculiar groups of
beneficiaries instead of others equally needy (jobseekers, disadvantaged persons,
low-level educated adults, etc.) (103).
        Moreover, most of these measures often risk developing structural flaws
with regard to the financing mechanisms; for instance, subsidies and vouchers
for educational or training purposes that require further financing from the

          (100) Cfr. Cedefop, Empowering adults through upskilling and reskilling pathways. Volume 1:
adult population with potential for upskilling and reskilling, Cedefop reference series, 2020, 112.
          (101) OECD, Individual Learning Accounts: Panacea or Pandora's Box?, op. cit. , 47-54.
          (102) These three models are mainly aimed at providing funds for upskilling and
reskilling periods to the eligible beneficiaries. On this point, see: Cedefop, Individual learning
accounts, Cedefop Panorama Series, 2009, 163, 1-20.
          (103) On this point, it is important to remember the case of the Italian “Relocation
check”, which, after its reform by art. 9 of Law No. 26/2019, only covered the beneficiaries
of the “Guaranteed Minimum Income”. In recent times, such provision has been repealed by Law
no. 178/2020, extending the categories of potential beneficiaries eligible for the check.


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  C. VALENTI, The individual right to continuous training of workers: an analysis of best practices in the
                                       international framework


beneficiaries in order to be really effective have proven to be unappealing
despite the tax deductions and reductions introduced to stimulate workers to
contribute and pay for their own learning pathways ( 104). Thus, another relevant
issue revolves around the funding mechanism of skill development policies, in
particular in relation to the involved individuals. Indeed, some solutions
promote funding apportionment in percentage between government,
employers, and workers, given that all of these parts are equally interested in the
development of skills and improvement of the economic fabric.
        However, despite the fairness of the repartition, an excessive burden on
the beneficiaries can still generates a disincentive and create access barrier for
low-income individuals. Thus, the funding mechanism must be designed in
order to assure a better fungibility, especially from low-skilled and low-income
adults who are the most disadvantaged individuals and need to have an easy
access to the lifelong learning solutions.
        So, it is vital for policy makers to agree on basic standards when it comes
to the fight against skill mismatch ( 105) and misalignments in the allocation of
labour. To be specific, policy makers should still be responsible for the provision
of adequate continuous training opportunities, working along with social parts
and focusing on the removal of limitation to the accessibility. For this reason,
policy makers also need to take into consideration the correct extent of guidance
and support to provide to beneficiaries. For example, the future of the Compte
personnel de formation in France experienced a solid improvement and increase in
users after the introduction of Mon Compte Formation, which has undoubtedly
boosted not only the number of accesses to the accounts, but also the reliability
of training providers.
        The same can be said for the Singaporean disposition, which decided to
rely on chat-bots and online tech support to encourage the usage of the
accounts. These experiences demonstrate that simplification of access
procedures and management support for citizens by the government are key
elements in increasing effective participation in the instrument. In any case, such
reforms are still in motion (106) and, despite the already-improved dispositions,


         (104) Moreover, the lack of a detailed guidance for training programmes can often
undermine the overall efficiency.
         (105) OECD, Increasing Adult Learning Participation: Learning from Successful Reforms, Getting
Skills Right, OECD Publishing, 2020.
         (106) Regarding the French case, see: B. Gazier - J.F. Le Rouf - A. Lopez - T. Pech - B.
Palier - M. Richer, Le bel avenir du Compte personnel d'activité, in Terra Nova, article from February
16, 2016.


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  C. VALENTI, The individual right to continuous training of workers: an analysis of best practices in the
                                       international framework


could evolve in an even more comprehensive measure in accordance with the
future needs of the labour market.
        In conclusion, despite the different approaches to continuous training,
the introduction of an individual right to continuous training definitely needs to
take into consideration not only the above-mentioned key issues related to the
viability of the dispositions, but also the involvement of all social parts in the
definition of its basic standards. The cooperation of both trade unions and
employer association is indeed crucial to solve the main issues related to the
practical implementation of such right. By doing so, it could be possible to face
the digitalisation processes with a firmer stance on lifelong learning (107),
providing comprehensive measures of continuous training that could contribute
to assure smooth transition between different employment and strengthen
workers employability.




         (107) For a better analysis on the role of training as employment measure, see: A. Rota,
Sull’Accordo quadro europeo in tema di digitalizzazione del lavoro, in LLI, 2020, 6, 2; B. Caruso - R.
Del Punta - T. Treu, Manifesto per un Diritto del lavoro sostenibile, in CSDLE “Massimo D’Antona”,
20 maggio 2020, 33-34; A. Salento, Digitalizzazione delle imprese e trasformazione delle competenze.
Quadro analitico e riscontri empirici, in Labor, 2019, 2, 131-142; A. Loffredo, Diritto alla formazione e
lavoro. Realtà e retorica, Cacucci, 2012, 100 ss.


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  C. VALENTI, The individual right to continuous training of workers: an analysis of best practices in the
                                       international framework


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