Continuing Vocational Training Survey (enterprise survey) (CVTS)

The survey on continuing vocational training in enterprises is an international survey conducted every five years in all European Union countries. The statistical activity is commissioned by Eurostat. The aim of the survey is to collect information on the organization of continuing training, employees' participation in continuing training, and expenditures on continuing training in Estonian companies.

Number and share (among all enterprises) of enterprises that organised continuing vocational training/training courses, by primary economic activity and size class;
number and share (among all enterprises' employees) of employees in enterprises that organised continuing vocational training/training courses, by primary economic activity and size class;
number and share (of total hours worked in all enterprises) of hours worked in enterprises that organised continuing vocational training, by primary economic activity and size class;
number and share (of all enterprises) of enterprises that plan labour force needs and employee skills, by primary economic activity and size class;
number and share (of all enterprises) of enterprises with a training budget, training plan, and training center, by primary economic activity and size class.

Estonian Classification of Economic Activities (EMTAK 2008) based on NACE Rev. 2.
The survey covers the following NACE Rev. 2 categories:
B – mining and quarrying;
C10–C12 – manufacture of food products, beverages and tobacco products;
C13–C15 – manufacture of textiles and wearing apparel; manufacture of leather and related products;
C17–C18 – manufacture of paper and paper products; printing and reproduction of recorded media;
C19–C23 – manufacture of coke and refined petroleum products; manufacture of chemicals and chemical products; manufacture of basic pharmaceutical products and pharmaceutical preparations; manufacture of rubber and plastic products; manufacture of other non-metallic mineral products;
C24–C25 – manufacture of basic metals; manufacture of fabricated metal products, except machinery and equipment;
C26–C28, C33 – manufacture of computer, electronic and optical products; manufacture of electrical equipment; manufacture of machinery and equipment n.e.c.; repair and installation of machinery and equipment;
C29–C30 – manufacture of motor vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers; manufacture of other transport equipment;
C16, C31–C32 – manufacture of wood and of products of wood and cork, except furniture; manufacture of articles of straw and plaiting materials; manufacture of furniture; other manufacturing;
D–E – electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply; water supply; sewerage, waste management and remediation activities;
F – construction;
G45 – wholesale and retail trade and repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles;
G46 – wholesale trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles;
G47 – retail trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles;
H – transportation and storage;
I – accommodation and food service activities;
J – information and communication;
K64–K65 – financial service activities, except insurance and pension funding; insurance, reinsurance and pension funding, except compulsory social security;
K66 – activities auxiliary to financial services and insurance activities;
L, M, N, R, S – real estate activities; professional, scientific and technical activities; administrative and support service activities; arts, entertainment and recreation; other service activities.

Enterprises engaged in the following activities are surveyed:
mining and quarrying;
manufacture of food products, beverages and tobacco products;
manufacture of textiles and wearing apparel; manufacture of leather and related products;
manufacture of paper and paper products; printing and reproduction of recorded media;
manufacture of coke and refined petroleum products; manufacture of chemicals and chemical products; manufacture of basic pharmaceutical products and pharmaceutical preparations; manufacture of rubber and plastic products; manufacture of other non-metallic mineral products;
manufacture of basic metals; manufacture of fabricated metal products, except machinery and equipment;
manufacture of computer, electronic and optical products; manufacture of electrical equipment; manufacture of machinery and equipment n.e.c.; repair and installation of machinery and equipment;
manufacture of motor vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers; manufacture of other transport equipment;
manufacture of wood and of products of wood and cork, except furniture; manufacture of articles of straw and plaiting materials; manufacture of furniture; other manufacturing;
electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply; water supply; sewerage, waste management and remediation activities;
construction;
wholesale and retail trade and repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles;
wholesale trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles;
retail trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles;
transportation and storage;
accommodation and food service activities;
information and communication;
financial service activities, except insurance and pension funding; insurance, reinsurance and pension funding, except compulsory social security;
activities auxiliary to financial services and insurance activities;
real estate activities; professional, scientific and technical activities; administrative and support service activities; arts, entertainment and recreation; other service activities.

Continuing vocational training (CVT) – part of non-formal learning that is targeted and organised learning based on a curriculum outside formal education. It is divided into CVT courses and other forms of CVT.

Continuing vocational training (CVT) course – CVT courses are typically clearly separated from the active workplace (learning takes place in locations specially assigned for learning, e.g. a classroom or training centre). They show a high degree of organisation (time, space and content) by a trainer or a training institution. The content is designed for a group of learners (e.g. a curriculum exists). Two distinct types of CVT courses are identified: internal CVT courses and external CVT courses. Internal CVT courses are principally designed and managed by the enterprise itself.

Enterprise – consists of one or more companies (public limited company, private limited company, limited partnership, general partnership, commercial association) or branches of foreign companies or sole proprietors

Number of employees – the number of all the employees in the enterprise regardless of the length of their working week.
Employees include:
‒ the owners working in the enterprise and their family members working without pay;
‒ full-time or part-time employees who are listed as paid employees;
‒ persons who work outside the enterprise (e.g. marketing personnel) but who belong to the staff of the enterprise and are listed as paid employees;
‒ persons who are temporarily absent from work (on sick leave, paid leave, study leave, strike, etc.);
‒ seasonal workers, apprentices (trainees) and out-workers who are listed as paid employees;
‒ persons working under a contract for services.
The number of employees does not include employees of other enterprises who operate in the enterprise in question by performing orders, nor the persons who are absent from work for a long period (on parental leave, in compulsory military service, etc.), who have been absent and have not received pay throughout the reference period.

Number of hours worked ‒ the total number of actual hours worked by all employees of the enterprise during the reference period. In addition to regular working hours, overtime is included. Excluded from the calculation are paid but non-working hours (such as vacations, sick leave, etc.), as well as lunch breaks, time spent commuting to and from work, time spent in formal education (degree programs), vocational training (courses, workshops), and any other time not directly considered working hours. The working hours of apprentices and interns are also excluded.
For example, in 2020, the enterprise employed 10 full-time workers. They worked for 11 months in the year and took 1 month of vacation. On average, there are 168 working hours in a month. Let's assume each employee participated in training for an average of 3 workdays during the year. Thus, the total number of hours worked by the enterprise’s employees in 2020 would be (10 x 11 x 168) – (10 x 3 x 8) = 18,240 hours.

Principal activity of an enterprise – the activity of an enterprise that consumes the most working hours. The principal activity of an enterprise is coded according to a 5-diggit code of the Estonian Classification of Economic Activities (EMTAK).

Other forms of continuing vocational training – the type of training that is typically related to active work and the workplace, but it can also include participation (instruction) in conferences, trade fairs, and similar events for the purpose of learning. These other forms of CVT are often characterised by a degree of self-organisation (time, space, and content) by an individual learner or by a group of learners. The content is often tailored according to the learners’ individual needs in the workplace.

Participant of the CVT courses – a person who has participated at least in one continuing vocational training (CVT) course during the reference period. Each person can be counted only once regardless of the number of times he or she has participated in the CVT courses. Thus, if an employee has taken part in two external CVT courses and one internal CVT course, he or she will be considered as one participant.

Training centre – a training unit with training personnel, training premises, and training equipment. The training centre can be located within or outside the enterprise, or it can be shared with other enterprises. The ownership of the training centre is not important, as some enterprises may run a training centre jointly with other enterprises without actual ownership.

Training plan – a written training plan or programme that covers continuing vocational training (CVT) in the enterprise.
The training plan may include:
objectives of the training activities;
the planned proportion of different forms and types of training;
priority topics and target groups;
information about the trainer;
the scope of the training, schedule, and location;
planned resources.

Enterprise

Enterprises with at least 10 employees whose primary economic activity is:
mining and quarrying (B);
manufacture of food products, beverages and tobacco products (C10–C12);
manufacture of textiles and wearing apparel; manufacture of leather and related products (C13–C15);
manufacture of paper and paper products; printing and reproduction of recorded media (C17–C18);
manufacture of coke and refined petroleum products; manufacture of chemicals and chemical products; manufacture of basic pharmaceutical products and pharmaceutical preparations; manufacture of rubber and plastic products; manufacture of other non-metallic mineral products (C19–C23);
manufacture of basic metals; manufacture of fabricated metal products, except machinery and equipment (C24–C25);
manufacture of computer, electronic and optical products; manufacture of electrical equipment; manufacture of machinery and equipment n.e.c.; repair and installation of machinery and equipment (C26–C28, C33);
manufacture of motor vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers; manufacture of other transport equipment (C29–C30);
manufacture of wood and of products of wood and cork, except furniture; manufacture of articles of straw and plaiting materials; manufacture of furniture; other manufacturing (C16, C31–C32);
electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply; water supply; sewerage, waste management and remediation activities (D–E);
construction (F);
wholesale and retail trade and repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles (G45);
wholesale trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles (G46);
retail trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles (G47);
transportation and storage (H);
accommodation and food service activities (I);
information and communication (J);
financial service activities, except insurance and pension funding; insurance, reinsurance and pension funding, except compulsory social security (K64–K65);
activities auxiliary to financial services and insurance activities (K66);
real estate activities; professional, scientific and technical activities; administrative and support service activities; arts, entertainment and recreation; other service activities (L, M, N, R, S).

Estonia as a whole

1999, 2005, 2010, 2015, 2020

Not applicable

Official Statistics Act;

Regulation (EC) No 1552/2005 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 September 2005 on statistics relating to vocational training in enterprises (Text with EEA relevance);

Regulation (EC) No 452/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 2008 concerning the production and development of statistics on education and lifelong learning (Text with EEA relevance)

None

News releases can be found on Statistics Estonia's website in the section News. There was no news release on the latest survey.

A Eurostat article on the survey of continuing vocational training in enterprises can be read here: "How many enterprises provide CVT to their staff?".

Not published

Data are published in the statistical database under the subject areas Social life / Education / Adult education / Continuing vocational training in enterprises in all tables.

The database tables (HTT01 to HTT18) have been viewed 136 times in 2024, 95 times in 2023, 180 times in 2022, 130 times in 2021, 333 times in 2020, 283 times in 2019 and 205 times in 2018. Each table view is counted as a separate viewing. This is based on the database URLs, which show that the data have been selected and the table formed.

The dissemination of data collected for the purpose of producing official statistics is guided by the requirements provided for in § 33, § 34, § 35, § 36, § 38 of the Official Statistics Act.
Access to microdata and anonymisation of microdata are regulated by Statistics Estonia’s procedure for dissemination of confidential data for scientific purposes.

Two datasets of microdata are sent to Eurostat via EDAMIS: before imputation and after imputation. A quality report is also completed.

The metadata related to the statistical activity were viewed 39 times (1 January 2024 – 31 December 2024). This figure does not represent the number of viewers, as the metadata may have been viewed multiple times by a single user.

Eurostat's manual: Continuing Vocational Training Survey.

A proper quality report has been submitted to Eurostat.

This is a combined sample survey. Most of the data are collected via a questionnaire; the number of employees is prefilled using employment register data.

Every 5 years

Data are collected using the questionnaire 1313 "Continuing vocational training survey". The questionnaire is available on Statistics Estonia's website.

The questionnaire can be completed in three languages – Estonian, English, Russian – in the electronic data submission environment VVIS. The questionnaire is designed to be completed independently by the respondent in an online environment and includes instructions and checks. A small number of enterprises were given the option of submitting data on paper.

The questionnaire is divided into six sections: 1) general information about the enterprise, general information about the competencies of employees and skills and knowledge that need to be developed; 2) forms of training; 3) participants in continuing vocational training, content of the trainings, organisers, and training costs; 4) quality and results of continuing training; 5) factors limiting the provision of continuing training and non-provision of continuing training; 6) training of interns.
Each subsequent section opens once the previous one is completed.

If the completion of the form is interrupted, it can be continued later. To finalise, the completed form must be confirmed; after confirmation, the form cannot be reopened.

When completing the questionnaire, the respondent may receive error messages. Errors are divided into hard and soft ones.

Hard error – data are illogical or mandatory information is missing. Such an error definitely needs to be corrected. The respondent cannot proceed in the questionnaire before correcting the error.

Soft error – more of a warning. Such an error needs to be reviewed.

The respondent can contact customer support in case of any questions that may arise when filling in the questionnaire. For this reason, training is provided to customer support staff and the data collection team before the start of the survey during which the content of the survey is discussed and the questionnaire is reviewed together.

If respondents fail to provide data by the deadline, they will be contacted by means of notification letters and telephone calls and arrangements will be made.

Several automatic checks were implemented in the web questionnaire to prevent erroneous answers. Data were also validated in Eurostat's data transmission program EDAMIS in order to conduct field level and record level checks. Field level checks monitor whether valid codes and ranges are used and check the consistency between a variable entry and allowed entries, whereas record level checks test the consistency between variables for a single enterprise record.

In cases of missing or unreliable data, imputation of estimates is used according to predefined rules. Eurostat has specified core variables that must not be imputed and key variables for which imputation is recommended.

Weights for statistical units are calculated and used to extrapolate the sample survey data to the entire population. The data from selectively surveyed enterprises are expanded to the selectively studied part of the population separately within each stratum. The expansion factor is taken as the ratio of the total number of the general population in the respective stratum to the number of responding units. The survey uses 120 strata formed based on two main characteristics: primary economic activity and enterprise size class by the number of employees.

Microdata are aggregated to the level necessary for analysis. This includes summation of data according to the primary economic activity and enterprise size group.

In the 2020 survey, a total of 11 variables were imputed. The highest imputation rate was 7.6%.

Not applicable

Not applicable