One in three employees do company course

In 2005, 35 percent of private sector employees participated in some form of company training. Together companies in the private sector spent around 2 billion euro on company training and courses. This is 1.4 percent of the labour costs.

More men than women do company courses

In the companies reporting in this survey, 37 percent of men and 31 percent of women did some form of company training. Together they totalled more than 1.3 million employees, 0.9 million men and 0.4 million women.
In small companies 26 percent of employees did a course. In companies with more than 500 employees this was 46 percent.

Participation in company training, 2005

Highest rates in mineral extraction and banking

The number of people doing courses varies strongly between sectors of business and industry. Mineral extraction and banking top the list of participation rates,  with 66 percent, and at financial institutions 56 percent of employees take part in some form of company training. In the hotel and restaurant sector, only one in five employees go on company courses.

Total spending on courses and training amounted to nearly 2 billion euro. This is 1.4 percent of the total labour costs. Small companies spent 1.1 percent of labour costs on training. In large companies this is twice as high. The largest amount, nearly 2 600 euro per employee on average, was spent in mineral extraction. The smallest amount in the hotels and restaurants sector: 120 euro per employee.

Spending on company training per employee, 2005

Participation lower than in 1999

The percentage of employees who participated in some form of company training in 2005 was substantially lower than in 1999 (41 percent). The amount spent per employee was about the same in 2005 as in 1999, at 510 euro. The total amount did account for less of total labour costs in 2005 than in 1999: 1.4 percent and 1.7 percent respectively.

Jack Claessen and Jeroen Nieuweboer