Towards a high-quality apprenticeship system: European standards, decent work and multi-level governance. The case of the Tuscany Region

Abstract

In recent years, the quality of apprenticeships has become a central theme in the construction of vocational education and training systems capable of responding coherently to changes in the labour market and promoting decent employment conditions. The Recommendation of the Council of the European Union on a European Framework for Quality and Effective Apprenticeships (2018) defined fourteen benchmarks aimed at ensuring common standards for learning and work, recognising quality as a prerequisite for the relevance and effectiveness of dual pathways. In a complementary perspective, the International Labour Organisation’s Recommendation on quality apprenticeships has expanded the European concept of quality to include the dimension of decent work, with particular attention to the rights of non-discrimination, health and safety and fair remuneration of apprentices. Quality, therefore, cannot be reduced to a mere verification of conformity, but is configured as systemic coherence between training objectives, contents, methodologies and learning outcomes. The contribution, developed as a conceptual and governance analysis based on a regional case, interprets quality as a multi-level coordination lever capable of harmonising apprenticeship policies and practices between the different institutional levels, strengthening transparency, mutual trust and continuous improvement. Within the framework of European (EQAVET and Recommendation 2018) and international (ILO Recommendation 208/2023) references, the article analyses the case of the Tuscany Region, which, in 2023, approved its Apprenticeship Quality Charter (DGR 1165/2023). This tool, conceived as an operational framework for the design, monitoring and evaluation of pathways, aims to strengthen coherence between actors and systems, promoting organisational learning and co-responsibility between training institutions, businesses and social partners.