Estonian Human Development Report
Estonian Human Development Report - Eesti Koostöö Kogu
Estonian Human Development Report - Eesti Koostöö Kogu
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family members is considered to be one of the main factors<br />
inhibiting women’s employment and gender equality<br />
in the labour market. The availability of childcare service<br />
has continually been a problem in Estonia. In 2002–2008,<br />
40–50% of local governments had kindergarten waiting<br />
lists (Ainsaar, Soo 2008). In 2004, almost 16,000 children<br />
were on kindergarten waiting lists (Kask, Rummo-Laes et<br />
al 2005). Also, kindergartens were overcrowded – there<br />
are almost 2,500 more children in kindergartens than<br />
there are normative places (Statistics Estonia database). In<br />
2006, 18% of children under three received childcare services<br />
and 85% of older children received at least one hour,<br />
but the majority over 30 hours (Leetmaa, Karu 2008). The<br />
averages of EU countries were 26% and 84% respectively<br />
(Eurostat 2008). The objective of the European Union for<br />
2010 is to provide childcare services to 33% of children<br />
under the age of three and to 90% of those over three.<br />
In addition to formal childcare services, a third of<br />
children under three were in the care of grandparents and<br />
other people, seldom professional childminders and then<br />
only for 2.5 hours per week on average (Leetmaa, Karu<br />
2008). Therefore, parents are those who primarily mind<br />
small, under-three-year-olds, which is clearly discernible<br />
in employment statistics – the employment rate of women<br />
with under-six-year-olds in 2006 was 25.7 percentage<br />
points lower than that of childless women (the EU average<br />
is 13.6 percentage points) (European Commission 2008).<br />
Lifelong learning<br />
In addition to the training of unemployed people, an<br />
important part of the concept of flexicurity involves<br />
the training of workers. As shown in last year’s <strong>Human</strong><br />
<strong>Development</strong> <strong>Report</strong>, Estonia ranks among the bottom<br />
third of the EU member states with respect to adult education<br />
or about 6.5% of adults in Estonia participated in<br />
lifelong learning (<strong>Human</strong> <strong>Development</strong> <strong>Report</strong>, 2007).<br />
Below, we make a closer examination of participation<br />
in adult education, by using two surveys that were conducted<br />
recently – Adult Education in Enterprises 2006<br />
(and a similar survey from 2000 for comparison) and the<br />
2007 <strong>Estonian</strong> Adult Education Survey (personal survey).<br />
The primary focus of these analyses was the participation<br />
of 20–64-year-old employed persons in training<br />
and the provision of training in companies with at least<br />
10 employees 44 .<br />
Participation in training. Of the 315,000 men<br />
included in the sample, 134,000 (42.7%) had received<br />
some sort of training; the corresponding indicators for<br />
women were 314,000 and 166,000 (52.8%). In addition,<br />
especially in the case of women, it is people with higher<br />
qualifications and levels of education that received training.<br />
Women with low qualifications, who are actually in<br />
the worst position in the labour market, receive comparatively<br />
less training. A good example are the layoffs at<br />
Narva Kreenholm this year, where hundreds of people<br />
who lost their jobs due to the closing of the enterprise did<br />
not benefit from active labour market policies until after<br />
the company had closed, and they were already unemployed.<br />
Unfortunately, there is no system of preventive<br />
Table 6.4.3. The workers that have participated in adult<br />
education by gender and occupation<br />
Participants in<br />
Total<br />
adult education<br />
20–64-year-olds, % Men Women Men Women<br />
Total 100% 100% 100% 100%<br />
Managers, professionals* 32% 48% 43% 63%<br />
Other white-collar workers** 2% 8% … 8%<br />
Blue-collar workers *** 66% 45% 55% 29%<br />
*Managers, professionals, legislators, senior officials and managers;<br />
middle-level professional and technicians, officials.<br />
** Other white-collar workers; officials.<br />
*** Blue-collar workers: service and sales personnel; skilled agricultural<br />
and fishery workers; skilled workers and craftspeople; equipment and<br />
machinery operators; unskilled workers; armed forces.<br />
Source: <strong>Estonian</strong> Labour Force Survey.<br />
Table 6.4.4. The participation of 20–64-year-olds in<br />
adult training during the last 12 months (Gender, educational<br />
level, and training provider)<br />
2007<br />
Ratio (total<br />
people completing<br />
training=100),<br />
%<br />
training in Estonia, which would deal with people who<br />
are about to become unemployed.<br />
When people are asked their reasons for participating<br />
in training, the primary reason is clearly their jobs –<br />
training is needed primarily for their jobs. Of women, 86%<br />
of the training participants thought so; among men, the<br />
indicator was even greater – 90%.<br />
Among men, 30–39-year-olds are the most active<br />
training participants; while among women, it is both 30–<br />
39 and 40–49-year olds, with about 50% of the workers<br />
in the corresponding age groups participating in training<br />
(Figure 6.4.6.).<br />
It is principally large enterprises that deal with worker<br />
training (250 and more workers), with over 90% of these<br />
companies dealing with worker training (Figure 6.4.7.).<br />
The average indicator was near 70%, with small businesses<br />
around 60%. If the sample had included micro enterprises,<br />
which are actually most numerous today on the entrepreneurial<br />
landscape, the average indicator would have been<br />
significantly lower.<br />
Summary<br />
Total training<br />
providers<br />
In the workplacetöökoht<br />
School, educational<br />
institutions,<br />
training<br />
company<br />
Other<br />
agency,<br />
company<br />
Nonprofit<br />
organization<br />
Men 100.0 35.7 40.2 14.3 6.1 ..<br />
In summary, I would like to stress that while the role of<br />
social partners in the regulations of issues related to the<br />
labour market is relatively modest in Estonia our corresponding<br />
governmental regulations are still relatively<br />
Other training<br />
organizer<br />
Women 100.0 27.1 47.4 11.9 9.0 4.6<br />
Comment: If the person participated in several trainings during the last 12 months.<br />
Source: Statistics Estonia<br />
44<br />
The general sample of the survey comprised companies with at least 10 employees that were included in the commercial register as of<br />
2005 and were engaged in a principal activity related to the survey .<br />
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