Background:

The Fehmarnbelt link – On 26 March and 18 June 2009, the Danish andGerman parliaments decided in favour of constructing a link across theFehmarnbelt. Femern A/S, a company owned by the Danish Ministry ofTransport, has been entrusted with the task of designing and planning this linkbetween Germany and Denmark over the Fehmarnbelt. The company is partof the Danish state-owned firm Sund & Bælt Holding A/S, which hasexperience in the field, having built the fixed links across the Great Belt andthe Öresund. On its suggestion, seven of the eight parliamentary groups in theDanish parliament agreed on an immersed tunnel as the preferred technicaloption. This option will now be used as the basis for further planning and anenvironmental impact assessment. After planning is complete, a building lawwill be presented for approval to the Danish parliament, which will then makethe final decision on whether to build a tunnel or a bridge. This is due to takeplace in 2013. The aim is to finish the 19 km link by 2020. The link willstrengthen Scandinavia’s connection to the rest of Europe and create a directlink between the Scandinavian countries, northern Germany and the easterncountries on the Baltic Sea that have shown such dynamic growth in recentyears. The main aim of the combined road and rail link is to environmentallyand economically improve transport conditions for goods and passengers.1

Labour market:

The six-year construction phase (one year start-up phase, five years ofconstruction) is expected to require between 6,000 and 7,000 workers peryear.

Project idea: Cross-border qualification-based apprenticeship during the construction

of the Fehmarnbelt link.

Parallel to the construction of the Fehmarnbelt link, I propose training, underDanish and German law, 150 to 200 young apprentices each year. Thetraining period should provide the apprentices with (additional) Danish,German and English language skills. One way of implementing the trainingwould be to found a training and qualification company which would employthe apprentices and would organise, during the construction phase, the three-

3and-a-half-year apprenticeship in all trades and business sectors in thecompany and the businesses involved in building the link.Ideally, the apprenticeship should be developed in cooperation with theGerman and Danish chambers of crafts and chambers of industry andcommerce. This is because the project aims to provide the apprentices withbilingual training that will qualify them for the common labour market.Given the wish for greater cross-border cooperation, the human dimension willplay a fundamental role even during the construction of the link. It would alsobe possible to integrate qualification measures for young people who are onlyable to complete a shorter period of vocational training. With regard to theeconomic opportunities that the construction of the Fehmarnbelt link wouldcreate, the German Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and UrbanDevelopment and the Danish Ministry of Transport and Energy commissioneda report on the regional effects of a fixed link across the Fehmarnbelt. It cameto the following conclusion: “The fixed link will offer opportunities for furtherdevelopment within a range of different activities. Of these opportunities themost promising are evaluated to be: Construction, which will be boostedduring the construction phase if the proper precautions are taken in duetime.(...)”2

Target group:The

apprenticeship should provide young people primarily from Denmark andGermany with training in the trades involved in the construction of the link.However, to get more than just two EU Member States involved, the groupcould be expanded to include young people from the Baltic States.

Numbers:

Each training year should take on between 150 and 200 new apprentices. Thiswould mean that around 600 to 800 young people would receive advancedvocational training over the entire construction period.

Objectives:

The “FBQ – Fördern – Bilden – Qualifizieren” project is designed tostrengthen, during the construction of the fixed link across the Fehmarnbelt,socio-economic relationships in the region by harnessing the growth effectsthat will result from building the link. The FBQ project is primarily concernedwith the future of young people in the Fehmarnbelt region, which is why it aims

4to provide young people with transnational training. The exact objectives of theinitiative are as follows:Providing transnational vocational training and qualification that leadsto a multifunctional qualification and international employmentperspectives with training certificates recognised in Germany andDenmark; ensuring a high level of transnational mobility throughmultilingualism and multicultural competence.Providing young people with training in skilled occupations for the newtransnational joint economic regionDisseminating Danish and German training standards in the Baltic SearegionStrengthening cooperation between trainers of different nationalitiesTransferring knowledge and competences, boosting collaborationMutually recognising vocational qualificationsCompleting a unique, joint apprenticeship project – the FehmarnbeltlinkCreating high-quality apprenticeships and jobsDeveloping a well-trained, flexible and mobile workforce, and a highdegree of inclusionMaking the region more competitive and attractive by achieving a highlevel of employmentA study commissioned by the Danish Ministry of Transport and by the GermanFederal Ministry of Transport on the macroeconomic benefits of a fixed linkacross the Fehmarnbelt came to the following conclusion: “The largest growtheffects in relative terms are found close to the fixed link. The regions ofLübeck and Kiel in Germany get a share of the dynamic effects from theFehmarn Belt that is about 4 times as high as their regional shares of GermanGDP. And the region of Lolland-Falster in Denmark gets a share of theFehmarn Belt effects that exceeds its share of Danish GDP by more than afactor of 4. These regions are in relative terms the most affected regions inEurope from the fixed link across the Fehmarn Belt.”3

Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Housing: Economy-wide Benefits.Dynamic and Strategic Effects of a FehmarnBelt Fixed Link(accessed for the present translation on 14 February 2011 at 1:45 p.m.)http://www.bmvbs.de/cae/servlet/contentblob/34670/publicationFile/935/economy-wide-benefits-dynamic-and-strategic-effects-of-a-fehmarn-belt-fixed-link-june-2004.pdf,Page 6, June 2004 (accessed for the present translation on 14 February2011 at 1:45 p.m.)

5Given the growth effect that will result from constructing the link, the “FBQ –Fördern – Bilden – Qualifizieren” project can provide young people in theregion with a solid foundation for their professional future while also boostingpotential for domestic growth.

Content:

Time and again, Denmark’s and Germany’s failure to recognise vocationalqualifications gained in the other country is singled out as an obstacle tomobility and therefore to regional growth. Lack of language skills in the otherlanguage also often creates mobility problems for job seekers. A three-year orthree-and-a-half-year vocational training course that conforms to Danish andGerman law and develops Danish, German and English language skills wouldhelp to combat these problems. It would generate a variety of positive socio-economic effects. The project could also offer qualification measures fordisadvantaged young people and continuing education schemes for trainersand other employees.

Professions:

A report compiled by Femern A/S on the description of possible productionsites shows a list with the percentage distribution of types of labour forconstructing the Fehmarnbelt link. It is based on the distribution of theworkforce in the construction of the Öresund Bridge.4

Framework:

There are two possible organisational forms for implementing the project.

Participating companies commit to providing vocational training on their

own initiative

As part of the call for tenders for the different trades, companies could beobliged to make a certain number of apprenticeships available and then toorganise the training themselves.

Alternative in order to reduce the organisational burden

By submitting a bid, all companies agree to the condition in the call for tendersthat requires them to participate in the training and qualification company thatwill be founded. This company will be the contract partner for the youngpeople, will employ the full-time trainers, will organise the vocational trainingwithin its own infrastructure and will plan placements and training at thecompanies involved in the construction of the Fehmarnbelt link.

Financing:

The companies involved in the construction of the link will finance theapprenticeships created by the project. A variety of programmes at theEuropean and national level could provide opportunities for co-financing andpromoting apprenticeships.

EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region

5This strategy aims to coordinate action by Member States, regions,pan-Baltic organisations, financing organisations and NGOs topromotebalanceddevelopmentintheregion.Thefour

7oJEREMIE – Joint European Resources for Micro to MediumEnterprisesoJASPERS – Joint Assistance to Support Projects inEuropean Regions

Leonardo da Vinci Programme

6The Leonardo da Vinci Programme is the European Union’sprogramme for vocational education and training. It supportstransnational cooperation between stakeholders involved in thisfield by funding stays abroad for vocational training and bydeveloping innovative additional qualifications and teaching andlearning materials in European partnerships. The new Leonardo daVinci programme is committed to achieving the objectives of theLisbon and Copenhagen Processes. It supports reform plans suchas developing the European Credit system for VocationalEducation and Training (ECVET) and the European QualificationsFramework (EQF). It is also the biggest programme that fundsstays abroad for vocational training.

INTERREG IV A: Fehmarnbelt

7On 21 December 2007 the European Commission approved theprogramme INTERREG IV A Fehmarnbeltregion 2007-2013, whichcovers the Danish region of Sjælland and the German districts ofPlön and Ostholstein and the Hanseatic City of Lübeck. Individualprojects can receive INTERREG funding for up to 60 percent of theeligible costs, with a maximum limit of €400,000.

The European Social Fund (ESF)

8One focus of the new ESF funding period will be transnationalmeasures. In particular this will involve promoting mutual learningbetween participants from EU Member States and using modelprojects to test transnational instruments. The idea is to find outhow gaining practical work experience in other EU countries can6

National Agency Education for Europe at the Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training: Leonado da Vincihttp://www.nabibb.de/ueber_leonardo_da_vinci_179.html#393(accessed on 4 March 2010 at 2:30 p.m.)7Fehmarnbelt Region: Fördermöglichkeiten (funding opportunities)http://www.fehmarnbeltregion.net/de/supportpossibilities/requirements/(accessed on 4 March 2010 at 2:50 p.m.)8Europäischer Sozialfonds für Deutschland (European Social Fund for Germany): Programme der neuenFörderperiode 2007-2013 (programmes in the new funding period 2007-2013)http://www.esf.de/portal/generator/656/programme__2007-2013.html(accessed on 4 March 2010 at 3:00 p.m.)

8help to integrate people into working life. Furthermore, the fundingperiod will aim to strengthen European thinking at the project level.In line with the European Commission’s initial considerations, theESF should also be able to fund worker mobility in the future. TheESF is currently funding the Zukunftsprogramm Arbeit (futurestrategy for work) of the Land Government of Schleswig-Holstein.

Eures Cross Border Denmark-Germany

9A cross-border partnership has existed between the regions ofSønderjylland in Denmark and Schleswig in Germany since 1995.The partnership is involved in a series of activities that aim toremove obstacles to mobility in the border region and to increasethe number of commuters and job vacancies on both sides of theborder. It would be possible to build a similar partnership in theFehmarnbelt region between the regions of Ostholstein/Lübeck andLolland-Fallster.

Further contacts

ooAgentur für Arbeit Lübeck (Lübeck employment office)STRING (Southwestern Baltic Sea Transregional Area –Inventing New Geography)ooooFehmarnbelt Business CouncilFemern Bælt DevelopmentHanseBeltFehmarnbelt Development Joint Venture