LegalizeCommission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/861 of 21 May 2021 specifying the technical items of the data set and establishing the technical formats for transmission of information on the organisation of a sample survey in the education and training domain pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2019/1700 of the European Parliament and of the Council (Text with EEA relevance)
THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,
Having regard to Regulation (EU) 2019/1700 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 10 October 2019 establishing a common framework for European statistics relating to persons and households, based on data at individual level collected from samples, amending Regulations (EC) No 808/2004, (EC) No 452/2008 and (EC) No 1338/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council, and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1177/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council and Council Regulation (EC) No 577/98 (1), and in particular Article 7(1) and Article 8(3) thereof,
Whereas:
(1) To ensure the accurate implementation of a sample survey in the education and training domain (adult education survey – AES), the Commission should specify the technical items of the data set and establish the technical formats for transmission of information.
(2) The Member States and the Union institutions should use statistical classifications for territorial units, education levels, occupations and economic sectors that are compatible with the NUTS (2), ISCED (3), CLA (4), ISCO (5) and NACE (6) classifications. For language levels, they should use the Council of Europe’s Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR).
(3) The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the European Statistical System Committee,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
Article 1
Subject matter
This Regulation specifies the technical items of the data set and establishes the technical formats for transmitting information from Member States to the Commission (Eurostat) for the sample survey in the education and training domain (adult education survey – AES).
Article 2
Definitions
For the purposes of this Regulation, the following definitions apply:
(1) ‘fieldwork period’ means the period during which data is collected from respondents;
(2) ‘reference period’ means the period to which a particular item of information relates;
(3) ‘reference date’ means the date of the first interview.
Article 3
Description of variables
The variables and their technical characteristics for data transmission are set out in the Annex and refer to:
(1) topics and detailed topics of the variables;
(2) identifiers and names of the variables;
(3) category codes and labels of the variables;
(4) filters of the variables.
Article 4
Statistical populations, observation units and rules for respondents
The target population for the education and training domain shall be all persons aged 18 to 69 usually residing in private households in the territory of a Member State.
The data for the education and training domain shall be collected for a sample of persons aged 18 to 69 or a sample of households in which a maximum of two randomly selected persons aged 18 to 69 per household are interviewed as observation units. Due justification shall be provided if more than two persons per household are interviewed.
Proxy interviews shall be avoided where possible.
Article 5
Reference periods and reference dates
The reference period for which data on participation in education and training is collected shall be the 12 months prior to the interview. The data collected on other topics shall refer to the situation at the reference date, unless otherwise specified for a given variable.
The age of a person shall be the age in completed years at the reference date.
Article 6
Sample requirements
The data collection shall be based on nationally representative probability samples. The sample size shall be established according to the precision requirements for the education and training domain set out in Annex II to Regulation (EU) 2019/1700.
Article 7
Random selection of non-formal learning activities
For respondents participating in more than five non-formal learning activities, five of these shall be selected randomly in order to collect information on type, main activity status at start, purpose and employer-sponsoring.
For respondents participating in more than two non-formal learning activities, two of these (referred to as NFERAND1 and NFERAND2 in the Annex) shall be selected in order to collect detailed information. These two activities shall be selected randomly from those for which information on type, main activity status at start, purpose and employer-sponsoring is collected.
Article 8
Data-gathering periods and methods
The interviews to collect information for the education and training domain shall take place every 6 years between 1 July and 31 March. The first interview period shall start on 1 July 2022.
Where possible, the national fieldwork period shall not exceed 6 months.
Data shall be collected by computer-assisted methods, such as computer-assisted personal interviews (CAPI), computer-assisted telephone interviews (CATI) and computer-assisted web interviews (CAWI). Due justification shall be provided for any exception.
Article 9
Common standards for weighting
The reference population for weighting shall be the (real or estimated) population aged 18 to 69 usually residing in private households.
Weighting factors for individuals shall be calculated taking into account the probability of selection and reliable external data relating to the distribution of the population being surveyed, according to sex, age groups (18-24, 25-34, 35-54, 55-69) and educational attainment level (ISCED levels 0-2, 3-4, 5-8). Where possible, other characteristics such as main activity status, occupation and region shall also be considered.
Article 10
Formats for transmitting information
Member States shall transmit to the Commission (Eurostat) microdata in electronic form that comply with the technical characteristics of the variables as specified in the Annex.
Member States shall pre-check the microdata before transmitting it and comply with validation rules in accordance with its characteristics in terms of coding and filter conditions. Member States and the Commission shall agree on additional validation rules determining the acceptability of transmitted data.
Revised data shall be transmitted in complete data sets covering all variables, regardless of the number of revised observations and variables.
Member States shall make available to the Commission (Eurostat) the data and metadata required under this Regulation using the statistical data and metadata exchange standards specified by the Commission (Eurostat) and the single entry point.
Article 11
Entry into force
This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.
Done at Brussels, 21 May 2021.
For the Commission The President Ursula VON DER LEYEN
(1) OJ L 261 I, 14.10.2019, p. 1.
(2) Regulation (EC) No 1059/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 May 2003 on the establishment of a common classification of territorial units for statistics (NUTS) (OJ L 154, 21.6.2003, p. 1).
(3) International Standard Classification of Education 2011;
http://uis.unesco.org/sites/default/files/documents/international-standard-classification-of-education-isced-2011-en.pdf (available in English and French).
(4) Classification of learning activities, 2016 edition;
https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/products-manuals-and-guidelines/-/KS-GQ-15-011 (available in English).
(5) Commission Recommendation of 29 October 2009 on the use of the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO-08) (OJ L 292, 10.11.2009, p. 31).
(6) Regulation (EC) No 1893/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 December 2006 establishing the statistical classification of economic activities NACE Revision 2 and amending Council Regulation (EEC) No 3037/90 as well as certain EC Regulations on specific statistical domains (OJ L 393, 30.12.2006, p. 1).