In 2000 the ESS set itself the target of providing job placements for 56,000 unemployed people. Individual target numbers were set for each RO by using special methods that took into account supply and demand within an individual RO. The fulfilment of these targets was monitored on a monthly basis. Taking Slovenia as a whole, the success rate was 93.5% (52,372 placements). The success rate in achieving the targets differed from RO to RO: in some regions it exceeded the number of planned job placements considerably; in others the results fell considerably below the targets set. The large differences in achieving the target number of placements were the result of conditions on local labour markets, the structure of people registered with the ESS, differing economic conditions in the regions, varying demand for labour among employers, and the staff capacities of individual ROs.

During each visit by an unemployed person to a job counsellor, the unemployed person and the counsellor together examine the activities that the unemployed person has engaged in to find employment. If the unemployed person is not actively seeking employment or violates other obligations for no good reason, this person is removed from the ESS's unemployed persons register. Last year the ESS removed over 30,000 people from its files for various reasons unrelated to employment (e.g. refusal to accept a job, inactivity, no longer participating in employment programmes, illegal work [2,738 people], failure to report [7,774], removal at own request [5,323]).

Positive shifts took place in the fields of job counselling and job placement towards the more individualised and professional provision of services for individual groups of jobless people; this showed as an increase in teamwork and the greater involvement of specialist consultants (particularly vocational counsellors) on work with the unemployed. There is evidence that, because of the high number of cases, job counsellors are still unable to devote enough time to the longterm unemployed or to hard-to-employ individuals. In order to be able to provide such clients with proper advice, they need to acquire additional skills and training. Work with the longterm unemployed is set to become one of the key tasks for job counsellors.

Table VI: Number of registered vacancies for workers and trainees, referrals and job placements, January-December 2000

*This column includes all registered job vacancies, with the exception of those for which employers stated that they wished to employ foreign workers.
** Does not include people involved in public works.

The objectives of employment programmes in 2000 were as follows:

• to reduce unemployment;
• to enhance the competitive standing of unemployed people on the job market;
• to provide new employment opportunities for unemployed people;
• to ensure flexibility and adaptability on the labour market;
• to encourage employers to introduce new forms of assistance to employees;
• to ensure the social integration of unemployed people;
• to reduce the negative effects of longterm unemployment.

The key target groups for active employment policy programmes in 2000 were:

• young unemployed people (under 26);
• older unemployed people (over 45);
• unemployed people with no qualifications or with qualifications that are unsuitable with regard to demand on the labour market;
• recipients of social security benefits (unemployment benefit, assistance and allowances);
• disabled and hard-to-employ people;
• people working in those branches of the economy that are being restructured, particularly in the textile, shoemaking and footwear industries, and redundant workers;
• schoolchildren and students.

The main emphasis continued to be placed on four key programmes in 2000: education and training; public works; the refunding of employers' contributions; and training and job placements for the disabled.

Table VII: Participants in active employment policy programmes, 1991-2000

4.2.1. Education and training

The key objectives of education and training programmes follow EU employment policy directives and the Employment Action Plan for 2000-2001 adopted by the Slovenian government in November 1999. They are as follows: to reduce unemployment among young people; to enhance the employability of unemployed people; to ensure the social integration of jobless people; and to raise the educational level of unemployed people. The operational target for 2000 was to include at least 20% of all unemployed people.

In 2000 the ESS paid special attention to the implementation of education and training programmes aimed at the following target groups: young unemployed people under 26 for whom there was the possibility of joining the unemployed persons register within the first six months of applying; unemployed persons with no professional qualifications or unsuitable skills for the demands of the labour market; longterm unemployed people; and other categories of people who find it difficult to obtain employment.

Programmes of assistance in planning a professional career and in jobseeking

A total of 6,482 unemployed people (27.9% of all those joining programmes in 2000) joined this group of programmes, which included programmes for providing information and increasing motivation, workshops on how to find employment, and workshops on identifying career objectives.

Programmes of assistance in planning a professional career and in jobseeking are normally short. The costs of joining the programme and the travel expenses of participants are covered and refunded by the ESS.

Personal development programmes

These programmes are designed to increase the involvement of the most vulnerable groups of unemployed persons - people who often suffer from longterm unemployment, are poorly educated, lack work experience, are passive and depressed, feel excluded from society and work, and receive no support within their environment. The main objective of these programmes is to ensure the social reintegration of such people.

• Number of participants and structural characteristics

• Job placements for participants

Job clubs

Job clubs, in existence since 1995, are a more permanent form of training for unemployed people towards successful employment. A course lasts three months: the first three weeks are set aside for intensive training of participants on how to seek employment successfully and effectively; for the remainder of the course the participants, who are assisted and supported by the job club leader and other club members, seek employment. This programme was carried out by 17 external providers in 2000; they were selected by public tender.

A total of 2,043 unemployed people were referred to this programme. Most of them were women (1,484, 72.6%), unemployed persons who had attained the 5th level of education (902, 44.2%), persons under the age of 26 (940, or 46.0%, 429 of whom were in the first six months of unemployment), and longterm unemployed people (791, 38.7%). In addition, 546 first-time jobseekers, 43 disabled persons, 277 recipients of unemployment benefits and 224 recipients of unemployment assistance took part.

By the end of the year 744 of those who had completed training found employment. The results of the programme have been consistent in all five years: 50-55% of job club members find employment with the help of the club, and a further 5-10% find other ways out of unemployment, e.g. by commencing study.

Additional training programmes

Unemployed people may join additional training programmes on the basis of an employment plan, i.e. with the objective of expanding their employment options by acquiring additional knowledge, skills and abilities to perform various tasks and jobs.

A total of 3,744 unemployed people joined additional training programmes in 2000. Most of those participating attended courses in computer science (1,769 people, 47.2% of the total), followed by courses on commerce and economics (413) and foreign languages (377).

By the end of 2000 these courses had been completed by 3,030 participants, of whom 32 failed (1.1%). By the end of December, 1,162 participants (38.3%) had already found employment.

Figure 15: Number of participants joining education and training programmes, 1991-2000

Work experience

The programme for the joint funding of work experience, which was introduced by the ESS in 2000, can be conducted with an employer or in an organisation that provides vocational training and performs examinations of knowledge, skills, abilities and the unemployed person's interest in working in a specific profession or job. This provides the employer with an opportunity to test the skills and abilities of future employees before signing a contract and is recommended for all future employers before they sign a trainee contract with an unemployed person for vocational training under the dual system (Programme 5000). The unemployed can take part in this programme for a maximum of one month.

In 2000, 966 unemployed people joined the programme.

By the end of the year 922 participants had completed the programme; after completion, 705 participants (76.5% of the total) found employment.

Introduction to work programme

This programme helps employers who take on new workers (the ESS part-funds the wages and training costs for such workers), as well as unemployed persons who lack the skills or know-how to work at the employer. In the case of hard-to-employ people, training can be conducted without employment but is normally carried out as on-the-job training.

PROGRAMME 5000

Programme 5000 has been carried out by the ESS since 1998. This programme complies with the EIAU and is prepared for each academic year separately by the Ministry of Labour, Family and Social Affairs and the Ministry of Education, Science and Sport, in collaboration with other key institutions responsible for the development of human resources: it is accredited by the Slovenian government. The programme defines the types of education and the number of places set aside for unemployed people in individual academic years, the conditions for enrolment and the method of funding. Programme 5000 allows unemployed persons to acquire publicly accredited education in those fields where there is a demand for labour and therefore opportunities for employment. The type and number of vacancies for students are determined for each academic year separately on the basis of an assessment of labour demand and of educational capacities at local/regional levels.

Table VIII: Participants in Programme 5000, 2000/01 academic year

Figure 16: Participants in Programme 5000

Note: Data for the 2000/01 academic year includes data up to and including 31 December 2000. The proportion is calculated on the basis of the number of all participants in an individual academic year.

In the ESS's assessment, the key objectives for 2000 in the fields of education and training were mostly fulfilled, despite the lower number of participants in some of the programmes. Since the unemployed are able to join several training programmes, the ESS paid closer attention to the number of people taking part in programmes. It was established that only 9.2% of all unemployed people took part in more than one programme; in total, 22,441 (20.1% of the average number of unemployed people) joined the programmes; 42.5% of the average number of unemployed people under 26 took part; in addition, 15.4% of unemployed people who had attained the 1st and 2nd levels of education and 11% of longterm unemployed persons took part. Figures gained from a preliminary survey on the number and proportion of people who found employment after completing the programme were satisfactory. Mention should be made here of the fact that the success of education and training programmes is measured six months after the end of the programme, which means that such an evaluation will be carried out in June 2001.

4.2.2. Refunding of contributions to employers

The refunding of employers' contributions is a selective active employment policy measure, and one that focuses chiefly on companies. The aim of this type of measure, which includes the programme of refunding employers' contributions, is to encourage employers to employ new workers, the hard-to-employ, first-time jobseekers, older and longterm unemployed persons, and recipients of financial allowances who are participants in passive forms of employment programme.

With the help of the programme, 1,889 unemployed people were taken on for at least two years in 1998; 6,223 unemployed people or redundant workers found employment this way in 1999, and 8,101 in 2000. In comparison with 1999, as many as 30.2% more unemployed people and redundant workers found employment in 2000.

4.2.3. Supporting self-employment

As in 1999, the largest proportion of people becoming self-employed was formed by those who had attained the 3rd and 4th levels of education, immediately followed by those who had attained the 5th level. The proportion of future sole traders with 1st and 2nd levels of education is growing, as they find it increasingly hard to find employment. The proportion of people with higher and university degrees is falling. What is interesting is that despite the partial increase in self-employment, the proportion of self-employed women last year fell from 34.9% the year before to 34.4% last year. As in the past, self-employment is most often chosen by people aged between 30 and 40.

The predominant legal form of self-employment remains the sole trader. The areas most often selected include construction, retail, business services, transport and (very often) agriculture.

Table IX: Supporting self-employment, 1991-2000

* Financial assistance to newly self-employed people in the form of non-return funding, return funding, of contributions of newly self-employed.

Assistance in founding and developing cooperatives

The ESS continued with the following joint projects, in collaboration with the Centre for the Promotion of Small Business, in 2000:

• development and application of a system of subsidised counselling on the basis of referrals (the voucher system);
• basic training for growing companies;
• return assistance to business start-ups;
• development of business creativity among young people;
• support for the establishment of women in working life;
• introduction of work at home and teleworking.

4.2.4. Training and employment of disabled people and the subsidising of sheltered workshops

Table X: Ratio between the number of unemployed people and the number of disabled unemployed people, 1995-2000

Figure 17: Trends in the number of unemployed disabled people, 1995-2000

Figure 18: Registered unemployed disabled persons by type of disability, 1989-2000

Far more worrying than the size of this group is its structure and the related employment opportunities with regard to the following:

• Education levels - over 55% of disabled people had attained the 1st level of education, and more than 10% the 2nd level.
• Age - 36% are aged between 40 and 50, and 38% are over 50.
• Waiting period - 76% of all disabled persons have been registered with the ESS for over two years.

A total of 1,232 disabled people were involved in regular education and training programmes in 2000, as follows:

• 29.2% in personal development programmes;
• 21.6% in on-the-job training;
• 14.1% in programmes for obtaining publicly endorsed qualifications;
• 12.9% in programmes of assistance in the development of a professional career and in jobseeking;
• 9.9% in programmes of additional training;
• 5.4% in training without employment;
• 3.8% in work experience;
• 31% in job clubs.

The ESS found placements for 900 disabled people on public works programmes. Other employment programmes included supporting self-employment and the refunding of employers' contributions. In addition to all regular employment programmes that all disabled people registered with the ESS may join, special programmes have been developed with the explicit objective of ensuring equal employment opportunities for disabled persons on the labour market.

In addition to training for productive work, these programmes open up new opportunities by providing the disabled with the experience, know-how, skills and motivation they need for social integration; they also provide them with social security, and preserve and develop their working habits. In 2000, 930 disabled people joined such rehabilitation programmes.

1. Adapting workplaces to the needs of disabled persons
The ESS normally covers costs to the equivalent of 15 guaranteed wages for the adaptation of a workplace (construction work, adaptation of equipment, technology, work processes) to the needs of a seriously disabled person.

2. New jobs for the disabled
The ESS supports new jobs for the disabled by rewarding employers who create new jobs for the disabled. An employer who employs a disabled person for at least two years is entitled to a bonus to the equivalent of up to ten guaranteed wages.

3. Part-funding of wages
Part-funding of up to 40, 60 or 80% of the guaranteed wage, depending on the degree of disability, may be provided for the entire duration of employment. In 2000 the number of sheltered companies claiming a refund of part of the costs of employing a disabled person from the ESS increased by 9, totalling 142 by the end of the year. The number of disabled people they employed was 5,840 at the end of December.

4.2.5. Public works

The ESS implemented 2,156 public works programmes in 2000, with a total of 10,474 being employed. The monthly average was 5,426 participants. The proportion of unemployed people working in public works in 2000 was 9.8% of the total number of unemployed people; this proportion has been growing markedly since 1998.

The priority target groups identified by the 2000 Public Works Programme were the following:

• people unemployed for over one year (45.1% of those joining public works);
• unemployed people over 40 (38% of the total);
• men over 53 (3.3% of the total);
• women over 48 (4.5% of the total);
• recipients of unemployment benefit aged over 45 (9.2% of the total);
• unemployed people under 26 with no professional qualifications (4.7% of the total);
• disabled persons (8.6% of the total);
• people recovering from drug or alcohol addiction (0.5% of the total).

Figure 19: Participants in public works by activity, 2000

In 2000, 1,868 participants in public works programmes found employment (17.8%). Figures on the number of people who found jobs is still incomplete - a survey will be carried out six months after the completion of the public works programmes (i.e. on 30 June 2001).

In addition to those who found jobs, 1,467 persons who, after joining a public works programme, did not re-register themselves once the public work programme had ended or did not join a public works programme in 2001 were removed from the unemployed persons register. This means that by 31 December 2000, 3,335 people (31.8% of all those who joined public works programmes in 2000) has been removed from the register.

A total of 3,236 participants joined national public works programmes in 2000. The national programmes with the highest numbers of participants in 2000 were as follows: Staff Development in Social Care; Psycho-Social Assistance to Victims of Crime; Physical Assistance to Children or Young People with Physical Disabilities; Learning Assistance to the Unemployed; National Agricultural Programmes; Assistance in Refugee Centres; and Assistance in Voluntary Fire Brigades.

4 . 2. 6. Regional and local employment projects, and local development initiatives

Thirty projects took place in the following areas in 2000: agriculture, tourism, social services, public utilities and crafts.

Seventeen programmes, selected by means of a public tender published in 1998/99, included 316 unemployed people, of whom 40 found employment.

4.2.7. Cooperation in company restructuring projects

Project-based approach

The aim of company restructuring projects is to develop a systematic approach to the longterm task of company restructuring by developing harmonised financial, organisational, staff and business measures, and methods of restructuring commercial companies and preserving productive jobs, thus preventing redundant workers from becoming openly unemployed. The ESS was involved on the staffing side of the project, on the preparation of staff restructuring programmes and on the funding of retraining for potentially redundant workers.

The Slovenian government completed projects in 39 companies in 2000, which means that the project is now continuing in seven companies only. In these seven companies a total of 1,524 workers were involved in various programmes. For the first time the measure of reduced hours employment was introduced. As a result, workers worked six hours daily on the job and spent three hours training for other jobs or learning new technologies. A total of 724 workers completed training in this way. Six hundred and eighty-one workers were involved in various forms of retraining. Twenty-six disabled workers also attended retraining, while in 61 cases workplaces were adapted to the needs of disabled workers. Twenty-seven workers from companies involved in the project were reallocated to other companies; they were thus able to remain employed.

At the end of the project we can conclude that it was completed in 51 companies. In 30 the rehabilitation programme was successful, i.e. they retained the agreed number of workers employed for two years. Liquidation or bankruptcy procedures were started in eight companies, and 13 companies were unable to retain the agreed number of employees.

Encouraging investment in human resource development

The objective of programmes in 2000 was to raise the proficiency of companies in the textile, fashion, footwear and leather industries in key problem areas: marketing, technological modernisation and human resource development.

Thirty-two companies were involved in two such programmes in 2000: the Programme of Adapting the Slovenian Textile and Fashion Industry (23 companies) and the Programme of Adapting the Leather and Footwear Industry (nine companies).

Programme of integrating permanently redundant workers as part of the continued restructuring of the Slovenian steel industry, with the emphasis on job placements for hard-to-employ workers in 2000

This project was implemented in three Slovenian steel works (Jesenice, Ravne and Štore), which employed over 300 hard-to-employ persons as part of the "Integration Company" project.

"Integration Company" is one of the active employment policy programmes whose aim is to provide disabled and hard-to-employ people of varying abilities to work and social skills with the best possible degree of integration in work and employment, and as well as social integration.

4.2.8. Labour funds

Labour funds are private legal entities which, pursuant to the EIAU (Article 63) and the Institutions Act, are set up to carry out active employment policy measures within a municipality or several municipalities in one or several companies.

Labour funds bring together social partners at the local, regional and national levels. As a result, representatives of local communities, interested companies, state institutions (government, ministries, institutes, foundations), associations (chambers of commerce and trades), trade unions, business centres, business incubators, technology parks, etc. come together to implement active employment policy measures. Labour funds also bring together national, regional and local financial resources.

Unemployed people, as well as workers who have become permanently redundant and who, on the basis of an analysis of staffing needs and the company's business plans, cannot expect to keep their jobs in the long run, are eligible to participate in labour funds.

There were 1,251 participants in labour funds in 2000, 464 of whom found employment.

Table XI: Overview of participants and discharged participants by labour fund, 2000

4.2.9. Labour funds

The aim of the "Thousand New Opportunities" pilot programme for the subsidising of employment in non-profit activities, which was carried out in 2000 on the basis of a public tender, was to encourage new jobs and more equal opportunities for employment in the non-profit sphere for target groups of unemployed people. Unemployed people who had previously participated in public works for at least a year, such as people over 45, disabled people registered with the ESS for over three years, single parents and longterm unemployed people under 26, joined the programme. In terms of content, the programme is an expansion of the public works programmes that have been carried out for years, and means for those involved a transition into regular employment.

Table XII: Participants in "A Thousand New Opportunities" by activity, 2000

Figure 20: Participants in "A Thousand New Opportunities", 2000

By the end of 2000 the Supervisory Office had embarked on 1,370 monitoring procedures, 1,301 of which commenced after proposals to examine whether unemployed persons were fulfilling obligations and 69 after proposals to monitor contractual partners of the ESS.

Most proposals to initiate monitoring were put forward by the ESS's professional services at the ROs, LOs and HO. A few proposals were submitted anonymously.

In cooperation with the Employment Programmes Service, an extensive campaign of monitoring of unemployed people participating in public works, as well as the providers of public works, was carried out. As a result 588 individuals and 57 legal entities that employed workers through public works programmes were examined. A survey of the campaign results shows that, given the volume of monitoring, relatively few irregularities were found (in connection with four employers, decisions were issued that contained proposals for measures), while no irregularities or violations were established in connection with unemployed people in public works programmes and the fulfilment of their obligations.

Pursuant to violations, 279 unemployed people were removed from the unemployed persons register, and 25 unemployed persons lost their right to financial benefits (unemployment benefit or unemployment assistance).

Table XIII: Monitoring of the fulfilment of obligations by unemployed people, January-December 2000