6.1.1. Vocational orientation for schoolchildren

In addition to one-to-one consultations and the provision of information, vocational counsellors also processed recommendations for Zois scholarships, held additional interviews, carried out selection procedures and helped organise camps. For the first time, vocational counsellors held organised lectures on planning professional careers and on seeking student employment. They took an active part in "Get Work" workshops organised by the Association of Student Organisations at various locations throughout Slovenia.

6.1.2. Vocational guidance for adults

Vocational counsellors mostly work with unemployed adults who are encountering difficulties in developing an employment plan. Such people are usually referred by job counsellors whenever obstacles or problems arise. Psychologists held 12,568 one-to-one sessions with unemployed people in 2000, 7,806 of whom were under 26. The table below shows that more than half (62%) of all those who took part in consultations were young people; this is very important as it is young people who usually decide to enter various forms of additional training, complete studies they began in the past, or choose a different profession to the one they currently have. Vocational counsellors, together with job counsellors, generally also hold sessions involving all those taking part in Programme 5000. In addition to the unemployed, vocational counsellors are also contacted by adults not registered with the ESS and people who are still employed (up to 5% of the total). They seek advice in connection with continuing their education, changing their professional career, etc. For many of them this is a way of avoiding open unemployment, or at least of being better prepared for the transition into open unemployment.

The number of one-to-one vocational sessions (14,037) exceeded that of one-to-one sessions with young people (11,237). In addition to vocational advice, vocational counsellors also provide information on a one-to-one basis. They provided 11,745 adults and 15,909 young people with information at their request (an informative session lasts around 15 minutes, while a counselling session, during which a psychological profile is drawn up, lasts around an hour).

Table XV: Number of one-to-one sessions with schoolchildren and adults, 2000

6.1.3. Vocational Information and Counselling Centre (VICC)

The VICC is intended for young people making their first decision on a future occupation, for adults (unemployed and those in employment) who are changing their professional career, wish to continue their education or need information on possibilities for financial assistance, for vocational and job counsellors who need information in order to improve their work results, and for any other interested individual.

The VICC provides information in various written forms, on the internet and through a variety of video presentations. The information is provided with the assistance of various institutions, which include the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Regional Chamber, the Ministry of Labour, Family and Social Affairs, the Ministry of Education, Science and Sport, the Adult Education Centre, and many others.

The number of visitors is constantly increasing: during the summer months it was around 400 people a month, at other times up to 1,200 a month. Primary-school children make their first visit to the centre in an organised group. The same applies to secondary-school pupils, particularly before dates set for enrolment. The centre organises seminars for students at the Faculty of Arts and the Faculty of Social Sciences on the role of the ESS, vocational guidance, and the VICC as a tool for assistance in seeking employment.

In 2000 the second VICC was opened in Maribor, along with two VICC information points in Ribnica and Brežice. The latter information point was set up with the assistance of the Rotary Club. Local partners also assisted in setting up a VICC information point in Žalec (at Žalec open university). A partnership contract on setting up a VICC information point in Kočevje has been signed. It is clear that in small towns the involvement of local partners who contribute funds towards the opening of such points plays a very prominent role.

National Vocational Information and Counselling Centre (NVICC)

In 1999 the ESS became a member of the EU National Resource Centre for Vocational Guidance (NRCVG). In 2000 the ESS extended its contract with the European Commission and received funding for the national centre (which is at the same location as the VICC in Ljubljana) of ECU 60,000.

VICC library

The VICC library currently stocks:

• 300 descriptions of occupations of various levels of difficulty and from various fields;
• information on available courses and training at all secondary schools, higher professional schools and universities, both in regular and part-time education, postgraduate studies, as well as all current school vacancies;
• information on accommodation in student dormitories;
• information on additional education and training opportunities, and adult education vacancies;
• information on various forms of financial assistance, from national, Zois and company scholarships to loans, funds and foundations;
• other tools and instructions on how to seek employment, computer programmes for designing one's own study path, and videotapes on groups of professions, individual professions and on seeking employment, individual schools, etc.;
• other resources relating to education, employment, jobseeking, legislation and regulation governing the area;
• over 100 video presentations on various topics.

ESTIA project

In 1996 a start was made, as part of the Leonardo da Vinci programme, on a three-year pilot project entitled ESTIA, which involved representatives of Finland, France, Sweden and Great Britain. The aim of the project was to increase mobility within Europe through the following:

• greater access to up-to-date information on education, jobs and labour market;
• better links between job counsellors and other vocational guidance experts;
• better training for job counsellors and other experts using computer tools in counselling work.

In the first round of enlargement (up to 1999), an additional nine countries joined the project: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg and Norway. Slovenia became part of the second round (January 2000).

6. 2.

SCHOLARSHIPS

The Slovenian scholarship system encompasses:
1. company scholarships announced and granted by organisations, and scholarships granted by various foundations and funds;
2. national scholarships for apprentices, secondary-school and university students who would otherwise be unable to study for financial reasons;
3. Zois scholarships for highly gifted students that are intended to raise the educational level among the most capable sections of young people.

Figure 23: Scholarships in Slovenia by academic year, 1986/87-2000/01

6.2.1. Company scholarships

Company scholarships are granted by organisations and employers in line with their needs, and are completely left to them to determine. The EIAU only regulates the minimum scholarship amount, which for secondary-school students may not be less than 20% and for university students less than 30% of the guaranteed wage, minus tax and contributions. Pursuant to the EIAU, every year the ESS issues a special publication containing a joint public tender for company scholarships. In spring 2000 the ESS issued the publication for the fifth year in a row, containing public tenders for company scholarships for the 2000/01 academic year. There were only 2,174 company scholarships available for that academic year. In the 1987/88 academic year the number of company scholarships was around 44,000; in the 1999/2000 academic year there were only 7,841.

Most scholarships are granted by the state, with the government and a number of ministries offering nearly a third of all company scholarships. A total of 7,841 company scholarships were granted in the 1999/2000 academic year.

6.2.2. National scholarships

Pursuant to the EIAU and the Rules on Scholarships, the granting of scholarships is a composite part of ESS activities. The system of uniform scholarship provision has been maintained and developed for over 20 years. The main objective is to improve the educational structure of financially-disadvantaged groups of people who would otherwise be unable to achieve adequate education, and thus to enhance their employability. National scholarships may be applied for by apprentices training under the dual system of vocational training, secondary-school students, students at higher vocational colleges, and undergraduate and postgraduate students in publicly accredited study courses.

By the end of the public tender for applications at the end of 2000, all ROs together received 62,108 applications for national scholarships (a fall of 7% on 1999); of these, 44,272 applications were from secondary-school students and 17,836 from university students. The conditions were met by 65% of applicants. On 31 December 2000 there were 40,629 students receiving national scholarships for the 2000/01 academic year (around 2% more than in 1999).

Under the provisions of the Rules, entitlements to scholarships are calculated on the basis of the student's family income, the location of his study or residence during study, the year of study, and his study results. The basic national scholarship for secondary-school students is thus 14% of the guaranteed wage (SIT 5,944 at the time the scholarships were granted) and for university students 21% (SIT 8,916). In December the average national scholarship (including raises and bonuses) for secondary-school students and apprentices was SIT 22,871, and for university students SIT 29,820.

6.2.3. Zois scholarships for gifted students in 1999

Objective of Zois scholarships

For 15 years now the ESS has been providing scholarships for secondary-school and university students who have proved to be highly gifted in intellectual or artistic fields. The principal objective of the Zois scholarships is to encourage the development and raise the educational level of capable young people who, without such financial encouragement and support, would find it difficult or even impossible to deliver on their intellectual or artistic potentials. The ESS is thus fulfilling two objectives at once: to provide gifted students early on with the encouragement to set themselves high professional objectives and help them to realise their educational desires; and to supply the economy and society as a whole with highly trained and promising workers.

Characteristics of Zois scholarships in the 2000/01 academic year

It was established in the past that the interest shown by young people in Zois scholarships was growing year on year while the number of scholarships offered by other providers (especially company scholarships and scholarships given by various foundations and funds) was falling. For the 2000/01 academic year the ESS received 3,660 new recommendations for Zois scholarships, similar to the figure for the previous year. The structure of recommended candidates was as follows: the majority (85%) were made by primary schools, 10% by secondary schools and 5% by institutions in higher education. Of the total number of candidates, 1,755 (48%) met all the standards and criteria prescribed by the Rules on Scholarships.

For the first time in the 2000/01 academic year, the growth in the number of recipients of Zois scholarships noted in the past slowed down. The number of new recipients of Zois scholarships this year was the same as last year, and even slightly lower among those going from primary to secondary school. In December 2000 Zois scholarships were received by a total of 11,667 students, of whom 5,988 were secondary-school students and 5,679 university students. In comparison with the year before, the proportion of secondary-school students fell slightly, while the proportion of university students rose slightly, mainly on account of an increase in the number of recipients of Zois scholarships enrolling in the 1st year of undergraduate and postgraduate studies.

Recipients of Zois scholarships by study course

In the 2000/01 academic year 1,431 recipients were in their last year of secondary school (in 1999, 1,350), 897 students enrolled in the final year of university studies (857), of whom 840 were in universities and 57 in higher vocational colleges. Among secondary-school students, 88% were attending grammar schools, 5% schools of economics, 3% various technical courses, and 1.5% art schools.

Zois scholarship recipients can be found on almost all university study courses. Among final-year students in 2000, most recipients were studying business and administration (13.6%) followed by medical science (12%), social sciences, including economics (9.6%), humanities (9.5%), law (8.8%), and education (7.4%). There were fewer final-year students this year than last year in the technical sciences (7.2%), the arts (5.6%), and architecture and construction (5.1%).

Zois scholarship graduates on the internet

Every year Zois scholarship recipients publish, at the end of their study, a description of their study path, the know-how and skills they have acquired, and their ambitions regarding work on the ESS webpages (www.esss@gov.si). In 2000, 415 Zois scholarship graduates took advantage of this. They are thus able to increase their employment opportunities significantly, as there is a great deal of interest in Zois scholarship graduates among would-be employers; there is also evidence that their presentations are examined in detail by special headhunting and employment agencies. Zois scholarship graduates who register with the ESS stay registered only for a brief period. Most of them find employment within six months to a year after the end of study.

A student loan is a form of state assistance for subsidising the real interest rate of loans to students to cover maintenance and study costs. It is provided pursuant to Articles 58a and 59 of the EIAU and the Rules on Student Loans (Ur. l. RS, 61/99, 87/99, 78/2000).

A loan is granted to a student on the basis of a contract between the student, the ESS and a bank holding a concession awarded by the Ministry of Labour, Family and Social Affairs.

A student may receive a loan for between one and four years.

Loan applications may be submitted by citizens of Slovenia who are not employed and are not over 26 at the time of enrolment (unless they are taking part in the education programme for unemployed people, Programme 5000). The age of an applicant making a first application for a student loan can be higher, depending on the year of study and the study course they are taking.

A person already receiving a company scholarship, national scholarship or other form of study assistance under valid regulations, a person who has obtained financial or other student assistance from public or private sources to the equivalent of at least one annual basic national scholarship, or an unemployed person receiving a scholarship or financial assistance while taking part in an active employment policy measure is not entitled to a student loan.