2004 Annual Report

 

Employment programmes

 

The following documents were taken into account in the implementation of employment programmes in 2004:

  • National Programme for the Development of the Labour Market and Employment Up To 2006;

  • National Action Programme for Employment 2004

  • Single Programming Document of the Republic of Slovenia 2004–2006 and the SPD Programme Supplement for the same period;

  • Lisbon Strategy;

  • EU Council Employment Guidelines.

The aim of the programme is to direct available funds for active employment policy to programmes that contribute to the achievement of the goals contained in the above documents, i.e.:

  • to reduce unemployment and increase employment;

  • to improve the unemployment structure, in particular by reducing the share of unqualified workers and the long-term unemployed;

  • to remove regional discrepancies on the labour market;

  • to increase the social inclusion of people who are having greatest difficulty in re-integrating themselves into the labour market.

 

 

Table: Participants in AEP programmes, 1992-2004

 

A total of 68,274 persons were involved in active employment policy programmes in 2004. A further 86,289 people took advantage of services supplied by Vocational Information and Guidance Centres, giving a total of 154,563.

Almost 12,900 people were trained through the programme (unemployed people, workers who are in the process of losing their jobs, employed people), and over 8,200 people undertook some form of education (mostly unemployed people but also who are workers in the process of losing their jobs and employed people). Those taking part in jobseeking skills training as part of workshops and jobseeking clubs are not counted in the above figures.

A total of 22,444 (mostly unemployed) people found employment with the help of the programme: 5,749 joined public works programmes, 1,720 became self-employed, and 14,975 found regular employment (including all subsidised jobs, of which there were 4,588, of at least one year in duration). Co-funding was provided for the preservation of 2,665 jobs, chiefly in the textiles, clothing and leather footwear industries. A total of 24,035 unemployed people were involved in various education and training programmes; particular mention should be made here of Programme 10,000, which assisted 7,006 unemployed people to enter regular education in 2004. Redundant workers and workers who are in the process of losing their jobs took part in training programmes, chiefly as part of Labour Funds (1,325 participants). A programme entitled ‘Co-Funding of Education and Training of Employed People as Assistance to Companies in Restructuring’ was carried out in 2004 (5,861 participants) etc.

We exerted an influence on the labour market through active employment policy programmes by:

  • reducing the number of unemployed people, directly through inclusion in public works programmes and subsidy programmes for employment and self-employment, through active work with redundant workers before they make the transition to open unemployment, and indirectly through inclusion in other active employment policy programmes aimed at unemployed people;

  • reducing the share of unqualified unemployed people and the long-term unemployed, primarily by involving them in programmes such as public works, Programme 10,000 and the subsidising of employment for those people who are more difficult to employ;

  • reducing regional discrepancies on the labour market so that 63% of active employment policy funds were deployed in areas with higher than average levels of unemployment;

  • encouraging enterprise by involving unemployed people in programmes designed for this purpose;

  • preserving employment levels through the co-funding of 2,665 at-risk jobs. 

 

The European Social Fund (ESF) is the most important financial instrument in the implementation of the European Employment Strategy. It promotes in particular an active labour market policy, equal opportunities for all those entering the labour market, lifelong learning, flexibility of individuals and the development of enterprise, and the enhancement of equal opportunities for women. In order to carry out tasks relating to the use of funds, the ESF had to adjust the way it planned and used these funds, making continual adjustments to its internal organisation and training staff to carry out the relevant tasks. In 2004 the ESF funded active employment policy programmes to the tune of around SIT 1.7 billion (realised use by the final user).