THE STUDY VISIT AND THE MEETING OF EXECUTIVES OF THE AMS, AUSTRIA AND THE EMPLOYMENT SERVICE OF SLOVENIA

VIENNA, AUSTRIA,

January 16 – 17, 2003

 The participants:

Jože Glazer
Joco Klopčič
Traudi Omejc Mihalič
Mateja Pozvek
Lidija Turel

 The purpose of the visit and the meeting was to continue regular working contacts between the AMS, Austria and the Employment Service of Slovenia (ESS). The subjects discussed included quality management, internal audit and the European Social Fund. The participants also agreed on further co-operation both within the frame of the central European public employment services, which they both participate in, as well as on their mutual co-operation.

 Among others, the AMS representatives at the meeting were Herbert Büchinger, the Director General, Herbert Böhm, a member of the AMS management, Marius Wilk, a member of the AMS secretariat, Claudia Galehr, in charge of international co-operation, Peter Oberbichler and Pauline Pointner, quality management, Susanne Dungl, ESF, Robert Bürger, internal finances.

 QUALITY MANAGEMENT, ISO STANDARD

 Each side presented their historical development of quality management, the reasons for introducing quality management, the procedures, as well as the guidelines and aims which we both want to achieve with the implementation of quality management. Many questions were asked from both sides which made it obvious that we deal with the same problems and arrive at the same conclusions as regards that topic.

 The result of the discussion on quality management is the agreement on co-operation (a visit to Ljubljana by the Austrian colleagues) and the starting points for the workshop on quality management prepared by Traudi Omejc Mihalič (ESS) and Peter Oberbichler (AMS). The workshop should be carried out as part of the co-operation between central European public employment services.

 During discussions the Austrians also presented the procedures of setting up the business plan which they prepare for a period of minimally three and maximally five years, as well as the Agreement on Stabilisation of Quality Management in the Austrian AMS. Their systematic way of initiating new ideas and useful suggestions, which are then implemented in the AMS work, has proved exceptionally efficient since it has also brought appropriate financial rewards. and are also appropriately financially rewarded.

 INTERNAL CONTROL AND INTERNAL AUDIT

 When comparing the ESS and the AMS, there are quite some differences in the fields of internal control and internal audit. The reasons lie in a different economic environment of each country (in the past) and in the organisation and transparent differentiation of responsibilities among the Administrative Board (which is strongly influenced by its partners), the Ministry of Labour and the AMS, etc.

 At the AMS it was stressed that internal control (“fach control”) is already incorporated in the work of all employees, and that the executives at central, regional and local levels are the first who are responsible for it. The AMS also has the department for controlling strategic targets and internal audit, and many control systems have already been incorporated in the existing IT system.

 Each (internal) audit report is submitted to the President of the Administrative Board and then discussed at the board of auditors, which is a sub-board of the AMS Administrative Board.

 Controlling is set up at levels both in the area of finances (financial controlling) as well as in the area of analysing the achievement of targets (operational controlling). The functions of the financial department, the department for accounting, book-keeping, cost management, costs per unemployed person, costs of placement and costs per individual fields - clusters (financial controlling) were presented as well.

 In compliance with the annual business plan, internal auditors verify 5 % of the ESF financial resources.

 EUROPEAN SOCIAL FUND

 The integration of the European Social Fund into the national system of the Austrian AMS was carried out at three levels:

 1st level – integration of the ESF targets into the national targets;

2nd level – integration of the ESF measures and services into the national measures and services;

3rd level – integration of the ESF into the IT system – 2nd stage is still going on (1st stage took place until 1999, 2nd stage covers the period from 2000 to 2006). It is estimated that at the AMS the IT system will have been completed by the beginning of 2004 and will cover both the national and the ESF resources. At the moment they have two IT systems in place (the result of 1st stage), with the first one incorporating all national resources and a part of the ESF resources, while the other includes the data on those ESF resources which cannot be covered by the previous system.

 There is no differentiation between the national and the European resources at the AMS. First anticipation when AMS aproaches to the financing the events (measure, project, or service) is that everything will be financed by national resources. Only later, through the procedure of the implementation of events, its checked whether the event could possibly be financed by the ESF funds.

 At the AMS they introduced us to the department of finances, its organisation, functions, structure, etc. This department does not follow the costs per unemployed person since there is another programme set up for this matter. The total financial turnover of the AMS is about five billion euros, and a significant part of this sum is intended for the unemployed (the benefits are very high due to a high standard of living in Austria). To finance the measures, about 520 million euros are spent (€ 521,18 in 2001) from the national resources and about 77 million euros (€ 77,76 in 2001) from the ESF resources annually.

 From the presentation of the organisation of the ESF at the AMS the following conclusions were represented: 

• the uniform programme document was prepared by the responsible ministry (as regards human resources) which took into account the AMS suggestions and opinions. The programme complement was prepared by the ministry in co-operation with the AMS;
• the staff responsible for the ESF at the AMS spend only part of their time on the ESF (nobody is fully employed in this field);
• as regards the ESF, the responsible ministry checks the AMS through the reports which the AMS (and other ESF final beneficiaries) has to submit quarterly;
• as regards the tenders or negotiations to use the ESF resources which are at the AMS’s disposal, the responsible ministry has no competence (nor do they officially approve the projects); the AMS also does not need any permission from the ministry to re-allocate the ESF resources within its own budget items;
• the Central office at the AMS defines (prepares general rules) what can be financed by the ESF funds and what cannot; regional units then decide by themselves whether they will finance the projects by the ESF or national resources. Both national and the ESF resources are divided in compliance with the indicators. If an individual regional unit does not spend the ESF funds, the negotiations start at the AMS whether to spend them on measures or re-allocate them to other regional units.

 A VISIT TO A LOCAL EMPLOYMENT OFFICE

 Although the visit was planned to be carried out at the AMS central level, we also visited the new local employment office in Vienna. The head of the office presented the history of the development of the office and its concept of work which divides the office into three zones (the information zone, the service zone and the counselling zone). We were shown the office and the premises intended for advisers in all three zones, as well as the premises for the employers.

 THE AGREEMENT ON CO-OPERATION BETWEEN THE AMS AND THE ESS IN 2003

 During the discussion with the Director General Herbert Büchinger we went through the priorities of AMS which are similar to ours – co-operation with the employers, increasing the employment of difficult-to-place unemployed persons, co-operation with social partners. We exchanged the experience as regards the increasing of the supporting role of the Central office in achieving the employment service's targets and in the activities at local and regional levels.

 The Austrian and Slovene Employment Services will jointly organise the workshop on the subject of quality management, entitled »Quality management – regional and local level«. The experts from both employment services in charge of the project will meet in Slovenia and carry out the comparison of approaches and activities. It was also agreed that the representatives of both services would participate in all workshops organised within the frame of co-operation of central European public employment services.

 The two experts from the Central office and the regional office who are in charge of the ESF at the Austrian Employment Service will visit the ESS and present the organisation, method of work and the implementation of the ESF in Austria in the field of employment.

 The initiative to set up closer co-operation between leaders of the employment offices from the both employment services will be discussed by regional directors. Upon their approval a special joint training or a workshop will be organised on the subject of »the role of an employment office in carrying out the employment service’s targets«.

 OTHER ACTIVITIES

During the visit at the AMS, the Director General Jože Glazer had a separate meeting with Herbert Böhm, a member of the AMS Administrative Board and Herbert Büchinger, the Director General of the AMS. They discussed current problems in the labour market and co-operation among the ministry, the Administrative Board and social partners. The hosts were as well very interested in the system of payments. The AMS also organised a press conference where the directors general presented co-operation between the employment services and the consequences of Slovenia joining the EU in the labour markets in Austria and Slovenia. The reports from the press conference will be published in the newspapers »Standard« and »Delo«.

The report was prepared by: Jože Glazer, Joco Klopčič, Traudi Omejc Mihalič, Mateja Pozvek, Lidija Turel;