Some information on topical issues in the areas of vocational guidance, employment and employment programmes

Vocational guidance:

The Employment Service of the Republic of Slovenia carries out numerous tasks and activities in the area of vocational guidance for young persons and adults. Due to the changes on the labour market (the importance of life-long learning, problems of redundant workers in certain economic branches /textile industry, shoe-making industry, steelworks, etc./, more changes in individuals' careers), more and more work is now directed at adults, primarily unemployed persons but also others. Apart from the regular tasks (vocational counselling - individual and group forms, providing vocational information, various workshops, co-operation with schools and school counsellors, etc.), the following activities momentarily take place:

• expanding the network of the Vocational Information and Counselling Centres throughout Slovenia (mainly in primary schools which do not have such centres set up yet),
• carrying out the programme “Elimination of the education gap”, which was adopted by the Government of the Republic of Slovenia upon the proposal of the Ministry of Labour, Family and Social Affairs and the Ministry of Education, Science and Sport,
• preparing a new motivation workshop for difficult-to-employ persons (the target group is mainly unemployed female workers in the textile industry).

Employment:

Apart from the regular tasks (keeping the register of unemployed persons and other prescribed registers, preparing action plans /back-to-work plans/, employment advising, placement activities, submitting to appropriate employment programmes), the focus at the moment is on the following activities:

• designing a new supporting application which will enable a more rational and transparent work with unemployed persons,
• establishing co-operation with certain larger systems in the country (army, public transport) to solve the problems of redundant workers, promote occupations, conduct placement activities, promote training and education, etc.,
• we have started on two new subjects - setting-up a “call centre” for employers (where they could notify their vacancies, obtain various information) and preparing a more effective method of work as regards the placement of unemployed persons into employment.

Employment programmes:

Numerous programmes were developed in Slovenia in the past years; some of them have become so to say regular (they are conducted year after year - mainly they are the programmes of motivating and informing the unemployed, job clubs, functional training and education of the unemployed, public works, encouraging self-employment), while the others, primarily intended for employers, change more often according to the situation on the labour market and the structure of the unemployed (sometimes the emphasis is on young persons, first-job seekers, sometimes on the elderly, long-term unemployed). The employment programmes are being prepared which will be carried out in 2003 - the main focus is on the preparation of suitable programmes or combinations of programmes for the long-term unemployed and difficult-to-employ persons, particularly the disabled. Special attention is also paid to:

• greater transparency of employment programmes (important both for the public as well as for more effective, rational and transparent work with the unemployed),
• monitoring the efficiency of programmes, taking into account successful completion of the programme, employability of participants after they complete the programme, costs/effects of the programme,
• more target-oriented nature of programmes with the purpose to achieve greater transparency and efficiency of the programme itself.