TRENDS IN EASTERN EUROPE Public Employment Services (PES) CONCERNING NEW SERVICES

The purpose of development of a country is rapid economic growth, which will enable the growth of employment, reduction of discrepancies in economic growth and increase of general public welfare. The situation of the labour market is closely connected with economic, demographic and social changes.: Adaptability of labour force and labour market to the new factors and challenges of the environment is influenced by the active employment policy measures.

The condition in individual countries or territorial regions varies despite the similar targets. Beside the actual development, they are influenced by the historical social-economic specificity and also by the political situation. That is why it is difficult to make comparisons, as every treatment of a country depends on a variety of objective circumstances. Previous partition of Europe, which was basically formed by political criteria, lost its significance in the 90’s. Although the individual countries are geographically closely connected, they differ very much from each other by their history and economic development. Processes on the labour market are alike, however they differ strongly from each other in the time and intensity of development.

Eastern European countries’ political system was similar after the World War two, however their economic development was different. Series of new countries were formed after the disintegration of The Soviet Union and Yugoslavia. Consequences of political reconstruction influenced economical development and development of the labour market. Despite the differences, the processes of privatisation and denationalisation were accomplished in all countries. They all experienced the loss of the old market where they had been selling their products and were forced to seek for new economic connections which influenced the events on the labour market.

To present the events in PES in Eastern European countries, I have chosen some basic comparable data by means of the survey, which was completed by the Management of PES of Hungary, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Romania, Croatia, Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Slovenia. In presentation I will generalise and of course will not be able to consider all the specifics and particularities which have influence on the development and work of individual PES:

Condition on the labour market

After the great political changes at the and of the 90’s, , all mentioned Eastern European countries were faced with changes in the labour market labour market. Privatisation of economy, denationalisation and searching for new markets had great influence on liberalisation of the labour market, which caused unemployment. In all those countries unemployment was almost unknown, since the workers were employed for a lifelong period. The number of registered unemployed persons has rapidly increased since 1990. The upward trend of unemployment in those countries is still growing, except from Hungary and Slovenia, where the number of the registered unemployed people in the year 2000 was lower than in 1992

Among the unemployed the share of the elderly and the difficult to employ increases. Of all the registered unemployed, the share of unemployed over 50 years old is 27,3% in Slovenia and 16,2% in Czech Republic. ( in other Eastern European countries the share ranges from 8,7% to 15%).

Long-term unemployment presents a particular problem in most of this countries, as the share of unemployment over 12 months is the highest 70,1% in BIH, 60,3% in Slovenia and 52,5% in Croatia of all unemployed (the shares in other countries are lower).

The share of young unemployed people up to 25 years old is decreasing in all the countries (except for BIH). The highest share of young unemployed people is 60% in BIH, 44% in Macedonia and 43% in Croatia. The lowest share of young unemployed people is 16% in Bulgaria, 20% in Hungary, 21% in Romania and 23,8% in Slovenia.

PES IN EASTERN EUROPEAN COUNTRIES

PES are the most important institutions for implementation of employment policy in the country. They enable accessibility to their own service on local and regional level with the established network of organisational units (local offices, job centres) to all the population of a country.

Although most of the countries combat with unemployment issues only in the last decade, some of the PES have a rather long tradition. This year Slovenia is celebrating the hundredth anniversary of the first job-placement department² , whereas in most of the countries, that were formed from ex-Yugoslavia (which are: Macedonia, Croatia, Slovenia, BIH) the PES were established immediately after the World War I. Considering the changes in the labour market, the priority of their functioning also changed (e.g.: PES in Slovenia developed a high quality vocational guidance for young people included in further education).

As well as the internal organisation the formal status of PES also vary between themselves. Among PES in Eastern Europe involved in the survey there are PES included in the government employment department of the Ministry of Labour (Macedonia, Hungary and BIH). Executive agencies as a part of the departments of the Ministry of Labour are PES in the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Romania. Some of the PES are the independent legal entities with public institute (or service) status with their own management board consisting of representatives of social partners: government, employers, Trade Unions and representatives of staff: Slovenia, Croatia, Slovakia. Most of them are financed by the state budget, some of them directly (Slovenia). In some countries the PES are financed from special funds for employment formed by employers and employees’ contributions for employment.

• Job broking and job-search assistance and counselling
• Management and payment of unemployment benefits
• Occupational information and guidance for unemployed people
• Occupational information and guidance for young people
• Training and education programmes for unemployed people
• Job-subsidies and other job –creation programmes (e.g. public works)
• Special programmes for redundant workers in the companies (not implemented in BiH)
• Programmes for facilitating self-employment among unemployed
• Labour market information (statistics, analysis etc.) – (not implemented in Slovakia)
• Issuing work-permits to foreign workers ( not implemented in Romania)
• Other activities

Despite the mutual differences between PES, there are some common characteristics that should be emphasised: PES implement all the basic activities of the public employment services and there are almost no differences between them regarding the contents. However, there are the differences in when they were implemented and in the level of the development of individual activities. In most of the countries the measures of employment programmes were to be developed in a relatively short period of time, because there was no concern for unemployment before this period. In all the PES the passive rights and activities are shortened and reduced by the various forms of active employment policy measures (or at least the legislators are encouraged in this direction). There is an emphasis on the active employment programmes which enable employment. There is also noticeable strengthening of the self-employment programmes, small business development, local partnerships and public works. The vocational guidance for unemployed is especially emphasised and there is also tendency to develop programmes for difficult to employ, long-term unemployed and disabled people. Occupational information and guidance for youth and other unemployed people are relatively well developed. There is also intensive development of information activities about labour market (supply and demand on the labour market), although the development of electronic media is in the beginning (except for Slovenia).

Employers have a similar status in all the PES. They strengthen the job-broking activities, development of special services for employers , encouragement of employers to employ unemployed persons with various financial subsidies (compensation for lower productivity of difficult to employ) and tailor made training programmes for known employers. Because of the restructuring of enterprises in most of the Eastern European countries there are problems with redundant workers. To solve these problems, PES cooperate with employers. Activities are leading through PES (which usually forms professional basics and methods) in cooperation with the Ministry of Labour, Ministry of Economy and local partners (e.g.: labour funds in Slovenia).

Staff in PES:

Increases of staff in PES has been delayed and of course not in accordance with the growing number of unemployed which are the most important customers of PES (e.g.: Macedonia: since 1992 the number of unemployed has grown for 111%, the number of staff in PES has grown for only 25% ). The number of unemployed per Service staff is enormous (e.g.: Macedonia 734 unemployed per Service staff, 794 in BIH and 330 in Croatia), which shows the difference in the extent and quality of service for unemployed.

PES have developed systems of training of staff for increasing their efficiency and to give them the sills they need in working with customers. Some PES established their own training centres (Slovakia), other introduced the system train-the-trainers to increase the efficiency of training and to reduce the costs. In Slovenia the staff working with customers have to passed special exam.

In PES there is a continual tendency towards adaptation of services and organisation of changes on the labour market as well as in employment legislation. Gradually, the internal goals on priority fields are formed (management by objectives), system of supervising of performance and monitoring of intentional use of public funds. PES use experiences of other countries’ PES through different forms of cooperation and experience exchange. They are involved in various EU programmes for strengthening institutions on the labour market (PHARE: Twinning Slovenia, Great Britain, Sweden, Ireland). Some of Central European PES have developed rich mutual cooperation with direct exchange of working experiences , workshops of experts and regular meetings of general directors of PES². They have developed extremely good professional cooperation with neighbouring countries PES.

In PES the changes of internal organisation have been adapted by changing the priorities of their work and developing new programs for customers, considering variability of number of unemployed and their structure on the labour market. Common characteristics of these changes are:

• Job broking and job-searching assistance and counselling: Increasing number of job placements and connections with employers, forming of special counsellors for employers and adjustment of organisation ( in Slovenia there is experimental introduction of special departments for employers – one-stop-shop, where all the services can be performed by employers on the spot and they have also special counsellors for employers who co-ordinate work with employers on regional level. On the level of local offices the head of local offices are authorised for relations with employers.)
• Management and payment of unemployment benefits: gradual reduction of rights – duration and amount of payment, decrease of number of recipients, mainly as proposer of changes of legislators.
• Occupational information and guidance for unemployed: network expansion of vocational guidance and information centres with constant increase of number of visits of young as well as adults, diversion of priorities of vocational counselling from young people) to unemployed people. Development of job clubs in almost all countries.
• Occupational information and guidance for young: systematic informational expansion about the labour market, links with schools and school counsellors (Slovenia), promotions of Centres for vocational guidance and information (Hungary, Slovenia).
• Training and educational programs for unemployed: adjustment of programs to target groups of unemployed, priority to programmes which increase employability and programmes for known employers, special back-to-school programs for drop outs (Slovenia)
• Job-subsidies and other job-creation programmes (e.g. public works): response to the growing number of long-term employed people and elder unemployed persons. Programmes are connected with local communities and performers, strengthening of local partnership in PES with local authorities, assurance of co-funding of local resources programmes. Special programmes for employment of disabled in co-operation with special organisations (in Slovenia with the Institute for Rehabilitation of Disabled)
• Special programmes for redundant workers in the companies ( not implemented in BIH): (in most of the countries it is on the start. In Slovenia there was an emphasis on retraining of redundant workers in nineties. New measure: labour funds were created, all the programmes designed for unemployed can be implemented for redundant workers., PES co-operate with employers and government institutions and the Ministry of Economy. These programmes are now being gradually reduced.
• Programmes for facilitating self-employment: In initial phase growth of unemployment they were the only possibility for employment, their expansion and contents developed with the development of counselling organisation network. Evaluation in Slovenia has indicated that after 5 years over 90% of small businesses which started with PES’ support are still active and gradually increase number of workers.
• Labour market information (statistics, analysis etc.) : (not implemented in Slovakia).Increase of quality and usefulness of information forming government policy and strategies of employment in connection with other institutions. expansion of accessibility of information on registered demand for labour and registered job vacancies
• Issuing work-permits to foreign workers (not implemented in Romania) : Issuing work-permits to foreign workers depends on domestic labour demand. PES give expert aid in legislation.
• Other activities: PES develop various programmes for difficult to employ – disabled people in co-operation with other institutions (for rehabilitation of disabled), training, development of small business, co-operation with employers, informational activity and co-operation with various partners on the local level. PES in Slovenia implements national scholarship system for young to provide and ensures scholarships for extremely gifted apprentices and students.

PES create contents of employment programmes, some of which they implement by themselves ( informational activity, counselling and motivation of unemployed). The majority is implemented in cooperation with partners (private agencies and other institutions, also schools) on regional and local level. PES monitor the implementation of programmes and transparency of finance. Providers of programmes are selected by public tenders in Slovenia, conditionally in Hungary, Bulgaria and Romania.

New PES services

By varying numbers of unemployed, PES has gradually introduced new methods of work to increase the employment of unemployed. Some new approaches regarding the contents that have been introduced by PES are:

• preparation of individual employment plans for unemployed (back-to-work plan) – this method has been introduced for all unemployed in Slovenia, partially also in Hungary and Romania mainly for young unemployed people and in some cases also for adults.
• organisation of intensive forms of group counselling and job-search assistance (mainly as job clubs) have been introduced by the already mentioned PES as one of the most effective forms of assistance for unemployed to increase employment.
• Collaboration with employers is becoming important: Organisation of meetings among employers who search for new workers and job-seekers in order to find suitable alternative type of employment is introduced in Slovenia, BIH, Czech Republic and Macedonia. PES staff regularly visit employers to get familiar with their labour demands and employment requirements for new workers in future. The purpose of these meetings is also marketing to introduce labour force in PES and introduction of new employment programmes to promote employment of different target groups of hard-to-employ unemployed people. These are different forms of employers’ subsidies, implemented in all mentioned PES. There are various sorts of refunding of contributions due to lower productivity and training programmes for unemployed adapted to employers’ demands which encourage employers to employ unemployed. Different surveys are implemented to find out demands and expectations of employers. PES organise or take part in various employment fairs where employers and job-seekers present themselves (organised by student association, employers association, chambers of trade and chambers of commerce)
• Internet contains important data on labour supply and demand only in Slovenia. Internet placement system is gradually being developed in Czech Republic, Slovakia and Romania.
• Evaluation of employment programmes efficiency to increase job-search employment is implemented in PES in Slovenia and Hungary whereas in other PES only for some programmes.
• Development of partnership on local and regional level to maintain regular contacts with the authorities, employers’ associations, trade unions and other partners in the process of development and introduction of employment programmes is a regular activity of all PES. In most of the countries PES are the main initiators for local partnership in development of human resources .
• Periodical supervision of activities of unemployed persons as a way to prevent illegal work and to encourage activities of the unemployed is implemented by a special department of PES in Slovenia. In Czech Republic, Slovakia, Bulgaria and Macedonia the activities are implemented on PES by supervision and inspection services at competent of the Ministry of Labour.
• Co-operation with private employment agencies gradually increases which depends on the development of these agencies in individual country. Private agencies are more focused towards helping employable job seekers and into “head hunting”. In some countries the expansion of private employment agencies is also being legally motivated, so they are enabled to perform the basic activities of PES such as preparing employment plans (Slovenia).

Orientation into improvement of services for the customers of PES is significant for most of the PES. They are trying to reorganise themselves in higher efficiency and professional independence from the daily policy and assure professional support to the government in preparation of employment strategies and implementation of national active employment policy measures

All the mentioned PES are trying to improve the services for their customers, for unemployed people as well as for employers. There is a tendency to increase efficiency and satisfaction of the customers. This was done with the introduction of new services for the customers such as self-service, scheduling, receiving complaints and suggestions for improvement, development of internal monitoring and controlling of services, and the tendency to greater transparency of services and consumption of sources.

The level of usage of informational technology varies in PES and is dependent on assured financial funds. All PES tend to develop informational support of their activities and use of the Internet and Intranet in order to help themselves and to offer services to their customers: unemployed people, employers, young, partners and government institutions.

PES also tend to reorganise in the direction of higher efficiency and in assurance of quality of services throughout the country (Slovenia, Czech Republic). By influencing the changes of employment legislation they try to strengthen professional autonomy of PES (Hungary, Czech Republic).

In the end I will name some new services for customers which are in progress in Slovenia. Their goal is to increase the work efficiency, satisfaction of customers and rational management of consumption disposable sources:

• team treatment of customers: we found out that the difficult to employ customers need the interdisciplinary approach of counsellors and the team work have to be strengthened
• one-stop- shop for employers: introduction of special departments for employers at bigger labour offices where the employers will be able to apply labour demands, cooperate in choosing of candidates among job-seekers, to incorporate into employers’ programmes, gain information about available job-seekers, to receive work permit for foreign workers.
• self-service departments for customers: acquirement of all press media and Internet information on available working places, employment programmes and providers of various training programmes, information about rights and duties of unemployed people, employers and scholars, gradual introduction of electronic operation with the option of gaining different permits, or applying individual claims through the Internet
• free of charge phone-line for information or different PES experts’ advice, complaining about the work of PES is also possible
• initiation of service standards for unemployed – it is now on test in one of the regional services, its evaluation will be followed by initiation of the first six standards in the whole territory of Slovenia
• scheduling of customers is already introduced in the whole territory of PES due to shortening of waiting period, even burdening of the PES staff and increasing of customers’ satisfaction because now they know when they are meeting their counsellor. There is also an experimental computer application developed for scheduling customers and will soon be introduced in ESS.
• establishment of management information system in order to follow up the efficiency of PES work – there will be indicators of efficiency and implementation of various activities, following the goals’ achievement and demonstration of consumption of available sources.

In order to improve and introduce all the mentioned services in ES of Slovenia we are using the opportunity of benchmarking from the Twinning program in collaboration with PES of Northern Region of England, Sweden and Ireland. And we are of course collecting the information in our regular cooperation with PES from the neighbouring countries and in the area of WAPES programme.

Conclusion

Changes on the labour market, employment legislation changes and economic restructuring have influenced demands of PES customers (unemployed, employers and government institutions). In all the mentioned PES a great progress has been made especially in the adaptation of the organisation itself, its contents and training of staff to all the changes. In all the PES there is the large problem of high growth of numbers of unemployed people. In relatively short period of time they had to develop system of insurance in case of unemployment as well as all active employment policy measures considering extremely limited staff and financial sources. They were required to train their own staff for new challenges and gain the appropriate status as the most important performer of government employment policy in their own country. PES had to adjust their internal organisation to the changes of the labour market and tend to ensure the same service standards all around the country.

Hopefully, I have managed to demonstrate the efforts and achievements of the PES in Slovenia, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Croatia, Macedonia, BIH and Romania.