From May 21 - June 3, 2000, within the framework of the exchange studies of the Leonardo da Vinci programme, the associates of the Employment Service of the Republic of Slovenia had the opportunity to acquire more detailed knowledge of the employment system, and vocational guidance and training in Great Britain. Co-operation between the Slovenian Employment Service and the Employment Service Northern Region had been established six years earlier and will surely continue, since the Employment Service Northern Region was selected to be a partner in the twinning programme, which is part of the Phare programme and is aimed at improving the functioning of the Employment Service of Slovenia.

During the visit, the delegation of the Employment Service of Slovenia learned about how partnership contributes to drawing up development plans and reconstruction strategies for solving social and economic problems in the region and about the role of the Employment Service in this. The Slovenian delegation was informed as to the organisation, priorities and tasks, setting and reaching of goals, information support, target groups, the scope of their financial means, personnel policies and employee training of the Employment Service.

Associates of the Slovenian Employment Service received a detailed view of the procedures and work methods used with various groups of unemployed persons in Great Britain. They learned about the rights and obligations of unemployed persons, their possibilities and the programmes which they join, as well as the documents for planning and monitoring the activities of the unemployed persons. This also enabled comparisons between job-broking services in Slovenia and in Great Britain in the area of establishing and maintaining contacts with the employers and of assigning this activity to outside contractors.

The delegation was acquainted with the work of the Career services (independent non-profit organisations engaged in activities similar to those of the Vocational Guidance Service of the Slovenian Employment Service: information and advice intended mainly for students and the dropout risk group, as well as for job-broking services for young persons who have just completed their education). Some of the more successful programmes of the Career Services aimed at the more vulnerable youth groups (Career club, Bridge program, Peer project) were presented, as well as the various forms of cooperation between schools and the labour market.

In Newcastle they visited the Learningplace centre, where the Pathways Adult Guidance Service operates (this is intended to provide guidance, information and advice for adults and resembles the National Resource Centre for Vocational Guidance in Slovenia). The Slovenian delegation also stopped at the TEC – Training and Enterprise Council Sunderland (a private agency intended for young persons who have not continued their education at colleges after sixteen years of age, to give vocational advice for adults and for the organisation of vocational training) and at two companies which organise vocational education programmes.

The associates of the Slovenian Employment Service also learned about the latest trends in British employment policies, the further development of the New Deal national programme introduced by the Labour government, and about the promise of radical changes in the operation of public and private services in the areas of employment, vocational guidance and training.