These aims are achieved by the offices, organized in separate activity areas:

Placement services and vocational guidance;
Vocational guidance and scholarships;
Active employment policy programmes;
Unemployment insurance activity;
Legal affairs;
Analysis;
Computerised information system;
Finance and accounting;
Personnel;
General affairs;
Public relations, information and publishing;
Organization and development of the institution;
International cooperation;
Supervisory body;
Internal revision;
Work on behalf of the Guarantee Fund.

Placement services and vocational guidance, implemented in the LOs, includes various tasks and activities, which can be devided into a number of groups:

As in previous years, professional work on placement services and vocational guidance remains one of the priorities of ESS. After the new Employment and Unemployment Insurance Act was adopted, ESS began pushing for a transition from passive forms of dealing with unemployment issues towards encouraging and supporting the active involvment of unemployed people themselves, which brings new tasks and obligations to ESS staff.

New tasks appear mainly in the following areas: a more comprehensive and more exacting employment programme for all the registered unemployed should becompleted. The unemployed person should be actively seen and advised at least once a month. All the expenses, connected with searching for employment, should be approved. In order to improve job placement and because of employers' request to cooperate with ESS, the cooperation between these parties should be improved.

Activity areas

ESS vocational orientation has recently experienced some radical changes. The year 1998 was a turning point for the area of vocational guidance for the unemployed. The number of individual sessions has increased sixfold in the last two years (2,600 sessions in 1996, 5,245 in 1997 and 16,710 in 1998). In 1998, for the first time, the number of sessions held with adults was higher than the number held with young people. It can be seen that vocational guidance is a lifetime process.

The year 1999 is a turning point for the area of vocational orientation for schoolchildren. In autumn 1998 Employment and Unemployment Insurance Act was changed. Article 71, which defined some activities and relations with schools, was omitted.

In 1999 the Vocational Guidance and Scholarships programme for schoolchildren does not actually provide for some activities: eighth-grade pupils enquiry by means of a questionnaire, collecting and processing of eighth-grade students' intentions, attending of the secondary school students' incorporation and success (the testing of seventh-grade students' intellectual abilities will, in accordance with the agreement between ESS, the Ministry of Labour, the Family and Social Affairs and the Ministry of Education and Sport, be implemented through a modified procedure). It has to be emphasized that only in this case, some tasks are eliminated since schoolchildren still are one of the Vocational Guidance and Scholarships Office's target groups.

Individual sessions represent the majority of vocational guidance.

Centre for Vocational Guidance and Information (CVIG)

The first CVIG in Slovenia was founded in 1998 in Ljubljana, Smoletova ulica 12. It offers information necessary for planning educational and career paths to all who are interested. It is also intended for unemployed and surplus workers, who need in-depth vocational guidance, to young people who are making decisions about their study paths and professions and who need a great deal of information from vocational counsellors, and to any others who wish to obtain similar information.

At the moment there are more than 160 descriptions of professions available. In the CVIG library there is also information about courses and training at all levels, as well as information on financial assistance for the education available in the EU and other countries, as well as other tools and instructions on how to seek employment.

In addition to written, audio and visual resources, other forms of assistance are available every working day from ESS professional counsellor: individual counselling on designing a career or study path; descriptions of professions for the unemployed and young people.

CVIG is open every working day from 8.00 am to 4.00 pm, (Fridays from 8.00 am to 2.00 pm).

After the new Employment and Unemployment Insurance Act active employment policy programmes were given a new dimension, which is shown in the increased importance of active employment policy measures to co-ordinate discrepancies in the labour market. On the basis of the new law, active employment policy measures can now be implemented by employers, authorised organizations and labour funds, in addition to ESS and the Ministry of Labour, Family and Social Affairs.

The following active employment policy measures are being carried out by ESS:

• training and education;

• public works;

• training and employment for disabled people and medical services;

• support for the self-employment;

• refunds and repayment of contributions;

• shared funding of regional projects;

Mostly the unemployed benefitted from these programmes and were therefore made more competitive in the labour market. ESS also applied various measures to prevent transitions into official unemployment from occuring:

• shared funding of sheltered companies;

• sharing the costs of the training and the additional training of surplus workers;

• participation in the government staff restructuring project and the prevention of transitions into official unemployment;

• labour funds;

• professional tasks to invitation for applicants to share the costs of new jobs and company restructuring.

Within the unemployment insurance activity ESS resolves the entitlements arising from unemployment insurance, it apportions them and pays out money to those entitled. The entitlements arising from unemployment insurance are as follows:

• unemployment benefit;

• unemployment assistance;

• reimbursement of travel expenses;

• entitlements to health, pension and disability insurance.

The majority of administrative affairs are connected to decision-making procedures and paying out unemployment benefit and unemployment assistance (recognition and apportionment, stagnation, ceasing and reducting of the entitlement, etc.)

Insured people may exercise their entitlements for the period during which they are jobless through no fault of their own or against their wish. This entitlement to get unemployment benefit can be exercised provided they have unemployment insurance, that they were employed for a period of at least 12 months in the 18 months prior to the termination of employment, and that no suitable employment is available. An insured person becomes entitled to unemployment assistance after the end of their unemployment benefit, or after the trainee period, if shorter than 12 months. The conditions to assert the entitlement is in accordance with the income (80.0% of the guaranteed wage per family member) and with social/property census.

ESS ceases to pay unemployment benefit or unemployment assistance, among other things, if the person issuedit rejects suitable employment, rejects participation in the active employment policy programme, does not actively search for a job, is not available, etc.

People entitled to unemployment benefit have a right to basic health insurance as well as pension and disability insurance. Contributions for basic health insurance, pension and disability insurance and income tax deposit are deducted from the unemployment benefit. People entitled to unemployment assistance have a right to medical services.

An unemployed person is entitled to repayment of travel expenses (while searching for employment) and for registered post. Applications for expense repayments are presented at the LOs where decisions about the entitlements are made. Payment of the acknowledged expenses is guaranteed by the Insurance Implementation Office.

ESS legal affairs department conducts all legal affairs, its own internal affairs, property and status-related issues and it partly implements the unemployment insurance. The tasks include the following in particular:

• legal support for ESS as a legal entity through the regulation of relationships and the formulation of internal general acts;

• legal support for activities and employment programmes through the preparation of uniform instructions and interpretation and examination of contracts;

• harmonisation of the legal practice of the ROs in the implementation of the unemployment insurance system, and other legal issues relating to employment programmes (registers of job-seekers and the unemployed);

• advice on scholarships, appeals procedure and entitlements of the unemployed and employers;

• legal exaction of debts.

Basic analytical work is related to the provision of correct, punctual and up-to-date information on the phenomena and events taking place in the labour market. With this aim in mind, special attention was devoted to a single methodology and approach for the processing of data on the registered unemployed, on demands for workers and trainees, on job placements for workers and trainees, and on the activities of ESS which fall within the scope of active employment policy measures. A great deal of attention was devoted to improving the methods of monitoring the work of ESS in achieving their objectives. The methodological aspect of monitoring the achievement of objectives was standardised, as was the method of presenting and publishing the selected indicators.

In 1998 a standardised classification of occupations was introduced on a trial basis. The coding key used as a classification tool in recording the titles of qualification was changed to coincide with the introduction of new professional titles and qualifications.

In keeping with its legal obligation, ESS conducted a survey (Employment Plan) in all companies and private businesses employing ten or more staff. Based on the survey results, an analysis of employers' employment plans was performed and an assesment made of the expected influx of redundant workers into unemployment.

At the end of each year an analysis of employment and unemployment trends and of the structural aspect of unemployment, with an emphasis on the critical groups of the registered unemployed, is carried out and a forecast of the conditions in the labour market in the forthcoming year made.

Monthly information is regularly published and the preparation of material for press conferences continues. In addition to involvement in the preparation of the Annual Report, we prepare material for use by the state and other bodies at the national, regional and local levels throughout the year, and also participate in the international exchange of data and experiences on collection methods. We publish relevant data on ESS internet and on the Web site. Part of the Analytical Department's work is associated with running the internal library and documentation facilities. The library uses the standard method for keeping records of books and other publications, periodicals (foreign and Slovene), videotapes, CD-ROMs, and ESS documentation.

The purpose of the information technology centre is to provide computer support for ESS staff in the implementation of programmes and measures, and to provide support for the efficient functioning of ESS as a service and for its function as information provider. The major part of the work of the staff of the Information Technology Centre and departments revolves around the provision of support for the implementation of programmes and measures.

The Informational Technology Centre works on upgrading computer support for ESS information system. A start has been made on establishing standards for the computer environment within which the overhauled computer support system will operate, and the minimum hardware and software required for test operations; training was provided for staff at the Information Technology Centre, who will be the ones working hardest on overhauling the computer support system. A joint database model was prepared, and several concrete solutions for merging data from existing computer programs into a joint database were put forward.

The Accountancy and Finance Department deals with all ESS activities in operative financial accountancy. Its basic tasks are:

• realization of all necessary procedures for the expenditure of budgetary resources;

• providing information related to the financial situation (resources, obligations to sources), monetary and financial streams, reporting on the influx and expenditure of funds, according to purposes;

• providing mid-year analysis and operative reports for internal and external users and ESS annual balance sheet;

• monitoring of the financial-accountancy area, tax policy, employment and other ESS areas, as well as preparing various instructions and regulations as well as the interpretation of procedures;

• operational and even partly supervisory function in the implementation of providing resources for subsidizing students' nutrition through the Students' Organization of the University of Ljubljana and the Students' Organization of University of Maribor.

Personnel department operates uniformly for ESS and co-ordinates some local offices' activities. Beside standard tasks, procedures dealing with job relations, one of the tasks is also the introduction of Regulations on Promotion changes, the Regulation on Education, and Regulations on Internal Organization and Job Systematization.

Through the new Employment and Unemployment Insurance Act the Personnel Department was given a task connected to contents preparation, the organization and implementation of expert examinations. According to the law, each employee who attains the sixth or the seventh level of education, working on employment, unemployment insurance, active employment policy and scholarships, has to pass the expert examination.

According to the new Employment and Unemployment Insurance Act special concern is focused on ESS staff education and training.

General Affairs Department operates in the following areas:

• investments and keeping of ESS business premises and equipment;

• supply, records and stocktaking;

• central supply and records of supply and usage of office material;

• publishing;

• housing problems of ESS staff;

• social standards;

• keeping of business premises of ESS Head Office;

• office management, records and preserving documentary material;

• implementation, control and records of public orders.

The Public Relations Co-ordinator mostly deals with systematically providing the public with information on ESS activities and its competence. Some of our forms and methods of providing the general public with information are:

• organizing regular monthly press conferences at the Head Office and ROs;

• providing informative material, such as leaflets, brochures, books, posters etc.;

• informing ESS staff through monthly bulletins and ESS Intranet system;

• active participation in different television broadcasts;

• systematically providing the public with information through the media;

• integral promotion of new ESS activities;

• taking part in the organization of consultations with other institutions;

• organizing various consultations and round tables;

• upgrading the free information helpline service with permanent topic-days;

• taking part in different fairs of local or state character;

• production of CD-ROMs containing information on the tasks and areas of ESS responsibility etc.

Due to numerous changes brought by the new law the following forms of informing were upgraded and intensified: ESS free information helpline service, ESS Intranet and Web-pages, taking part in fairs, systematically (weekly or monthly) providing information via the mass media with ESS's own columns (Delo, Dnevnik, Večer, Primorske novice, Delo in kadri, Val 202, Radio Slovenia's Channel 1, local radio channels etc.,) and creating the special television broadcast Službeni vhod (Business Entry).

Publishing is given an emphasis by ESS. At the moment 31 different leaflets are being used throughout Slovenia in ROs, LOs and other institutions (libraries, information offices, job clubs, schools etc. Leaflets are published two or three times a year, according to changing needs.

An Organization and Development Department supporting the activity service for organizational solutions provides organizational rules, instructions, authorizations etc., assistance with applications for users, editing, updating and publishing, participating in project teams and the monitoring of their work, and assistance to organizational units.

Essential contents, development and organization-related questions are solved within projects through which the Organization and Development Department offers professional and technical assistance with connection and co-ordination.

The ESS international activities are numerous and diverse. The ESS actively co-operates with public employment services and similar institutions abroad. Work on Phare projects has become more and more intensive, as well as on other European Union programmes, particularly within Leonardo da Vinci.

The central activities of international co-operation include:

• activities within the World Association of Public Employment Services (WAPES);

• participating at professional meetings and workshops within established co-operation between public Employment Services in Central Europe - Austria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Germany, Slovakia, Poland, Croatia and Slovenia;

• activities for accession to the European Union - EURES Network, European Structural Funds, especially European Social Fund, adoption of acquis communautaire;

• participating in Phare projects and programmes, containing intensive forms of cross-border co-operation with regional offices of public Employment Services in Austria, Italy and Hungary; co-operation with Croatia has started as well.

According to the new Employment and Unemployment Insurance Act the legal basis for a foundation of a new department within ESS was given. Professional tasks of the Supervisory Body are:

• implementation of supervision;

• acquisition of necessary data from other institutions;

• co-ordinating work with other institutions;

• proposing measures subsequent upon supervision;

• proposing changes and supplementary action dealing with relations between ESS and the unemployed;

• proposals of supplements and changes to laws and regulations.

The Supervisory Body is supposed to inspect approximately 2% of the unemployed registered at ESS. Those people who fail to accomplish their obligations are crossed out of ESS records and the right to participate in active employment policy programmes is denied them.

Internal revision is an independent evaluating activity which analyses tests and evaluates the internal control system.

ESS internal revision is directly subordinated to ESS Managing Director. In accordance with its establishment the internal revision informs ESS management and advises how to abolish the irregularities.

The Guarantee Fund was founded by the Government to deal with the issue of the impact on social welfare of those workers who had lost their jobs as a result of employers insolvency.

The professional, administrative and technical tasks of the Guarantee Fund are performed by ESS (providing basic information, reception, revision and forwarding forms etc.).