Counselling services in Slovak public employment services Lifelong Guidance for Job Seekers Third Project Partners´ Meeting Bratislava, Sept. 25 – 26, 2008

Counselling services Provided by offices of labour, social affairs and family to: unemployed job seekers as well to employed job seekers (employees) individually or in group counselling. Counselling services are focusing on: solving problems associated with job seeker's employability, harmonizing his/her personal characteristics with requirements of a certain job, improving his/her decision making, job search and other skills needed for successful personal and social adaptation to the labour market

Individual action plan Office guarantees to develop an individual action plan to each job seeker who is registered for no more than six months. Individual action plan is defined as a written document which, based on evaluation of the personality conditions, abilities and professional skills of a job seeker, determines the type and scope of assistance required for facilitating his/her occupational assertion and delimits specific procedural steps for the purpose. .

Counselling services activities Individual counselling services individual interview individual action plan assessment and “bilans de compétences“ Group counselling services Socio-psychological and communication skills trainings Counselling courses, motivation and re-socialisation programmes... Psychological counselling

Counselling services providers within offices of labour, social affairs and family Job Clubs Counselling and Information Centres (for people with disabilities) guidance and counselling provided by private institutions Agencies of supported employment

National Project „Modernisation, increasing the effectiveness and variety of counselling services“ Duration of the project: December 2005 – December 2007 Geographical scope of the project: Bratislava region (GDP per capita higher than EU average) Other regions (GDP per capita lower than EU average) The main aim of the project: modernisation, increasing the effectiveness, variety and quality of complex counselling services for unemployed job seekers with focus on individualised approach and the purpose to increase their activity and employability and help them to find a job Regional projects are divided to: external (realised by external organisations) internal (realised by OLSAF´s counselling services staff)

Regional projects activities (1) Training of key skills and competencies required for finding a job and retaining in employment, especially: development of social and psychological skills, intensive counselling courses, refreshment and development of employment skills, preparation for interviews and selection procedures Improving the quality of employment services through strengthening individual approach to clients (individual action plan) Improving the quality of employment services also through group counselling Assessment of job seekers´ abilities and skills helping them to find a job and retain in employment

Regional projects activities (2) Create and develop methods of providing counselling services, which support re-socialisation of socially excluded persons and those in risk of social exclusion, as well as persons distant from the labour market, organise re-socialisation courses for them Create and develop counselling methods, including ICT, focused on counselling services provision Provide complex counselling services for disadvantaged job seekers focusing on those with disabilities, with support of specialised private services (as e. g. agencies of supported employment) Establish new and support existing facilities of labour offices providing counselling services and develop new capacities needed for counselling services provision internally, as well as externally (e. g. counselling and information centres, job clubs, etc.)

Vision and main tasks since 2007 Introduction of profiling system of clients according to their possibilities to find a job on the labour market Improve the quality of provided services Individualisation of provided services – according to different categories of clients and their needs Standardisation – providing service of the same quality and in the same way in all offices, development of quality assurance system Improve the technical equipment and variety of tools and instruments of guidance and counselling practitioners; especially in the area of personal assessment Better co-operation of different organisational units and their employees within labour offices (changes in organisational structure of employment services are necessary) Realisation of projects in new EU programming period 2007-2013, active participation in international projects focusing on counselling services