Page 22 - Educational-Iceland

departments which help employees plan their careers. Training at the workplace can be unemployment benefits for up to 6 months if an employer pays the remaining salary costs.
in many forms, e.g. tailor-made courses set up by the company at the work place, The same applies for people who can be hired on a trial basis for up to 6 months;
contracts with for-profit or non-profit educational providers and counsellors, and/or home l unemployed people can also receive unemployment benefits while developing their own
assignments using specific computerised educational packages. Most work places in business idea for up to 6 months.
Iceland are however too small to be able to offer such training on site and therefore tend
to encourage their staff to seek training elsewhere and even subsidise such training. All Guidance services for all those who seek assistance, unemployed or otherwise in transition
trade unions encourage their members to develop their career planning by participating are offered mainly by Public Employment Services which are state funded. The Ministry of
in lifelong learning courses and to update their skills according to personal needs and Social Affairs has overall responsibility and the Directorate of Labour supervises and co-
the needs of the labour market. The unions publish information leaflets or newsletters and ordinates a network of nine Employment Services located in the main regions. Their main
have access to confidential representatives who form an extensive network. Some unions task is, according to legislature on Labour Market Measures, to assist job-applicants and
offer their members professional guidance in individual interviews conducted by contracted the unemployed and to provide information or counselling on career development, career
counsellors. pathways, and educational or vocational opportunities. Counsellors working in each one of
l Hobby courses. There is a wide variety of provision of training for individual requirements these centres assist in the making of CV’s and giving advice concerning job interviews etc.
and it has been very fashionable to undergo some sort of such training. Participants pay The counsellors also provide information and advice on studies in secondary schools as
all costs and private companies carry out the training. No guidance is on offer at these well as on higher education level and on the possibilities of lifelong learning and continuing
training centres. education.

6.2. Unemployed adults
Unemployment hardly existed in Iceland for decades, until the financial crash in 2008 when
it rose sharply, reaching a peak in 2010. To try to combat that, various initiatives in education
and training were started, aimed specifically at the unemployed. Many of them have now run
their course but what is still available is:
l the right to attend university without losing unemployment benefits, provided that the
student is not registered for more than 10 ECTS;
l study at upper secondary school if the student is registered for 9 units or less in an
evening school or at distance learning, or 6 units or less if the course leads to a trade for
which it is possible to obtain a study loan;
l it is also possible to attend a wide variety of evening classes without losing any benefits;
training at the workplace is also an option where the unemployment fund pays the

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