Page 8 - Information-on-the-Lifelong-Guidance-System-in-the-Czech-Republic
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Five months after becoming unemployed, an   has not yet been completed� This system is
              individualised action plan is developed for each   linked to the National Register of Vocational
              jobseeker� The number of people receiving   Qualifications� 11
              counselling varies according the composition
              of the registered unemployed and depends on
              the capacity of the public employment services   2� 5� 2�1 provided by the public
              (PES)� The PES run a web-based national job   employment services
              matching service, which enables a jobseeker to
              select from vacancies notified to the public em-
              ployment services� In addition, personal face-  StrengthS
              to-face counselling and placement services are   The legislative basis of counselling services
              available at some local labour offices, although   at labour offices  as part of the active
                                                               12
              these are intended mainly for jobs requiring low   employment policy measures, which can
              to medium skills as very few of the registered   be purchased from an external supplier, the
              vacancies are for high skilled jobs�  availability of counselling services, which are
                                                   free of charge, focussing on a wide spectrum
              Since January 2013, the Ministry of Labour and   of clients, qualifications, expertise, profession-
              Social Affairs has sought to provide better and   alism and the high level of motivation of coun-
              more extensive career advice and assistance,   selling practitioners, the range and quality of
              not only to jobseekers but also to employers,   the guidance services provided, cooperation
              municipalities and social partners� Better com-  with other departments and social partners,
              munication and information transfer between   the existence of an autonomous counselling
              the local contact offices and the regional   department, the technical and IT background
              branches of the Labour Office and employers   for the counselling department, Information
              is expected to increase vacancy notifications�   and Counselling Centres and their central
              A new methodology and standards of work are   support functions� 13
              being developed for better counselling services
              and more funding has been made available�  WeakneSSeS
                                                   The lack of a career system, systematic further
              In 2012, the profession “career counsellors” (ka-  vocational education, insufficient staffing, no
              riérový poradce), was included in the National   guarantee for the quality of the counselling
              Register of Occupations (Národní soustava   services, supervision, increased bureaucra-
              povolání, NSP); this covers four types of position,   cy, insufficient time to work with clients, an
              which are more specifically detailed, although   accumulation of functions, no unification of
              evaluation standards for these professions are   methods and approaches to client-oriented
              still needed� Hopefully, once these standards   work, significant differences between labour of-
              have been incorporated into the National Reg-  fices: in the organisation of client-oriented work,
              ister of Vocational Qualifications (Národní   in the numbers of clients per staff member, in
              soustava kvalifikací, NSK), a training programme   terms of technical equipment and office space,
              for career counsellors will be developed� To   an administrative approach to elaboration of
              date, no formal training has been established   the individual action plan, underestimation of
              for career counsellors�
              Job profiles are mapped at the national level by   11     www.skillsforemployment.org/KSP/en/Details/?d-
              sector councils and described in the National   n=WCMSTEST4_116649
              Register of Occupations – a database that   12     Act No� 345/2004 Coll� on employment
              has provided information about labour market
              needs by describing the generic and profession-  13     FREIBERGOVÁ, Z� Informačně-poradenské služby
              al competencies of occupations since 2007� It   veřejných služeb zaměstnanosti podporující pra-
                                                       covní uplatnění občanů: popis stávajícího a návrh
              has been developed through a series of projects   nového modelu. Praha: Národní vzdělávací fond,
              financed from the European Social Fund and   2008�




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