- 2019Implementation
- 2020Implementation
- 2021Implementation
- 2022Implementation
- 2023Completed
- 2024Design
Description
The Ministry of Labour, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities is implementing the programme 'Career centres for youth', jointly financed by the ESF. The main goal of the programme is to support young people's integration into the labour market by better connecting the education process with the local environment and economy. The purpose of the programme is to provide better access to career guidance services for the young (6 to 19 years of age).
Two career centres are to:
- provide information on occupations and labour market;
- deliver career guidance for the young;
- carry out activities to empower parents to help develop their children's careers;
- organise promotional activities of the career centre and career guidance;
- empower the young in career planning;
- develop new approaches to youth career orientation;
- strengthen cooperation between the stakeholders in the labour market and career orientation organisers, Employment Service of Slovenia, Institute of the Republic of Slovenia for VET, schools.
Two career centres were established in Slovenia: one in Western Cohesion Region and the other in Eastern Cohesion Region.
The Foundation for Improvement of Employment Possibilities, PRIZMA, was selected through a tender in 2019 to implement the project in the Eastern Cohesion Region. In 2019, the 'Career centre for youth Like and Go' (in Slovene: VšecKAM in GREM (KCM)) was established and the implementation of activities began: promotion activities, web page, and workshops. To help develop the professional/career interests of the young and teaching them about the labour market, the KCM organised several workshops in schools for young people and their parents. By the end of 2019, the newly-established KCM organised 14 events for young people, three for parents and provided individual career guidance to 49 young people. The additional 17 events were organised to promote the KCM's activities and strengthen its cooperation with appropriate stakeholders in the labour market.
The Ljubljana Public Education Centre Cene Štupar was selected for the Western Cohesion Region. In 2019, the Career centre called Career Place (in Slovene: Karierni plac) was established, offering individual counselling and implementing promotion activities. It intends to develop interactive tools (interactive portal, application and VR professions). There were 67 events organised presenting the world of work and professions, 12 events/activities for parents, and 210 young people received individual career guidance. There were also 24 events organised to promote KCM and connect it with stakeholders on the labour market.
In 2020, Career centre for youth Like and Go (KCM) carried out its activities in Eastern Cohesion Region. Due to the situation and measures of the Government of the Republic of Slovenia as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the activities were adapted mainly to online by using audio-visual tools. For career development of the young in primary and upper secondary schools, 190 workshops were carried out, and 25 events for parents who want to help their children with career decisions. Individual counselling was provided to 410 young people, and 24 promotional events were organised. A 5-day virtual career fair for upper secondary students was organised in November 2020, attended by approximately 10 000 participants.
In 2020, the Career Centre Career place organised 129 events intended to familiarise young people with professions and the work sphere. There were also 21 events/activities for parents and individual counselling was provided to 487 individuals. Some 33 events were organised to promote the KCM and also strengthen cooperation with other actors on the labour market.
In April 2020, the Career place portal was launched and a user manual prepared. The portal has three target groups: students, parents and professional workers. In autumn, a special segment was added: presenting individuals with interesting professions. This was a response to the user opinion that more content on professions would be useful.
A new manual was published, 'New approaches to career orientation for the young' (Novi pristopi na podrocju karierne orientacije mladih). It is intended for professional workers in primary schools. Training has also been offered to implement the approaches from the manual.
In order to make technical professions more attractive for the young, a series of videos presenting experiments and professions was created in cooperation with the Tehno Park Celje. Videos of professions in real life working environment were created for VR goggle presentations.
Ambassadors of professions also prepared videos with career stories and career advice.
By the end of 2021, the KCMs in both regions organised 886 events for young people so they could learn about different occupations and develop their interests; 132 were for parents and provided individual career guidance to 1 966 young people. An additional 167 events were organised to promote the KCMs' activities and strengthen cooperation with labour market stakeholders.
Due to the situation and Government measures as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the KCMs worked to carry out as many workshops and live events as possible, but they also adapted some activities to online by using audio-visual tools.
In Eastern Cohesion Region, an annual virtual career fair was organised, attended by 18 043 participants. There were 161 exhibition spaces: 95 for primary schools and 127 for upper secondary schools. There were also different webinars: 80 for primary schools and 213 for upper secondary schools. 97 schools carried out organised visits to the fair, of which 11 were upper secondary schools.
To promote the KCM, the project partners prepared informative videos about partners and their activities, clips with ambassadors for professions, online lectures on career orientation and 20 new videos under the title Top professions. All videos are uploaded on the website of the KCM Like and Go and its YouTube channel.
In Western Cohesion Region, an annual career festival was also organised. In 2021, it was planned live in Nova Gorica but, due to the COVID-19 situation, the majority of live events were cancelled and were changed to online events. Three performances took place: I, The Profession and the Future, for 258 eighth and ninth grade students. Other activities took place online, e.g. a round table with successful individuals from the economic and public sector who shared with secondary school students their experience and views on the choice of study and work (185 participants), seven workshops about career planning and getting to know own interests (364 participants), a lecture for parents (105 participants). From 8 November until 2 December 2021, the Career ZOOM festival - an information fair on how to choose your study - took place. A total of 32 faculties participated in this event and offered information on study programmes and aspects of decisions about further education. 455 students attended the online presentations by the faculties.
In 2022, the partners of the 'Career place project' initiated 87 group activities for the youth, 18 activities for the parents, 238 individual career counselling and 34 promotion activities.
In the framework of the Like and go project, new workshop programmes were developed and workshops at primary and secondary schools were conducted (live and online). The implementation of the workshops was adapted on the go (live or on-line), depending on the COVID measures at the time.
A total of 134 activities or workshops were carried out in primary and upper secondary schools.
The project partners conducted 372 individual consultations with children and adolescents. Some consultations took place at KCM units, where parents were also present, while others also took place at primary and secondary schools.
Finally, 27 activities for parents were carried out and 14 career orientation events organised.
The project concluded with the ending of the financial perspective.
A new EU-funded project is in preparation.
Bodies responsible
- Ministry of Labour, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities (MDDSZ)
Target groups
Learners
- Learners in upper secondary, including apprentices
- Young people (15-29 years old)
Education professionals
- Teachers
- Guidance practitioners
Thematic categories
Governance of VET and lifelong learning
This thematic category looks at existing legal frameworks providing for strategic, operational – including quality assurance – and financing arrangements for VET and lifelong learning (LLL). It examines how VET and LLL-related policies are placed in broad national socioeconomic contexts and coordinate with other strategies and policies, such as economic, social and employment, growth and innovation, recovery and resilience.
This thematic category covers partnerships and collaboration networks of VET stakeholders – especially the social partners – to shape and implement VET in a country, including looking at how their roles and responsibilities for VET at national, regional and local levels are shared and distributed, ensuring an appropriate degree of autonomy for VET providers to adapt their offer.
The thematic category also includes efforts to create national, regional and sectoral skills intelligence systems (skills anticipation and graduate tracking) and using skills intelligence for making decisions about VET and LLL on quality, inclusiveness and flexibility.
This thematic sub-category refers both to formal mechanisms of stakeholder engagement in VET governance and to informal cooperation among stakeholders, which motivate shared responsibility for quality VET. Formal engagement is usually based on legally established institutional procedures that clearly define the role and responsibilities for relevant stakeholders in designing, implementing and improving VET. It also refers to establishing and increasing the degree of autonomy of VET providers for agile and flexible VET provision.
In terms of informal cooperation, the sub-category covers targeted actions by different stakeholders to promote or implement VET. This cooperation often leads to creating sustainable partnerships and making commitments for targeted actions, in line with the national context and regulation, e.g. national alliances for apprenticeships, pacts for youth or partnerships between schools and employers. It can also include initiatives and projects run by the social partners or sectoral organisations or networks of voluntary experts and executives, retired or on sabbatical, to support their peers in the fields of VET and apprenticeships, as part of the EAfA.
Modernising VET offer and delivery
This thematic category looks at what and how individuals learn, how learning content and learning outcomes in initial and continuing VET are defined, adapted and updated. First and foremost, it examines how VET standards, curricula, programmes and training courses are updated and modernised or new ones created. Updated and renewed VET content ensures that learners acquire a balanced mix of competences that address modern demands, and are more closely aligned with the realities of the labour market, including key competences, digital competences and skills for green transition and sustainability, both sector-specific and across sectors. Using learning outcomes as a basis is important to facilitate this modernisation, including modularisation of VET programmes. Updating and developing teaching and learning materials to support the above is also part of the category.
The thematic category continues to focus on strengthening high-quality and inclusive apprenticeships and work-based learning in real-life work environments and in line with the European framework for quality and effective apprenticeships. It looks at expanding apprenticeship to continuing vocational training and at developing VET programmes at EQF levels 5-8 for better permeability and lifelong learning and to support the need for higher vocational skills.
This thematic category also focuses on VET delivery through a mix of open, digital and participative learning environments, including workplaces conducive to learning, which are flexible, more adaptable to the ways individuals learn, and provide more access and outreach to various groups of learners, diversifying modes of learning and exploiting the potential of digital learning solutions and blended learning to complement face-to-face learning.
Centres of vocational excellence that connect VET to innovation and skill ecosystems and facilitate stronger cooperation with business and research also fall into this category.
This thematic sub-category is about the way learners learn, how the learning is delivered to them, and by what means. Programmes become more accessible through a combination of adaptable and flexible formats (e.g. face-to-face, digital and/or blended learning), through digital learning platforms that allow better outreach, especially for vulnerable groups and for learners in geographically remote or rural areas.
Supporting lifelong learning culture and increasing participation
Lifelong learning refers to all learning (formal, non-formal or informal) taking place at all stages in life and resulting in an improvement or update in knowledge, skills, competences and attitudes or in participation in society from a personal, civic, cultural, social or employment-related perspective (Erasmus+, Glossary of terms, https://erasmus-plus.ec.europa.eu/programme-guide/part-d/glossary-common-terms). A systemic approach to CVET is crucial to ensure adaptability to evolving demands.
This broad thematic category looks at ways of creating opportunities and ensuring access to re-skilling and upskilling pathways, allowing individuals to progress smoothly in their learning throughout their lives with better permeability between general and vocational education and training, and better integration and compatibility between initial and continuing VET and with higher education. Individuals should be supported in acquiring and updating their skills and competences and navigating easily through education and training systems. Strategies and campaigns that promote VET and LLL as an attractive and high-quality pathway, providing quality lifelong guidance and tailored support to design learning and career paths, and various incentives (financial and non-financial) to attract and support participation in VET and LLL fall into this thematic category as well.
This thematic category also includes many initiatives on making VET inclusive and ensuring equal education and training opportunities for various groups of learners, regardless of their personal and economic background and place of residence – especially those at risk of disadvantage or exclusion, such as persons with disabilities, the low-skilled and low-qualified, minorities, migrants, refugees and others.
This thematic sub-category refers to initiatives that promote VET and lifelong learning implemented at any level and by any stakeholder. It also covers measures to ensure and broaden access to information about VET to various target groups, including targeted information and promotional campaigns (e.g. for parents, adult learners, vulnerable groups). Among others, it includes national skill competitions and fairs organised to attract learners to VET.
This thematic sub-category refers to providing high-quality lifelong learning and career guidance services, including making full use of Europass and other digital services and resources.
Subsystem
Further reading
Country
Type of development
Cedefop, & ReferNet. (2025). Career centres for youth: Slovenia. In Cedefop, & ReferNet. (2025). Timeline of VET policies in Europe (2024 update) [Online tool].
https://www.cedefop.europa.eu/en/tools/timeline-vet-policies-europe/search/28793