ESF REACTION TO THE ECONOMIC AND FINANCIAL CRISIS CASE OF SLOVENIA – Brussels, 15.3.2012

REPUBLIC OF SLOVENIA Constitutional Charter on the Independence and Sovereignty of the Republic of Slovenia was proclaimed on 25. June 1991 The Constitution of the Republic of Slovenia was proclaimed on 23. December 1991 Member of EU 1 May 2004 Introduction of the EURO 1 January 2007 GDP per capita (2011) in EUR 17.361 Area (km2) 20.273 Population of RS (2009) 2.057.018 Capital Ljubljana

SLOVENIA IS ONE CONVERGENCE REGION NUTS-2 2007-2013: SLOVENIA IS ONE CONVERGENCE REGION NUTS-2

ACCORDNIG TO ESF STUDY GROUP 5: “MS with a growing economy before the crisis, but which were hit by the crisis and faced various difficulties in implementing the ESF.”

CHANGE IN SOCIO-ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT Economic growth: 2007: 6,1% 2008: 3,5 % 2009: -7,8 % 2010: 1,2 % 2011: -0,2 % Main reasons: Decline of investments Decline of export Decline of household consumption Main effects: Reduced access to bank credits Inability of companies to pay debts Laying off High public debt New issues that have arisen from labor legislation (payments of foreign workers…)

LABOUR MARKET Registered unemployment rate 2007-2011 (from 7,3 to 12,1 %)

GREATEST ISSUES MANAGEMENT Crunch in absorption of ESF LABOUR MARKET Inflow of unemployed to Employment service 79% of all new adds for employments were of the fixed-term type The main reason for the loss of employment was the end of the contract of employment Structure of unemployed has changed: higher number of first time job seekers, long term unemployed, older unemployed (age over 50)

ESF AS AN IMPORTANT TOOL IN MANAGING THE EFFECTS OF THE CRISIS

1. SIMPLIFICATIONS AND IMPROVEMENTS OF THE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM Advance payments VAT as eligible cost Use of flat-rates for ESF and ERDF Introduction of shorter payment deadlines for investment transfers . payment made from the national budget to the municipalities day before the payment to the contractor falls due Modified Guidelines on eligible costs which bring less administrative burden New financial instruments (FI) Simplifications in the process of preparation and approval of instruments Elimination of double administrative controls (shorter deadline for payment to the beneficiaries) 9

2. PROGRAMME CONTENT ADJUSTMENTS Program as such wide enough First instruments implemented in 2008 were continued from the previous programming period and were not adopted to new circumstances In 2009 adoptions of the instruments regarding the new circumstances Some fund shifting within the priorities

PRIORITY 1 Promoting entrepreneurship and adaptability Objectives: Enhancement of business R&D capacities and better cooperation among academic, research and economic spheres. Promotion of HRD in enterprises with the aim of increasing employability and mobility of workers and strengthening competitiveness of the employers. Establishment of a system of incentives via a systematic and comprehensive approach for matching the education system and the needs in the labor market so as to reduce structural imbalances in employment, improve qualification structure of HR and strengthen employability. Creation of new employment opportunities by fostering entrepreneurship, flexible forms of employment and other innovative approaches that prevent entry into unemployment. Activities Experts and researchers for competitive enterprises Training and education for competitiveness and employability Scholarship schemes Promotion of the development of new employment opportunities

GOOD PRACTICE EXAMPLE 1 Public call: “Knowledge makes the dreams come true”, which aims to co-finance training and education to employees to enhance employability by raising levels of education, training and basic skills, priority those target groups of employees, threatened with job loss transformated into Trainings for those who are temporary unemployed

GOOD PRACTICE EXAMPLE 2 Program: Self employment: after training and preparation of personal business plan subsidies of 4.500 Euros for self-employment (2 yrs)

PRIORITY 2 Promotion of the employability of job-seekers and inactive Objectives: Encourage inactive persons for a successful entry into the labour market Increase outflow of the unemployed into the labour market Improve educational structure and qualification of the employment and inactive Activities: Strengthen informing, counselling, motivating, lifelong career orientation and development of multi-media aids for an effective career counselling to unemployed and inactive Programmes/projects encouraging the inactive to enter the labour market Training and education of the unemployed to obtain the required knowledge and skills; On-the-job training and other short forms of training Stimulate employment in regions with low economic potential Support to innovative measures and specific approaches in the area of active labour market policies and international projects (for example connecting contents of CIP, EQUAL and EIM), and the development of new forms of preventive activities for moving into open unemployment)

GOOD PRACTICE EXAMPLE 3 Program: Promotion of employment for hard-to-place clients: subsidy for 1 month training and employment for 18 months (special attention was given to personal career plan of the employed person)

GOOD PRACTICE EXAMPLE 4 Public call: “Absovent, aktiviraj in zaposli se” Stimulations for the candidates for graduation for training at employers, after graduation subsidy for employment of graduates

PRIORITY 3 Development of human resources and of life-long learning Objectives Improvement in the quality of the education system along the entire vertical and of the training system including improvement in the qualification structure of the education providers Augmentation in the participation of individuals in the education and training process thus ensuring greater employability and mobility Activities Improvement of quality and effectiveness of education and training systems Improvement of individual’s qualifications for work and life in a knowledge-based society Quality, competitiveness and responsiveness of higher-education

PRIORITY 4 Equal opportunities and reinforcing social inclusion Objectives Enable the access to employment and training for the vulnerable groups by developing social and other innovative forms of entrepreneurship that create new jobs and disseminate social and other public services. Promote equal opportunities and social inclusion among the young, in particular in the education and training system. Enhance awareness of the public about equal opportunities as positive values Acitivities Equal opportunities in the labour market and reinforcing social inclusion Increasing accessibility to and equal opportunities in the educational system Increased employability of vulnerable groups in the field of culture and support to their social inclusion

GOOD PRACTICE EXAMPLE 5 Public call: Social entrepreneurship

GOOD PRACTICE EXAMPLE 6 Project: Region Pokolpje

GOOD PRACTICE EXAMPLE 7 Project: Family-friendly company certificate

PRIORITY 5 Institutional and administrative capacity Objectives: Ensure efficiency and effectiveness of the public sector, including in healthcare and justice, comparable to the level to other developed EU Member States and valid standards. Augment the level of quality and effectiveness of the labor market institutions in providing employment and increasing employability of the service users. Reinforce civil and social dialogue as well as competence of the non-governmental sector and of social partners to provide services that are conducive to growth and job creation. Activities Efficient and effective public administration Reform of the institutions in the labor market Promotion of the development of NGOs, of civil and social dialogue Healthcare in the information age

GOOD PRACTICE EXAMPLE 7 Project: More counsellors at the Employment Service for better quality of service

OPEN ISSUES AND OPPORTUNITIES CONTENT: Sustainability of new jobs Quality of jobs (evaluation) Financial instruments MANAGEMENT OF ESF: Further promotion of simplified costs Internal administrative burdens at public institutions (long and complicated procedures) Possible shifting of funds within the priorities?

Sector for ESF, Managing Authority Staša Mesec Sector for ESF, Managing Authority Stasa.Mesec@gov.si www.eu-skladi.si