Final Evaluation Report · CFL (Centre for Flexible Learning) municipality of Söderhamn Italy: Aster Scienza Tecnologia Impresa Romania: Fundatia Centrul Educational Soros Slovenia:

Final Evaluation ReportGuidance in the Workplace Project

www.guidanceintheworkplace.eu

2

Project Partners

Sweden:

CFL (Centre for Flexible Learning) municipality of Söderhamn

www.cfl.soderhamn.se

Italy:

Aster Scienza Tecnologia Impresa

www.aster.it

Romania:

Fundatia Centrul Educational Soros

www.sec.ro

Slovenia:

Slovenian Institute for Adult Education

www.acs.si

PIA. Velenje

www.pia.si

France:

Centre Interinstitutionnel de Bilan de Competences Artois Ternois

www.cibcarras.org


3

Final Evaluation ReportGuidance in the Workplace Project

Authors:

Agneta Halvarsson

Phil Williams

Other contributors:

Annamaria Bonardi

Andreja Dobrovoljc

Romain Méjean

Zsofia Pal

Marina Silverii

Klas Tallvid

Tanja Vilič Klenovšek


October 2009

4

ContentIntroduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7

Conclusionsfromthreepriorevaluationreports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

The.Report. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8

An.Interactive.Approach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8

Datacollectionmethods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

The.project.partners. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9

France . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Romania . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Slovenia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Sweden . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Italy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

The.case.studies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14

TheRomaniancasestudy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

TheFrenchcasestudy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

TheCIBCguidancecounsellors’viewofguidanceintheworkplace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Theroleoftheguidancecounsellor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Employersview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

TheSloveniancasestudy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Theroleofthecounsellors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Theroleoftheunionrepresentatives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Employees’opinion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

TheSwedishcasestudy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Theguidancecounsellors’work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

TheItaliancasestudy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Theimportanceofcareerguidanceinacompany . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Interestandlevelofparticipationintrainingseminars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Strategiesofgrowthintheareaofhumanresourcesinacompany . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

Impact,.Sustainability,.future.work.and.lessons.learned. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36

Sustainabledevelopmentwork . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

Impact . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

Accreditationplans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

5

Continuedtrainingofadvicegiversandguidancecounsellors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Continuedworkwithguidanceintheworkplace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

Organizingtoachievesustainabledevelopmentwork . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

Lessonslearned . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Reflections.from.the.final.conference. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44

Flexibleguidancecounsellorswithastrategy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

Flexibletrainingwithastrategyforcounsellors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

Flexibleemployerswithastrategy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

Flexiblehomeorganisationwithastrategy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

Flexiblenationalsystems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

Did.they.do.what.they.were.supposed.to.do? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47

Concluding.reflections. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47

References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

6

Publisher: SlovenianInstituteforAdultEducation,Slovenia

Represented by: AndrejSotošek

Authors: AgnetaHalvarssonandPhilWilliams

Other contributors: AnnamariaBonardi,AndrejaDobrovoljc,RomainMéjean,ZsofiaPal,MarinaSilverii,KlasTallvid,TanjaViličKlenovšek

Design: Proanima,d .o .o .

Circulation: 250issues

October2009

CIP-KataložnizapisopublikacijiNarodnainuniverzitetnaknjižnica,Ljubljana

331 .361 .3

HALVARSSON,AgnetaGuidanceintheworkplaceproject:finalevaluationreport/AgnetaHalvarsson,PhilWilliams .-Ljubljana:SlovenianInstituteforAdultEducation,2009

ISBN978-961-6130-89-9

1 .Williams,Phil,1961-

248579328

7

Introduction

TheGuidanceintheWorkplaceProjectisaLeonardotransferofinnovationproject .TheinitialprojectwascalledGuidanceMerger .Guidancecounsellingforadultsistraditionallyseenasassistingindividualstotakedecisionsforcareerenhancementorpersonallearning .Guidanceintheworkplacecaninadditiontothisbeseenasamethodforcompaniesandpublicorganisationstoimprovetheirpracticesandlifelonglearningofthecollective .Manyem-ployersstriveforalearningorganisationtomeetcompetitionfromothersandtobeinnovative .Yetanotherperspec-tiveisthesocietal–tofacilitatelifelonglearningforalladultsthroughouttheEuropeanUnion .Thisperspectiveisbecomingmoreinfocus .Linksbetweenthejobsofferedandtheeducationsystembecomeslesstransparentwhenspecialisationofworklifecontinues .Figure1showshowguidanceintheworkplaceservicescanbeseenfromthesethreeperspectivesonlifelonglearning .Guidanceservicesattheworkplacecansupportalloftheseperspectives .

Howthencanguidanceintheworkplaceservicesbeoffered?Whatfurthertrainingforguidancecounsellorsisneeded?And,howdowemakeatransferofinnovationprojectslikethissus-tainablesothatthedevelopmentofservicescontinuesaftertheprojecthasended?ThesewerequestionsaskedwithintheGuid-ance in the Workplace Project . We have not found all of theanswers,buthopetogiveyousomeinthisandotherreportsthathavebeenwrittenduringtheproject .

ThesearethethreemainassumptionswhichhavebeentakenintoaccountbeforethestartoftheGuidanceintheWorkplaceProject . Theyare the sameas for thepriorGuidanceMergerProject,namely:

• Thatguidancecanmakeamajorcontributiontothedevel-opmentoflifelonglearningforthosewithinemploymentbyen-

couragingthoseinemploymenttotakeuplearningopportunities

• Thatguidanceisnotalwayseasilyaccessibletothoseinemploymentasforexampletothosewhoareunemployed

• Foradviceandguidancetomakeacontributiontothedevelopmentoflifelonglearningwithinemployment,itisessentialthatadviceandguidanceisnotprovidedinisolation

Conclusions.from.three.prior.evaluation.reports

InthreepriorevaluationreportsfortheGuidanceintheWorkplaceProject,wehavefollowedthepartner’seffortstofindorganisationstoco-operatewithinordertogetintoworkplaces,sothatguidanceintheworkplaceforstaffmemberscanbeoffered .Tobeabletogiveservicestothoseinemploymentitisessentialtoworktogetherwithemployers .ThiswasundoubtedlyalsoshownintheGuidanceMergerproject .

Theconditionsandhistoricalbackground ineachcountryare far fromsimilar . Legislationandotherstructuresdiffer .Theorganisationsthatowntheprojectaredifferent,withdifferentaimsandstrategies .Whatservicestheyoffertocompaniesandhowtheydoitmustbeinlinewiththeirbusinessstrategiesoroverallaims .Furthermore,theaimsorbusinessstrategiesoftheorganisationsthepartnersworkwith(the‘dooropeners’)alsoneedtofitintothescheme .Iftheydonot,itismostlikelythat,theguidanceintheworkplacewillnotbeofferedbytheminthefuture .Insomecountriesitisverydifficulttofindsuchpartners .Equallytheemployers’standpointsdifferinthefivecountries,butalsolocally .Someareveryreluctanttoletotherorganisationsin .Someareveryfarawayfromseeingthatadviceandguidanceforemployerscanbeusefulforthecompanytoo .

Tofindpartnerstoco-operatewithandtofindandshowemployersthattheywillbenefitfromguidancefortheiremployees,wasthoughtlikelytobeoneofthemostdifficultpartofmakingguidanceintheworkplacehappen .Moreoverfindingpartnersandcompaniesdoesnotmeaninstantsuccess .Thecounsellorsandadvicegiverswork-

Figure 1.Three perspectives on lifelong learning

8

ingtoprovidetheserviceswillnowhavetwointereststokeepinmind,boththatoftheemployerandthatoftheem-ployee .ThereforethetrainingthatisofferedtotheadviceandguidanceprovidersintheGuidanceintheWorkplaceprojectneedstohavebothofthesefocalpoints .Furthermorethetrainingwantstoberelevantfortheparticipantsandinlinewiththeserviceprovidingorganisation’sstrategiesoraims .Consequentlyeachpartnerhadtoadjustthetrainingtotheirspecificpreconditionsandcontext .Thisandmorecouldbereadabouttheworkdoneinthefivepartnersinthreepriorevaluationreports .Thesereportshavebeenslightlyrearrangedtofitintofourdifferenttopics .Theyaretobefoundontheprojectwebsite:www .guidanceintheworkplace .eu .

The ReportThefinalevaluationreportforaLeonardotransferofinnovationprojectcalledGuidanceintheWorkplace .There-portincludesinformationaboutthefivepartnersthathaveparticipatedinthetransnationalproject,partnercasestudiesandresultsfromaquestionnairefornationalprojectco-ordinators .ThecasestudiesandresultsfromthequestionnairewerediscussedatthefinalpartnerconferencewhichtookplaceinBologna,Italy .TheparticipantsattheBolognameetingwereaskedtocontributetothediscussionandanalysisoftheworkthathasbeendonewithinthetrans-nationalandthenationalprojects .Thejointanalysisispresentedthroughoutthereport .Wehopethatthiswillgivethereaderanideaofwhathasbeendonethroughouttheprojectandshowhowtransferofinnovationhasbeenmadefrompartners .Therearethreepriorevaluationreportsonguidanceintheworkplace .Thereisalsoareportonthetrainingofguidancecounsellorsandotheradvicegivers .Allofthisandmorecanbefoundattheprojectwebsitewww .guidanceintheworkplace .eu .

An Interactive ApproachIntheGuidanceintheWorkplaceProjecttheOngoingProjectEvaluation,orLearningEvaluation(Svensson,Brulin,Jansson&Sjöberg),hasan interactiveapproach(AagaardNielsen&Svensson2006) .Researchhasbeendonetogetherwithandnotontheparticipants .Itwouldnothavebeenpossibletoevaluatetheworkinfivecountriesus-ingtraditionalresearchmethodology .Theambitionwastoinvolvetheparticipants,mainlyprojectpartners,asco-researchers,exploringtheirownwork–guidedbyquestionsfromtheevaluator,personinchargeoftrans-nationaltrainingmodulesandthetrans-nationalprojectco-ordinator .Thestrategywastogetaperspectivefrom“inside”theprojectwork .Toensurevalidityitwasimportanttoliftdiscussionswherecritiqueofmethodandresultscametothesurface .Wearrangedforsuchjointlearningduringpartnermeetings .Thepartners,guidancecounsellors,rep-resentativesfromco-operatingorganisationsandotherparticipantswereallengagedtotakepartintheanalysisofthedatatogetherwiththeevaluatorandtrans-nationalcoordinator .

Partofthepartnermeetingswereorganisedasseminarswheredifferentresults,practicesandphasesofthedevelop-mentworkwerediscussedandanalyzed .ThiswasalsoawaytointegratethedisseminationofresultsfromtheGuid-anceMergerprojectwiththedevelopmentofservicesandtrainingwithinthetransferofinnovationproject,GuidanceintheWorkplace .Thediscussionsoftenstartedwiththeimmediateexperiencesoftheparticipants .Theambitionwasthentofurtherdeveloptheimmediateunderstandingtoamoreanalyticallevelandatthesametimelearnfromotherpartners .Theevaluatormadesummariesofthesediscussionsthatweresenttothepartnersforcomments .

Atthefirstpartnermeetingtheparticipantswereaskedtopresenttheirownorganisationsandthenationalsysteminconnectiontoofferingworklifeguidanceandadviceingeneral .Priortotheinitialmeetingthepartnerswereasked todo research into theirnationalsystem .Whatorganisationsofferadviceandguidance foradults? Is itpossibletoengageanyoftheseorganisationsintheproject?Atthesecondmeetingtherewerediscussionsaboutanchoring theprojectworkwithinpartnersownorganisationsand the co-operatingorganisations .At the thirdmeetingtheresearchdiscussedwereaboutthetrainingofcounsellors .Priortothefourthmeetingallpartnershadmadecasestudies .Theaimwastocapturetheperspectivesofemployers,employees,guidancecounsellorsandotheradvicegiversandthatofrepresentativesfromtheotherorganisationswhichsomeofthepartnersworkwith .Wehadseen,fromtheGuidanceMergerproject,thattheseperspectivesdiffer .Alloftheabovementionedresearchwaspresentedinseparateevaluationreports,togetherformingaseries .

9

Data.collection.methods

Likeallpriorevaluationreports,thisreportisbuiltonthepartnersownresearchpriortopartnermeetings .Ques-tionsweresentoutbeforehandbytheevaluatorortrans-nationalprojectco-ordinator .Forthisfinalreportelevencasestudiesweremade; including interviewswithguidancecounsellorsandrepresentativesfromorganisationsthatthepartnershaveco-operatedwithtogetintotheplacesofwork .Thecasestudieswereconductedbythepartnersthemselves,threeinRomania,threeinSlovenia,threeinFranceandoneeachinSwedenandItalywhoare“old”partners .Notestakenbytheevaluatoratpartnermeeting/trainingsessionsandemailcorrespondencebetweenevaluator,co-ordinatorandpartnershasalsobeenonewayofcollectingdata .FurthermoreawebbasedquestionnairewassentoutbytheevaluatorandansweredbypartnersinSeptember2009 .

Inadditiontothisthenationalprojectshavemadeotherdatacollectionsfornationaluse .Theresultsfromthesehavenotassuchbeenreportedontrans-nationallevel .Howeverthisresearchhasundoubtedlyhelpedinmakingjointanalysisduringthepartnermeetings .

The project partners

TherehavebeenfivepartnersintheGuidanceintheWorkplaceProject .TheSwedishpartnerandtheItalianpartnerwere“oldpartners”fromtheLeonardoprojectcalledGuidanceMerger .IntheGuidanceintheWorkplaceProjecttheyweretotransferinnovationtothenewpartnersinFrance,RomaniaandSlovenia,butinnovationhasalsobeentransferredfrom“new”partnerstoother,newandold,partners .

Allpartnershaveverydifferentsettings .TheSwedishpartner,CFL,isaregionallearningcentrewhichhasbeengivingguidanceinworkplacesforyears,theItalianpartner,ASTER;donotgiveguidanceinworkplaces .Theyhavesomewhatchangedtheirbusinessstrategysincethelastproject(GuidanceMerger) .Theydonolongerworkdirectlywithcompaniesbutremainincontactwithpartnersthatdoandwithpartnersthathaveopportunitytodisseminateprojectresultsonnational level .TheSlovenian instituteSIAE (Slovenian instituteofadulteducation)hasawiderangeofservices;oneincludestrainingofguidancecounsellorsin14publicregionalguidanceoffices,coveringtheentirecountry .TheRomanianpartner,SOROS,isalocallearningcentreofferingavarietyoftrainingandeduca-tionalcoursesforindividualsandcompanies .TheFrenchpartner,CIBC,providesservicesforindividualspreparingforvalidationandaccreditationofpriorexperienceandlearning .Theyarenowmovingawayfrombeingpubliclyfinancedintoamoreuncertainfutureofanindependentcompany .

Thefiveparticipatingpartnershaveorganisedtrainingforguidancecounsellorsandadvicegivers .Oneofthemajoraimsofthetransnationalprojectwastoassistintheplanningofthetrainingandgiveideasforcontentorcurriculum .Thetraininghasbeendonedifferentlyineachcountry .Thetopicsdifferinpartbutarethesameinpart .Thetargetgroupsforthetrainingalsodiffer .Thisisoffcourseduetothelocalcontext .Anotheressentialreasonforthedifferentapproachesisthatithasbeenimportantforthepartnerstobuildonsomethingthatalreadyexists,andthatthereshouldbeachancetofurtherbuildonthisinthefuture .Guidanceintheworkplacecannotbeseenasanisolatedphe-nomenon .ThiswasoneoftheconclusionsfromGuidanceMerger .Thereisaseparatereportonthetrainingofguid-ancecounsellorsandotheradvicegivers .Itisavailableontheprojectwebsite(www .guidanceintheworkplace .eu) .

Worthnoting,beforeexploringwhatwassaid,isthatwhiletheSwedish,French,SlovenianandItalianpartnershavefocusedonmediumsized,theRomanianpartnerhasgivenservicestosmallbusinesses .SwedenandFranceusedtheirown(inhouse)guidancecounsellors,Sloveniausedanetworkofcounsellorsthattheyusuallyprovidetrainingfor,RomaniausedcounsellorsfromalocalemploymentagencyandItalyinsteadtrainedHR-stafftoprovideser-viceswithintheirowncompanies .Thisreflectsthetraditionsandhistoricalbackgroundsineachcountry,butalsothecontactsthepartnerorganizationspreviouslyhadwithotherorganisations .

Thisisashortintroductiontothepartners,theworktheyhavedoneandthetrainingofguidancecounsellorsthathavebeenorganised .Thissectionalsodepictssomeoftheearlieranalysisoftheworkthatwasmadebythepart-ners .Webeginwiththenewpartners .

10

France

IntheprojectCIBChaschosentoworkwithcompanieswithmorethan50employeesthatarewellrepresentedintheirregion .Thecompaniesareinbusinessessuchasfoodprocessing,catering,hotelandbuildingbusinesses .Theyhaveapproachedcompaniesbyphone .TheHumanRelationsdepartmentineachcompanywasaskedtoansweraquestionnaireandtheywerethenofferedtheservice .InitiallythreecompaniesacceptedtoworkwithCIBC .Thosewhodidnotatthattimewanttotakeontheofferallgavethesamereason .Becauseoftheeconomicalsituationtheirmainconcernwastheirproductionandtheoverallsurvivalofthecompany .Trainingandguidanceisalongtermcommitmentandthecompanies’expressedthattheirmainconcernwaswithshorttermproblemsinproduc-tionduetothecurrentworldwidefinancialcrisis .AfewcompaniessaidthattheymayhaveneedforCIBCservicesforoneortwomembersofstaff,butnotforthecompanyasawhole .

OneofthecompaniesthattookaninterestisHerta .Theyaremainlyinterestedintheskillsaudit(thepartoftheskillsauditwhichaimstostresssomeabilitiesandtohelpstafffindtheirownabilitiesinthemselves) .ThishasbeencarriedoutbytheCIBC .Theaimwastofindthemostsuitablediploma,shouldthememberofstaffneedtovalidatehisorherknowledgeandskills .Francehasasystemforskillsauditandevaluationofpriorworkandeducationforindividuals(APEL) .Itisfinancedthroughtaxespaidbycompanies .ThesystemwasfullyexplainedduringapartnermeetinganditwaspartofthetrainingthattookplaceforthemalongwithotherparticipantsatthemeetingwhichtookplaceinArras,thehometownoftheFrenchpartnerCIBC .

Thesecondorganization thatwanted theservicesofferedbyCIBC,Conseildupas-deCalais (which isapublicorganisation),wantssupportfortheemployeeswhoareinterestedinAPEL .CIBCmakesvisitsbeforethememberofstafffilestheirrequestforAPEL .ThewholeAPELprocedureisexplainedtostaffmembersbyacounsellorfromCIBC .ApplicationsfromstaffmembersforAPELhavebeensubmitted .ThesupportfromCIBCwillgoonfurtherintothevalidationprocess,shouldanystaffmember’sapplicationbeacceptedbeginhisorherAPEL .TheCIBCstaffthinksthatthesuccessintheprivatecompanyismostlikelyduetothefactthattheproposalfromCIBCmatchedthecompanypolicyatthetimewhenCIBCofferedanopportunityforthecompanytotakepartintheGuidanceintheWorkplaceproject .Anotherfactorforsuccessisbelievedtobethatparticipationintheprojectisfreeofcharge .

TheFrenchpartnerfeelsthatgivingadviceandguidanceinworkplaceswouldbeeasierifthelawwaschanged .Now,anemployercannotdemandtoseetheresultsofaskillsauditforanindividualmemberofstaff,eveniftheinitiativecamefromtheemployer .Anemployerisnotlikelytopayforsomethinghewillnotbeabletoseeresultsfrom .ThefactthattherearedifferentfundsdependingonwhoseinitiativetheAPELisisalsoconsideredahinder-ingfactor .Evenifactivitiesthatarelistedonthecompanytrainingplanarecoveredinpartwithpublicfunds,costsmustbecalculatedbytheemployer .Oftenthefundsthatcanberetrievedexternallywillnotcovertherealcost .Anotherhinderingfactor,theCIBCstaffmentioned,isthatinFrancetheskillsauditsometimeshasabadringtoitwithmanyemployers .TheSkillsauditisoftenusedbyemployeesinFrancewhowouldliketochangeworkplaces .

WhenCIBCinArrascontactedcompaniestoenquireiftheywereinterestedinGuidanceintheworkplaceservicesthatCIBCcouldoffer,CIBCusedaquestionnaire that theywilldevelop further .OtherCIBC’s in theregionwillcontactcompaniesandusethesametypeofquestionnaire .Forthemtobeabletodoso,trainingwasneeded .CounsellorswhowilltakepartinthetrainingansweredasetofquestionsabouttheirownskillsandknowledgeandCIBCstrategies .Trainingmoduleswerethenmadeinkeepingwiththelackofskillsandknowledgeidentifiedinthequestionnaires .ThiswasofferedtoCIBCstaffintheregion .

Romania

SOROSisalearningcentreforadults .ToensurelongtermeffectsatSOROS,andtofurtherthebenefitsforthecompanies,developmenthasbeenmadetomakeSOROSmoreofademandresponsivelearningcentre .Informa-tionhasbeengatheredandbenchmarkinghasbeenmade .TheSwedishpartner,CFLisoneofthebenchmarkedorganizations,takingpart inaprojectcalled3M(LearningcentresasMotors,MediatorsandMeetingplaces) .SOROSfeelthatguidance intheworkplacewouldbemoreattractiveforemployers ifmoredemandresponsivecoursescouldbecreated .SOROShasteamedupwiththeHarghitaCountyEmploymentAgency .Eightcompanies

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havebeenapproached .Personalcontactsprovedtobeimportanttobeabletoreachcompanies .SOROShasof-feredguidanceinthreecompanies .

Mostoftheapproachedcompaniesareinthetouristsector .SOROSstaffconsidersthesetypesofcompaniestobemoreopentochangewhichiswhytheywereapproachedfirst .Facetofacediscussionsandaninformalapproachprovedtobemoresuccessfulthanthepreviousattempttoreachcompaniesbyformallettersandemails .Thecon-tactsweremadewithcompanyownersdirectly .Whenmakingcontacts,emphasiswasmadeontheexperiencesothercompanieshadhad .Oneoftheexamplesusedwasfromthestudyvisit inSwedenintheGuidanceintheWorkplaceproject,inSeptember2008 .Thefirstmeetingwiththeemployerwasanopendiscussion,withoutpres-sureonthecompanytoparticipate .Theaimwastoshowbenefitslikebetterskilledorqualifiedworkersandlongtermstabilityonthemarket .

SOROSofferedGuidancetraininginmodulesoftwelvehoursfortwodays,duringaweekend .Itwasnotpossibletooffertrainingduringworkdaysas .Itwasmoreconvenientfortheparticipantstoparticipateatthetrainingintheweekend,otherwisetheywouldhaveneededsomedaysofffromtheirworkplace .Theparticipantsofthetrainingwereguidanceprofessionals/advisegiversandhumanresourceprofessionalsfromprivateemploymentagencies .ArepresentativeoftheEmpoymentAgencyMiercureaCiucwasalsoparticipatinginthetraining .Tobeeligibletheparticipantsproducedaletterofintent,showingthattheyweregenuinelyinterestedinthetopicandtheyalsosubmittedaCV,showingthattheyarequalified .

Therewerefourmainitemsoftraining[1] .ThefirstwastohighlightgoodpracticeinotherEuropeancountries .Thisincludedguidanceintheworkplaceandskillsaudit .Morevaluewasaddedtothetrainingtoattractthepartici-pantstotakepartonweekends .Inthetrainingtherewereelementsaboutflexibilityintimesoffinancialcrisisandelementstoshowhowcompaniescanfindworkwithflexibilityinsteadoflettingpeoplegowhenprofitsaredown .

ThesecondtrainingsessionwasaboutlegalandorganizationalframeworkonnationalandEUlevelconcerningtrainingandguidance .Therearesomestateinstitutionsthathavefundstoprovidethis,butthesefundsareseldomused .Companiesareunawareofthesepossibilities .RomanianlegislationissimilartotheFrench,butthegeneralfeelingisthatitdoesnotworkwell .Companieshavethetime,butnoorlittlefundsfortraining .

ThethirdsessionconsistedofmethodologyofguidanceintheworkplaceprovidedbytheotherGuidanceintheWorkplaceProjectpartners .Thefinalsessionwasontheriskandthebenefitsbothonbehalfoftheemployerandtheemployee .Themethodsused throughout the trainingsessionswere interactivewithexperiencedbasedandreflectivelearning .Theaimforthetrainingwasfortheparticipantstoacquireknowledgeinguidingtechniques,atypicalemployment,legislationandcommunication .

Slovenia

Beforeintroducingguidanceintheworkplacetoemployers,theSlovenianChamberofCommerceandIndustrywasapproachedbytheSlovenianpartner,SIAE .Thechamberwasaskedtowriteanintroductoryletter,explainingtheintentionsoftheSIAEandinvitingthecompaniestobeinvolvedintheproject .SIAEstaffhasfoundthatthechamberiswellrenownedinSloveniaandprojectsinitiatedbythemoftenarereceivedwellbycompanies .

Whenselectingthecompanies,theSIAEsearchedforcompaniesthatwereintradesorbusinessareaswithstaffwithlowlevelofformaleducationandtraining .Companieswithlessthan250employeeswereeligibletotakepartintheproject .Theyalsolookedforcompanieswerestaffmembershavehadverylittleornotrainingandcontinuingeducation .Thecompanieswerealsoselectedbasedonaninitialinterviewandanactivedecisionfromtheemployertoparticipateintheproject .

IneachofthethreeSlovenianregionstakingpartintheproject,contactshavebeenmadewith2-4companies .MorecompaniesareinterestedinguidanceintheworkplacethantheamountofcompaniesthatcanbeofferedtheservicesintheGuidanceintheWorkplaceproject .However,theplanistocomebackandofferguidanceatalaterstage,whenmorecounsellorshavehadtraining .Guidanceintheworkplacewithintheprojectschemewasgiven

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tothreecompaniesinthreeregionsandafourthcompanywasgiveninformation,butnotthefullsupportthatisofferedtotheothers .

The tradeunionZSSS isapromoterofGuidance in theWorkplace . There isanagreement to continue toworktogetherinthethreeregionsaftertheGuidanceintheWorkplaceprojecthasfinished .OneofficialfromZSSSat-tendedthemeetinginArras,January2009 .Heexpressedthatunionrepresentativesareverymotivated .Guidanceintheworkplaceisimportantalsointhetradeunionwork;inthefuturebutalsonowintimesofcrisis .Itcanbeanopportunitytosavethejobsifstaffgetstrainingnow .AnewlawinSloveniaprovidesfundsforcompaniesthatwanttocutworkinghoursfrom40to36hoursperweek .Negotiatingit,theZSSScameupwiththeideatousethosefundsfortrainingstaffinstead .

ThecontactsmadewithZSSSweremadewellinadvance,andtheguidanceintheworkplacehasbeenplannedtogether .Theguidancewasgivenbyunionrepresentativesonaregionalleveltogetherwithguidancecounsellorsfromregionalguidancecentresforadulteducationwhichoperatein14Slovenianregions .Thecentresprovideguid-anceandcounsellingforadultsandconnecteducationprovidersandguidanceinthearea .TheSIAEhasdevelopedtheunifiedconceptofguidingcentresandcontinuestomonitoranddevelopguidanceactivitiesinthem .Workingtogether,theunionrepresentativesgaveinformationandthecounsellorsgavemoreindepthadviceandguidanceintheworkplaces .

TheSlovenianpartnerbelievesthattheSIAE:scontactwithZSSShasbeenstrengthenedthroughtheGuidanceintheWorkplaceproject .Thetwoorganizationshaveworkedtogetherbefore,butthecooperationisnowmorefor-malized .Thestateinstitutionandthetradeunionbothexpressthatguidanceintheworkplaceisimportant,butfordifferentreasons .Lifelonglearninggivesricheropportunitiesforunionmemberstoadvanceintheircarriers,butitmayalsoleadtohighersalariesifemployeescantakeonmoreresponsibilities .ThemainaimforSIAEistopromotelifelonglearning .Thetwoorganizationscanalsoseebenefitsfortheemployers;withbettertrainedstaffproductivitycanincreaseandprofitscangoup .AstheZSSSofficialputit:‘weallhavethesamegoalbutfordiffer-entreasons,andwecanonlysucceedifweworktogether’ .

SIAEinconjunctionwithZSSSofferedthreedaysoftraininginworkshopsfortradeunionrepresentativesandforguidancecounsellors .Inbetweentheworkshopstheparticipantswereexpectedtostudytoprepareforthenextsession .Intotalthetrainingwas72hours(24hoursinworkshopsand48hoursofselfstudy–mentoredandmoni-toredbytheSIAE) .

Thereweretwomaintrainingobjectives .Thefirstwastofamiliarizethecounsellorsandunionrepresentativeswiththeimportanceoflifelonglearningfortheemployees(fromthepointofviewoftheemployees,companiesandthesocietyasawhole) .Therewasemphasisontheimportanceoflife-widelearning(learningforwork,personaldevel-opment,andactivecitizenship) .Duringtheseprocessesitwasimportanttopromotelearningaboutthecharacter-isticsandneedsoftheselectedtargetgroup–theemployees .

Thesecondtrainingobjectivewastofamiliarizethecounsellorsandunionrepresentativeswiththeimportanceofcarryingoutguidanceforlifelonglearningandcareerdevelopmentinthebroadestsense(careerasalife)atworkplace .Thesecondtrainingobjectiveincludedthetrainingofcounsellorsandunionrepresentativesforthe(different)taskstheywillhaveinconnectiontoguidanceforlifelonglearningattheworkplace–accord-ingtothepreparedplan .Italsoinvolvedplanning,executing,monitoringandevaluatingtheguidanceintheworkplace .

Thethreemodulesconsistedof:

• Guidanceintheworkplaceinthecontextoflifelong-learningoftheemployees

• Procedurestorecognisethealreadyacquiredknowledgeandexperience(compareAPELorskillsaudit)

• Preparationoftheplanforguidanceintheworkplaceintheselectedcompany .

InadditiontothistheSlovenianpartnersmadeastudyvisittoCIBC .

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Sweden

CFLisapartnerfromthe“old”GuidanceMergerproject .AlthoughgivingadviceandcounsellingintheworkplaceisapartoftheCFLstrategyforcooperationwithcompaniesintheregion,counsellorsatCFLhavefounditmoredifficulttoofferadviceincompaniesduringtheworldwidefinancialcrisiswhichescalatedinthemidstoftheGuid-anceintheWorkplaceProject .

Asalearningcentre,CFLhasmorethanguidanceintheworkplacetooffertheworkplaces .Differenttrainingandcoursesforemployersareoneofthosethings;cooperationwithcompaniesthattakeontraineesfromothercoursesatCFL(forunemployedorothers)isalsoimportant .CFLcanvalidateemployees’skillsandknowledge .Thishasinthepastbeenonewaytogetintotheworkplace,tobeabletoofferguidanceandtrainingofcompanystaff .

CFLcarriesondevelopingtheworkthattheydoonadailybasesaspartoftheirstrategy .Theyconstantlyseekco-operationwithcompaniesintheregion .SincegivingguidanceintheworkplaceispartofthedailyworkforsomeoftheguidancecounsellorsandvocationalteachersattheCFLlearningcentretherewasnoplannedtraining–apartfromthetrainingsessionsprovidedbytheotherpartnercountriesintheGuidanceintheWorkplaceproject .Anytrainingofnewcolleagues,whoaretobeinvolvedinnewprojectsatcompanies,iscarriedoutinaninformalway,focusingonthetopicsneeded .Howevertrainingofenablerswithincompanies(i .e .companystaffmemberswhohelpwithonthespottraining)isdoneinamoreformalway .DuringtheGuidanceintheWorkplaceProject,theprojecthasbeendescribed,ashasthedailyworkwithguidanceandotheractivitiesincompaniesintheregion,inmeetingswithguidancecounsellors’networks .

Italy

ASTERisalsooneofthe‘old’partnerswhocontributedtotheGuidanceMergerproject .Theyhave,throughouttheGuidanceintheWorkplaceproject,explainedthatguidanceinworkplacesisnotcommonplaceinItaly .SincetheGuidanceMergerProjectASTER:sbusinessstrategyhaschangedandtheyhavere-organizedtheirorganisation’sworkinawaythattheynolongerareindirectcontactwithcompaniesthemselves .

InItalyguidanceandcounsellingfromanexternalpartnerisbytraditiononlydonewhencompaniesneedsupportwithoutplacements .Onlyauthorizedpersonscangivethisservice .Furthermore, theemploymentagenciesonlyworkwithunemployedindividualsexceptforoutplacements .ThereforeASTERhasdecidedthattheprojectresultfromGuidanceMergerandthetrainingvisitsinGuidanceintheWorkplacewillbedisseminatedbutnottriedoutinpracticeduringtheGuidanceintheWorkplaceproject .Bydisseminatingprojectresultandinvolvinghumanrela-tionsstaffincompaniesandemploymentofficestaff,ASTERseesawaytoevokeafutureinterestforguidanceintheworkplace .

Consequently trainingforcounsellorswasofferedtocompanies included inadatabaseofcontacts for trainingandplacementactivities .ThiswaspossibleviacontactswiththeSTOAbusinessschool1andISFOL2–anationalbodydealingwithtrainingforworkers .Thetrainingwasconductedintwomodules,eighthourspersessionandperson .Contactsweremadewithhumanresourcemanagersinthecompanies3 andsecondlywithmanagersofTemporaryWorkAgenciesthathavecontinuousrelationshipwithcompanies .Themainaimofthetrainingwastodevelopguidancecompetencesintheworkplace .Furthermoreitwasanopportunityforcompaniesindifferenteconomicsectorsandofdifferentsizestosharereflectionandtobenchmark .Thetrainingincludedthedevelop-mentofkeycompetencessuchasinnovationmanagement,creativity,self-evaluationandprojectdevelopment .The

1 STOA’ BUSINESS SCHOOLorganisesMasterMBAandtherebyhascontactswithanetworkofmanagersandhumanresourcesconsultants .

2 ISFOLisanationalbodythathasdevelopedseveralstudiesonguidanceonthesubjectoftrainingofworkers .

3 AziendaNapoletana,GruppoEngineering,Unilever,Unicredit,EurotranciaturaHoldingIndustriale,AlmavivaconatcspaCRM,Scinicarielloshipping,EdixioniSimone,Eurotanciatura .

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methodologicalaspectsofguidanceintheworkplaceandthetoolswerediscussed, includinghowtomanagecareerdevelopment .Amodelexamplewasstudied .Inall,therewere30peoplefromthefollowingsectors:Tem-poraryAgencyWork;mechanic sector, consultancyservices, insurancesector,associationonlus,banksector,servicesforimport-export,medicalsectorandICT .Atthetrainingsessions,HRManagersofsmallandmediumenterprisesparticipated,aswellasmanagersofTemporaryWorkAgencies,andworkersofPublicEmploymentServicesandGuidanceProfessionals .

The case studies

Thefactthatallpartnersaredifferenttypesoforganisationsoperatingatdifferentlevelsorsectorsofsociety;andthattheybecauseofthishavedifferentpossibilitiesofmakinganimpactintheircountriesorregions,doesnottakeawaythepossibilityforotherstolearnfromtheirsuccessandfromtheirmomentsofstruggle .Thesearetheircasestudies .Employers,employees,advicegiversandcounsellorshavebeeninterviewedtogivetheirviewonguidanceintheworkplaceingeneralandintheircompany .InSlovenia,wheretheSIAEhasbeenco-operatingwithatradeuniontoreachintothecompanies,interviewshavebeenmadewitharepresentativefromthetradeunion .Thecasestudysectionofthereportbeginswiththe“new”partnersandendwiththe“old”partnersfromtheGuidanceMerg-erProject .Theoriginalcasestudieshavebeeneditedslightly;someareshortenedaspartshavebeenabbreviated .

The.Romanian.case.study.

SorosEducationalCentreisanadulteducationinstitution .ItsGuidanceintheWorkplaceprojectteammadeanagreement with the Harghita County Employment Agency to work with the Centre within the GWIP project toprovidetheguidance‘know-how’ .Thepositionatthecountyemploymentagencyasacounsellorincludesofferinginformationaboutthelabourmarket,thetrainingopportunities,skillsaudit,andofferingadviceandguidancetotheunemployedpeopleonhowtofindajob,includingforexamplehowtomakethemostoutofajobinterview .Theinterviewedguidancecounsellorhasparticipatedinthetrainingfortheadvicegivers’organizedbySorosEdu-cationalCentre .Shecontributedtodefiningthecontentofthetrainingprogramtoacertainextentbyfillingoutaquestionnaireaboutpotentialareasofinterestandtrainingneedsofadvicegivers .

Theguidancecounsellorfromthecountyemploymentagencythinksthatshewillbeabletousethetraininginherworkespeciallywhencompaniescannotfindenoughemployees,orthebesttrainedemployees .ThetrainingwithintheGuidanceintheworkplaceprojecthasgivenhertoolstogiveinformation/adviceonexistingopportunitiesandmeth-ods .Intermsoffuturetrainingsshewouldliketoseeconflictmanagementandmorepracticalmethodsofguidance .

ArepresentativefromTheHarghitaCountyEmploymentAgencyparticipatedinallthevisitstakentocompanieswhereadviceandinformationhasbeenoffered .Sheconsidersthatsinceoneofthemajortasksoftheemploymentagencyistheguidanceofactiveorinactiveworkforce,GIWPisaservicewhichwouldbeuseful .Furthermoreshebelievesthatitwouldhavebetterresultsifmanagersofthecompaniescould/wanttoparticipateindifferenttrain-ingsabouthumanresourcemanagement,conflictmanagementetc .InRomania,thistypeofservicehasnotbeenintroducedyetasafreeofcharge(orcontracost)publicservice .ItismostlyprivatecompaniesormultinationalcompaniesthatofferGIWP .Therearenotyetfundsallocatedforguidanceintheworkplaceservice,howeverpublicinstitutionscanapplyforfundingthroughprojects .

AccordingtotherepresentativefromtheHarghitaCountyEmploymentAgencyitwouldbehelpful,ifattheendoftheGuidanceintheWorkplaceProjectahandbookwouldbewrittenaboutwhatthespecialiststhinktheGIWPserviceshouldbeinthefuture,inordertopromoteitinthosecountrieswherethisservicedoesn’texistyetorisnotimplementedwidely .ShethinksthatthemostpositiveoutcomefromtheGIWPwereontheonehandthetestingofsomeGIWPmethods,ontheotherhandpromotingtheideaofGWIP,andsharingexperiencewithspecialistfromdifferentcountriestodevelopthisservice .

Thecompaniesvisited(withthepurposeofgivingadviceattheworkplace)bytherepresentativeofHarghitaCountyEmploymentAgency)andthelocalprojectmanagerfromSorosEducationalCenterarefromthetouristsector .Usu-

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allythesecompaniesdonothavean‘inhouse’guidancecounsellororadvicegiver,andtheissuesrelatedtoHRdevelopmentaremostlyhandledbytheowner/managerofthecompany .

Sincetheemploymentagencyhadalongtermcontactwithsomeofthecompaniesvisiteditwaseasierapproach-ingthemanagementandpersuadingthemaboutthefactthattheywillonlyhaveadvantagesaftertheGWIP .Oneofthecompaniesvisitedisa3starpensioninthecentreofMiercureaCiuc .ThecompanywasapproachedthroughthelongtermcontactbetweenitsmanagerandtheHarghitaCountyEmploymentAgency .Themanager(andalsotheowner)ofthepensionwasinterviewedinpersonatthepension .Heconsidershimselftobeanopenmindedperson,whoisawareoftheimportanceofemployees’traininginordertoassurethecompany’slongtermsuccess .Thereforeheprovidesregularshort,ratherinformal,trainingsforitsstaff .HisinterestinparticipatingintheGWIPprojectwastoincreasethestaff’spositiveattitudetowardscontinuouspersonalandprofessionalself-development .

Theowneralsotookpartintheguidancecounsellingsessionforthestaff .HeconsideredthemajorproblemofHRmanagementtobetheemployees’mentalityandlackofself-determination .Hefoundtheideaofguidancereallygood,whichcouldbealongtermsolutionforsomeoftheproblemsrelatedtoemployees’attitudeandprofessionaldevelop-ment .Inthesametimeheexpressedhisopinionaboutthelackofqualitytrainingsforhisemployeesintheregion .Heshowedinterestforparticipatinginprojectswherethesetrainingsareofferedfreeofcharge,andguidanceaswell .

Nineemployees(waiters,cook,receptionists,andcleaner)ofthecompanytookpartinthegroupcounsellingses-sionconductedbyarepresentativefromthecountyemploymentagency .Mostofthestaff(formeroractualstu-dentsofSorosEducationalCenter)wasingeneralopentotheideaoftrainingsbutsomewerealsosatisfiedwiththeircurrentsituation,anditwasnotobvioushowmuchefforttheywouldmakeforself-developmentifthepensionwouldn’tofferthemanytraining .

Manyofthemagreedontheimportanceofprofessionalandself-developmentandtheywerelisteningtotheem-ploymentagencyrepresentative’sadvicewithinterest .Theyaskedquestionsaboutpossibletrainingopportunitiesin the town related to theirprofession . Furthermore they shared theirpersonal experiencesaboutautonomouslearningintheireverydaylifeoronlearninginastructuredway(courses) .

Themajorproblemforthestaffingeneralwasthefinancingoftrainings(mostofthetrainingscostmorethantheemployee’sonemonthsalary) .Theylikedthewaytheywereapproachedintheguidanceintheworkplaceprojectandtheytookpartintheguidancewithinterest .Thestaffparticipatedinthecounsellingwasalsoofferedindividualguidance(self-knowledgeissues,etc .)butthiswasnotcompulsory .Noneofthemhassignedupforindividualguid-ancewhenthisiswritten .

Theguidancecounsellorusedmethodsrelatedtogrouppsychology,roleplaying,andproblemsolvingmethods .Shethenofferedgeneralinformationandemphasizedthemajorimportanceoflifelonglearning .Thecompany’smanagementseemedveryflexibleandopentonewideas,consequentlythesupportwasassuredandhelpfulintheprocessofguidance/dialoguewiththestaff .Themanagementconsideredaskingforguidanceintheworkplaceserviceifitcanberequested/offeredregularly .

Thesecondcompanyissimilarlyarestaurant .Theadministratorwhoisnottheowneroftherestaurantwasinter-viewedinperson .Thestaffistakingpartregularlyintrainingsorganizedbyanexternaltraininginstitution .Thesetrainingsarecompulsoryandtheircontentispreparedbythemanagementofthecompany .Thoughtheadministra-torconsideredthelevelofemployees’qualificationappropriate,heisverypositiveabouttheircontinuoustraining .

Twoemployees(waiters)tookpartinthegroupcounsellingsession .Oneofthemwasopentotheideaoftrainingandself-development;theotheronedidnotseemtobemotivatedforextraeffort .Theywerealsoofferedindividualguidance(self-knowledge,etc .)butnoneofthemhasrequestedthisyet .

Theadviceprovidingsessiontookonehour .Theadvicegiver(fromthecountyemploymentagency)offeredgeneralinformationandemphasizedthemajorimportanceoflifelonglearning,andprovidedspecificinformationaboutpossibilitiesofprofessionaltrainingsintheregion .Shetriedtocreateaninterestforguidanceintheworkplace

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amongtheemployeesbyraisingawarenesstowardstheimportanceofcontinuingeducation,ofmentality/attitudechangeconcerningtheirjob(themoreefficienttheyarethemorelikelytheycankeeptheirjobsand/ortobeap-preciated) .Sincetheissueofthestaff’scontinuoustraininghasbeenhandledbythemanagementofthecompanytheguidanceintheworkplaceservicewasnotreceivedwithopenarms .Theemployeesfeltthatthetrainingtheyneededwasalreadyprovidedbytheemployer .

ThethirdRomaniancaseisrelatedtoa3starhotel .ThecompanywasapproachedviathecontactbetweenitsmanagerandboththeHarghitaCountyEmploymentAgencyandtheSorosEducationalCenterFoundation .Themanagerwasinterviewedinpersonatthehotel .Shehasspentseveralyearsoutofthecountry,workinginthefieldoftourism,andsheisfamiliarwithtouristrelatedservices,perhapsmorethantheaverageprofessionalsinthetownofMiercurea-Ciuc .Sheis,accordingtoherself,goalorientedandawareoftheimportanceofemployees’traininginordertoassurethecompany’slongtermsuccess .Thecompanyhasseriousproblemswithpersonnelrecruitment(findingqualifiedstaff)andwithkeepingthestafflongterm .

Atthebeginningthemanagerwasquitescepticaltowardsguidancecounselling,shewasespeciallyworriedifthisserviceisofferedfreeofchargeornot .Whenshewasinformedthatitisgratisandisabouttestingsomeguidancemodelswithherstaffshesawtheadvantagesofit,namelytopromotetheimportanceofcontinuouspersonalandprofessionaldevelopmentofemployees .AmeetingwithonerepresentativefromSOROSandonefromthecountyemploymentagencyandstaffthentookplacealthoughthemanagerwarnedthatemployeeswouldprobablynotbewillingorinterestedinattendinganyfurthertraining,althoughtheywouldneedthese .

Fouremployees(waiter,cook,receptionist,andcleaner)ofthehotelparticipatedinthegroupcounsellingsession .Theyallseemedcuriousabouttheofferedguidance .Theyagreedontheideaofcontinuousprofessionalandself-developmentandthatthiswouldalsohaveapositiveimpactonthehotels’development .Thiswould,consequently,createpositiveeffectontheappreciationofthestaff,theirsalaries,etc .However,themeetingturnedintosome-thingelsethanintendedbythecounsellors .Theemployerstalkedaboutthelackofappreciationtheyfeltfromtheemployer,thelowsalariesandtheimpossibilityoftakingcourserortraining .Theycouldnottaketimeoffandtheycannotaffordtopayforcoursesthemselves .Thehotelownerwouldnotpayfortrainingorhelppayingfees .Overallthestaffshowedappreciationfortheguidanceandwantedmoreadviceinpositiveconflictmanagement,buttheywereatconflictwithmanagementatthetimeofthecounsellingsession .Thismadeitdifficultforthecounsellortocontinueworkingintheparticularcompany .

Fromtheadvicegiver’spointofviewthemostdifficultpartwaspersuadingthecompaniestoparticipateinthetest-ingofguidanceintheworkplace,andtofacesituationswhentherewasanobvious(longterm)conflictbetweenthemanagementandemployees .ShenowseesthatitwouldhavebeenwisetoofferaseparateguidanceespeciallyforpeopleresponsibleforHRdevelopmentandthemanagementtomakethemawareoftheimportanceofthehumanresourcesattheircompany .

The.French.case.study

IntheFrenchcasestudyoneofthecompaniesisalargefoodprocessingindustry .Itisaprivatecompanyprocess-ingsausagesandcookedporkmeats .InthecompanyitwasagreedthattheCIBC’sprovisionofserviceswastoanalyseindetailsomeworkstations(supplychainoperators, industrialbutchers), intheworkplace, inobservingtheemployeesworking,questioningthemabouttheirjobsandinterviewingtheirmanagers .Themainaimwastoestablishacompetencereferentialsothatthecompanycouldgetknowledgeofthesespecificworkstationstogetaconcreteformattobehelpedduringitsrecruitmentsorinternalemployees’transfers .Inadditiontothisaim,itwasalsotheopportunitytoidentifytherelevantdiplomaforeachjob,regardingthecompetencesandskillsanalysisledbyCIBC’scounsellorsintheworkplace .Afterthatstep,anAPELrequestcouldpossiblybefiledbytheemployees .Inthenearfuturethiscompanyhasaprojecttoanalyse,indetail,eachworkstationinordertocreatea“work-stationindexcard”inwhichalltheskills,abilitiesandcompetencesrequestedbyeachjobinthecompanywillbeinventoried .Thesereferencetableswillbeusefulforinternalmobilityandfurtherrecruitments .Asaskillsauditandcompetencesassessmentexpert,CIBCwillbeabletocarryoutthismission .

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Thesecondcompanyisasmallassociationwhichcaresabouttheoldordisabledpeople,providingthemhelpathome(auxiliarynurses,housekeepingetc .) .Inthisassociation,CIBCintervenedtoinformtheemployeesaboutAPEL(process,interest,durationetc .) .Followingthiscollectiveinformationsession,fouremployeesdecidedtocontactCIBCtobesupportedintheirAPELrequest(skillsandcompetencesanalysis,motivationexpression,choiceoftherelevantdiploma,supportforfillingintheapplicationforms,assistance,counsellingandcoachingduringthewholeprocess,fromthefilesendingtotheboardofexaminers’decision) .ThecompanyisoneofCIBC’sfaithfulpartnersandafurthercollaborationispossible .Here,thesystemisdifferent,asapublicbody,thecounciloftenlaunchessome“callfortender”inthefieldofeducation,guidance,training,counselling,andadvicegiving .TheCIBCwillsupportanothergroupofchildmindersintheirAPELprocessin2010 .

Thethirdcompanyisapubliccouncilwhichisaregionalauthorityondifferentfields(roads,education,vocationaltraining,employment,andenvironment) .Here,CIBCintervenedtoinformspecificemployees,chosenbythecouncil,aboutAPEL .Followingthiscollectiveinformationsession,20childmindersdecidedtocontactCIBCtobesupportedintheirAPELrequest(skillsandcompetencesanalysis,motivationexpression,choiceoftherelevantdiploma,sup-portforfillingintheapplicationforms,assistance,counsellingandcoachingduringthewholeprocess,sincethefilesendingtotheboardofexaminers’decision) .Thecompanyisasmallassociationwhichlimitstheiropportunities .Consequently,forthemoment,afurthercollaborationisnotforeseen .Nevertheless,CIBChasdiscussedwhattheycoulddointheguidancefield,andastheyweresatisfiedbytheworkmadewithintheguidanceintheworkplaceprojectitispossiblethatfutureservicescouldbeprovided .

ThankstotheGuidanceintheWorkplaceProject,allthesecompanieshavediscoveredtheAPELmaininterests:

• Cheapwayofdevelopingandrecognizingtheemployees’qualifications

• Interestingtoolinordertoshowsomerecognitiontotheemployees’abilities

• Tohelptheemployeesgainselfconfidencebygettingacertificationoradiploma

• Tobetterprotect theemployeesagainstunemploymentasskillsandcompetencesarerecognized inadi-ploma .

FortheFrenchpartnerCIBC,TheGuidanceintheWorkplaceProjectwasaveryinterestingopportunity,becauseitwaslinkedtoCIBCdevelopmentstrategy .Indeed,asaformerpublicorganization,yearbyyear,CIBCmustbecomemoreandmoreindependent(especiallyonthefinancialissues) .Therefore,wehavetoopenthedoorsofthecompa-niestoofferguidanceintheworkplace .TheCIBCwerealreadyintouchwiththeemployersandthemaincompaniesoftheRegion,buttheGIWPprojectwasagreatopportunitytoimproveanddeveloppresenceintheworkplaceandinthe“worldofthecompanies” .

Furthermore,itappearedasarelevantwayofimprovingtheCIBCimage:“closertothecompanies” .ItpermittedtheCIBCtolearnfromotherEuropeancountries(studyvisits,exchangeofpractices)andwehavelearntmoreaboutourwayofworking;itwasimportantforustowonderhowgoodtheCIBCsystemorwayofworkingwas,andwhatwecoulddotoimproveit .Inexplainingourworkingtotheotherpartners,itpermittedtheCIBCtorealizethattheirsystemwasnotperfectorasonememberofstaffputit;“Wedidn’tworksomuchwithnationalpartnersduringtheproject,buteachtimewecould,wetalkedabouttheprojectandguidancewiththem .“ThemainthingwasthattheCIBChastakentimetofindsomesolutionsandaskourselvesthegoodquestionswhichhelpedustobetterknowourownorganizationandourpartners”(CIBCmemberofstaff) .

AttheCIBCeveryoneagreedthatguidanceintheworkplacecouldbeaninterestingpossibilitytodevelopguidanceandtraining(andchangetheemployees’andemployers’mind) .Nevertheless,ourpartnersprefertostayprudentwithsuchakindofsystem,andtheyrecommendguidanceintheworkplaceasanaddedpossibilitybutnottheonlyone .Theyseemagainstageneralizationofguidanceintheworkplaceespeciallytosaveacertainindependenceoftheguidancecounsellor(tonottobe“manipulated”bytheemployer)andtohelptheemployeetobemoretalkativeabouthisownwills,opinions,interests,plans,career .AndforthatreasonthestaffatCIBCconcludedthatitseemsimportanttokeepaneutralplacetoprovideguidanceandcounselling .Therefore,insomecases,theworkplaceisnotthebestplacefortheguidance .

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ThestaffattheCIBCwasinterestedintheproject,especiallyseeingthattheguidancewasveryimportantinotherEuropeancountriestoo .Theythinkthatthiskindofprojectcouldbeagoodwaytochangethemindofsomeem-ployersabouttheguidanceandtrainingissues,showingthemthatitisnotonlyamandatoryandlegalthing .Itcouldalsobeagoodpromotionoftheguidance,counsellingandtrainingbenefitstowardstotheemployersandemployees .

The CIBC guidance counsellors’ view of guidance in the work place

AccordingtotheguidancecounsellorsatCIBCwhohasansweredaquestionnaire,guidanceintheworkplace(es-peciallytheonegivenintheframeworkoftheGuidanceintheWorkplaceProject)wasveryinterestingandthatthishashelpedthemtogetabetterideaoftheemployers’andemployees’pointofview,aboutguidanceandaboutCIBC’sprovisionsofservices .

Duringthecounsellingworkatthecompaniessomefeltthatitwasagoodwaytorealize,frominsidethecom-pany(insidetheconcreteandrelevantplace),thedifferentkindofexpectationsanddifficultiesthatthecompa-niesandemployeescouldhavewhenencounteringtheguidanceandtrainingissues .Thisespeciallyconcernsthefactofdirectlybeingintouchwiththeemployeesandemployers,intheplacewheretheyneedguidanceandtraining .Itwasaverygoodpointanditseemstoimprovethequalityandtheefficiencyoftheirwork”(CIBCstaffmember) .Ithas,accordingtothequestionnaire,seemedtothecounsellorsthattheemployeesweremoremotivatedandconcernedbytheguidanceintheirworkplace .Insidethecompany,theenvironmentseems(totheemployees)tobemorefavourabletotalkabouttheguidanceandtrainingissues .Indeed,theyareatwork,so,theyareingoodconditionstothinkabouttheircareer .Guidanceisnotaseasilyaccessibleonthestaff’sfreetimeanditpresupposesadirectpurposeorwilltogetcounselling .Guidanceintheworkplaceisagoodoppor-tunitytoanswerdirectlyandinstantaneouslytotheemployees’questionsandinformationneeds,theguidancecounsellorsthought .

Intheperspectivetokeeponworkingwiththecompanies,thefacttocomeouttothecompanies’premisessothatthecounsellorcouldmeetdirectlywiththemanagerorthepersonwhocantakethedecisionsaboutguidanceandtrainingisagoodidea .Thecounsellorsfeltmoreusefulintheworkplace,theiractionappearedmoreconcreteandreactive .ItseemsthatwithouttheCIBCcounsellors’visitintheworkplace;mostoftheemployeeswouldnotevergettheguidanceandinformationtheyhavereceivedintheframeworkoftheGIWPProject .

AsadirectresultoftheguidanceintheworkplaceprojectinArras24peopledecidedtogetinvolvedinanAPELprocess(supportedbyCIBC)andnoonegaveup .WithouttheCIBCintervention(intheframeworkoftheguidanceintheworkplaceproject),thesepeoplewouldprobablynothavedecidedtofileanAPELrequest .FurthermoretheGuidanceintheWorkPlaceProjectwasagoodopportunitytoremindtheemployees(andemployers)oftheCIBCactivitiesaimedatenhancinglifelonglearningandoneofthecounsellorssay:“Itwasgreattocommunicateinthesameplace,withemployeesandtheiremployers”(CIBCstaff) .

Ineachcompany,theCIBCtriedtogetabalancebetweentheemployeesandemployers’interests .Employersgotafreeofchargeguidancefortheiremployeesandtheemployeesgotsomeanswerstotheirquestions,aguidancecounsellorhaslistenedtothem,sotheyfeltrecognizedandsatisfied .NoconflictswithmanagementappearedandtheCIBCstafffounditeasytocommunicatewiththecompanies’management .

Howevertherewerealsodifficultiesduringtheprocessofgivingguidanceintheworkplace .Itwassometimesdifficulttokeepalltheemployeesmotivatedduringtheguidanceprocessanditwasnecessarytoreassurethemfromthebeginning(toexplainwelltothemwhatwasgoingtohappenduringtheprocess,focussingonthead-vantagesandbenefitstheycouldhavefromtheguidanceservices) .FurthermoreAPELiscomplicatedanditisnoteasytoexplainwhatitisinsimplewords .Counsellorshadtobeveryconcisebecauseinsidethecompanytimeisscarce .Thecounsellorsonlygotacoupleofhourstoexplaineverything,andtotrytoconvincebothparts(employers/employees)oftheadvantagesofguidanceandAPEL .Attimesitwasdifficulttoencourageinterac-tion/dialoguebetweenthecounsellorandtheaudienceanditwasdifficulttogetcloseties,tostartaconfidencerelationshipwiththeemployerintheshorttimeallotted .Thecounsellorsweremindfulofrespectingthecompa-

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nies’rulesandwerecarefultonotdisappointtheemployersandemployees .Sometimesitwasdifficulttomeetthepersoninchargeoftrainingandguidanceinsidethecompany(overbookedagendas,unavailabilityetc .)butthiscouldbehandledwithabitofpatience .

TheCIBCstaffcameupwithsomesuggestionsforimprovementoftheservicesprovided .Itcouldbeeasiertosendaninformationleaflet(aboutCIBCandtheguidanceactivities)beforegoingtothecompany,sothatthelatterbet-terknowCIBC .Gettingmoreinformedaboutthecompany,beforegoinginsideitwillbehelpful .Totrytosystemati-callykeepintouchwiththecompanywhereguidancehadbeenprovidedandtodevelopaninteractivecommuni-cationandinformationtransmissionbetweenthecounsellorsteamareotherareasofimprovementfortheCIBC .

Counsellorsfocussedonthebenefitsthatemployeescouldtakefromtheguidanceinterventiontogettheemploy-eesinterestedinguidanceandtrainingissues .Theyinformedaboutthegoodpointsforafurthervocationalinser-tionorlabourmarketcomebackandthepersonalrecognitionandvaluation .Counsellorsstressedthefactthatguidanceandtrainingisapublicright,liketherighttovote,soit’simportanttouseit .

Somedifficultiesencounteredwiththeemployees:Especiallywithsomenotmotivatedemployeeswhodidnotseethebenefitofguidancebecauseof their“employeestatus” .Fora fewemployees,guidancewasnot interestingwhentheyhaveajob;itbecomesrelevantonlywhenyouareunemployed .However,mostoftheemployeesslowlychangedtheirpointofviewsafterthecounsellors’presentationofthegoodpointsofguidance .Thisdifficultywasagoodopportunitytodealwiththistopic;itpermittedtheCIBCtoshowthatguidanceconcernseverybody,eventheemployedpeople .

TheCIBCstafffoundthateveniftheemployeesbecamemorefavourabletalkingaboutguidanceintheirwork-place,theyaremoretalkativeinaneutralexternalplaceregardingallthe“personalandconfidential”issues .Forinstance,totalkabouttheirlong-termplans(movetoanotherregion,changeofjob,leavethecompany,andapplyformoreresponsibilities);employeesprefertodealwiththeseissuesinanexternalcentre,whereprofes-sionalsecrecycouldbemoreeasilyrespected .Thus,theCIBCstaffagreedwiththefactthatguidanceandtrain-ingisalifelongprocessthatmustadaptitselftotheenvironmentevolution,andthemodificationsofthelegal,economicalandsocialcontexts .

The role of the guidance counsellor

Accordingthecounsellors,theirmainrole isto inform,giveadviceandlistentothe individualsguided,withoutforgettingtoalwaysupdatetheinformationtheygive .Theyalsothinktohavearoleinthecreationofinnovativetoolsormethods,sotheymustbe involved inprogramcontentbuilding .Now,afterthetrainingtheyattended,counsellorsfeelmoreconfidenttogotowardstotheemployersandtheythinkthattheadviceandguidancethattheygenerallygivenowismorerelevantandlinkedwiththefieldrealityoftheplacesofwork .TheyalsoknowmoreaboutthedifferentCIBCprovisionsofservicesandthedifferentcompaniessettledintheregion .

Ifthecounsellorscouldgetothertrainings,theywouldliketoattendatrainingcourseabout“communicationskills”oraboutdataprocessingandSoftware(PowerPoint)”tofeelmorecomfortablewithoralandnumericcommunica-tionaids,oranupgradingcourseabouttheemployees’trainingrights .

Aboutguidanceintheworkplace,thecounsellorsaresurethatthereisstillalotofworkinthatfield,inFrance .Theyagreetosaythatthisisanewconcept,everyoneisstartingtobeinterestedinguidanceintheworkplace,butitisstillneedsimprovements .Thecounsellorshavemadeaninterestingobservationduringtheirinterventionintheworkplace:itseemsthatemployeeswhoareclosetoatradeunionaremoreinformedabouttheirguidanceandtrainingrightsandopportunities .

Employers view

Ingeneral,thedifferentemployersinterviewedarefavourabletotheguidanceintheworkplace,buttotheirmind,thisisastrategicpointthattheywishtoleadbytheirown .GuidanceisapartoftheirfutureHumanResourcesProjectsanditisnotaneasydecisiontodecideto“subcontract”ittoanexternalorganization .

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ToimprovethecurrentFrenchsystem,itseemsessentialtotheemployerstoclarifythedifferentrolesofthenumer-ousorganizationsinvolvedintheguidanceandtrainingissuesinFrance .Morecommunicationaboutguidanceandtraining,andlesspapersandadministrativetasksarealsoexpected .HoweverAfterhavingintroducedthemtheGIWPproject,theemployersthatparticipatedshowaninterestinandweregladtohavebeenofferedtobepartoftheproject .TheyallfoundtheCIBC’sinterventionveryuseful,flexibleandeasytoaccess .Accordingtothem,itisonlyamatterofmoneythatpreventsthemfromdevelopingguidanceintheworkplace .Inthecasetheycouldgetabudgetinthefieldofguidance,theywon’thesitatetocontactCIBC .ThemainreasonsforthethreecompaniestoacceptguidanceintheworkplacebyCIBCare:

• Theprovisionofserviceswasfreeofcharge

• CIBChasofferedsomethinginterestinginthefieldofguidanceandtraining

• Itwasagoodwaytotestguidanceintheworkplacewithoutalongterminvolvement

• Itwasagoodopportunitytoshowtotheemployeesthatthecompanytakescareoftheirvocationalfuture

• Asthisisacrisisperiod,companiesprefertofocusontheproductionandthefinancialsustainabilityofthecompanyratherthantheguidance .However,theyknowthatguidanceandtrainingwillbeastrategicissuewhenthecrisisisover .

Inthefuturetheemployersallsaythattheywouldwantafurtherprojecttocreate,developorlaunchsomethinginthefieldofguidanceortraining .Theythinkthisisimportanttodeveloptheemployees’competencessoastopermitthemtobeabletomoveinsidethecompany .Guidanceintheworkplaceisapartofthesecompaniesfuturestrategy .Yearbyyear,their“trainingplans”aremoreandmorecompletedbysomeguidanceandcounsellingac-tions .Totheirmind,guidanceisessentialforvaluingtheemployees’skills,forincreasingtheireducationallevelortheirvocationalqualificationsandforthinkingabouttheevolutionofthedifferentworkstationsinsidethecompany .

Theemployeesknowthatguidancecanbenefittothem,directlywithanimprovementanddevelopmentoftheircompetencesorpermittingtothemtogetaprogressivecareerpath .Indirectly,thispromotessustainabilityoftheircompanyinthefuture .

Employees view

QuestionshavebeenaskedtoalltheemployeeswhohavereceivedguidanceoradvicesfromCIBCintheframe-workoftheproject .EmployeesgotagoodopinionoftheGIWPProject,becauseaccordingtothem,“it’sgreattoseethatprofessionalswhodealwithguidanceandtrainingacrossEuropeexists”companyemployee) .TheyfeelmotivatedbyasolidarityfeelingsharedwithalltheEuropeancountries’employees .Somesawtheprojectasanem-ployees’rightsprotector .Furthermore,mostemployeesfeltimportantandweregladthatsomeoneshowedinterestintheiractivities .TheyappreciatedtheCIBCcounsellors’intervention,becausetheyweresensitivetothefactthatsomecounsellorscameouttotheirworkplacetoobserveandinterviewthem .Byseeingtheresults,employeesfeltvalued;theyhaverealizedalltheactivitiestheyareusedtodoandalltheskillstheyhave .

ItisobviousthatmostoftheemployeesinformedorguidedintheframeworkofGIWPprojectwillkeepaverygoodmemoryoftheproject .Indeed,theyprobablywouldnoteverhavegottentheinformation,advice,andguidanceorsupportwithouttheGuidanceintheWorkPlaceProject .AlltheinterviewedemployeesweresatisfiedwiththeCIBCintervention .Someotheremployeessaidthattheypreferredtoattendcollectiveguidancecourses,withthecolleaguesfromthesameworkstation .Theyfeltmoremotivated,theatmospherewasfriendlier,andtheycouldexchangeanddiscusswithotheremployeeswhounderstandthem .

Otheremployeessuggestedaddingthepossibilitytogoonwiththeguidanceathome(exercises,tests,documenta-tion,questionnairestofillinetc .) .Thiscouldbedonebyusingtelecommunicationsystems(E-learning,CD-ROM,memorysticks,internet,etc .) .

Totheemployees’mind,CIBC’smainusefulnesswastohelpthemtoidentifytheirskills,abilities,qualities,compe-tences,andtomanagetodescribethemwiththepreciseandrelevantwords(somethingthatisindispensableto

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writeaCVorfillinanAPELrequest,forexample) .Itwasalsoanopportunitytoforget,forawhile,thedailyroutineofthejob,andtothinkseriouslyabouttheirvocationalfuture,duringadedicatedtimespace .

Throughouttheguidanceintheworkplace,employeessaidthatitwasbothapersonalandvocationalexperience .Theylearntalotabouttheirvocationalskillsorplans,buttheyalsolearntmanythingsaboutthemselves(personal-ity,personalquality,plansforthefuture,privatelifeandsoon) .FurthermoretheemployeesexpectedtogethighersalaryoncetheyhadcompletedatrainingcourseoranAPEL .

Employeessaidthatitwasverygoodtogetsomesupportfromtheiremployerduringthisguidanceintheworkplace,sothattheycouldattendCIBCintervention,beingconcentratedonthetaskandinaspiritafreedom .Employeeswereallowedtoleavetheirworkstationeachtimeitwasnecessary .Thisincludedinformation,CIBCpresentations,andinterviews .EmployerswereinterestedinwhattheemployeesdidwithCIBC,theyansweredquestions,weresupportiveandtheytriedtofindsolutionstomaketimeontheplanningsheetstopermittotheemployeestoleavetheirworkstation .Thankstotheemployerssupport,guidanceintheworkplacebecameveryflexiblesinceemploy-eescouldleavetheirworkstationtobeinterviewedbyCIBCcounsellors,andthengobacktotheirjobs .Employeessawtheimpactandgoodpointsofanexternalguidanceorganization,likeCIBCinterventionandaccordingtotheinterviewedemployeestheydowanttheircompanykeeponcollaboratingwithsuchorganizationsCIBCis .

The.Slovenian.case.study

Introduction

InSloveniathreemid-sizedcompanies(mid-sizedbeing50to250employees)fromthreedifferentregions(Oblano-kraška,Dolenjska,Podravje)andthreedifferentfieldswereselectedforguidanceactivities:

• watermanagement-providingdrinkingwaterforthreecoastalmunicipalities(RižanskivodovodKoper),

• projectengineeringandthe implementationofmechanicalandelectrical installations in theconstructionindustry(KovinotehnaMKINovomesto),

• manufacturingofsanitarytechnology(Geberit–Sanitarnatehnika,Ruše) .

Thethreecompanieshave514employeesaltogether .Thefollowingparticipatedintheactivitiesofguidanceintheworkplace:

• 5counsellorsfromthreeadulteducationguidancecentres–Koper,Novomesto,Maribor,

• 4unionrepresentativesfromthethreeselectedcompanies,

• 3HRmanagersfromtheselectedcompaniesandtwoHRemployeesfromoneofthethreecompanies .

Allofthemansweredtotheevaluationquestionnaires .

Inallthreecompanies,about50employeesparticipatedindifferentformsofcounsellingandguidance;atotalof10%ofalltheemployeesaltogether .Amongthem,31employeeswhoparticipatedintheprogrammeofindividualguidancerespondedto theevaluationquestionnaireabout theresultsandeffects theGWPhadfor them; theirresponsesarepresentedbelow .

The role of the counsellors

Course of GiWP activities in Novo mesto

InthecompanyKovinotehnaMKINovomestotheguidancewascarriedoutbyonecounsellorfromtheNovomestoregionalguidancecentre .Followingtheinitialconsultandtheagreementfromthemanagementandtheunioninthecompany,theguidanceactivitiestookplacebetweenthebeginningofMay2009andmid-June2009,incoop-erationwith:

• theHRmanagerofthecompany,

• theZSSSunionrepresentativeinthecompanyand

• onecounsellorfromtheGuidanceCentreNovomesto .

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Aftertheprioranalysisoftheeducationalneedsofthecompanyemployees(withonequestionnaireforallthreecompaniesthattookpartintheGiWPproject),thecounsellorfromtheGuidanceCentreNovomestoandtheHRmanagerchartedconcreteactivitiesofguidance in theworkplace .Theunionrepresentativewaskept informedthroughoutthisprocess,butcouldnotbemoreactivelyinvolvedduetothenatureofhisworkasasitemanager .

Thecourseoftheactionwasasfollows:

• Schedule:everyotherThursdaybetween13:30and15:30;

• Place:companyboardroom(individualcounselling);companycanteen(groupcounselling);

• Methodsofwork:individualguidanceinterview;groupcounselling:presentations,orlecturesandworkshops;

• Courseofactivities:6-weekexecutionplanwaspreparedinadvanceandonlychangedforoneofthegroupcounsellingsessionsthatwassupposedtobeoff-site,butwasinsteadcarriedoutinthecompanycanteen,followingthewishesoftheHRdepartment .

16employeesparticipatedinindividualcounselling,whichwasaviablenumberconsideringtheplannedhoursofcounselling .Thecounsellorwaspresentinthecompanyforsixweeksandcompleted19contactcounsellinghours(2hoursperweekontheaverage) .

Thecounsellorpointedoutthatguidanceintheworkplacehadthefollowingthreebenefits,orresults,forthecompany:

1 . informingandcounsellingaboutthepossibilitiestoreachahigherlevelofeducation;

2 . informingandcounsellingaboutformalandinformaltypesofeducationconnectedtotheemployees’workortheirinterestoutsideofwork(leisuretimeactivities,etc .);

3 . raisingawarenessoftheemployeesaboutthelifelonglearningandthepossibilitiesforstudyintheirlocalenvironmentfreeofcharge .

Therewerenoconflictsbetweentheinterestoftheemployeesandthoseofthecompanymanagement .Thecounsel-lorestimatesthatshehadsufficientsupportduringtheGWPactivitiesintheselectedcompany .Shebelievesthat,consideringthepositiveexperienceintheselectedcompany,shedoesn’tneedfurthertrainingatthemoment .How-ever,sheaddedthatiftheactivityexpandedtoothercompaniesintheenvironment,alotofworkwillbenecessaryinthefieldofencouragementandmotivationamongtheemployeeswhowilltakepartinthecounselling .Intheselectedcompany,theHRmanager’sroleinthisprocesswasinstrumental .

Sheestimatedthatenoughsupportingmaterialswerepreparedduringthetrainingprocess,andthatthesupportgivenbytheSlovenianInstituteforAdultEducationduringtheGWPprocesswasalsosufficient .Sheemphasisedinparticularhowgladshewastobeapartofaprojectgroup,asshegainednewknowledge,skillsandconnections,whichwasgoodforherprofessionskills,andalsopersonaldevelopment .

Toconclude,letusemphasisethatthecounsellorhadanextremelypositiveexperienceofcooperationwiththeHRmanagerandallparticipatingemployees .TheactionplanwaspreparedaccordingtothecompanyneedsandwascoordinatedinadvancewiththeHRdepartmentandtheunionrepresentative .

Thecounsellorrecommendsthattheestablishedconceptofguidanceintheworkplacecontinue,assheiscertainthatexpansionandrecognitionofthisactivitytootherlocalcompanieswillbeessential,especiallythosethathitbyrecessionthatlefttheiremployeesinevenmoreneedoffreeinformation,andalsofreeeducation .

Course of GiWP activities in Koper

AttheRižanskivodovodKopertheguidanceprocesswascarriedoutbytwocounsellorsfromtheGuidanceCentreKoper .Afterthepriordiscussionandagreementfromthemanagementandtheunioninthecompany,theguidanceintheworkplacetookplacefromthebeginningofMay2009untiltheendofJune2009incooperationwith:

• themanageroftheHRandlegaldepartmentinthecompany,• unionrepresentativeoftheZSSSinthecompanyand

• twocounsellorsfromtheGuidanceCentreKoper .

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Afteraprioranalysisof theeducationneedsof theemployees (withaunifiedquestionnaireused forall threecompaniesincludedintotheGuidanceintheWorkplaceProject)thecounsellorsfromtheGuidanceCentreKopertogetherwiththeunionrepresentativechartedthefollowingactivities:

• introductorypresentationofwhatguidanceintheworkplacewilloffertoemployeesand

• individualguidancesessionswithinterestedemployees .

6employeesjoinedindividualcounselling,whichwasanappropriateamountfortheplannednumberofguidancehours .IntheperiodbetweenMayandtheendofJune,thecounsellorswerepresentinthecompanyfor6weeks,or13,5hours(ontheaverage2hoursperweek .

Bothcounsellorsemphasisedwhatwere,forthem,mostpositiveresultsoftheguidanceatworkplace:

1 . Toinformtheemployeesaboutthepossibilitiesofeducationanditsfinancing,ofwhichtheywerenotaware;

2 . Tointroducetheguidancecentreandcounsellorstothecompanyandtheworkersandexplainedwhattheycangainfromthem;

3 . TheHRdepartmentknowsthattheycancontinuetoconsulttheguidancecentreinallquestionsrelatinginformationofemployeeeducation,whichleavestheHRmoretimetocarryoutitsothertasks .

Bothcounsellorsbelievethattheyweregivenenoughinformation,knowledgeandsupportmaterialstocarryoutconcreteguidanceactivitiesatworkplace .However,inthefuturetheywouldaddthefollowingthemes:establishingandmaintainingcontactswiththecompanymanagement,businesscommunicationandnegotiations .

Thecounsellorsalsodiscussedthepossibilityofcontinuingthecooperationwiththecompany .Theguidancecen-trewillinformtheunionrepresentativeaboutthecallsthatmightbeinterestingforthecompanyemployees(e .g .financingtheeducation) .Inaddition,thecounsellorsinvitedtheemployeestocomeforconsultationsattheGuid-anceCentrewheneverrequired .

AtthesametimebothbelievethattheGuidanceCentremustcontinueworkingwithcompanies .Theyrecommendorganising»flexibleguidance«insidecompanies–thecounsellorwouldgotothecompanythatwouldinviteherorhim .Oneofthecounsellorsfeltthatthedoorsofthecompaniesmightbemoreopenforthecounsellorsiftherewereawidernationalcampaignplannedandcarriedout(andsupportedbytheunions)topromotetheroleandimportanceofguidanceatworkplace .

Basedontheresponsesofbothcounsellorsitwouldbenecessarytoallocatemoretimetoinitialinformingandmotivatingoftheemployeesinordertogetthemenrolltheactivitiesofguidanceatworkplace .Theybelievethattheunionrepresen-tativeshouldplayabiggerrole .Severalwaysofinformingtheemployeesshouldbeused .Certainlywemustpayspecialattentiontothisduringfurtherdevelopmentofguidanceintheworkplaceapproaches(andincludethemintotraining) .

It iscertainlyworthsupportingtherecommendationofoneof thecounsellorsthatthedoorsof thecompaniesmightbemoreopenforthecounsellorsiftherewereawidernationalcampaignplannedandcarriedout(andsup-portedbytheunions)topromotetheroleandimportanceofguidanceintheworkplace .

Course of GiWP activities in Ruše

InGeberitRušetheguidancewascarriedoutbytwocounsellorsfromtheGuidanceCentreMaribor .Afterthepriordiscussionandagreementfromthemanagementandtheunioninthecompany,theguidanceintheworkplacetookplaceinJuly2009,andoneworkshopinAugust2009incooperationwith:

• 3employeesfromtheHRdepartmentinthecompany,

• 2unionrepresentativesoftheZSSSinthecompanyand

• 2counsellorsfromtheGuidanceCentreMaribor .

Afteraprioranalysisoftheeducationneedsoftheemployees(withaunifiedquestionnaireusedforallthreecom-panies included intotheGuidance intheWorkplaceProject) thecounsellors fromtheGuidancecentreMaribortogetherwiththeunionrepresentativechartedthefollowingactivities:

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• Incooperationwiththedepartmentforemployeedevelopmentthedayforguidanceactivitieswasdecidedtobeonceaweek,onMondaybetween13:00and15:00 .itwasinterestingthattheHRdepartmentofferedtheunionofficefortheactivitywithoutanyprompting .

• TheypreparedabriefwrittennoticeabouttheguidancevisitsthattheHRdepartmentconveyedtotheem-ployees .

• Inthefirstplace,theyofferedindividualcounsellingdistributedintoseveralconsecutivevisits .

• Ontheincentiveofthecounsellors,agroupguidance–aworkshop“Conveyingpracticalskillsinthework-place”--wasorganisedforgroupleadersandforemen .

13employeesjoinedindividualcounselling(ninefilledinthequestionnaire,and19attendedgroupguidance,whichwasviableconsideringplannedextentofguidance .Thecounsellorswerepresentinthecompanyforfourweeks,2hoursperweek .

Bothcounsellorspointedoutthatduetothetimeconstraints(twocompaniesrefusedtoparticipate)therewasnotenoughtimededicatedtothepromotingandmoredetailedpresentationofthecontentsoftheactivitiestotheHRemployees,management,andtheemployeesinthecompanies .Theyalsobelievethatmoreintensivecooperationwiththeunionrepresentativesisnecessary,especiallyastheywerebothverysupportiveoftheproject,buttherewasn’tenoughtime .

Bothcounsellorspointedoutthefollowingthreemostpositiveresultsoftheguidanceintheworkplace:1 . theemployeeswouldotherwisenotknowthatsuchguidanceactivityexists;incaseofthecompaniesitis

mostusefulfortheHRdepartment,thatcaninfutureusetheservicesoftheadulteducationguidancecentreonthebasisofpersonaltiescreatedduringtheproject;

2 . informingaboutandconcretetrainingforapplyingtothecallsfortendersconnectedtothepossibilitiesofco-fundingeducation;thecompanyhasachancetobeguided/informedinthefutureaboutallpossibilitiesofapplyingtotendersbothforthecompanyandtheindividuals;

3 . thepossibilityofgettinginformationondifferentareasofeducationintheirworkingenvironment;inmostextremecases,thecompanycanasktheadulteducationguidancecentresforhelpineducationitself(forexample,executionofaworkshop)ororganisationalhelp/acontactforanykindofeducation .

Thecounsellorsalsotalkedabutthepossibilitytocontinuethecooperationwitthecompany,forexample,provid-inghelpwhentheyapplyforthefundsfromthe“Knowledgemakesdreamscometrue”projectinautumn(dead-lineforapplicationsis11Sept .2009) .Otheractivitiesarestillopen;especiallythepossibilityofconnectingthecompanytotheguidancecentre’sdislocatedunitinRuše,wheretheemployeescananyhowseethecounsellorwhenevertheyneedto(sheisintheofficetheretwiceamonth,everyfirstandthirdMondaybetween9:00and12:00) .

Forconclusion,allfivecounsellorsconfirmedthattheunionrepresentativewasanimportantpartnerinperformingtheGWPactivitiesandfeltthatcooperationwiththeHRdepartmentswasnecessarytoperformGWPactivities .

Allfivecounsellorsenjoyedworkingontheproject,becauseitbroughtanewapproachinavailabilityofguidancefortheemployeeswhoareincreasinglyagroupatriskinsmallandmid-sizedcompanieswhenitcomestothepos-sibilitiesofeducationandtraining .

Andallfivecounsellorsrecommendthattheguidanceintheworkplacecontinueandexpandtoothercompaniesandotherregions,especiallytothecompaniesthatwerehitbyrecessionwhichmeanstheemployeesareinevenmoreneedoffreeinformation,andalsofreeeducation .

Itiscertainlyworthsupportingthesuggestionofoneofthecounsellors,whofeltthatthedoorsofthecompanieswouldbemoreopenforthecounsellorsifawidernationalcampaignwerecarriedoutbytheunions,informingtheinterestedpartiesabouttheroleandimportanceofguidanceintheworkplace .

Allfivecounsellorsfelttheyweregivenenoughinformation,knowledgeandsupportingmaterialsduringtheirtrain-

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ingtocarryoutconcreteactivitiesofguidanceintheworkplace .Theydidn’tmissanysupportduringtheprojectitself,inotherwords,thesupportprovidedbytheSIAEwassufficient .

The role of the union representatives

FourunionrepresentativeswereincludedinpreparationandexecutionoftheGWPactivities,twofromonecom-panyandoneforeachremainingcompany .Onlytwoinfacttookpartinthetraining(asGeberitRušewithitstworepswasonlyselectedafterthetrainingwascompleted) .

TherepresentativefromRižanskivodovoKoperemphasisedprimarilytwopositiveresultsofGiWP:

• gainingadditionalknowledgeand

• achievingahigherlevelofprofessionaleducation .

TheunionrepresentativesfromGeberitRušeemphasisedprimarilytwopositiveresultsofguidanceintheworkplace:

• theinterestofthecompanytoprovideeducationforitsemployeesand

• GWPiscarriedoutduringworkinghours(“theselectedlocationinthecompanymeansthattheemployeesdon’thavetousetheirfreetimetoattend”) .

Allofthemsupportthecontinuationonguidanceintheworkplace .Theyemphasized:

• tocontinueworkwiththecounsellorsfromtheguidancecentretoprovidetheemployeeswiththepossibilityofguidanceintheworkplace;

• theyrecognisedguidanceintheworkplacetobeanimportantactivityforinformingemployeesandenablingthemtoparticipateineducation;

• theanswerofoneofthemindicatesthatitwouldcertainlybeimportantforthecontinuingcooperationtoallowthemenoughtimeforthemtoparticipateinGWP .

Thecounsellorsalsosee theunionrepresentative in theroleofadirect informantandmotivatorofher/hisco-workers .AndSIAEandZSSSalsoemphasize:

• it’sessentialtokeepstrengtheningtheroleoftheunionrepresentativeassomeonewhomotivatesandsupportstheemployeeswhoentereducationandtraining/informsthemaboutthepossibilities;

• additionaltrainingisnecessaryforthisrole;

• regionalrepresentativesoftheZSSSunionshouldbeevenmoreinvolvedintheapproachtothecom-paniesandpromotionofguidanceintheworkplaceandlifelonglearningoftheemployees–especiallyforthecompanieswheretheunionisn’t(well)organisedortheunionrepneedsmoresupportfromthe“outside” .

Employees’ opinion

Theanalysislookedintothequestionnairesofthe31employeeswhoparticipatedintheindividualcounsellingintheselectedthreecompanies .IntheGeberitcompany,19participantswerealsoinvolvedinthegroupcounselling .Wecanthereforesaythataround50peopleparticipatedindifferentformsofinformingandguidanceinallthreecompanies,whichmeansatotalof10%oftheemployeesofthethreeselectedcompanies .

Belowwepresenttheanalysisoftheanswersofthe31employees,collectedwiththehelpofaunifiedquestionnaire,inthreegroups:generaldataabouttheparticipants,thentheanalysisoftheguidanceprocess,andintheendthepossibilitiesofguidanceintheworkplaceinfuture .

General data

Thejobsoftheemployeeswhofilledinthequestionnairehadwereverydifferent,giventhedifferencesintheselect-edcompanies,butevenwithintheselectedcompaniestheydifferedgreatlyanditwasraretwohavetwoemployeeswiththesamejob,forexamplewithesmiths,riggers,technologists .

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Themajorityoftheparticipantsinguidanceweremale–25,whichmeans80%,while6participantswerewomen .Theageoftheparticipantsdiffered(Table2);mostofthemwerefromtheagegroupsbetween31and40,and41to50–9participantsineach .Theywerefollowedbyyoungerparticipants,agedbetween21and30,andthoseolderthan51 .

Intermsofthecompletedlevelofeducation,themajorityoftheparticipantshadacompletedgeneralorsecondlevelvocationalsecondaryschool–14,followedbythosewithacompletedvocationalsecondaryschoolandpri-maryschool .Theeducationlevelsoftheparticipantsareinthetablebelow .

Table: Participants.and.their.level.of.completed.education

Education. Number. %

Primaryschool 3 9,7

Lowervocationalsecondaryschool(2years) 1 3,2

Vocationalsecondaryschool 6 19,4

GeEneralandvocationalseconadyschool(4years) 14 45,2

Post-secondaryschoolbefore1994(2years) 1 3,2

Post-secondaryschoolafter1994(2years) 2 6,4

Post-secondary(4years) 2 6,4

College 2 6,4

Total 31 100

Source:documentationoftheGuidanceintheworkplace2project,ACS/SIAE,2009

Guidance process

Incontinuation,theparticipantsdescribedthecourseoftheirguidanceprocess,.what.prompted.their.decision.to.visit.the.counsellor .Theirresponsesweresimilarandcanbedividedintothefollowingcategories:

• finishingschool/education;

• studyhelp;

• workplacerequiredadditionalknowledge;

• decisiontocontinueeducation;

• desireforadditionalknowledge;

• desireforahigherlevelofformaleducation;

• desireforperfectingskillsindifferentareas .

Further,wewereinterestediftheparticipantsgainedsomethingbytheinformingandguidanceintheworkplace .Thevastmajority,29(93,5%)repliedtheydid,tworepliedtheydidn’t .Theparticipantsthatansweredyes,gavethefollowingreasonsfortheirreplies:

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Table:What.did.the.participants.gain.by.information.and.guidance?

Number

Iobtainednewinformationabouttheeducationalpossibilitiesconnectedtomywork 16

Iobtainednewinformationabouttheeducationalpossibilitiesoutsidetheinterestofmywork 13

Counsellorhelpedmeprepareaconcreteplanformyfutureeducations 2

Other 3

Total 34

Source: documentationoftheGuidanceintheworkplace2project,ACS/SIAE,2009

Tothequestionwhethertheguidancewasaccessibletothem,theyoverwhelmingly(28replies–90,3%)repliedaffirmative .Twoparticipantsrepliednegative,onedidnotreply .

Weaskedtheparticipantswhethertheirimmediatesuperiorsupportedtheirparticipationintheguidanceintheworkplace .15responseswereaffirmative,7participantssaidtheirsuperiordidn’tsupportthem,while9respondedthattheirsuperiorwasnotawareofthepossibilitytoentertheguidance .

Whenaskedwhetherenoughtimewasallowedforparticipationintheguidanceintheworkplaceprocess,almostallparticipants–30–repliedaffirmative,whileonedidnotreply .

23participants–74,2%ofthoseasked–repliedthattheycouldcombinetheirowninterestwiththeinterestofthecompanymanagement .Sixrepliedtheycouldn’t,twodidnotrespond .Thereasons,whythetwointerestscouldnotbeaccommodatedarelistedbelow .

• Iamonlyacoupleofyearsawayfromretirement .

• Sincetherewasnocontactwiththesuperiors,andnoincentive .

• Itwasnottheinterestofthemanagement,butmyowntogainasmuchknowledgeaspossibleinthisfield .

• Formyjobmyexistingknowledgeisperfectlyadequate,thereisnoneedtogainthetypeofknowledgeI’minterestedin .

• Ourtalkshavenotyetcomethisfar .

• Duetothespecificsofthedesiredknowledgeandthespecificsofmyworkplace .

Possibility of guidance in the workplace in the future

Tothequestionwhethertheyfelt itwassensibletohaveguidanceintheworkplacepermanentlyguaranteedinfuture,20participantsrepliedaffirmative;thisis64,5%,twoparticipantsrepliednegativeandsevendidn’tknow .

Morethanthreequartersoftheparticipantsbelievethatthecompanyshouldcontinuetocooperatewiththecoun-sellorsfromtheguidancecentre .Oneparticipantanswered“no”,andsixwith“don’tknow” .

Weaskedtheparticipantswhethertheywouldtakepartinguidanceforeducationoutsidetheircompany(forex-ampleinaguidancecentreorinanotherorganisation) .Threequarters(74,2%)respondedthattheywould,fourwouldnot,and4didn’tknow .

Themajority,29ofthe31employees,wouldrecommendcounsellingforeducationtopeopleclosetothem–rela-tives,friends,colleagues,whichshowsthepositiveexperiencewiththeguidancecarriedoutintheirworkplaceintheircompany .

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Conclusion

Althoughinoneofthecompanyhaspaidspecialandsystematicattentiontothedevelopmentoftheemployees(especiallyinthelastcoupleofyears),theHRmanagerpointedoutthreebenefitsthecompanyachievedwiththeGiWPactivities:

• theyencouragedtheemployeestothinkandgeteducated,

• agrouplectureinthecompany,

• participationofcolleaguesinfreeeducation .

TheHRmanageralsosaidthatparticipatingintheprojectmadeherevenmoreawarethathercolleaguesneededconstantencouragementandfacilitationofeducation,andalsothatguidanceintheworkplacefallsinlinewithhercompany’sstrategyofemployeetraining .Allthisshowsthateveninacompanythatalreadypaysspecialattentiontothedevelopmentofemployees,guidanceforeducationandtrainingorganisedbyan“external,speciallytrainedcounsellor” incooperationwith thecompanyrepresentativescanbringnew ideasand incentives forcontinuingemployeeeducationandtraining .

Therepliesofthe16employeeswhotookpartinindividualcounsellingalsoshowthattheyallbenefitedfromguidanceintheworkplace,eitherfromtheaspectofeducationalneedsthatarenecessitatedbytheworkplace,ortheaspectoftheirownneedforfurtherdevelopmentandgrowth .Themajority–93,75%–foundguidanceintheworkplacetobeapositiveexperienceandwouldtakeadvantageofinthefutureaswell:viacontinuationofcooperationwiththecounsellorsfromtheguidancecentre,byjoiningguidanceintheworkplace,orbyjoin-ingaguidanceprogrammeoutsidethecompany .87,5%oftheparticipatingemployeeswouldrecommendsuchguidanceforeducationtotheirfamilymembersandfriends,whichfurtherconfirmstheirpositiveexperiencewithguidanceintheworkplace .

Inthesecondcompanyhasalreadygivenalotofattentiontothedevelopmentoftheemployees,but,astheysaythemselves,itwasnotdoneinasufficientlysystematicwayanddidnotcaterforthedifferentneedsoftheemploy-ees .ThereforetheexperiencewiththeirparticipationintheGiWPprojectwasapositiveonefortheHRdepartmentemployees,bothparticipatingunionrepresentatives,andallparticipatingemployees .

Whentheactivitieswerecompleted,theHRdepartmentemployeeslistedthefollowingbenefitsthecompanyhadbyenteringtheGiWPproject:

• theemployeescouldgetinformationaboutdifferenteducationpossibilities,

• interestoftheemployeesineducationincreased,

• neweducationalcontactswereestablished,

• newinformationabouteducationwasobtained,

• thecompanywillbeabletosavemoneyforeducationbylearningaboutthepossibilitiesforco-foundingofemployeeeducationbythestate–forexample,project Znanje uresničuje sanje (Knowledgemakesdreamscometrue) .

Everybodyalsoexpressedinterestincontinuingthecooperationwiththecounsellorsfromguidancecentre,whoinanycaseplantocontinuetheiractivities–inagreementwiththecompany–asapartoftheworkoftheguidancecentreatthedislocatedunit(acounsellorisavailabletwiceamonth,everyfirstandthirdMondaybetween9:00and12:00) .

Inthethirdcompanywegottheconfirmationforwhatwenoticeinthemajorityofmid-sizedcompaniesinSlovenia:therearenotenoughpeopleemployedtosystematicallyandholisticallytakecareofthedevelop-mentandeducationoftheemployees .Thereforetheoutsidehelpfromtrainedprofessionals,whointroducetheemployees todifferenteducationand trainingoptionsusing theguidanceatworkapproach;optionsconnectedtotheneedsoftheworkplace,andalsotheneedsconnectedtoindividualgrowthanddevelop-ment .

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HRmanagerlistedtwobenefitsfortheemployeeswhoparticipatedintheGiWPproject:

• theirmotivationforeducation,

• informingabouteducationpossibilities .

Inallthreecompanieswasconfirmedthattheapproachofguidanceinworkplacecanusefullycombinecooperationofexpertsfromthreedifferentfields,eachoneofthemwithherorhisownroleandtasksthatcomplementeachother:HRmanager(oranotherHRofficer),unionrepresentativeastherepresentativeoftheemployees,andthecounsellorfromtheadulteducationguidancecentre .

Italsobecameclearthatanyemployeewhojoinstheguidanceintheworkplacehasdifferentneedsandthatdic-tatesthevarietyinapproachesanddurationofguidanceatworkplace(ourrecommendationtothecounsellorswas4to6weeks–dependingontheprioranalysisofthecompany’sneedsforeducationandtraining;forthepurposeofthisanalysiswepreparedaunifiedquestionnaireandtrainedcounsellorsandunionrepresentativehowtouseit) .

Consideringthefindingsontheprojectlevel,inthefuturewewillpayspecialattentiontothefollowing:

• beforeenteringthecompanythecounsellorsmustbetrainedtousedifferentapproachesandmethods;

• it’snecessarytoplanthecourseoftheguidanceatworkplacefordifferenttimeframesanddeterminethecriteriathathelpwiththetime-planningfortheproject;

• duringthepreparationoftheconcreteplanforguidanceatworkplaceproject(whichalsoneedsacertaintime),thetasksmustbedistributedamongthekeypartners(inourcase,theHRmanager,unionrepresenta-tivesandcounsellor)andallocateenoughtimeforeachofthesetasks .

Itwouldalsobegoodtothinkaboutthesocalled“flexibleguidance”forcompanies,whichmeansthatthecounsel-lorentersthecompanywhenthelattercallshimorher–withthepriorknowledgeofwhatthecompanyandtheemployeesneed .

Regarding the roleof theunionrepresentative inguidanceatworkplacewecanonlyconfirmthat thedecisionwastherightone,becausethecounsellor,whocomesintothecompanyfromtheoutside,needsalinkinsidethecompany,amediatorbetweenherselfandtheemployeesinordertoestablishthecooperationasfastaspossible .However,unionrepresentativescertainlyneedtobeadditionallytrainedforthisrole,asitisnewtothemandtheemployees .Inthiscontextwebelievethat,inviewofthemanneroftheZSSSorganisationinSlovenia,theunionrepresentativesincompaniescouldhavegreatersupportinregionalrepresentatives .Astheunionrepsfromthe“outside”theywouldhaveaneasiertimeestablishingconnectionwiththemanagementofthecompaniesandthussupporttheworkoftheunion(andcounsellors)withinthecompany .ItisthereforeworthconsideringincludingtheregionalZSSSrepsevenmoreintothefurtherdevelopmentofguidanceatworkplace .Thiswillhelpthemfulfiltheirmission,statedastheprioritytasksoftheunionandtheirrepresentativesinthefieldofworkers’education:

• cooperationwiththecompanymanagersinpreparationofeducationandtrainingpolicy,

• counseltheworkers’councils,

• encouragetheworkerstoparticipateineducation,

• usetheiractivitiestoencouragegreaterawarenessabouttheimportanceofeducationandtraining–lifelonglearning,

• continuetheirowneducationforworkinthisarea,

• cooperatewithotherexpertsinthefieldofeducationandhumanresourcesinthecompanyandoutside,

• adoptstancesanddecisionswhennecessarybythenatureoftheissueorproblemofworkers(preventingeducation,reimbursementofeducationexpenses,conditionsforeducation–workinghours,leave,etc .)

• participateintheproceduresforassertingtherightoftheworkersfromeducation .

Inordertooptimisetheworkofeveryoneitwouldpaytosupportthesuggestionofthecounsellorstoorganiseawidernationalcampaignforthepromotionofimportanceandimplementationofguidanceatworkplaceasanef-fectiveapproachforbetterinformationofemployersandemployeesabouttheimportanceofcontinuouseducation

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andtrainingandopeningmorepossibilitiesfortheemployeestotakepartinthem,especiallythosewithlowerlevelsofeducation .Theopportunitiesthatalsohelptomaintainthecompetitiveedgeofthemarketalsohelpemployees’personalfulfilment(ofthosethatcanbemotivatedforlearning) .ThisfollowstheEuropeangoalsstatedintheCom-muniqueforAdultEducation,Itisnevertoolatetolearn(2006)andActionplanonAdultlearning,Itisalwaysagoodtimetolearn(2007) .

Bothdocumentsemphasisetheconcernfordevelopmentofqualityopportunitiesforadditionaltrainingfor lesseducatedemployees,especiallyseniors,whereActionplanexplicitlygives incentiveforraisingthepossibilityforadultsto»advanceonedegree«--toearnaqualificationthatisatleastonedegreehigheroftheonetheypresentlyhave .Italsoaddsthatitisinformingandguidancethatplayanimportantroleinmotivatingandreachingouttoadultgroupsthataretoparticipateincontinuouseducationtoearnaqualificationhigherthantheonepresentlyheld .(2007:8) .Guidanceatworkplacecontributestoboth:informingabouttheexistingpossibilitiesandmotivatingtotakeadvantageofthem .

AndallpartnersseetheSIAE(SlovenianInstituteforAdultEducation)andtheZSSS(Slovenia’slargestunionas-sociation–Associationoffreetradeunions)intheroleofmotivatorandsupporterofguidanceintheworkplaceactivitiesnation-wide .Andalsonationalandregionalemployerassociations,becausetheycanbeoutimportantpartnerinopeningdoorstothecompanymanagements .

The.Swedish.case.study

InSwedentheonlyplacestofindguidanceandcounsellingworkincludingbothgeneralstudiesandvocationaledu-cation/trainingisinthefacilitiesprovidedbymunicipalities .TheSwedishpartner,thelearningcentre,CFLissuchafacility .CFLhasworkedwiththemappingofskillsandcompetencesforindividuals,providingguidanceintheworkplaceandofferingvocationaleducation(andgeneraleducation)andtrainingforemployeesincompanies .Buttheirmaintaskistoprovideguidance,givecoursesandvocationalcoursestoalladultcitizensofthemunicipality .Thisincludesunemployedpeopleandimmigrantsaswellasthoseinemployment .

InterviewswithHR-representativesinlargecompanieshaveshownthatguidanceintheworkplaceisallaccordingtothewishesofthosecompaniesandthatthecombinationofassistingindividualsandcompanieshasbeensuc-cessful .Givingadviceandcounselling,withoutbeingabletooffercoursesortraining(orsuggestothereducation/trainingproviders)islikelytodecreasethevalueofgivingguidanceintheworkplace,thecompanymanagementsays .Thisiswhyalearningcentreisagoodpartner .However,thecompanymanagementsfindthatthereareafewrestrainingfactorsdespitetheoverallsuccessfulCFLworkscheme .Onesuchrestrainingfactoristheavailabletimefortrainingandeducation .

Whentheguidanceintheworkplacestartedinonecompanythetradeunionrepresentativewasveryreluctant .Thereweremanydiscussions,andtherewasafear,thattheguidanceandcounsellingwasastartofamajorre-placementscheme .Today,thesituationisdifferentandthevalidationprocessesforthestaffwascarriedout,andiscarriedoutwithnocomplaintsfromthetradeunionrepresentativeswhograduallyhasseenwhatcanbegainedfortheindividualemployeeaswellasforthecompany .

The co-operation with especially one large industry in the area has lead to a new joint endeavour . Thecompanywasintheneedofrecruitingnewstaffaswellasseekingguidanceforthealreadyexistingstaff;thisleadtoatraineeprojectwherebothobjectscouldbeachieved .Theprojectledtorecruitingnewstaff,bothfromwithinandoutsidethepremises .Thankstothisnewproject,employeeswithinthecompanyhadachanceor furthereducationandtrainingandcouldchangepositionsorbetter theircareerswithin thecompany .Oneexamplesofthisisaconstructionworkerwhoreceivedcounsellingattheworkplace .HewasprovidededucationandtrainingatCFL,withthecompany’shelp,andisworkingasaproductionmanageratthesamecompanytoday .Otherexamplesarehowstaffhasbroadenedtheirskillsandnowareabletodomorejobsormastermoreworkstations .Someemployeesthathadbeenplanningtoleavethecompanyinsteadreceivedfurthertrainingandtheyarenowstillemployed,workingwithnew,moreadvancedtasksandprocesses .

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Intheprocess,theguidancecounsellorsatCFLfindthevalidationofformerskillsandcompetencesuseful .Thiscanalsolessentheamountoftimeanemployerneedstoachievehisorherdiplomaorcoursecredits .TheguidancecounsellorsatCFLfeelthatthisisveryimportantalsobecauseemployersfeelthattimeislimited .“Itisalwaysdif-ficulttoplantimeforguidanceintheworkplace,butitisstillsomethingweverymuchwanttocontinueworkingwith”,saysaHumanRelationmanageratapapermill .“Wewanttodothis,eventhoughIfeelthatitistheindi-vidualthatbenefitsthemostfromthecounselling”(humanrelationmanageratapapermill) .

The guidance counsellors’ work

TheadviceandguidancecentreattheCFLlearningcentreisrunbythemunicipalofSöderhamn .Therearetwoguidancecounsellors,oneassistant,onevocationalteacherandamanageratthecentre .

TheadviceandguidanceprovidedatCFLfollowsthesameprocedureswhetheritisdonewithintheirownpremisesorataworkplace .Whenmappingtheclients’oremployee’sskillsandcompetenceseverythingislookedat,fromsecondaryanduppersecondaryschool,toworktasksandseparatecoursesandtraining .Thenquestionsaboutpersonalinterestsandplansforthefutureareaddressed .Afterthisthereisthequestionofwhatcanbevalidatedandwhatnewcoursesortrainingareneededtoachievetheindividual’sgoalsforthefuture .

Sincethedailyworkofguidancecounsellorsistoguideindividualsinrememberingandplacingpreviouslearninginsequencethereiscurrentlynoneedforadditionaltrainingforthecounsellors .Allprofessionalvocationalguid-ancecounsellorshaveaspecializeduniversitydegreeinSweden .ThisiswhySwedenchoosenottoorganizeformaltrainingwithintheprojectthemselves,butinsteadconcentratedonhelpingotherpartnersseepossibilitiesaswellasdifficultiesingivingguidanceintheworkplace .TheguidancecounsellorsworkingatCFLhavethequalificationsandthetrainingneededintheirwork,bothontheirownpremisesandwhenperformingthematplacesofwork .Oneofthetoolstheyuseisthe“lifeline” .Itisasimpletool .Alineisdrawnonapieceofpaper .Yearsandmonthsarenotedonthelineandtheindividualbeingguidedstartstotalkabouttheirlifeandwhattheyhavedoneduringtheyears .OneoftheguidancecounsellorsworkingatCFLfindsitverysimilartoworkwithclientswhetheritisintheworkplaceorattheCFLoffice .Onedifferenceisthatthereneedstobeagoodrelationshipwiththeemployer .Infact,oneoftheCFLstaffsays“Ifwegoouttoacompany,weusuallyhaveaboutanhourwithaclientandIhavepreparedmyselfforthemeeting .Hereattheoffice,peopleareoftenlininguptoseemeandIhavetohurryupsothattheotherwillnothavetowaittoolong”(CFLstaff)

Unfortunatelytheeconomicsituationhasforcedtheguidancecounsellorstoturntheirinteresttotheunemployedwhocometothelearningcentreforadviceandguidanceinlargenumbers .Thereis,atthemomentnotenoughtimefortheguidancecounsellorstoseekoutnewcompaniestoco-operatewith,togiveguidancetoemployersandoffercoursesandtraining .Howevertheguidancecounsellorswishtocontinuetolookupnewcompaniesassoonastheyaregivenpossibilities .Theyareawaitingastrategyfromthecentresmanagementonhowtobeabletocontinuetheirworkfindingnewcompaniestoofferservicesto .ThecompanieswhichalreadyhavebeencontactedandwherearelationshiphasbeenestablishedcontinueaskingforservicesfromCFL .Theseservicesarealsogiven .These servicesaremostlyoneononeadviceandguidanceat thecentre,butoccasionallyalso speciallymadecoursesortrainingforcompanies .TheemployeesofthecompanieswhereCFLhasbeen,orisworkingalsocomedirectlytothecentreforguidancesincetheynowknowaboutitthroughcontactsmadeattheirworkplace .Oneguidancecounsellorsaysthat:

“Thebestthing with guidance in the workplace is the opportunity for us to help people who would like to change work tasks [within or outside their current position] so that they feel better about themselves. Likewise, to be able to help people to validate and get certificates for their true skill and knowledge has been great” (Guidancecounsellor) .

Onthemostpartguidanceintheworkplacehasrunsmoothly .TheemployerhasunderstoodthatCFLhasbeenworkingonbehalfoftheindividualsandnotforthecompany,somethingthetradeunionrepresentativesalsosawafterawhile,althoughsomewerereluctanttointhebeginning .ACFLcounsellorremembersoneincidentwheretheemployerhadsecondthoughts .Thisconcernedanindividualthatwasaimingatbecomingablacksmithspe-

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cializedinhorsesandtoconsequentlyleavethecompany .Hewouldhavecontinuedonhissetpath,withorwithouttheadvicefromthecounsellors .Thefactthathewouldleavethecompanyanyway,andthatthiswasnotaresultofthecounsellinghadtobeexplainedbythecounsellortotheemployer .Therearealsootherinstanceswhentheout-comehasbeentheopposite,whereemployeeshavestayedon,insteadofleaving .Onesuchexampleisabluecollarworkerwhowantedtocontinuehiseducationandmoveintoofficework .Bymappinghisskillsandcompetences,validatingandthenofferingcourses,firstatsecondarylevelandthenatuniversitylevelCFLcouldhelphimachievehisgoalswhilestillstayingonatthecompany .Henowworksintheofficeatthatsamecompany .

The.Italian.case.study

InItaly,likeOECDcountries,thereisaconstantlinkbetweentheissueoflifelonglearningandlifelongcareerguid-ance,soinstitutionandgovernmentplanalotofcareerguidanceactionstowardsyoungpeopleordisadvantagedworkers,whilstthereisalackofinitiativesaddressedtotemporaryoropenendedemployees .Thiskindofworkerneedssupporttoo, inordertofindoutortobuildupnewopportunitiesandnewincentiveinamoreandmorecomplexlabourmarket .Accordingtothissituationithastochangetheaimsandthefinalgoalsofcareerguidanceorcounsellingorcoachingactionsintheworkplace,fromapassivesupporttoanactivepromotionofthework .Careerguidanceisalifelongsupportthathelpsworkersindevelopmentlife-longprofessionalprojectthroughthelifelonglearningaction .

IntheframeworkofGuidanceintheWorkplaceProject,theteamworkrealisedsomeseminaractivitiesinordertotransfertheknowledgeaboutthedifferentproceduresthroughwhichtheycanbeofferedguidanceintheen-terprises .Duringthetrainingdays,theparticipantshadtheopportunitytoexperimentwiththetechnologiesandmethodologiesofCareerCoaching .Attheseminar,HRManagersofbigcompanies,aswellassmallandmediumenterprisesparticipated,aswellasmanagersofTemporaryWorkAgencies,andworkersofPublicEmploymentServicesandGuidanceProfessionals .

Afterwards, from all of the participants, seven HR Managers were selected to be interviewed who were morerepresentative of the number of employees, company profile and sector . Outside of the seven companies whoparticipatedintheseminar,threeotherHRManagersfromUnilever,Unicredit,andEurotranciatura,whohadnotparticipatedintheseminar,wereinterviewedinordertocompleteandintegratetheresults .

Thesampleofthecompaniesthatwereinterviewedwasalllargecompanies,withnumbersofemployeesbeingnofewerthan80,bothpublicandprivate,engaginginproductionandservices .ThechosencompanieswereinequalnumberItalianandforeign .

ThechoiceofinterviewingonlycompaniesofamediumtolargesizewasdictatedfromtheobservationthatcameforthinprecedingresearchmadebythesamegroupthattherecouldbepresentasensibilityincareerorientationinacompanythathasaformalHRstructurethatpresentsitselfasapartnerinthecompanies’differentdepartments .

Thoseinterviewedwereinvitedtorespondtoasemi-structuredquestionnairecomposedofthreesections:

• Theimportanceofcareerguidanceinacompany

• Interestandlevelofparticipationinseminars

• Strategiesofgrowthofthehumanresourceareainacompany

The importance of career guidance in a company

Thefirstsectionnamed“Theactivityofcareerguidanceintheplaceofworkingeneral”hastheobjectiveofinves-tigatingthetypologies, theactivitiesandthe instrumentsofguidanceanddevelopment inthecompanies inter-viewed .ThoseinterviewedsupportedtheroleoftheHRdivisiontoimplementaclearstrategyofcareercoaching,definedandsupportedbyspecifictoolsandprograms .Totheendofsustainingtheindividualsduringtheselectionprocessandinphasesofjobchangingorsimplyforprofessionalgrowth,throughactivitiesofaninformativetypeandsuggestedbyacloseanalysisofneedswiththesharingoftheparticipantsthemselves,thereforeguaranteeing

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thedevelopmentofthe“person”andofthe“professional .”Itbecomesapparentthattheseinterventionscannotbecasualor“specialprojects,”butmustinsteadbepartoftheHumanResourcepolicyofthecompany .

Particularlydelicateandinterestingtoanalyzeisthethirdquestions“Whatshouldchange,intermsoforganizationandphilosophy,toactivateorimplementtheactivityofguidanceintheworkplacemostaccessiblyinthecompany?”Themajorobstacleinthedevelopmentofapolicyofcareerguidanceinacompanyisrepresentedbytheimpos-siblenatureofcalculating,foreachactivity,economicindicatorssuchasROI,ReturnonInvestment,similartowhathappensinthetraining .Allofthatwhichisdifficulttoaccountforintermsofeconomic/financialreturn .Otherobstaclesarethelackofspecializedpersonnelinattendance .Generally,theaidisentrustedtotheHRDepartment,whilethedevelopmentofspecificcompetencies istheresponsibilitiesofthevariousdepartmentmanagers .TheskillsofanHRManageraredifferent,eveniftheyareclosetothoseofcareercoaching .

Interest and level of participation in training seminars

Thesecondsectionhadtheobjectiveofverifyingthemotivationandinterestinparticipatinginthetrainingsemi-nars .Infact,thefirstquestionexplicitlyasked“Why did you participate in the seminar and what were your principle motivations?”Thegreaterpartofthose intervieweddemonstratedinterest inthehighly innovativethemewhichrespondedtotheorganizationalchangeswhichaskforalotofattentioninthedevelopmentofhumanresources .Thelargerpartofthoseintervieweddeclaredthattheyhadaninterestinbroadeningtheirknowledgeonthesub-jectandaboveall,improvingtheirownprofessionalcapacitiesonthesubjectandidentifyingwaysofapplicationintheirowncompanies .Interchange,listeningandparticipationwerethemajordrawduringthesedayswhichwerelivedpositivelydueinlargeparttothestimulatingandsocialclimate .

Thesecondquestion“Do you think that the seminar was useful for your company? How so?”hadtheobjectiveofprobingthesubjectsdiscussed .Thesubjectsdiscussedwereprogrammedinternallyintheprojectwiththepurposeofallowingthemtobeexperimentalandapplicableintheenvironmentofthecompany .Theparticipantssaidthattherewasasubstantialaligningbetweentheanticipatedtrainingneedsandthosethatweresatisfied .Theknowl-edgeandawarenessofcertaintoolsforimprovinglevelsofperformanceoftheworkersinthecompanybecomestrategicforguidanceinworkqualityandforthecontinualimprovementintheperformanceoftheperson .

Particularlystimulatingwasthethirdquestion“What would render possible the introduction of the career guid-ance activity in your company?”ThelargerpartofthoseinterviewedsustainthatthedevelopmentinternallywithinacompanyregardingcareercoachingcanbesuccessfulonlywithformalandspecificHRpoliciesandprocesses,sustainedbyasatisfactoryorganizationalclimate .Ontheotherside,theperceptionthattheworkersprocesswithrespecttotheirownorganizationandrepresentthebackgroundonwhichtheydelineatetheirtrueworksatisfactionismeasuredbytheirdegreeofparticipationandbelonginginthecompanystructure .Theactivityofcareercoach-ingcanbepromotedtherefore,onlyinternallyinanorganizationalstructurethatputsthepersonasaresourceatthecentreandgivesadequatetrainingintheseroles .

Alsoindicatedistheopportunitytobenefitfromadhocfinancingforthedevelopmentofsaidactivities .Itshouldbeunderlined,thatinItaly,throughinter-professionalfunds,itispossibletotakeadvantageoffundingfortrainingwiththescopeofimprovingprofessionalcompetenciesoftheworkersandtoallowthemtobeusedinothercon-texts .Internallyinthetrainingmodules,itisforeseenthattherewillbeabalancingofthecompetenciestothisend .

Finally,thefourthquestion“What do you think the most interesting contribution of the seminar was?” Forwhatcon-cernstherelevantcontributionsdiscussedduringtheseminarswenoticethethememoreorlessunexploredintheprofessionalworld .Particularlyinterestingandstimulatingwastheactiveparticipationinthelaboratorymomentsinwhichtheparticipantscouldpersonallyexperimenttheinteractivedynamicsthatcomeaboutininterpersonalrelationships,eventhoughtheyweresimulatedandguided .Thequalityoftherelationshipsinsideoforganizationsplaysastrongroleinthedegreeofsatisfactionofworkevidencedbytwovariables:theentityoftherelationshipanditsfunctionality .Inthefirstcase,wemustconsiderwithwhomtherelationshipindeveloped,andthereforethedegreeofsimilarity(cultural,interests,values,stylesofbehaviour,etc .)thatrenderssocialinteractionintheworkplacemorefulfilling .Inthesecondcase,wereferenceinsteadwhatisdoneorifthesatisfactionisconnected

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towhatisaskedandwhatthepeopleeffectivelydo,thatthepersonrespondswithexpectedbehaviour .Thesetwovariablesseemtohaveasignificantweightintheinteractionbetweenworkersandcolleagues,butalsointherela-tionshipswithsuperiorsandsubordinates .

Strategies of growth in the area of human resources in a company

ItisinterestingtoanalyzethethirdsectionoftheinterviewrelativetoStrategiesofgrowthintheareaofhumanre-sourcesofacompanyofthoseinterviewed .Thequestionsofferedthepossibilitytoinquireastothedegreeandlevelofparticipationoftheemployeesinthedevelopmentpoliciesandonthestrategiesandplansofcompanytrainingthatforeseewaysoftraininganddevelopmentofcareersinternallytothecompaniesinterviewed .

Fromthefirstquestion“Do you feel that your organization will start or will continue to implement a system of career training?” weregisterparitybetweenthecompaniesthatarestartingtoimplementtheactivityofcareercoachingandthosethatarefarawayfromembracingthephilosophy .Wemustunderlinehoweverthatfromtheinterviews,wewereabletoregistercertaindistrustandaregressionwithrespecttopreviousresearchinwhichhademergedthatsimilardevelopmentpoliciesweprevalentlygearedtowardmanagersandinsomecasenewlygraduatedem-ployeeswithgreatpotentialforgrowth .Thereasonforthis“regression”issurelyfoundinthestrongconstrictionofbudgetsdedicatedtodevelopmentpoliciesofpersonnelthatallcompanieshavebeensubjecttointhisperiodofeconomiccrisis .

ThesecondandthirdquestionshadtheobjectiveofinvestigatingthelevelandqualityofefficiencyofthediversetoolsusedinHRpolicies:“What service/activity (coaching, mentoring, initial training etc) do you find useful and/or efficient for development in the area of HR?”

Thecompaniesinterviewedunderlinedtheimportanceandtheusefulnessofthecoachingandmentoringactivities .Theimportanceofthenecessaryskillsinperformingeffectivecareercoachingwasalsounderlined .

Thelastquestionwasanopenquestionregardingtraininganditisveryinterestingtounderlinethat,almostincom-pleteagreement,thoseinterviewedunderlinedhowcareertrainingisnotonlyatoolforbridgingthegapbetweenabilityandtheaspirationofthosewhoareenteringintotheworkingworld,butisasystemthatallowsparticipantstofindtheirway,amongmanyavailableones,andtodosomanytimesintheirlives:lifelonglearningandlifelongguidancebecometherefore,acontinuum .Interestingistheobservationthatjudgesoveralongperiodoftimeactivi-tiesofthistype“…not only a competitive stimulus for the company, but also a characteristic of attraction/retention of human resources of value.”

Conclusions

Fromtheseanalysesemergethefollowingquestionsonthesubjectoftrainingandthatcontinuethebasesforsomerecommendations,inparticular:

Trainingcannolongerbeconsideredonlyatoolforemployabilitythroughtherealizationoftrainingservicesinsupportofthefirstoccupation,butitmustalsoknowhowtopursuestrategiesforthepermanentdevelopmentofcompetenciesforallthecitizens,thatinthelogicofthemarketplaceofemploymenttheyknowhowtogatherandinvestintheprofessionalismandproductivenessofcontinualgrowth;

• trainingcanproduceanotablecontributiontothedevelopmentoflearningforworkingencouragingthemtoaccesstrainingopportunities;

• itisessentialthattheguidanceandtrainingareprovidedinacontinualfashiontosupplyaneffectivecontri-butiontothedevelopmentoflearningofworkers;

• thetoolsutilizedintheprocesses/servicesoftrainingneedtobeabletoencourageprocessesofempower-ment,ofsustainingtheconstructionofdecisionsandchoices,ofprojectskills,throughlistening,informationandtraining;

• it isnecessarytointerprettheroleoftheHRfunction,howtheydevelop,motivate,andbetterthehumancapitalofacompanywiththeobjectiveofnotonlythecompany’sperformancebutalsoofself-efficacythat

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ifononesideitcanbringthemoutofthecompanyoforigin,canrepresentatoolofcontrast,attheriskofexcludinginmoments, likethatwhichwearelivingcurrently,ofgreatchangethatbringsustoasuddenobsolescenceofcompetenciesofanindividual;

• careertrainingactivitiescannotbeassimilableneitherinevaluationactivities,evenif,insomecasesitcanholdtrueandappropriatephasesofassessment,andneitherofactivitiesofselectionofpersonnel,meaningthatitisnotatoolofmeasurementandtestingofthecompetenciesandpotentialinfunctionoftheoccupa-tionofadeterminedjobfrompredefinedcharacteristics;

• agoodselectormustbeagoodtrainer,justastheyneedtobeagoodHRmanager .

InItaly,theprocessesofcareerdevelopmentinmanycompaniesarenotclearandthatwhichismadeavailableisonlydonesotocollegegraduatesandmanagers .Thereisnoclearstrategytosustainthedevelopmentofacareerforthemajorityofemployees .Thiscannothavenegativerepercussionsonthepoliciesactiveinsustainingemploy-ability .Employabilityisthecapacitytofindandconservetheplaceofworkandconsequentlyestablishesanessen-tialdimensionofactivecitizenship,butitisalsothepremiseofimprovingthecompetitivenessofa“SistemaPaese .”Amodelsoconstructedrequiresarethinking,notonlyoftheofferoftrainingbutalsoofthequestion .Employability,aswellasanactivecitizenship,asksfornewupdatedandappropriateknowledgeandcompetencies .

Thechallengeisthecreationofasystemoftraininganddevelopmentofprofessionalism(analysts,training,andprogrammersofspecificactivitiesfortraining,tutors,mentors,coaches,evaluators,managers,andsystemanima-tors)abletocontributetothegrowthofanintegratedlocaleconomic–productivesystem .

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Impact, Sustainability, future work and lessons learnedThissectionof thereportshowstheanswers fromthequestionnairethatwassenttopartners inAugust2009 .Howeverbeforetheresultsarepresentedwefeelthereisneedofashortdiscussiononthesubjectofsustainabil-ityofprojectwork–whatdowemeanandwhatarepreconditionsforsustainabledevelopmentwork?Oneoftheaimsforthelearningevaluationhasbeentodiscusswhatthepre-conditionsforsustainabledevelopmentareandwhetherornotaprojectlikethiscangivesuchimpactthatitwillbesustainable .Thiswillbefurtherdiscussedintheconcludingremarks .

Sustainable.development.work

Tosustainsomethingisto“keepupthestrength”orto“keepinexistenceoveralongperiodoftime”(LongmandictionaryofcontemporaryEnglish) .Theconceptofsustainabilitywasfirstestablishedinregardtoenvironmentalissues .Ithassincebeenbroadenedtoincludealsosocialandeconomicalsustainability(Docherty,Kira&Shani2008) .Itisinthelattersensewediscusssustainabilityhere .Sustainabilityofexternallyfinancedprojectworkhasbeenquestioned .Infactsomereportshavebeenverydiscouraging,sayingthatmostoftheprojectworkhasseizedtoexistshortlyaftertheexternalfundingwasgone(ITPSA2004:028,RiR-rapport2005:6) .Sustainabilitycanbeseeninastaticway–tokeepthingsastheyareorastheywereplannedfromthebeginning .Sustainabilitycanalsobeseenasasustaineddevelopmentprocess .Thatisthatthedevelopmentworksustainsitself,reproducingresourcesandconstantlyengaginginprocessestofurtherdevelopmethodsandtakecareofresultsfrompreviousdevelopmentwork(Dochertyet .al .2008) .Itisinthissensewetalkaboutsustainability .

Importantpreconditionsforaprojectenablinglong-termeffects,thattheprojectleadsintosustainabledevelop-mentwork,werehighlighted inaSwedish researchprojectwith18participatingdevelopmentprojects entitled“KnowledgeDevelopmentandSustainability”(Svenssonetal .2007) .Theauthorsofabookdescribingthe18proj-ects discuss structures and processes in development projects and how preconditions for sustainability can beidentifiedinthem .Theideashavesincebeendevelopedandamodelforsustainabledevelopmentworkhasbeencreatedtogetherwithparticipantsinalargescalenationalprogramaimedatchangingworkplaces(Halvarsson&Sandberg-Öhman2009) .

Ifdevelopmentworkistobesustainable,acarefullythought-throughprojectorganisationandacoherentprojectideaarenecessary,i .e .astructurethatprovidesclarityandcontext(cf .Dochertyet .al .2008) .Foranadaptationtolocalpreconditionstobepossible,theproject’sstructureneedstoconnectwiththedevelopmentworkprocessesintermsoflearningandparticipationwithintheproject .Topmanagementoftheorganisationsthataretotakecareofandfurtherdevelopprojectresultsandmethodsneedtobeactivelyinterestedintheproject .Thus,creatinglong-termeffectsofadevelopmentworkrequiresmorethananefficientprojectmanagement(Svensson&vonOtter2001) . A project organisation can be analysed onthebasisofdifferentfunctionsandareasofrespon-sibilityinadevelopmentproject(seefigure2) .Thefunctionsareconcernedwithowning;steeringandleading(ormanaging)projects .Activeownersinin-volved organisations support and place demandsonsteeringfacilities,whichthendoesthesamewiththeprojectmanagement .Preconditionsarethuscre-ated for those taking part in a development worktoactwheretheframesandscopeforactioninter-connect .Itistheparticipantswhotestideas,makechangesandgivefeedbacktotheprojectmanage-ment,steeringfacilitiesandowner .Whotheownerisdifferdependingonorganisation .Theycanbetopmanagement,orinpublicorganisationspoliticiansor high officials . But, it is the steering facilities in Figure 2.Organising sustainable development work

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conjunctionwiththeownerwhohavethetoolsandpowertokeepthedevelopmentprocessgoingaftertheformalprojecthasended .Thelackofanactiveownershipandaprofessionalsteeringofdevelopmentworkisprobablythemostimportantreasonforalackofsustainability(Svenssonetal .2007) .

Sustainabledevelopmentworkbasedonaprojectishowevernotonlyaboutstructuresandongoingprocesses .Itisalsoaboutinitialresultsandimpactfromtheworkbeingdone .Withoutresultsanddevelopmentofnewworkpracticesormethods,noprojectwillleadtosustainabledevelopmentwork .Thereforethenextsection,showingtheresultsfromthequestionnairesentouttothepartners,startwithissuesregardingimpact .

Impact

Westartbyshowinghowthepartners(allfive)categorizetheirwork .Theywereaskedwhetheritwaslocal,regional(oneregion),regional(twoormoreregions),ornational .Thesearetheiranswers:

How.would.you.categorize.your.work.in.the.GIWP-project?.(In.percent,.more.than.one.answer.possible)

1 . local

2 . regional(oneregion)

3 . regional(twoormoreregions)

4 . national

The figuresaregiven inpercentandmore thanoneanswerispossible .Both theoldpartners categorized themselvesasregional .ItalysaidtheirworktobeintwoormoreregionsandSwedeninoneregiononly .Francenamedtheirworkaslocal,regionalandnationalandRomanialocalandregional .Slove-niacategorizedtheirworkasregional (twoormoreregions)andnational .Thepartnersthenwentontoanswerquestions

aboutimpact;nationally,regionallyandlocally .Thesearetheircomments .

What.impact/effect.can.you.see.nationally.from.your.work?

“I think the main impact is the changing of the minds. Indeed, guidance in the workplace project is a good way of com-municating about the possibilities to inform, guide and advice employees on their workplace. So, the fact to talk about the project or ask some questions about this field, is a good point because we make all the different stakeholders on the guidance and training, think about the guidance possibilities and their current practice. About the training, thanks to our CIBC National and regional network, we have been the starting point of all the CIBC strategies to go towards to the companies to make some guidance in the workplace. Our participation in this project can be a good example and argument to convince of our guidance activity in the workplace.” (France)

“Since we provided guidance in the workplace locally and only the training activities included more regions in the country (participants in the training were from 3 regions, Harghita, Covasna, Bihor) we cannot really talk about impact on national level. The Harghita County Employment Agency (involved in the project) is an institution that functions on county level and they are also member of a national network of Employment Agencies, so if they will use the informa-tion and knowledge got within this project in their daily work they would be in the position to make these accessible on national level for those interested.” (Romania)

“We have seen an increasing cooperation between companies and guidance providers during the last years and the previous project, Guidance merger and this one has been important for this development.” (Sweden)

“We have worked nationally and regionally. To develop and implement guidance in the workplace in the selected com-panies we have cooperated with two networks:

- at the national level with the Association of Free Trade Unions of Slovenia (Zveza svobodnih sindikatov Slovenije - ZSSS), who also provided a written statement of support when we applied for the project,

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- and at the regional level with three regional trade union unit of ZSSS and with three regional guidance centres for adult education - Koper, Maribor, Novo mesto.

So the results of the project could have impact at the national and regional level. Regarding the training programme at SIAE as a national Institute for Adult Education we will keep on the topics from this training programme.” (Slovenia).

“Promotional activities at national level are done by Aster, ISFOL (Institute for the Development of Vocational Training of employees) and Stoà (Institute of Studies for the Management and Business Management).

The project can have a dual impact:

1. at operating plan: we involved some workers/professionals from single company;

2. at system level: we involved ISFOL that in Italy deals with VET.” (Italy)

However,thereareonlytwoprojectsthathaveansweredthattheGuidanceintheWorkplaceProjecthasmadeanimpactontheirnationalVET-system .ThisisSwedenandItaly .InthisliesalsotheimpactoftheinitialGuidanceMergerproject,withthefollowup–thetransferofinnovationproject,GuidanceintheWorkplace .

Impact.on.national.VET-.system.(in.percent)

1 . Notatall(Slovenia,France,Romania)

2 . Yespartially(Italy,Sweden)

“We have seen a growing acceptance of both APL and work-place based VET in Sweden the past years- the guidance provid-ers have been important for this and the good results from the local work in Söderhamn is well known in Sweden – evidence for this is a high number of study visits to our learning centre and presentations in national conferences.” (Sweden)

“The activities carried out with Guidance in the Workplace proj-ect can have an impact on our national VET system because we involved an expert from ISFOL that in Italy is the Institute for the Development of Vocational Training of employees “ (Italy)

Furthermore,regardingregionalimpact,RomaniaandSwedensay:

“Since the idea of guidance in the WP is very new in the country amongst small companies and institutions, a signifi-cantly longer period is needed to make this service “accepted”, “needed” and “useful” both from the point of view of company’s management and employees.” (Romania)

“The Guidance Merger 1 and The Guidance in the Workplace Project have been important to develop a new role for guidance officers - a more active role, working close together with employers and a combination of new tools-like APL and workplace based training-together with more traditional tools like career planning, labour market information also.” (Sweden)

Andthelocalimpactiscommentedasfollows:

“Locally, it could be a new possibility to communicate about VET, in addition to all we already do in that field.” (France)

“Since the idea of guidance in the WP is very new in the country amongst small companies and institutions (especially from rural and underdeveloped areas), a significantly longer period is needed to make this service “accepted”, “need-ed” and “useful” both from the point of view of companies management and employees. Despite the above mentioned, during the advise giving activities we met managers really interested in this service and who would be willing to “use” it on long term especially when these would be free of charge. (in our case it was of course a sort of testing)” (Romania)

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Accreditation.plans.“The work has been selected by the DG Employment as one of 50 best practices in EU, the only example from Sweden of cooperation between VET/guidance providers and SME:s.” (Sweden)

WhenwemadeinquiresaboutaccreditationplansSwedenmentionedthattheGuidanceintheWorkplaceProjecthasbeenchosenasoneoffiftybestpractices .Howeverthequestionofaccreditationisalsoaboutgettingformalaccredita-tionofcoursesorotheractivitiesrelatedtotheproject .Herearesomemoreanswersaboutfutureaccreditationplans .

“First, we launch a strategic action plan towards the companies to suggest to them our provisions of services. Then, the 3 case studies we got, took place well, and so, it allows us to keep these 3 companies as new eventual clients, for further collaborations (for example, we are going to launch some new provisions of services towards to the seniors employees, and thanks to GIWP Project, we can contact them about this topic)” (France)

“Accreditation of a training course for guidance counsellors.” (Romania)

“The results from the project have already been included in 2 new projects, one coordinated by a Hungarian labour market board and one coordinated by an Italian training provider. In both projects partners from several EU countries participates and the results from Guidance merger 2 will continue to inspire guidance providers in Europe to work more active and in cooperation with SME: s.” (Sweden)

“Accreditation of a training course for guidance counsellors.” (Italy)

Continued.training.of.advice.givers.and.guidance.counsellors

Oneofthemajoraimsofthetransferofinnovationprojectistotestandevaluatetrainingneededforguidancecounsellorsandotheradvicegiverstobeabletogiveguidanceinworkplaces .Thishasbeendonedifferentlyineachcountry .Thenewpartnersfounditnecessarytoadjustthetrainingtolocalandnationalstructures,butsomemoduleshavebeenthesame .Italy,anoldpartner,providedtrainingtocounsellors,butnotwithintheirownor-ganisation .Furthermore,Swedenisanoldpartnerwhoprovidesguidanceintheworkplaceonaregularbasis .Theyfounditnotnecessarytoadditionallytraintheircounsellors,andsawthetrainingatthetrans-nationalmeetingssufficientfortheirneedsatthemoment .(Howevertheydoinformcounsellorsandmanagementofotherlearningcentresabouttheirworkindifferentnetworks) .Morefactsabouthowthetrainingwasdonearepresentedinaseparatereportonwww .guidanceintheworkplace .eu .Theseareideasandplansonhowtocontinuetrainingcounsellorsandotheradvicegiversforguidanceintheworkplace .

How.will.you.(or.other.organizations).continue.to.train.advisers.or.guidance.counsellors.in.GIWP?

“Now our staff members are trained for the companies approach, they are able to train the other counsellors about all the things we learnt during the project. We can expect some success in our further “commercial” approaches towards to the companies, so GIWP will continue.” (France)

“As stated before Soros Educational Center has a long term plan for accrediting a training course for advisers or guid-ance counsellors. This will depend also on the interest of the target group for such courses (this being in direct relation with the country’s economic development).” (Romania)

“We will try to continue with guidance in the workplace in co-operation with The Association of Free Trade Unions of Slovenia (ZSSS) and with the network of 14 guidance centres. So we also plan to continue with the training programme for the counsellors and for the trade union representative. With ZSSS we have already discussed to have separate train-ing for regional trade union representatives and for the union representatives in the companies.” (Slovenia)

“The CFL participates in several guidance networks and will continue to give information to guidance providers about our results.” (Sweden)

“Stoa has submitted a project proposal in the framework of Lifelong Learning programme( transfer of the innovation) of guidance in the workplace project. The project was approved and it will begin in the next months. The trainer in guid-ance in the workplace project, has developed some material.

ISFOL likely use some results and/or products of this project.” (Italy)

`

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Continued.work.with.guidance.in.the.workplace

Thefourcountriesthathaveansweredquestionsaboutcontinuingguidanceintheworkplaceservices;allhavedif-ferentplans .Thisiswhattheyanswered .

How.will.you.(or.other.organizations).keep.working.with.guidance.in.the.workplace?

“With new companies as clients, we will be able to offer them some guidance in the workplace. More we will work with it, more the minds will change, more it will become “common” and more we will appear as “experts” with a long experi-ence in the field of the guidance in the workplace.” (France)

“The Harghita County Employment Agency (involved actively in the GIWP project on behalf of Soros Educational Center) has started cooperation with CIBC, Arras. During the study visit made by the CIBC staff in Miercurea-Ciuc, the Employment Agency’s staff have got different models for professional guidance from CIBC which they are going to use” (Romania).

“Today this is a part of our daily activity and it will continue and hopefully grow - it’s all a win-win situation, the guid-ance unit works together with the employers and that makes it possible to support employees with information about training and APL possibilities and to arrange workplace based training for unemployed.” (Sweden)

“We try to put the topic of guidance in the workplace in the scheme of Ministry of Work, Family and Social Affair. We have started to do this. Our national partner from ZSSS, has already talked with them and proposed this for the next year. And we have also proposed this at the national co-ordination group for career guidance in Slovenia which operate at the Ministry of Education and Sport (in this group the GIWP project leader is a representative for adult education area)” (Slovenia).

Organizing.to.achieve.sustainable.development.work

Earlyoninthetrans-nationalprojecttheemphasiswasonbuildingnetworksandanchoringtheworkinthepartnersownorganisationsaswellasintheirpartner’sorganisations .Emphasiswasputoninformingindividualswithsteer-ingfunctionsorattoplevel(owners)abouttheworkbeingdoneintheGuidanceintheWorkplaceProject .Thisiswhywehaveaskedquestionsaboutthesethings .Furthermoreweaskedifotherorganisationshadshownaninter-estingivingguidanceintheworkplaceinthefuture .

In my organisation:Yes,abso-

lutelyYes,atleast

inpartNo,onlytosomeextent

No,notatall

Idonotknow

8Topmanagementhassetupastrategytoen-ablecontinuedworkontrainingforGIWP 2(40%) 1(20%) 0(0%) 2(40%) 0(0%)

7Topmanagementhassetupastrategytoen-ablecontinuedworkonGIWP 2(40%) 1(20%) 0(0%) 2(40%) 0(0%)

6IamsupportedfullybymysuperiorsintheGI-WP-project 4(80%) 1(20%) 0(0%) 0(0%) 0(0%)

5Ihaveonnumerousoccasionsdiscussedand/or solved problems concerning GIWP with topmanagement

1(20%) 1(20%) 3(60%) 0(0%) 0(0%)

4TopmanagementisinterestedinthetrainingofcounsellorsforGIWP 2(40%) 2(40%) 1(20%) 0(0%) 0(0%)

3TopmanagementregularlyinquiresabouttheGIWP-project 3(60%) 1(20%) 1(20%) 0(0%) 0(0%)

2WeinformallstaffabouttheGIWP-projectonaregularbasis 3(60%) 1(20%) 1(20%) 0(0%) 0(0%)

1Thoseworkingwith theprojectare fully com-mittedtofindawaytocontinueGIWPactivities 3(60%) 0(0%) 1(20%) 1(20%) 0(0%)

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Comment: “There is a big interest especially for the workplace based training - this is a way to arrange training for people for a lower cost than more traditional VET provided by schools - this is one of several reasons why it is very in-teresting for top management people. The cooperation with SME: s is also important for the public organizations - to bridge the gap between us is important for politicians and top management people.” (Sweden)

Theanswersreflectthattherearetwoorganizationsthatdonothavefutureplanstocontinuetheactualguidanceintheworkplaceservices .HowevertheirrespectivenationalpartnerswilltosomeextentcontinuetousemethodslearnedintheGuidanceintheWorkplaceProjectortopromoteguidanceintheworkplaceonanationallevel .

WhenitcomestochangingpoliciesandstructuresintheVET-system,politiciansareimportant .AlthoughitwasnotemphasizedintheGuidanceintheWorkplaceprojectthatpartnersshouldtrytoinfluence,wewantedtoaskthequestionifthishadbeendoneornot .

Our.work.in.the.GIWP-project.has.influenced.politicians.or.policy.makers.to.take.action:.(in.percent.answers.from.four.countries)

1 Yes(Slovenia,Sweden)

2 No(France,Romania,Italy)

Comments:

“We try to put the topic of guidance in the workplace in the future scheme/policy of Ministry of work and labour.” (Slovenia)

“Workplace based training is fully accepted. APL is a part of the national strategy and an important issue for the new agency for higher VET. There are of course several reasons for this but the im-portant role of guidance providers in APL has been highlighted by the Guidance merger project.” (Sweden)

Have.any.other.organizations,.except.the.ones.you.are.working.with.now,.shown.an.interest.to.give.guidance.in.the.workplace?.

1 No(Romania,France)

2 Yes(Sweden,Slovenia,Italy)

“There is an interest of the National Chamber of Commerce and Industry to support and recommend guidance in the workplace as one of the possible approach for opening access to lifelong learn-ing for employees”. (Slovenia)

“About 50 municipalities in Sweden has made study visits to Sö-derhamn and the project has been presented in several national, regional, local conferences - maybe more about the original Guid-ance merger project than the TOI Guidance merger 2 - the GM 2(Guidance in the Workplace) is more intended to be a transfer of results to other countries.” (Sweden)

“Following the interviews realised for the Italian case study, we have a positive answer from:

- Edizioni Simone (Publishing house);

- Mediacom;

- Unilever;

- Unicredit (there are already some skills, perhaps the company will invest more in this area).

Some organisations wish to have services of guidance in the workplace.” (Italy)

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Thelastcomment,fromItaly,reflectsthestrategyofcloseco-operationwithHR-managementinbusinessesinsteadofliaisingwithotherexternalcounsellorsandadvicegivers .

Thequestion“Doyounowhaveanorganization(astructurewithorwithoutco-operatingpartner)thatwillbeca-pableofcontinuingtheguidanceintheworkplaceandthetrainingofadvisorsandguidancecounsellors?”wasputtothepartners .Romaniaansweredthattheydonot,andtheydonothavetheintentiontocontinueguidanceintheworkplaceservices .Slovenia,SwedenandFrancesaythatthestructurenowisstableandthattheywillcontinuedevelopingtheservices,withorwithoutpartners .Italysaysthatpartnerswillcontinuethework,butthatthestruc-tureisstillunstable .Itisalsoworthnotingthatthreeoffivepartnersstatedthat;wereitnotforthetransnationalGuidanceintheWorkplaceProjecttheywouldnothavebeenworkingtoprovidetheservices .AmongthosewhohaveansweredthattheywouldnotprovidetheguidanceservicesintheworkplaceisSlovenia,whonowhasafirmstructureandfutureplanstocontinueofferingtheservicesnationalwide .

Would.you.have.been.working.to.provide.guidance.in.the.workplace.regardless.of.this.transnational.project?.(In.percent;.answers.from.four.countries)

2 Yes,probably(Sweden,France)

3 No,probablynot(Slovenia,Romania,Italy)

Lessons.learned

Thatlearninghastakenplacethroughouttheprojectisevident .Opportunitiestolearnhasbeenorganizedbothintrans-nationalmeetings,atstudyvisitsandwhileworkingwithtrainingofcounsellorsandgivingservicestoemploy-ersandemployees .Weaskedaboutthemostimportantthingspartnershadlearnedfromothercountriesandfromtheirownwork .Itisalsoimportantforthosewhohaveplannedthetransnationalworktolearnwhatcouldhavebeendonedifferently .

Please.mention. three. things.you.would.have.done.differently. if.you.were. to.do. the.project.all.over.again .

“- Communicate about the project since the very beginning

- We couldn’t know, but the financial crisis didn’t help us so much...

- Thanks to an earlier commitment of our partner on the project we could have organized more disseminations events (maybe nationally)” (France))

“We have to start to work with the companies earlier. And to plan more time for guidance in the workplace in some companies. We think that it will be better to have partly a separate training for counsellors and trade union representa-tives. “ (Slovenia)

“It is always difficult to find the best way for dissemination - there is a lot of projects going on in EU and to make your voice heard is not always that easy - maybe we should have worked more with the dissemination plan - you can never reach a perfect plan for that.” (Sweden)

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What.are.the.most.important.things.you.have.learned.from.other.international.partners?

From Sweden: Their concrete experiences in the previous project »Guidance Merger«.

From France: The concept and concrete approaches of the » skills audit«.

From England –(during our study visit Leonardo da Vinci Mobility - in Leeds in June 2008): How important the role of the trade union representatives is for motivating employees for lifelong learning”. (Slovenia)

“The different way of approaching the companies according to the country for example, the importance given to the trade unions in Slovenia).Some tips to be heard by important stakeholders (letters to the Chamber of commerce...) A better knowledge of the different systems (training, networking...)” (France)

“We got insight into different (and well functioning) guidance systems that are set up according to the national VET systems and financed mostly from state funds. The importance and advantages of guidance in the WP in HR development” (Romania)

“That despite the big differences between us and the situation for guidance providers there is still a lot to learn from each other. There is also an increasing awareness in many countries that professional guidance is important to strengthen lifelong learning in the EU and to increase mobility, both social and geographical in Europe.” (Sweden)

What.are.the.most.important.things.you.have.learned.from.national.partner.organizations?

“Some advise giving methodologies.” (Romania)

“From trade union - ZSSS: The way how to find the contact with the companies – employers and employees.

From Guidance centres: That we have to develop different approaches for guidance activities in the workplace – re-garding different needs of the employees in different companies; we will work on this in further development of the guidance in the workplace.” (Slovenia)

In.retrospect,.is.there.anything.the.persons.co-ordinating.and.evaluating.the.project.should.have.done.differently?.

I am not long enough involved in this project to be able to judge this field.

As a new comer, I have gotten all the advice, information and explanations I needed, so to my mind I don’t see what they could have done differently.” (France)

“The guidance in the WP methodologies was mentioned quite frequently. Since in Romania this service is less known (in some sectors is totally unknown) we have expressed from the beginning of the project our wish to get more practi-cal information related to this issue (some very concrete ways and methods of GIWP). Maybe it would have been more efficient if this information would have been offered earlier during the project period.” (Romania)

“Maybe just to suggest us to start to work with the companies earlier - regarding the experiences from previous proj-ect.“ (Slovenia)

“They have done a good job.” (Sweden)

Finally;.for.you.personally.-.overall,.the.transnational.project.has.been:.

1 Agoodexperience(3partners)

2 Afairlygoodexperience(2partners)

3 Afairlypoorexperience

4 Abadexperience

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Reflections from the final conferenceThediscussionatthefinalconferencecircledaroundtheserviceprovidingorganisationsandfindingtherightpart-nerstoco-operatewith,theemployerperspective,counsellors’roleandthetrainingneeded .Flexibilitywasawordfrequentlyused .Somethingtheparticipantsalsocamebacktomorethanoncewasthatguidanceisturningintoamorecommercialtaskthanthatoftraditionalcounsellingwork .Bythattheymeanttwothings .Onewasthatcounsellorsneededtobecomemore“businessinterested”inordertounderstandcompanyneedsandconditions .Theothermeaningwasthatcounsellingitselfmighthavetobecomemorecommercialoratleastthatorganisa-tionsprovidingtheservicesmustbecomemoreawareofpossibilitiestomarketthemselves .Furthermoretherewerediscussionsabouttheimportanceofnationalstructuresthatcansupportlifelonglearningandenableguidanceintheworkplace .

Flexible.guidance.counsellors.with.a.strategy

Itistheindividuals’perspectivethattraditionallyistheguidancecounsellors’primefocus .Thisisnotsomethingthecounsellorsbelievetheyshouldorwanttochange .Howeverworkinginsidethecompanypremisestheneedforflexibilityandsensitivenessforthedemandsoftheworkplaceisimportant .Timeislimitedanditisimportantnottodisturbproductionmorethannecessaryandalwaysindialoguewiththeemployer .

Theworkofcounsellorsshouldallowthemtoworkbothoncompanypremisesand“inoffice” .Mostguidancecoun-sellorsworkwithunemployedpeopleorthosewhoareintheeducationalsystem .Thisissomethingthatoftenishindering .Thecounsellors’dayisfilledwithscheduledappointmentsanditisclosetoimpossibleforsinglecounsel-lorstomovetowardsguidanceintheworkplaceontheirownaccord .Togivesuchservicesthishastobeastrategyoranaimforthewholeorganisation;whethergivingadviceandcounsellingisitssolepurposeorifitisonlyapartoforganisationactivities .

Toofferguidance in theworkplaceservices,achangeofattitudeboth in theorganisationsofferingadviceandguidance,butalsoinsomecasesoftheguidancecounsellorisneeded .Itisnotalwayseasyforguidancecounsel-lorstotakecommercialoremployerperspectivesintoaccount .Balancingtheworktopromotelifelonglearningforindividualsinemploymentandemployerneedsisadifficulttaskforthosewhoareaccustomedtoworkingwithindi-vidualsonly;oftenwithmethodsthatarequitesimilarfromoneclienttoanother .Trusthastobebuiltnotonlywiththeindividualreceivingadviceandguidancebutalsowiththeemployer .However,onceonthecompaniespremisesthecounsellorstakingpartintheGuidanceintheWorkplaceProjectonmostpartfoundtheworkrewarding .Theyreportthattheyhavelearnedmoreaboutworklifethanwhenworking“inoffice” .Thattheguidancecounsellormustbeflexiblewasagreedonduringtheconference .Theyneedtolistentotheemployerandadjusttotheirneeds .Althoughadjustingtotheemployerisimperative,theguidancecounsellorfeelthathavingtheindividualemployees’perspectiveissomethingthattheydonotwanttolose .Theguidancecounsellors’goalistopromotelifelonglearn-inginthewidersense–thatis,beyondtheemployer’sneeds .

Flexible.training.with.a.strategy.for.counsellors

Onereflectionatthefinalconferencewasthatitisimportanttoprovideupdatedtraining .Timesarechangingandtheimportanceoflifelonglearningismoreevidentnowthanbeforebutsoisthecommercialisationofmanyservicesthatusedtobepublicallyfunded .ThetraditionalrolesofguidancecounsellorsneedtobeexpandedandaprojectlikeGuidanceintheWorkplaceplayanimportantrole .Thereisbothaquestionofmotivatingguidancecounsellorsandofgivingtheappropriatetrainingtoenablethemtomeetemployersandtheiremployees .Thereisnosingle,universal,methodortraining .Methodsandtrainingaredependentontheguidancecounsellors’organisation’sstrategiesandonthesize,typeandbusinessstrategiesofthecompaniestheyaretoapproach .Itwasagreedonthatitisbetterforeachcountrytohavedifferentmodelsfortrainingthatcoincidewiththenationalstructures,cultureandhistoricalbackgroundofbothcompaniesandorganisationsprovidingguidance .Mostpartnerswanttodevelopthetrainingmodulesfurther .Itwasconsideredagoodideatocreatea“bank”ofjointtrainingmodulestopickfromandtoaccessideasfrom .Theseideascaninspireotherstomaketheirowntrainingmodulestofitintotheirowncontext .

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Theformaltrainingoforeducationforprofessionalguidancecounsellorsiscurrentlyverydifferentintherespec-tivecountries .Swedenhasaspecialthreeyearuniversitycoursethatallprofessionalmunicipalitycounsellorsmusttake(thisdoesnotapplytothestaffgivingadviceandguidanceinlocalemploymentagenciesrunbythestate) .Theothercountrieshavemanydifferententrancestobecomingaguidancecounsellor .However,thepartnersallagreedonthatthereisaneedforuniversitycoursesthatalsotakeintheperspectiveofguidanceintheworkplace .

Flexible.employers.with.a.strategy

Tobeabletogiveservicesforthoseinemployment“you have to find an employer to tell you his needs” (representa-tivefromtheSlovenianchamberofcommerce) .Noemployerwillletanexternalcounsellorin,withouthavingensuredthatthewholeschemeisbeneficialforthecompanyasawhole .Thiscanprovetrickyas“somecompaniesseetheGuidanceintheWorkplaceProjectascompetition”(projectpartner) .ThecompetitionisbetweenthecompaniesownHR-departmentandtheexternalguidance .InthosecompaniesthathaveanHR-department,closeco-operationisneeded .Infact,oneofthepartners,Italy,thinksthatintheircountryitisverydifficultforanexternalcounsellortogetintotheworkplaceandthereforetheyprefertotraintheHR-staffinstead–skippingtheexternalcounsellingalltogether .Thisishowevernotthecaseintheothercountries .InSloveniaforexampletheyhaveturnedtootherexternalpartnerstotrytoopendoorsintocompaniesandtheirHR-departments .ThechamberofcommerceiswellrenownedamongmostSloveniancompanies .Aletterofintentfromthechamberprovedveryeffective .Thisisoneexampleofhowinitialtrustcanbecreated,betweenemployers,theirHR-departmentsandthecounsellingorganisation .

However,noletterofintent,canopendoorstocompaniesiftheemployercannotseethebenefitfromgivingtheemployeesguidance .Therehastobeanunderlyingstrategyforguidanceintheworkplaceonbehalfofthecom-pany .Thecompanymightbeinneedofre-organisation,inneedofbetterqualifiedstaffortheremightbeanotherreasonwhyguidanceintheworkplaceisappropriate .Theguidancecounsellormustbepreparedtodiscussandunderstandtheseunderlyingstrategiesfortheguidancetobesuccessfulfromanemployerperspective .

Flexible.home.organisation.with.a.strategy

Itisnotonlythecompaniesthatneedtohaveastrategyandavisionfortheirwork .Theorganisationprovidingtheservices,whetheritbeasprofessionalguidancecounsellorsorotheradvicegivers,requireastrategyfortheirworkthatisalignedwithsuchservices .TheFrenchpartnerCIBChasdescribedhowtheyinthemidstoftheGuidanceintheWorkplaceProjectlosttheirpublicfunding .Beingflexibleenough,guidanceintheworkplaceturnedouttobeoneofthenewstrategiesforsurvivalnotonlyforthelocalofficeparticipatinginthetransnationalprojectbutforCIBC:sinthewholeregion .Forotherpartners,thehomeorganisationsbusinessstrategyoroverallaimprovednottobesufficientenoughtoallowguidanceintheworkplacetobeanaturalpartoftheorganisation .Thesepartnersinsteadformedallianceswithotherorganisationsthatcouldperformtheservices .

Anotherreasonforteamingupwithpartnersistofind“dooropeners” .Thepartnersthathadteamedupwithotherorganisationsforthisreasondescribedthatsuchco-operationsometimescanbechallenging .Itisnotalwaysthatdecisionsatonhighlevelsofanorganisationisunderstoodoracceptedatthelevelweretheactualworkisbeingdone .Onelessonlearnedistheneedforgoodcommunicationabilitiesinandflexibilityofallinvolvedparties .

Flexible.national.systems

Atthefinalconferenceitwasclearlyshownthatthefivepartnershavedifferentstartingpoints,intermsofinherentstrategiesoftheirownorganisationsandtheirco-operatingorganisations,butalsointermsofpotentialinfluenceonnationalfront .Hownationalstructurescouldbechangeddifferfromcountrytocountry,dependingonsizeandhowtheexistingstructuresarebuilt .Noonestructureisthesame .Itwassuggestedthatnewlegislationmaybeneededinsomecountriestoenableguidanceintheworkplaceonalargescale .Onehinderingfactoristhattherearedifferentbudgetsforunemployedpeopleandforthoseemployed .Thefactthattrainingandeducationistooexpensiveforemployerstoseekinsomecountriesisalsohindering .Whyshouldanindividualengageinguidanceactivities,whenthereisnochanceoftrainingorfurthereducationanyway?Thisiswhereeithertheemployerorthestate/regioncanstepin .

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TheRomanianpartnerscalls for theneedfor thebuildingof institutions throughoutRomaniaandtheneedforbuildingpartnerships .Asasmallregionallearningcentrethereislittletheycandotomakeanimpactonnationalsystemlevel .Theirco-operatingpartner–theemploymentagency–hasabetterchanceofdoingsointheirnationalnetwork .TheFrenchpartnerwouldalsoliketoseeaninstitutionalchange .Thereisaneedforalongtermgoaltoincorporateguidanceintheworkplaceinthenationalsystemforvalidationandaccreditationofpriorexperienceandlearning .InItalythereisaneedtocreatemoreawarenesssothatthesystemeventuallycanbeinfluenced .ThistheItalianpartnerhopescanbedonebytheirGuidanceintheWorkplaceProjectco-operatingpartners .InSwedennearlyallguidancecounsellingforthosethatarenotunemployedisdonebythemunicipalities(exceptguidanceandcounsellingatuniversitiesforstudents) .Theyformnetworksandsodothepublicorganisationsthatofferguid-ance .Itismainlyviathesenetworksthesystemcanbeinfluenced .

Intheprocessofchangingpracticeandinstitutions,thereisinfutureworkperhapslessneedforidentifyingtoolsforguidanceintheworkplaceandmoreneedforidentifyingtherolesandfunctionsforguidancecounsellors .Istheroleoftheguidancecounsellortoaidunemployedpeopleandstudentsonly,orshouldtherolebeextended?Oncetheroleisredefined,thetrainingcanbemadeappropriateforthatrole .

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Did they do what they were supposed to do?Didthenationalandtransnationalprojectsdowhattheysetouttodo?Thequestionofimpacthasalreadybeendiscussedabove .Butwhatabout theaimsandobjectives?Theoverallaimof theGuidance in theWorkplaceProjectwasto,byincreasingavailabilityofadviceandguidancetothoseinemployment,alsoincreaseaccesstolifelonglearningopportunitiesforindividuals .Therewerethreemainobjectives .Thefirstandmajoraimwastofurtherdevelopthecareerguidanceavailabletothoseinemploymentinthethreenewpartnercountries .ThesecondobjectivewastoaddvaluetotheoriginalworkinGuidanceMergerbytransferringinnovationbetweenpartnercountries .Thethirdobjectivewastoaddvaluetotheprojectbytransferringinnovationbetweenpart-nersabouthowguidancecounsellorscanfurthertheirrolebyofferingvalidationandtheaccreditationofpriorlearningwithintheworkplace .Thefirsttwotrainingevents,whichtookplaceinSwedenandFrance,addressedtheissuesofvalidationandaccreditationandtheFrenchsystemhasbeenmorecarefullyexaminedbythenewpartnersatstudyvisits .

Howwerethefirstandthesecondobjectivemet?Allianceswithco-operatingpartnershavebeenmadeinthreecountries,aftercarefulsearchforpotentialpartners .Theotherpartnersconsideredthemselvesstrongenoughtodelivertheservicesthemselvesallthroughtheproject .Duringtheongoingevaluationcriticalquestionshavebeenasked–areyouontherighttrack?Haveyoufoundtherightpartners?Whoelsecanassistyou?Whattypeofad-ditionaltrainingdoyourguidancecounsellorsneed?Willthisprojectleadtosustainabledevelopmentworkornot?Thepartner’scasestudiesshowthatallthepartnershavetackledthechallengetogiveguidanceintheworkplace .Thecasestudiesalsoinexplicitlyshowthatthepartnershavedifferingpossibilitiestoofferguidanceandtoinflu-encenationalstructures .Nonethelesstheyhavealldevelopedandgivenguidanceintheworkplaceservices .Theoldpartners,ItalyandSweden,havedonesoinapriorprojectandthepartnersfromRomania,Slovenia,FranceandSwedenintheGuidanceintheWorkplaceproject .Trainingmodulesforguidancecounsellorshavebeencreated .Partnershaveformedtheirowntrainingandtheyhaveofferedittoguidancecounsellorsandotheradvicegivers .Furthermoresharedmodelsfortraininghavebeendeliveredsothatotherswhowouldliketodevelopguidanceintheworkplacecanusetheme .Howeveritisnotadvisablethatthesemodelsareseenasuniversalinstructions .Theycanonlyserveasideasandadvice,whichhavetobecarefullyalteredtofitintonationalcontextandstrategiesortheorganisationssetouttogivetheservices .

Overallthepriorevaluationreports,thecasestudiesandthequestionnaireshowthatthetransnationalprojectandthenationalprojectshavedonewhattheysetouttodo .Naturallysomethingscouldhavebeendonedifferentlyandbetter,theyalwayscan .Thetimeframeisonesuchfactor .Somepartnerswouldhavepreferredtostartgivingtheactualservicessooner .Buildingnetworkstooktoomuchtime,eventhoughthiswasalsoregardedimportant .Thetrainingofguidancecounsellorstoocamelateintotheprogram .Thesearelessonslearnedtotakeinaccountinthenextdevelopmentworkschemeforguidanceintheworkplace .

Concluding reflectionsTransferringinnovationfromonepartnercountrytoanotherisnotamatterofjustshowingwhatothershavedoneortellingthemwhattodo .Notifyouwantprojectresultsandmethodstobefurtherdevelopedandleadtosustain-abledevelopmentwork .Topromotelongtermeffects,torenderaprojectworksustainable,therehastobemorethanjustplainshowingandtelling .Therearemanyimportantquestionstobeaskedbyanyorganisationembarkingonthejourneytoprovideguidanceintheworkplaceservices .Thefollowingfirsttwoquestionsareperhapsthemostimportant .Howdoesthedevelopmentworkfit intoourbusinessstrategyoroverallaimandwhatwouldbethebestwaytoorganisetheworksothatwemakesureitdoes?Webelievethatcarefulinvestigationintotheprojectowner’sownorganisationandanyotherorganisationsthatcooperatetoprovidetheservicesisneeded .Howdothestrategiesoroverallaimfortheseorganisationsfitintotheguidanceintheworkplacescheme?Thenwecanaskotherquestionslike:Canwefindsupportordooropeners,togetintoplacesofwork,elsewhere?Howwillwetraincounsellors?Whatstructuresworkwithusandwhatworkagainstus?Howcanwemakethisintoawin–winsituationforemployee,employerandus?

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Finally:Wehaveseenhowtransferof innovationcanbemadefroma,withEuropeanmeasures,smallregionallearningcentre(CFL),engagedinworkplaceguidancetoanentirecountry,Slovenia .Theyareonroute;wellintofurtherdevelopmentworktomakeguidanceintheworkplaceanationalstrategyusingnetworksofguidancecoun-sellorsandco-operationwiththechamberofcommerceandanationaltradeunion .Offcoursetheyhadagoodstartingpositionwithanationalinstituteasprojectowners .Wehavealsoseenhowthisprojecthavebeenamajorinputforchangingbusinessstrategiesforaorganisation,theFrenchpartner,thatoncewaspublicallyfinancedandnowhastofullysupportitself .GuidanceintheworkplacewillalsokeephappeninginSweden,bothatCFLandinotherlearningcentres .InRomaniaandItalythereperhapsneedstobesomemorechangeofattitudefromemploy-ersandchangeinnationalstructures .Helpfromlegislatorsmayproveimportant;justasworkthatbuildsmoretransparentnationalsystemscouldbe .

Asweseeit,therearetwodifferentdirectionsofdealingwithnationalstructuresthroughlegislationtoimprovepossibilitiesforguidanceforthoseinemploymentattheirplacesofwork .Onedirectionistomaketrainingandeducationmoreaccessibleforindividuals,i .e .makeitlessexpensiveandeasierforemployerstotaketimeoffforlearning .Forexample,inSwedenemployeescantakealeaveofabsenceiftheywishtocontinuetheirstudies .Thisisregulatedbylaw .Accesstotrainingandeducationforemployeesislikelytoincreaseemployees’motivationanddemandfortakingpartinguidanceactivities .Theotherdirectionistoplacedemandsonemployerstoprovidetrain-ingforemployees .Thiscanincreaseademandfromemployersforguidanceservices .Thisisalsolikelytoincreaseemployees’interestintakingpartinguidanceactivitiesattheworkplace .

Validationoraccreditationofpriorlearningexperiencesissomethingthatworksverydifferentlyineachcountry .ItisonlyFrancethathasanextendedsystemforthis .Furtherworkonbuildingsystemsforthisisneededinmanycountries .Onceafullytransparentandacceptedsystemforvalidationandaccreditationofpriorexperienceandlearningisinplace;fromasocietalperspective,theimportanceforpublicandprivateorganisationstoprovideguid-anceintheworkplaceislikelytoincrease .

Guidanceintheworkplacecanbeseenasatoolforbringinglifelonglearninginasocietalperspective,inanem-ployerperspectiveandfromtheindividual’sperspectivetogether .However,theroleofguidancecounsellorssimplyisnotlikelytochangeovernight .Forguidancecounsellorstoseepeopleinemploymentasclientswefeelthereisneedforbothstructuralchangesandperhapschangesinemployerandemployeeattitudes .Forthesechangestohappen,disseminatingprojectresultslikethisisimportant .

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Documents

Final Evaluation Report · CFL (Centre for Flexible Learning) municipality of Söderhamn Italy: Aster Scienza Tecnologia Impresa Romania: Fundatia Centrul Educational Soros Slovenia: