The National Career Guidance Award Compendium of competition contributions from the Slovak Republic

The National Career Guidance Award 2015 Compendium of competition contributions from the Slovak Republic

Slovak Academic Association for International Cooperation is a voluntary association of individual and legal entities, which aims to promote and coordinate programmes of international cooperation of Slovak universities and other institutions. Slovak Euroguidance Centre operates under the Slovak Academic Association for International Cooperation (SAAIC) and is part of a Europe-wide network of centres, which are designed to promote mobility and develop the European dimension in guidance. Email: euroguidance@saaic.sk Internet: www.saaic.sk/euroguidance The National Career Guidance Award 2015 Compendium of competition contributions from the Slovak Republic National Career Guidance Award 2015 Compendium of competition contributions from the Slovak Republic Slovak Academic Association for International Cooperation (SAAIC), Euroguidance, Bratislava 2015 This document has been published with the financial support of the European Commission and the Ministry of Education, Science, Research and Sport of the Slovak Republic. Any views expressed in this publication are those of the authors alone, and neither the European Commission nor the Ministry of Education, Science, Research and Sport can be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. ISBN 978-80-88153-06-1

Contents Foreword 4 Evaluation of competition contributions 6 Awards AWARD for the development of a comprehensive set of career guidance tools supporting the quality and efficiency of services for children and young people: Research Institute for Child Psychology and Pathopsychology AWARD for lifelong work, the development of methodologies and publishing activities in career guidance and the AUDIENCE AWARD for developing Guidance as a Game methodology: Marta Hargašová 12 AWARD for the development of a career guidance system in public employment services: Department of Active Labour Market Measures, Central Office of Labour, Social Affairs and Family 14 AWARD for the development of a career guidance system in public employment services: BKS Úspech, s. r. o. 16 HONOURABLE MENTION for representing Slovakia in organising the NICE international conference: Department of International Relations, Slovak University of Technology, Bratislava 18 HONOURABLE MENTION for the implementation of projects and guidance activities promoting lifelong learning and the (re-)integration of disadvantaged groups into the labour market: Teamwork for a Better Future, civic association 20 10 10 Further contributions po Škole (after School, civic association): Know Your Profession Application Centre of Pedagogical and Psychological Counselling and Prevention, Čadca My Path Through Life My Future Occupation EDUPLEX, civic association: Career Guidance in the Children s City of Occupations Office of Labour, Social Affairs and Family, Humenné: Choosing an Occupation for Primary School Pupils in the Form of (Rediscovered) Excursions Secondary Polytechnic School, Dolný Kubín Kňažia: SCHOOL OPEN DAYS Secondary Nursing School, Farská 23, Nitra: Improving the Awareness of Secondary Nursing School Pupils in Nitra about Opportunities for Further Study and Labour Market Prospects Hotel Management Academy, Južná trieda 10, Košice: Effective Tools for a Career Guidance professional in the Integration of Pupils into the Labour Market Aptech Europe (non-profit organisation): Success Academy Your Personal Career Compass EPIC (non-profit organisation): Job Interview Simulator Career Centre, Slovak University of Agriculture, Nitra Services of the Career Centre, Slovak University of Agriculture, Nitra Mgr. Jana Tomčániová Graduate of the Teaching Faculty, Comenius University in Bratislava: Career Metaphor and its Application in Career Guidance of Specific Groups of Young People (diploma thesis) 24 24 24 25 25 26 26 27 27 27 28 28 LETTERS OF THANKS for long-running and successful activities in career guidance, career education and support for career development of children and young people: TANDEM, n. o., and PEOPLE IN NEED, o. p. s. 22 2 3

Foreword Dear readers, The following pages offer a continuation of something we are keen to refer to as a neverending story of examples of good practice in career guidance, career education and career development in Slovakia. This is another in the series of compendia of the NATIONAL CAREER GUIDANCE AWARD, an increasingly popular project organised since 2009 by the Euroguidance Centre hosted by the Slovak Academic Association for International Cooperation. This is a matter of great pleasure for us and we fully appreciate those who have decided (and who may decide at any time in the future) to take part in this competition, thereby helping us to pursue its fundamental spirit, which is to raise the profile of good practice in services, activities and achievements throughout the broad field of career guidance. This seventh year of the competition was exceptional in several aspects and stood out from previous years as a result of three key characteristics in particular: 19 organisations, institutions and individuals the most ever sent in competition applications in 2015; the non-profit sector figured much more prominently than in the past, represented by eight competition applications; perhaps most importantly, we registered a major improvement in the quality of competition applications, by which we mean not the quality of the applications per se, but the quality of services, activities and achievements they describe. This was a matter on which all members of the jury agreed in their assessments of the applications and was also evident from the response we, as competition organisers, received at the conference associated with the announcement of the competition results. We take this as a sign of things to come and as a commitment as we move forward. The organisation of this year s competition proceeded in line with what is starting to shape up as a routine, based on a standard timeframe and content framework. Early on in the year, we struck a deal with our partner Euroguidance Centre in the Czech Republic that, while we would not be changing the competition format, we would simplify the application form to make it easy for anyone to fill in. We did not break the competition down into any categories in advance because we wanted to encourage applicants from organisations and individuals active in the realm of career guidance for children, young people and adults, as well as from employers. The competition was open to services, one-off activities and special achievements. We announced the competition in mid-april, providing a deadline of 30 June 2015 for the submission of applications. As mentioned above, there were 19 competition applications in all. They were evaluated over the summer by the competition jury, who reached a final decision at their meeting on 25 August 2015. The conference used as a platform for the official announcement of the competition results and for the award of prizes to the winning contributions representatives was this year held in Bratislava on 22 September 2015, a little bit earlier than in the past, and was attended by more than 90 experts and practitioners from various corners of the sector. It is worth mentioning that several of the winning contributions in the Czech Republic s 2015 National Career Guidance Award were presented at our conference and, in return, Slovakia s winning contributions had the opportunity to be presented at the Czech conference in Prague on 16 September 2015. This form of cooperation is rewarding and inspiring, and we are confident that it will continue in the coming years. (We report on the 2015 conferences on the National Career Guidance Award in both Prague and Bratislava in our electronic online journal, Kariérové poradenstvo v teórii a praxi, http://www.saaic.sk/casopiskp.html, published by the Euroguidance Centre.) Since 2012, the compendium of competition contributions has been bilingual, offering detailed information on the competition and contributions from both sets of national awards for career guidance, and 2015 has been no exception. This is a good example of cooperation between two Euroguidance Centres and, more importantly, is a way of disseminating ideas and inspiration beyond national borders. This compendium, published in English, has an ambition to support dissemination of our Slovak and Czech examples of good practice in the broad area of career guidance, career education and career development to a wider audience outside also in other European or Euroguidance network countries. We teamed up with our colleagues from the Czech Republic to report on the National Career Guidance Award competition to associates from other network countries at a meeting of Euroguidance Centre representatives held in Bremen in August 2015. The idea was generally well received, with Euroguidance Centres from numerous countries expressing an interest in organising similar competitions and presentations of best practices. We have actually advanced even further in considering how to identify and parade examples of good practice from across the broad field of career guidance. In the coming years, the Euroguidance network will stage annual presentations of a range of examples of good practice from all 34 member countries (one contribution per country), evidencing that the seeds we started sowing in Slovakia and the Czech Republic in 2009 are more than capable of bearing fruit and can also be cultivated elsewhere. October 2015 Euroguidance Team, Slovakia The NationalCareer Guidance Award 2015 / Foreword 4 5

Evaluation of competition contributions Between the announcement of the competition on 13 April 2015 on the Euroguidance Centre s website (accompanied by the dispatch of information directly to hundreds of addresses) and the deadline on 30 June 2015, we received the following 19 applications (ordered chronologically): 1. Secondary Polytechnic School, Dolný Kubín Kňažia: School Open Days 2. Department of International Relations, Slovak University of Technology, Bratislava: International Conference, Bratislava, 28-30 May 2015, within the framework of NICE II Network for Innovation in Career Guidance and Counselling in Europe 3. Secondary Nursing School, Farská 23, Nitra: Improving the Awareness of Secondary Nursing School Pupils in Nitra about Opportunities for Further Study and Labour Market Prospects 4. Office of Labour, Social Affairs and Family, Humenné: Choosing an Occupation for Primary School Pupils in the Form of (Rediscovered) Excursions 5. EPIC (non-profit organisation): Job Interview Simulator 6. BKS Úspech, s. r. o.: Implementation of the Bilan de compétences Career Guidance and the Quality Management System of the European Federation of Centres of Career Guidance and Bilan de Compétences (FECBOP) into the Slovak Republic s Employment Services. 7. Teamwork for a Better Future Veľký Meder: Actively on the Path for the Support of Career Guidance, Utilizing International Experience 8. People in Need, Spišské Podhradie: Career Guidance for Young People from Excluded Communities 9. EDUPLEX, civic association: Career Guidance in the Children s City of Occupations 10. TANDEM (non-profit organisation): Where to after Primary School? Specially Themed Day with a Living Library on Career Choices and Planning the Future for Primary School Pupils 11. Central Office of Labour, Social Affairs and Family, Department of Active Labour Market Measures: Methodology Guide for Counselling Services and the Further Development of Career Guidance within Public Employment Services 12. Centre of Pedagogical and Psychological Counselling and Prevention, Čadca: My Path Through Life My Future Occupation 13. Aptech Europe (non-profit organisation): Success Academy Your Personal Career Compass 14. Jana Tomčániová Graduate of the Faculty of Education, Comenius University in Bratislava: Diploma Thesis: Career Metaphor and its Application in Career Guidance of Specific Groups of Young People 15. Career Centre, Slovak University of Agriculture, Nitra Services of the Career Centre, Slovak University of Agriculture, Nitra 16. Hotel Management Academy, Južná trieda 10, Košice: Effective Tools for a Career Guidance Officer in the Integration of Pupils into the Labour Market 17. po Škole (after School, civic association): Know Your Profession Application 18. Marta Hargašová, Research Institute for Child Psychology and Pathopsychology: Guidance as a Game Methodology 19. Research Institute for Child Psychology and Pathopsychology: Comprehensive Guidance and Counselling System KomposyT The expert panel put together to assess the applications in the 2015 National Career Guidance Award competition had the following members: Alžbeta Dianovská Štofková, Chairperson of the Association of Education Counsellors of the Slovak Republic Anna Eliášová, Office of Labour, Social Affairs and Family, Bratislava Irena Jankovičová, State Vocational Education Institute, Bratislava Jindra Remiašová, Centre of Pedagogical and Psychological Counselling and Prevention, Bratislava II Edita Bertová, Office of Labour, Social Affairs and Family, Komárno Eva Uhríková, Navigácia v povolaní, s. r. o. Lenka Martinkovičová, Euroguidance Centre, SAAIC Štefan Grajcár, Euroguidance Centre, SAAIC Each competition application was assessed on the basis of a uniform procedure (set out in the score sheet) independently by two evaluators. They were given just over a month to draw up their assessments (from mid-july to 24 August 2015). At the panel s final meeting on 25 August 2015, the jury presented their evaluations and the panel, as a whole, decided which contributions would receive awards. The panel chairperson was Jozef Detko, the Euroguidance Centre coordinator, whose job was to supervise the course of evaluation and compliance with the evaluation rules. The NationalCareer Guidance Award 2015 / Evaluation of competition contributions 6 7

The expert panel decided to bestow: a joint award for the development of a career guidance system in public employment services to the Department of Active Labour Market Measures, Central Office of Labour, Social Affairs and Family, and BKS Úspech, s. r. o.; an award for the development of a comprehensive set of career guidance tools supporting the quality and efficiency of services for children and young people to the Research Institute for Child Psychology and Pathopsychology; an award for lifelong work, the development of methodologies and publishing activities in career guidance to Marta Hargašová; an honourable mention for the implementation of projects and guidance activities promoting lifelong learning and the (re-)integration of disadvantaged groups into the labour market to the civic association Teamwork for a Better Future from Veľký Meder; an honourable mention to the Department of International Relations, Slovak University of Technology, Bratislava, for representing Slovakia in organising the NICE international conference. The jury also applauded another two contributions in this year s competition that had already earned plaudits in the past, praising the fact that they had remained ongoing and were progressing in activities for which the awards or special mentions had been made in previous years: People in Need, Spišské Podhradie, and TANDEM (non-profit organisation), from Komárno The NationalCareer Guidance Award 2015 / Evaluation of competition contributions On behalf of the competition organisers, the Euroguidance Centre, SAAIC, we would like to take this opportunity to thank members of the jury once more for their willingness to become involved in this adventure and for their time and effort in assessing the applications, which they did selflessly and without any financial reward. We appreciate what they have done and we hope this cooperation can continue in the future. 8 9

Award for the development of a comprehensive set of career guidance tools supporting the quality and efficiency of services for children and young people Research Institute for Child Psychology and Pathopsychology Comprehensive Guidance and Counselling System KomposyT Guidance as a Game Methodology The Research Institute for Child Psychology and Pathopsychology submitted two applications to the competition: the KomposyT digital platform, and Guidance as a game, a set of methodologies developed by Marta Hargašová to help make career choices. Comprehensive Guidance and Counselling System KomposyT www.komposyt.sk Slovakia has a unique system, KomposyT, facilitating the online diagnosis of pupils with learning difficulties or behavioural problems, gifted pupils and children from socially disadvantaging backgrounds. This system is also new in the European Union. The digital platform shortens the diagnosis process and saves expert s time that can then be channelled directly into the counselling process. While it assists in the diagnosis process, it does not replace an expert. KomposyT has two parts. One is freely accessible to the public, and the other one is for specialists, in particular psychologists, special educational needs teachers and education counsellors. Besides education counselling, the platform can also be used for career guidance. With KomposyT, visitors have the opportunity to learn about good practice in various areas of guidance and counselling and about the latest legislation on counselling related, among other things, to the integration of pupils with special educational needs. KomposyT launched all functionalities in February 2015. The online platform has been visited by approximately 10,000 unique users since its launch. The average monthly visitor rate since the launch date has remained at a steady level just below 3,000 unique views. KomposyT was developed as part of the national project Comprehensive guidance and counselling system for the prevention and influence of socio-pathological phenomena in school settings. The NationalCareer Guidance Award 2015 / Awards The jury hailed the fact that KomposyT acts as a one-stop shop for various information on educational counselling and career guidance that focuses on experts, but without losing sight of the broad circle of other users. One of the internal parts enables experts to carry out online diagnosis and evaluations of counselling and other techniques, thereby easing and streamlining their work. Some of the Research Institute s team contributing to the project (from left): Anna Surová Čulíková, Alžbeta Dianovská Štofková, Marta Hargašová, Dagmar Kopčanová, Darina Lepeňová, Alena Kopányiová, Eva Smiková, Martin Martinkovič Guidance as a Game methodology as a Game is a set of methodologies designed for career education and career guidance at primary Guidance schools. The aim is to acquaint pupils with the world of work, occupations and employment, to encourage them to think about themselves as future labour market participants before they apply for secondary school, and to give them the opportunity to consider more or less appropriate paths of education reflecting their own abilities, interests, options, limitations and prospects. These are activities which may draw in education counsellors, special educational needs teachers, social educators and psychologists. The methodology encompasses a Guidance as a Game manual, a guidance pack and a CD. There are games comprising motivational texts, a tentative goal, assistive devices and various means of use, designed for individuals, entire classes and small groups. The methodology was developed by Marta Hargašová as part of the national project Comprehensive guidance and counselling system for the prevention and influence of sociopathological phenomena in school settings. The jury applauded also the fact that the Guidance as a Game interactive and comprehensive set of methodologies offers alternatives for children with special educational needs (sight-impaired children, Roma children, etc.). 10 11

Award for lifelong work, the development of methodologies and publishing activities in career guidance and the Audience Award for the development of Guidance as a Game methodology Marta Hargašová Marta Hargašová entered the competition with a set of methodologies entitled Guidance as a Game, intended for career education and career guidance at primary schools. The methodology was developed as part of the Research Institute s national project Comprehensive guidance and counselling system for the prevention and influence of socio-pathological phenomena in school settings. A brief description of the set of methodologies is provided on the previous page. Marta Hargašová graduated at the Comenius University and the College of Education, she worked for the Institute of Psychology at the Faculty of Arts of the Comenius University. She founded and for many years was in the position of the head of the Psychological Counselling Centre for university students. She has also engaged in scientific, research, pedagogical, consulting, and publishing activities focusing on academic, professional, career and partner/ marital development. As a major founding figure in higher-education counselling, she is the honorary president of the Slovak Association of Counsellors in Higher Education. In recent years, she has actively and intensively devoted herself professionally and personally to national projects in the area of career guidance for primary and secondary school pupils. Here, she has authored and co-authored unique publications, methodologies and methodological guidelines. The NationalCareer Guidance Award 2015 / Awards The jury decided to reward Marta Hargašová for her active work in the field of career guidance, her numerous publications and her kind and friendly approach to children in the development of various methodologies, including the Guidance as a Game. At the National Career Guidance Award 2015 conference (held on 22 September 2015), Marta Hargašová was also awarded the Audience Award. Her contribution the Guidance as a Game, a set of methodologies came top in a vote on the Audience Award by the conference participants. Colleagues in the project implemented by the Research Institute for Child Psychology and Pathopsychology (from left): Marta Hargašová and Anna Surová Čulíková 12 13

Award for the development of a career guidance system in public employment services Department of Active Labour Market Measures, Central Office of Labour, Social Affairs and Family Methodology Guide for Counselling Services and the Further Development of Career Guidance within the Public Employment Services The Department of Active Labour Market Measures at the Central Office of Labour, Social Affairs and Family entered the NCGA with its comprehensive Methodology Guide for Counselling Services, containing a portfolio of counselling techniques and instruments. The Methodology Guide for Counselling Services is steeped in a deep analysis of the needs of units for counselling and training of jobseekers, which spotted fundamental issues among jobseekers and opportunities for the development of counselling services at offices of labour, social affairs and family. This was then followed up by the development of the Methodology Guide, which was coordinated by the Unit of Counselling and Training at the Central Office of Labour, Social Affairs and Family. The most important part of the guide is the portfolio of counselling techniques and instruments, grouped into four basic themes: A. Activation, labour market navigation, and job search B. Self-discovery, evaluation of prospects, and developing of a professional profile C. Career guidance D. Valorisation of acquired knowledge and skills The first version of the methodology guide contains twenty different instruments based on the best-known career guidance approaches (RIASEC, Donald Super, competence portfolio, MBTI typology ). These methods were brought together with the active collaboration of counsellors and have been adapted so that they can be used in work with each type of jobseeker in a way that follows up on existing employment service instruments (ISTP.sk, individual action plans, etc.). The implementation of the Methodology Guide also included the training of all counsellors from labour offices. Further steps include the interlinking of the system for keeping track of evaluations of counselling services with activities in the guide, and the further expansion and computerisation of the Methodology Guide for Counselling Services. The NationalCareer Guidance Award 2015 / Awards The jury has bestowed the award to the Unit of Counselling and Training, Department of Active Labour Market Measures, Central Office of Labour, Social Affairs and Family, for promoting the further development of career guidance in public employment services and for the development of the Methodology Guide for Counselling Services. Some of the team members from the Department of Active Labour Market Measures (from left): Tomáš Šprlák, Slávka Turčanová, Alena Sláviková, Helena Furindová 14 15

Award for the development of a career guidance system in public employment services BKS Úspech, s. r. o. Incorporation of the Bilan de compétences and the Quality Management System of the European Federation of Centres of Career Guidance and Bilan de Compétences (FECBOP) into the Slovak Republic s Employment Services BKS Úspech, s. r. o. s contribution to the NCGA 2015 was a project entitled Bilan de compétences in employment services via European quality standards, aimed at introducing a Bilan de compétences and the quality management system of the European Federation of Centres of Career Guidance and Bilan de Compétences (FECBOP). The plan for the Bilan de competences in employment services via European quality standards project was to introduce, in a sustainable way, a system for standardised and effective career guidance into Slovak employment services, thereby raising the awareness and availability of career guidance for the target population of jobseekers. The project has been realised in several stages: transfer of the Bilan de compétences methodology from partner countries; research of the needs and capacities of labour offices in relation to the provision of career guidance; the adaptation of the Bilan de compétences to the needs of Slovak employment services (selection of appropriate instruments, development of a competence portfolio for jobseekers, a final report, etc.); training of trainers and testing the methodology at two selected offices of labour, social affairs and family; training of 46 counsellors at the Central Office of Labour, Social Affairs and Family in the provision of the Bilan de compétences internally and delivery of methodological materials, including a portfolio of usable instruments; auditing and certification of the quality of the first two Bilan de compétences centres in Slovakia. The finalisation process comprises: development of quality standards requirements relating to the process, outputs, qualification requirements of counsellors, organisation arrangements, impact assessments, and the furnishing of evidence proving the effectiveness of career guidance; the creation of an accredited Bilan de compétences training programme at the Slovak Ministry of Education. The NationalCareer Guidance Award 2015 / Awards The jury hailed the efforts of BKS Úspech, which harnesses an Erasmus+ project to promote the implementation of Bilan de compétences and the quality management system of the European Federation of Centres of Career Guidance and Bilan de Compétences (FECBOP) in Slovakia s public employment services. Pavol Kmeť, Managing Director 16 17

Honourable mention for representing Slovakia in organising of the NICE international conference Department of International Relations, Slovak University of Technology, Bratislava International conference in Bratislava, 28 30 May 2015, within the framework of NICE II Network for Innovation in Career Guidance and Counselling in Europe The Slovak University of Technology invited the Network for Innovation in Career Guidance and Counselling in Europe (NICE) to Bratislava and staged the NICE international conference here. The conference was attended by 136 delegates from 86 institutions (universities, expert institutions, education ministries) from 30 countries across Europe. O n 28-30 May 2015, Bratislava hosted the international conference of the project NICE II Network for Innovation in Career Guidance and Counselling in Europe, organised by the Department of International Relations, Slovak University of Technology, Bratislava. The conference was held as part of the NICE II project (2012-2015), implemented with the support of the European Community within the framework of the Lifelong Learning Programme (Erasmus Academic Networks subprogramme). The project, coordinated by the Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg, has 45 partner universities and expert institutions from 29 countries around Europe. NICE II focuses on scaling up professionalism and excellence in career guidance in all sectors and at all levels. The network aims to maintain and encourage cooperation in research and education related to career guidance. It also fuels the further development of career guidance in line with the European priorities of lifelong learning, lifelong guidance and other pivotal European documents. This project has seen 136 key figures in European career guidance, coming from 30 countries, establish a European standard for a career guidance practitioner. One of the upshots of the conference was the adoption of a Memorandum on Academic Education and Research in Career Guidance, i.e. a NICE II call for collaboration between all scientists and representatives of universities, associations and policy makers active in the area of career guidance in order to make active contributions to its development in Europe in three areas: competence-based academic education; innovative research and excellent doctoral training; and joint initiatives in research, practice and policy. This activity was personally praised by Susanne Kraatz from the European Parliament s Directorate-General for Internal Policies of the Union. The NationalCareer Guidance Award 2015 / Awards The jury commended the fact that the Department of International Relations of the Slovak University of Technology, is representing Slovakia in such a major project and applauded its organisation of an international conference giving representatives of Slovak academia a unique opportunity to establish personal contact and, equally, to contribute to the network s objective to maintain and reinforce cooperation in research and education in the field of career guidance. Members of staff from the Department of International Relations, Slovak University of Technology, involved in the NICE project (from left): Laura Gressnerová, Ivan Prelovský 18 19

Honourable mention for the implementation of projects and guidance activities promoting lifelong learning and the (re-)integration of disadvantaged groups into the labour market Teamwork for a Better Future, civic association Actively on the Path to the Support of Career Guidance, Utilizing International Experience Teamwork for a Better Future (Spoluprácou pre lepšiu budúcnosť), a civic association from Veľký Meder, entered the competition with its wealth of activity and current projects in the field of career guidance. Teamwork for a Better Future was established in 2012 to promote and develop activities and active participation by the public on a local, regional and national level, especially in fields of lifelong learning and support for the (re-)integration of disadvantaged groups into the labour market, in particular by means of informative, guidance, and counselling activities, including career guidance and the development and implementation of projects and programmes. A sheltered workshop was set up for an admin officer and a project assistant to cope with operating needs and support the employment of persons with disabilities. The association implements projects under the Lifelong Learning Programme (LLP) and Erasmus+: Step by step towards active citizenship and to reintegration into the labour market (LLP), coordinated by the association, is geared towards boosting the (re-)integration of people with disabilities into the labour market. Career guidance a grounding for a better future (LLP) aims to examine career guidance service systems and promote professionalism. Developing skill sets for effective work in practice (Erasmus+), in which the association has been involved as a partner organisation since 2014, focuses on the development, testing, accreditation and application of a training programme concentrating on the development of practical skills of career guidance practitioners. The organisation s activities cover client services, project management, international cooperation and adult learning. Its activities for career guidance practitioners in the form of information days, workshops, seminars, conferences and training sessions are particularly successful. The NationalCareer Guidance Award 2015 / Awards The jury awarded the honourable mention because of the association s unrelenting efforts to contribute to the development of career guidance services through various activities and by promoting the active participation of citizens on a local, regional and national level, especially in fields of lifelong learning, lifelong guidance, and support for the (re-)integration of disadvantaged groups into the labour market, in particular by means of informative, guidance, and counselling activities, including the development and implementation of projects and programmes with participation of foreign partners. Association representatives (from left): Ildikó Hanuliaková, Zoltán Hanuliak 20 21

LETTERS OF THANKS The jury applauded also contributions in this year s competition that had already earned plaudits in the past, praising the fact that they had remained ongoing and were progressing in the activities for which the awards had been made in previous years. Specifically, the contributions in question were Tandem, non-profit organisation (an award winner in 2013) and the charitable society People in Need (Člověk v tisni) (an award winner in 2010). Irena Fonodová, the director of the Slovak Academic Association for International Cooperation, delivered letters of thanks to these organisations. Mária Jedličková, the Slovak Government Representative for national minorities, was also present at the official presentation during the conference. TANDEM (non-profit organisation) Where to go after Primary School? Specially Themed Day with a Living Library about Career Choices and Planning the Future for Primary School Pupils W with a living library and a set of various activities focusing on different areas of career here to go after Primary School? Specially Themed Day with a Living Library about Career Choices and Planning the Future for Primary School Pupils is a full-day interactive programme guidance. These activities aim to develop the skills and competences needed to choose a future occupation, and to provide pupils with the information about labour market trends they need for making career decisions, thereby simplifying the choice of a future career and helping them to choose the right secondary school. The diverse programme and informal methods give the entire day the relaxed feel of a festival. This service has been innovated in that it applies a rich spectrum of informal future-planning and career-selection methods to the very tender age bracket of primary school pupils (in 2013, Tandem was awarded a prize for a similar service geared towards secondary school students). These programmes are implemented by 10 trainers, 4 to 6 volunteers, 12 to 15 secondary school students from other schools, and 20 to 25 living books. The programme involves 70 to 90 pupils (from Year 8 and/or 9, by agreement with the school). Activities have been offered to primary schools since 2014. The day is structured as follows: in the morning, group activities are held for individual classes, employing informal methods on the theme of planning the future and selecting a future career, followed, in the afternoon, by an interactive programme with the Living Library. The NationalCareer Guidance Award 2015 / Awards People in Need (charitable society) Career Guidance for Young People from Excluded Communities Representatives of the non-profit organisation Tandem and the charitable society People in Need (from left): Péter Urbán, Eszter Szabó, Mária Borvák (all Tandem) and Jakub Tešinský (People in Need) The career guidance service offered by People in Need Slovakia targets children and young people from socially excluded (primarily Roma) communities. It has been available since 2009 in the framework of services delivered by community centres in the Prešov and Bratislava Regions. The aim is to improve clients prospects of success in the system of formal education and in the labour market, to disseminate information to help clients make the right choices of specialisation and future profession, and to advance their personal and educational development. The basic methods of this service are one-on-one and group counselling at community centres, schools, or directly in clients families. Group counselling utilises, for example, training, modelling, the practising of real-life situations, confrontation and presentation. The idea of one-on-one counselling is to work on individual plans for clients, to encourage them, to disseminate information, and to provide direct assistance in real-life situations. This service bridges people and institutions relevant to the further decision-making and prospects of young people and attempts to build a support network for them so that it is easier for them to move forward in breaking down the barriers of social exclusion. People in Need s contribution at the NCGA 2015 was an innovation of the service for which it had received an award in 2010. 22 23

FURTHER CONTRIBUTIONS po Škole (after School, civic association): Know Your Profession Application The Application Know Your Profession (a Barrett-based test), prepared in collaboration with the Research Institute for Child Psychology and Pathopsychology, is intended to help young people choose a future profession. It is a useful helpmate for pupils, students, teachers, education counsellors and the public. It is not just a psychological test, but also a game devised to help young people work out where their interests lie and shepherd them towards making their own searches online and in print media for information on schools and occupations associated with those areas in which they score highest. This methodology helps them to realise who they are. It is a springboard for decisions on what career path to follow, and for the formulation of short- and long-term career plans. The new application will simplify the way results are interpreted and comprehensively assess the answers provided by respondents. In the future, the association intends to interlink the application with videos as this would allow to present certain professions even in a more detailed way. Centre of Pedagogical and Psychological Counselling and Prevention, Čadca My Path Through Life My Future Profession The Centre of Pedagogical and Psychological Counselling and Prevention, Čadca, decided to put its weight behind the longitudinal model CAMIP (Čadca Model of Interactive Career Guidance), which focuses primarily on children in the final years of primary school via the project Paving the way for primary school pupils initial choice of career. This project also targets children in the lower years of primary school and even at nursery school, where education is provided in group form in classes and entails lectures, discussions, and experience-based activities, and searches for alternatives to the above-mentioned projects. The My Path Through Life activity (previously My Future Occupation ) strives to create a platform for children in earlier years of primary school and to encourage individual creative work and the production of a narrative as an indicator in the engineering of their own identity. In the 2014/2015 school year, the fourth annual My Path Through Life competition was held, harnessing the method of narrative psychology in a bid to promote pupils selfreflection and, in a free, non-directive way, to enable them to reflect on their choice of future occupation, and to become aware of their path through life, their values, motives, interests and their place in the world, where the choice of profession plays a pivotal role. The competition also offers an insight into the internal world of pupils themselves and, as such, is a valuable aid for education counsellors and career guidance practitioners in identifying potential difficulties in pupils decision-making or other areas requiring intervention. For the Centre of Pedagogical and Psychological Counselling and Prevention in Čadca the results of these activities form a basis for research into the factors behind pupils choice of profession, yielding up-to-date subjective information providing a better understanding of how these issues are perceived by pupils and, to a certain degree, facilitating modifications to the way the approach to careers is taken in the district, according to practical needs. The competition has four categories, broken down by school grade (years 6 to 9). The competition attracted the participation of 15 schools from the Čadca district, and involved a total of 51 pupils. They entered 37 texts, 13 drawings and three photographic works. An expert jury selected the 18 best works, and the final prize-giving stage took place at Čadca Municipal Authority on 18 June 2015. The winners were handed their prizes by the Director of the Centre of Pedagogical and Psychological Counselling and Prevention, Alena Hrašková. EDUPLEX, civic association: Career Guidance in the Children s City of Occupations The EDUPLEX, civic association, was established in 2011 in Bratislava, but is active throughout Slovakia. The association s mission is to help develop individuals and groups by means of informal methods and to arm them with career information and on how to work their way around the world of work. It carries out various activities for the common good, geared towards developing the knowledge, skills and abilities of primary school children aged from 6 to 15 years. It organises one-day events, full-day and weekly camps, exercises, workshops on the theme of occupations and, most importantly, a programme customised for children in 7 th, 8 th and 9 th grades of primary school called What do you want to be?, which takes place in MY CITY, the Children s City of Occupations. The Children s City of Occupations currently has a permanent exhibition in Bratislava and a travelling exhibition that makes its way around Slovakia s regional capitals (having been to Žilina, Košice, Trenčín, and in Nitra). In the City of Occupations, targeting primary school children, a tailor-made programme has been devised in a career-focused world, taking the form of a play and a simulation of the world of adults, which is intended to act as a guide for children from 7 th, 8 th and 9 th grades of primary school to the world of occupations, secondary vocational schools and the subjects they teach. The programme is a platform for young people to gain working, social and personal experience, followed up by the direct application of such experience in a simulated (safe) environment in the City of Occupations. The aim is to develop competences children need to choose a suitable secondary school and to progress towards a future career. The project focuses on reinforcing the conscious, wellconsidered and suitable selection of a secondary vocational school and occupation by children. Office of Labour, Social Affairs and Family, Humenné Choosing an Occupation for Primary School Pupils in the Form of (Rediscovered) Excursions This activity of the Office of Labour, Social Affairs and Family, Humenné, has been designed to help pupils leaving primary school to choose an occupation. It illustrates what type of work is done in the various manufacturing plants. Demonstrations of the manufacturing process in the presence of pupils who are deciding what they want to be play a large part in their choice of career. Seeing what a profession entails with their own eyes, how the various work duties are carried out, and what working aids are used has a large bearing on pupils decision-making. Expert presentations describing the work duties and the requirements of particular professions have high educational and motivating potential. The labour office organised and coordinated excursions to three manufacturing companies in May and June 2015. This competition contribution serves as a model of such activity for other labour offices that are partners of employers and schools, and has the benefit of stirring young people s interest in work and in the occupations where there are currently shortages on the labour market. The NationalCareer Guidance Award 2015 / Further contributions 24 25

Dolný Kubín Kňažia Secondary Polytechnic School SCHOOL OPEN DAYS The mass activity SCHOOL OPEN DAYS at the Secondary Polytechnic School in Dolný Kubín Kňažia is an event with a long tradition. Here, vocational classrooms, workshops and other school premises are presented to 9 th grade primary school pupils, their parents and the public. The school is pitched by pupils, who share information about their studies and fields of specialisation and about how they train for vocational tasks. This is a way of developing their communication skills and consolidating the relationship they have with the profession they have chosen. In addition, specialised excursions take place to companies in areas in which school s pupils are being trained and where there are job prospects for school leavers. Secondary Nursing School, Farská 23, Nitra Improving the Awareness of Secondary Nursing School Pupils in Nitra about Opportunities for Further Study and Job Prospects The Secondary Nursing School currently trains pupils for the ancillary health professions. Too many pupils have only sketchy information about opportunities for further study on post-secondary or bachelor degree courses. They also lack knowledge about career opportunities in the regional, national and international labour market, which was ascertained in a questionnaire-based survey. Activities carried out: a questionnaire for pupils in the third and fourth grades of the Secondary Nursing School in Nitra, a survey on opportunities for further education, on the conditions of admission, and on the educational profile in medical fields of study in Slovakia, with access to the school website, production of posters focusing on nursing professions put up around the school, production of information brochures on the possibilities of further education and job prospects, provision of counselling activities to meet pupils needs, a EURES lecture by a representative of the Office of Labour, Social Affairs and Family, profiling of the school to primary schools, organisation of a nursing day, and a database of vacancies for school s graduates on the school s website: www.szsnitra.sk. Hotel Management Academy, Južná trieda 10, Košice Effective Tools for a Career Guidance Professional in the Integration of Pupils into the Labour Market The main aim of the activity is to create a multifunctional career centre at the Hotel Management Academy. The plan is to ensure that pupils in the final grades are rigorously prepared to enter the labour cycle, to help them to forge a place for themselves on the labour market, and, where appropriate, to help them know how to advance towards further stages of education, and to set up a versatile career guidance structure at school. Pupils obtain information about career choices and/or further studies from a career guidance practitioner, who disseminates this information in various forms and methods, concentrates on assessing the abilities and interests of pupils, and encourages their motivation, self-discovery and decisionmaking. The target groups, other than the pupils themselves, are parents and employers. In this project, pupils take part in various guidance and counselling activities (self-assessment, decision-making, drawing up a personal career plan, stress management, identifying various internship opportunities at home and abroad for the pupil s professional growth, etc.) concentrating on integration into the labour market. The school organises job fairs, visits to exhibitions, open days at companies, and various higher-education institutions, as well as excursions to enterprises in the region where the students might be able to find a job in the future. Aptech Europe (non-profit organisation) Success Academy Your Personal Career Compass The Success Academy is a nationwide project aimed at making it easier for secondary-school and university students and graduates to enter the world of work. Students and graduates can take an online course to develop the work skills necessary to guide them correctly and help them to navigate the labour market. Making the right preparations for a job interview and selecting the right sort of job are just as important as mastering the professional skills. Training is provided via the website at www. successacademy.sk. This is linear training with seven chapters, each comprising five or six training sessions (altogether 41 sessions), and is rounded off with a test. Students can win special trophies for special tasks. The aim is for school leavers and graduates to get to know themselves and the opportunities available on the labour market, and, once they have accomplished all the tasks, to come up with an appealing CV. Throughout the course, students can approach mentors (experts in the field) via an email application. The NationalCareer Guidance Award 2015 / Further contributions EPIC (non-profit organisation) Job Interview Simulator EPIC is a non-profit organisation that, as part of its youth employment support scheme, implements a Job Interview Simulator, a project backed by the European Union s Erasmus+ Programme. The project prepares students who are coming to the end of studies in humanities at higher-education institutions for job interviews and for the transition to their first job. The preparatory course is headed by experienced instructors and HR officers from frontline companies. At the end, students have the opportunity of attending a test job interview at one of the employers involved in the project. If applicants successfully undergo a test interview, they have a positive reference with those employers and may even be offered a job. This project will also train youth workers who, even after it ends, will be able to assist young people in their search for job and prepare them for professional life. Both training courses will be accredited and open to schools, youth organisations, etc. The training content will be drawn up in detail and made freely available on the internet along with short videos. 26 27