What is Nefiks?

It is a partnership project of the youth organization Društvo mladinski ceh and the Slovenian Youth Office. In its essence, it is based on the idea that informal education of the youth that is offered at various levels and organized by various institutions, should be given greater value. The main purpose of the project was the recognized need for a unitary system of registering informally acquired knowledge and recording participation of youth in activities in Slovenia and across the world.  Therefore, in the beginning an index of informal education was developed, in which knowledge and achievements are recorded.

Nefiks index is intended for a variety of users: secondary school students, university students, unemployed, and all others under age of 14.

With the Nefiks index, we are not trying to replace formal education, but wish to achieve complementarity of formal and informal education and non-formal education. Students spent a great amount of time in different classes, seminars and other programmes. Therefore it is sensible and almost urgently necessary to register this education and as a consequence also evaluate it.

Into the index, the knowledge from six different fields is entered:
• Acquired knowledge from active citizenship and responsible work in projects;
• Acquired knowledge through work (student employment brokerage service);
• Acquired knowledge from organized forms of education (classes and seminars);
• Acquired knowledge in camps and from volunteer work;
• Acquired experience abroad;
• Other ways of acquiring knowledge.

Nefiks index is universally useful. We can distinguish three types of use:

1. CURRICULUM VITAE: the bearer's index will list the places of his education, the things he has done in life and the experience he has gained. In this regard, the purpose of the index is to work as a user's personal record of education and other activities in which he has participated.

2. NEFIKS DATABASE: Into the Nefiks database, all records of informally acquired knowledge and experience of index holders will be entered regularly. In case the index book is lost, this database will serve for obtaining a copy of the index, which will contain all records that were archived in the database. The database will also record the interests that the bearer wrote onto the sign-up form, when ordering the Nefiks index. On the basis of this data we will be able to send notices on different courses, seminars and other programmes at the individual's request.

3. EMPLOYMENT: Through informal education, the individual discovers own pleasures and interests. These are the first and basic steps in the planning of career path. The Nefiks database will allow to, on the request of index bearers and interested employers, to mediate between the jobseekers and the employers. Thus it will be possible to inform the owner of the index, e.g. an economist, or a student with plenty of education in the field of rhetoric that he/she matches the terms under which a bank searches for an employment candidate.
The aim was to establish social valuation of informally acquired knowledge of individuals and groups, with the intention to contribute to establishment of informal learning as a lifestyle and to contribute to better employability of the youth at the labour market.

Objectives:
- We enable systematic registration of informal education;

- We contribute to enhancing awareness among the youth on the need for life-long learning;

- We improve personal and professional development of individuals;

- we help the individual through the period of education and studies to plan the career path, so he/she can quickly find a suitable employment and have a basis for building career;

- We provide the individuals a quality choice of trainings for personal and career development;

- We enable the employers to employ young graduates, who match their requirements;

-We are creating a link between the employers, faculties and students, which increases the transparency of needs of all actors.

Tasks:

- We are gathering data on informal trainings and inform users of Nefiks on them;

- Research and development of programmes, which allows for personal and career development and increase employability;

- Preparing workshops on planning career path for students and jobseekers;

- Implementation of workshops on choosing studies for secondary school students;

- Personal counselling and orientation of youth in their career and personal development;

- Mediation in first employments between the jobseekers and employers;

- Guiding the youth towards occupations in shortage;

- Training pedagogical workers for career counselling;

- Execution of tasks for the faculties: career planning for students;

- Coordination and inclusion of youth organizations into the activities of improving employability of the youth.