The project "A Model of developing career guidance in primary and secondary schools" that has taken on the name "Pika na i", was provided in 2000 as a part of Phare programme MOCCA. The project manager was the National Institute for Vocational Education and Training together with the Employment Service of Slovenia and Velenje School Centre.

Together with the students that were included in the project, we have tried to establish a bridge between the student status and their new status when they will become job seekers and we tried to help them in planning their own professional career. We have therefore provided the students with specific knowledge and skills, so that they could successfully offer their skills, knowledge or achieved vocational or professional education at the labour market and thus compete with other applying candidates in the labour market in a more successful manner.

In the project students from four schools of the school centre were included, total 32 students (13 girls and 19 boys), which was also the upper limit of the norm for a group. In the group there were 19 students who have completed their education in the programmes of secondary vocational education (electrician, mechanical technician, salesman, housekeeper) and 13 students, who have completed their education in the programmes of technical and other professional education (electrician, mining technician, machine technician, housekeeping technician) in the academic year 1999/2000. They have participated in different workshops: Workshops for career guidance, workshops for obtaining job seeking skills, workshop for personal development of individuals and lecture on legal themes that apply to obligations and rights of both the employer and the job seeker.

For this purpose, we have established and equipped the information centre Pika na i (above the library) that is intended for primary school students, secondary school students, university students, adults and everyone else that wishes to obtain information on possibilities, ways and requirements of education and obtaining scholarships in the wider area, find out what school can offer on the way to employment, what the needs of employers in the region are, etc. Pika na i is an acronym for:

• p = poklic (profession)
• i = izobrazba (education)
• k = kariera (career)
• a = aktivnost (activity)
• n = nagrada (reward)
• a = alternativa (alternative)
• i = izziv (challenge)

In academic year 2005/2006 we are trying to widen the concept of Pika na i with the help of ESS funding to 5 other school centres in the state.