Marjeta Primožič

The interest in vocational and professional programmes is decreasing for several years. With the purpose to stop the decreasing trend or at least slow it down, we have for the second year now approached to the project "Promotion of professional education with vocational education in primary schools".

The project is managed by institution IZIDA – Information, education and counselling centre from Ljubljana; and it was implemented under the Phare MOCCA programme. As the implementation of the activity is based on social partnership between the municipality, secondary school, primary school and a company, we included into our work the following actors: Municipality of Velenje, ŠCV - Professional and technical school for electrical engineering and IT, Professional and technical school for mechanical engineering; Primary school Livada, Primary school Mihe Pintarja Toleda, municipality of Mozirje, Primary school Mozirje, Primary school Rečica ob Savinji, companies Premogovnik, Gorenje, Termoelektrarna Šoštanj and BSH Hišni aparati from Nazarje.

With suitable working methods we wanted to develop an interest for technical occupational fields among children, especially for the fields of electrical technology and mechanical engineering; present them with different fields of work within the industry, enable them direct work experience within it and to get familiar with the working process.
 With this we have tried to enable them to learn about themselves, raise their interest in technical fields and occupations, and familiarize them with the opportunities of education and assertion in life.
We have presented the education opportunities to them and more, so that they can make a good decision on their career path when this will be necessary.

With new activities we have tried to contribute to early discovery of career interests and consequently to the higher numbers of enrolled students in vocational and technical schools.

What did we intend to achieve? The students were to be:
 Confronted with opportunities,
  Encouraged to be active,
 Helped to find their interest in a certain work,
 Enabled to obtain direct experience in work inside the industry (empirical learning),
 We wished to lower the drop-out rates, due to incorrect career decisions.

We have offered them information on education opportunities after the primary school, we have presented them the school, the programmes, where they can continue their education; occupations, for which they can receive scholarships, employment opportunities, etc.

For this purpose, we have prepared motivational presentations, interest development workshops, etc. for the students of senior years of eight- and nine-year primary school.

The time spent with mentors and students passed almost to quickly. Insecurity, curiosity, right measure of liveliness, specific work,... Can I do it? Will I manage? Will the beeper work?
Laughter, joy when seeing the product made by the individual and could be taken home … I love it! I will come for sure! It doesn't make sense for me to go to another school!
Much more could be said … Together we have spent a nice, instructional day, filled with new discoveries and experience.

We wish that we would make some children interested for the work in technical industry, to strengthen the individual's intention for education. To those that will not be attracted by technology, we will try to find other fields, in which they will be successful and meet their wishes.

At the end of the workshops it was nice to hear the parents, who have stated their satisfaction with the work with their children and thanks to all, who have participated in these activities and thus helped them in career education of children and good evaluation results.

In the beginning of the academic year we have accepted the offer and joined the national action programme – regional promotion of occupation and vocational training.
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The purpose of the project was to familiarise primary school students, their parents and wider community on the advantages of vocational training and present them the learning process in vocational schools that guarantees students quality professional knowledge and practical additional training, and after the finished education instantaneous employment or continued education in professional schools: programmes of vocational and technical education, professional colleges and higher education and also faculties.

The aim of the regional promotion of occupations was:
• to change the attitude to vocational training and occupations in general;
• to increase the reputation and knowledge of options offered by vocational training;
• to increase enrolment in vocational training; and by that
• offer suitable workforce for Slovenian economy.

Together with the employers, representatives of chambers and instituions, we have presented the characteristics of the region that is covered by the Velenje regional office of the Employment service of Slovenia: demand for certain occupations, presentation of these occupations, possibilities of education for individual occupations, possibilities of career in this field. We have also prepared workshops for the following occupations:

• Velenje School Centre: electrician, electronic engineer, miner, toolmaker, machine mechanic;
• Slovenj Gradec School Centre: cook, waiter, joiner;
• Secondary machine technology and metalworking school Ravne na Koroškem: bricklayer, carpenter, metal shaper;
• Secondary school Muta: seamstress.

Promotional presentation was managed by the local Chamber of Craft Velenje, and was prided under the maxims: "Learning for rich life", "Become a master", "Become successful". It was visited by over 1100 primary school students from the regions of Celje and Koroška in two days. Sadly, the parents of the children did not visit the event.
Much has been said about the "festival method of career guidance", besides the positive experience of the children, also many negative findings were exposed that mostly relate to the financial burden of such events.

In this academic year we have finished with our pilot project of the EU programme Leonardo da Vinci, titled Virtual Vocational Orientation Package or VirtuOrientation.

The VirtuOrientation project is the continuation of development of the model of career guidance in vocational professional schools (Phare MOCCA programme has "given" us the information centre "Pika na i"), the holder of which is the Velenje School Centre. We have cooperated in this project with the experts of the National Institute for Vocational Education and Training, Employment Service of Slovenia, company PIO d.o.o., and experts from Austria, Italy, Czech Republic and the United Kingdom.

We have developed an interactive multimedia package that is intended for different target groups, all those who will wish to find up-to-date information from the field of education and labour market, those who enter the labour market after finishing school and also other jobseekers.
The website can be reached on the address http://www.virtuorientation.net and is accessible to the widest group of users. Because of simple usage and methods of searching, the users can find information and links independently, and are at the same time referred to persons, who could give them additional professional assistance in career planning.

The website is a tool that can be used by counsellors in primary and secondary schools, counsellors of the Employment Service of Slovenia, Slovenian Institute for Adult Education, and education centres and other institutions in their programmes for specific target groups.

Besides the interactive website, we have also published printed material: a manual for counsellors on the use of computer in career guidance, a brochure on the use of website and a leaflet in Slovenian and English language.

So log on, have a look and catch some luck in the information network!

The article was published in:
Letopis Šolskega centra Velenje, Poklicni in tehniški elektro in računalniški šoli, 2004.