On October 18th, in the premises of AEI Praxis in Karlovac, we held a Rond Table targeted on the student career counselling and the results of this Project.
In order to conclude the implementation of this Project in the best possible way, we gathered the partners and beneficiaries of this Project in order to share information, experiences and views on the topic which represents the ground of this Project. The Round table gathered the representatives of the AEI Praxis, OEAB Consulting from Vienna, Technical school Karlovac and the Regional Centre of Competence Karlovac, Primary School Banija, and the Croatian Employment Service – both the HQ and the Karlovac office.
The Round Table topic was dealing with the question whether the students have enough information and knowledge to enrol to preferred school. We have approached and analysed the topic from different angles, coming from different sides and stakeholders – from students and parents to managers in education and employment sectors. After the discussion and exchange of experiences and views, all participants had the joint conclusion – the (Croatian) system does have enough information that students and their parents need, but the flow and organization of such information is at a very low level. The system lacks in organization, initiative and a targeted approach to its target groups. The biggest initiatives come from the EU projects and experiences and good practices such are our partners from Austria, where the youth counselling and follow-up process is regulated and well organized. The Austrian example was used as a guiding line for the creation and implementation of the results and tools within this Project.
More systematic youth counselling and professional orientation in Croatia start at a very late/advanced stage, at university level, instead of being established significantly earlier, at the beginning of schooling. Children and youth need guidance and orientation from an early age so they can be aware of their own potentials and capacities and the professional path in which they can use it most. Biggest guidance needs to be offered to NEET young persons.
On the other side, one needs to take into account the overload and the lack of capacities that Croatian schools have.
The Round Table was used also to present the successful results of the implementation of this Project – the Project experts created a multifunctional digital platform for their beneficiaries. The platform – webpage, includes multimedia content, tests, information and advices to everyone who is interested in career counselling and career orientation, with a special focus on technical occupation (first of all CEME fields). However, some important concepts, like the counselling concept for teachers and counsellors, can be used widely and for all educational fields.
The participants of this Round Table are urging for more initiative and networking of all system stakeholders. They themselves are ready to work on another project with the same topic and to continue with efforts to invest more in youth career counselling, from early age to NEET young persons.
