CGCC - CAREER GUIDANCE AND COUNSELLING CENTRE
Centre for Career Guidance and Counselling of Belgrade Open School has initiated the project „Better Public Administration through Internship Placement“ in order to additionally strengthen management capacity of the Government of the Republic of Serbia and its’ Ministries. The project deals with the implementation of a specific program of internship intended to public institutions in the Republic of Serbia, through the engagement of young talented professionals who can enhance the work of individual sectors. Two public calls for applications were announced during the project for 17 defined positions. A total of over 1600 applications for defined positions were received. After selection process, 17 talented young professionals were chosen and linked with 16 mentors form the public institutions. Benefits of this program proofed to be numerous. Institutions participating in the program get reinforcement, i.e. young and competent professionals, without overburdening the budget of the Republic of Serbia. On the other hand, the interns, apart from gaining work experience and receiving financial incentives, improved their knowledge and skills through 13 trainings. Also, they received career counselling services that enabled them to resolve their career dilemmas and to learn how to estimate their own personal and professional capacities. Mentors involved in the project have been further strengthened through education on the mentoring process. After the end of internship, 10 interns had employment in the private or public sectors.
Within the project “Career that Fits Youth - Capacity building of Youth Offices for delivery of services and measuring the effects of career guidance and counselling on employability” Youth Offices in Kragujevac, Loznica, Nis, Novi Pazar and Novi Sad were empowered to deliver and measure the effects of career guidance and counselling of young people. An initial three-day meeting and training for career informers and counsellors of 5 Youth Offices were successfully organized (average score of training evaluation was 4,92/5). Throughout the project, Youth Office representatives were also provided with professional mentoring. 96 career workshops were organized for 224 youngsters at 9 Youth Offices (63 career workshops for experimental and 33 workshops for control group). Also, 33 individual counselling sessions and 12 group counselling sessions for 101 young persons were organized at 5 Youth Offices. 164 youngsters from 9 local communities were informed about career and active job searching. Methodologically valid indicators and appropriate measuring instruments were developed to measure career guidance and counselling effects on the employability of 152 youngsters. 575.326 youngsters saw and 6.562 of them clicked on some of the project adverts on Facebook. Modern softer solution for continuous monitoring of the process and effects of career guidance and counselling was also established. Data about the effects of career guidance and counselling services on the employability of young people and differences in the level of employability (77 youngsters from experimental and 75 from control group) were collected and analysed. Project was implemented with the support of the Ministry of Youth and Sport.
Within the project „Occupied by Future Occupation“ a two-day training for 21 teachers and professional staff (two representatives from 10 schools and one representative from Ministry of Education, Science and Technological development of Republic of Serbia) was organized. Trained teams of teachers/professional staff organized 23 career informing workshops and 17 job shadowing visits. BOS team organized 8 monitoring visits. Virtual Fair of Occupations has been launched within the portal www.karijera.bos.rs/sajam. So far, Virtual Fair of Occupations visited more than 2990 people. Teachers’ experience gained during realization of the project provided creation of Recommendations for creation of Career Guidance and Counselling Programme in High School. Implementation of the project activities was supported by Solidar Suisse / Swiss Labour Assistance (SLA) - Office in Serbia.
Accredited training of teachers as part of the project „Occupied by Future Occupation” was realized on August, 11-13 2013 in Kovacica. 20 teachers and professional staff from schools and 1 representative from the Ministry of education, science and technological development participated. Following topics were covered: traditional and modern concept of career, OMOT model, Strategy of career guidance and counselling and Guidance and counselling Programme model in high schools, examples of best practise in USA, EU and Serbia, active job search, workshops that encourage students and promote self-acquaintance. The training course is realized by the support of Solidar Suisse - office in Serbia.
During the project "Development of Career Guidance and Counseling Services through Inter-municipal Cooperation Mechanisms" a total of 93 activities which involved over 1680 young people aged 15-19 years were realized. An excellent media coverage of the project by the local and national media was provided. In total 2800 specially designed leaflets with information on career services provided by different institutions at the local level were created. Local self-governments have supported local mobile teams. In collaboration with members of the LMT's and experts in the field of career counselling a model of career services for youth in the youth offices is written. The project was implemented with the financial support from USAID Sustainable Local Development Project.
Public competition for all interested teachers and professional staff for a two-day training on career guidance and counselling by a programme accredited by the Institute for the Advancement of Education was announced on June 21, 2013 within the project "Occupied by Future Occupation" funded by Solidar Suisse.
Research on the usage of computer games for learning was conducted in 7 European countries within the project "Serious Games for Social and Creative Competencies“ funded by the Lifelong Learning Programme of the EU. In total 873 questionnaires were filled.
Job shadowing visits for high school students from Vranje, Kikinda and Sjenica were organized: Vranje 31 students within 17 visits, Kikinda 12 students within 5 visits and Sjenica 36 students within 3 visits within the project "Development of Career Guidance and Counseling Services through Inter-municipal Cooperation Mechanisms".
Round tables for high school students and employers were organized in Novi Pazar on April 10 and in Vranje on June 07, 2013. The sessions were organized by local mobile teams for career guidance and counselling Vranje and Novi Pazar, which operate under the project "Development of Career Guidance and Counseling Services through Inter-municipal Cooperation Mechanisms" On the roundtables, participants (high school students, teachers, employers, national employment and other stakeholders) shared information that will contribute to better mutual understanding and aligning expectations with each other.
Training of mentors as part of the "Better public administration through internship placement" was delivered on June 18 2013 in the premises of Belgrade Open School. The training was held by experts in the field of mentoring Darko Tot, the director of Mentor plus Ltd. and the president of Consulteam Olga Svoboda. Topics covered include: the methodology of mentoring, the mentor-mentee relationship and learning needs of interns, evaluation of the learning process, procedures and reporting on the progress of the internship, ...
Interns for 15 paid internships in government agencies and institutions of the Republic of Serbia selected and placed on the positions.
Student debate was organized at the Cultural Center Kikinda on April 06, 2013, on the topic "Public or private faculties?" by the local mobile team for career guidance and counselling Kikinda. The debate was conducted within the project "Development of career guidance and counselling services through the mechanisms of inter-municipal co-operation", conducted by the Belgrade Open School, and funded by USAID Sustainable Local Development Project.
Public competition for 15 paid internships in government agencies and institutions of the Republic of Serbia was announces on March 18, 2013, as part of the project "Better public administration through internship placement" funded by USAID Business Enabling Project. The competition was open to motivated young professionals who wish to gain experience through practice in state bodies and institutions of the Republic of Serbia. Over 1300 applications were received (including late and applications with incomplete documentation - a total of 200). 100 candidates were tested, while 70 were invited to the interviews.
Promotions of local mobile teams for career guidance and counselling were held in Bujanovac, Vladicin Han, Kikinda and Novi Pazar during January and February 2013 in order to introduce the interested public to the institutions that provide career guidance and counselling at the local level, and visitors were, also, introduced to the types of services offered, and the time and place where a particular service can be obtained.
A total of 12 peer workshops of career informing, with around 190 participants, were held for young people in 10 cities and municipalities in Serbia. The workshops were organized by the Career Guidance and Counseling Center of the Belgrade Open School and local youth offices from Svilajnac, Backa Palanka, Indjija, Bujanovac, Sjenica, Apatin, Svrljig, Sremska Mitrovica, Stara Pazova and Kikinda. Participation in these workshops enabled young people to learn more about career development, job search, preparation of CVs and for job interviews, business communication, and other important topics. They had the opportunity to learn from their peers, through workshops, for free. The workshops were held within the project Career Calls You, in December 2012 and February 2013.
The initial meeting and training within the project "Development of Career Guidance and Counseling Services through Inter-municipal Cooperation Mechanisms", which marked the successful beginning of the project activities. The meeting was held on Friday and Saturday, December 21 and 22, 2012 with the participation of 10 representatives from local mobile teams for career guidance and counseling from 8 municipalities in Serbia and experts in the field of career guidance and counseling.
The training on career informing was delivered for 21 peer educators for career informing from 10 youth offices. Young people from Apatin, Backa Palanka, Bujanovac, Indjija, Kikinda, Sjenica, Sremska Mitrovica, Stara Pazova, Svilajnac and Svrljig, who have been trained, will continue to provide information, support and guidance regarding career planning and needs of the labor market in Serbia to peers in their communities. The training was organized within the project "Career Calls You" on November 26-28, 2012 in Belgrade with the support of the Ministry of Youth and Sports of the Republic of Serbia.
An international training course - Better Employability for Minority Youth was delivered in Becej, from October 15-22, 2012, with the aim to contribute to facing the challenges of youth participation in labor market, especially for those youth from minority groups. The Training gathered 28 participants and 5 expert and support staff from EU and SEE countries: Macedonia, Turkey, Latvia, Finland, Italy, Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
A three-day Consultative workshop on social dialogue and social partners, September 3-5, 2012 in Nis was held within the project A window of new opportunities - improving the capability of REDC for enhancing the entrepreneurship and competitiveness in Nisava District which is implemented by the Municipality of Nis Mediana with the professional support of BOS. The workshop was delivered by Natasa Cupac Pavlovski - Adviser in the Department of Legal Affairs and Social Dialogue of the Serbian Association of Employers and Jelena Manic - coordinator of the Career Guidance and Counseling Centre of BOS. This project is supported by Local Economic Development in the Balkans (LEDIB).
A two-day training for young people of Becej on peer career informing was delivered by the team of the Career Guidance and Counselling Centre. The training was realised in july 2012 within the project Becej Career Academy, which is implemented by the Youth Office Becej and Becej Youth Union, with support from UN Project Youth Employement and Migration and professional support from BOS. The training was organized for 17 young people, future career informers, and is accompanied by an online training and monitoring of their activities aimed at youth informing.
Page on Entrepreneurship was launched in july 2012 within the online system for young people that provides guidance and assistance - BOS Career. The page offers users the opportunity to do the test of entrepreneurship, read interviews about the experiences of young entrepreneurs and articles on what is needed for a career in this direction. This page was created through the project "Entrepreneurial & Career-Wised Youth in Serbia", financed by the U.S. Embassy in Belgrade.
A Guide to Career Planning is published. This guide is the result of work of the professional team of Belgrade Open School within the project Expert and Technical Support for Career Guidance and Counselling of Young Talents and the Implementation of Strategy of Career Guidance and Counselling, funded by the Ministry of Youth and Sport of the republic of Serbia. The presentation of the Guide was held on April 12, 2012 in the Cultural Center Dom omladine Belgrade (DOB).
13 more workshops for Professional Development of the scolars of the Fund for Young Talents of the Republic of Serbiawere held from February 22, to March 29, 2012. The workshops were organized in Belgrade, Novi Sad and Nis, and gathered over 270 participants.
Recommendations on the further development of career informing in youth offices that aims to contribute to the further development of systems to support young people in planning and managing their careers, and in accordance with the Strategy for Career Guidance and Counseling in the Republic of Serbia. The recommendations were adopted in the framework of the Round Table dedicated to career informing in youth offices that was held in Vranje, on March 28, 2012. The Round Table was organized jointly by the Belgrade Open School, Youth Office Vranje for and joint programs of the United Nations - The maintenance of peace and inclusive local development (PBILD) and Youth Employment and Migration (YEM).
Internet portal karijera.bos.rs created by Belgrade Open School was presented as an example of one of the most successful portals on .rs domain within the Third Annual Conference on Development of the Internet – DIDS 2012 (Day of the Internet Domain of Serbia). The Conference was organized on March 22, 2012 in Belgrade by the Register of the National Internet Domain of Serbia (RNIDS).
The kick-off meeting of the Tempus project CareerS which marked the successful beginning of the project activities. The meeting was held on Monday and Tuesday, January 30 and 31, 2012.
3 Job shadowing programs for 8 participants of the project e-Career were organized. With the help of these job shadowings, young people had the opportunity to spend one day with: Radoslav Popov - Mehatronics Engineer of ICM electronics factory, Sanja Burg - Corporate Communications Manager of L'Oreal Balkan and TV presenter of TV Prva Marija Kilibarda. Participation in these programs allows young people to spend one day with a representative of a certain profession and learn from the first-hand what does one work day in that profession look like.
A total of 24 peer workshops on career informing were held within the project Career informers. In these workshops 289 young people were reached, of which 64 of them belong to vulnerable groups. Workshops were held in the following municipalities: Backi Petrovac, Bujanovac, Belgrade (Palilula), Bojnik, Lebane, Medvedja, Surdulica, Trgoviste,Temerin, Vladicin Han, Vlasotince and Vranje.
A total of 11 peer workshops of career informing, with around 170 participants, were held for young people aged 17-24 in 11 cities and municipalities in Serbia. The workshops were organized by the Career Guidance and Counseling Center of the Belgrade Open School and local youth offices from Bela Palanka, Nis, Blace, Kragujevac, Kikinda, Vrnjacka Banja, Zrenjanin, Novi Pazar, Obrenovac, Ruma and Belgrade. Participation in these workshops enabled young people to learn more about career development, job search, preparation of CVs and for job interviews, business communication, work ethics, and other important topics. They had the opportunity to learn from their peers, through workshops, for free. The workshops were held within the project e-Career.
A total of 37 workshops of professional development were delivered for the scholars of the Fund for young talents, which included over 530 participants. Workshops were held in the period since the establishment of the Center for career guidance and counseling of young talents in September 2010 until the end of the year 2011.
TV report on the training on career informing for activists of local youth offices under the project "e-Career" was broadcasted in the show ''Euronet" Radio Television of Serbia, on December 8, 2011. The training was organized for young activists from the Youth Offices of Obrenovac, Savski venac (Belgrade), Bela Palanka, Novi Pazar, Kikinda, Ruma, Blace, Zrenjanin, Kragujevac, Palilula (Nis) and Vrnjacka Banja. You can see the report here.
The training on career informing was delivered for 21 peer educators for career informing from 11 youth offices. Young people from Obrenovac, Belgrade, Bela Palanka, Novi Pazar, Kikinda, Ruma, Blace, Zrenjanin, Nis, Kragujevac and Vrnjacka Banja, who have been trained, will continue to provide information, support and guidance regarding career planning and needs of the labor market in Serbia to peers in their communities. The training was organized within the project "e-Career" on November 23-25, 2011 in Belgrade with the support of the Ministry of Youth and Sports of the Republic of Serbia.
Basic training on career guidance and counseling in vocational secondary schools was delivered for 20 selected participants (teachers/professors, expert associates, teaching associates). The program is accredited by the Institute for the Advancement of Education of the Republic of Serbia. The training was delivered on October 31 and November 1, 2011.
4-day training was delivered on peer career informing for 18 young activists - volunteers of Youth Offices from local youth offices of Vranje, Vlasotince, Bojnik, Trgoviste, Medvedja, Lebane and Surdulica, aiming to promote social inclusion and employability of young people in Serbia through capacity building of youth offices that provide services of career informing, as well as specific career guidance and counseling. The training was delivered from October 24 to 27, 2011 within the project Career informers. The project includes 12 youth offices and their 40 young volunteers.
Brochure "Career Informers" was published. This brochure is created within the project "Career informers", with the aim of promoting social inclusion and employability of young people in Serbia through capacity building of Youth Offices to provide peer career information services, as well as specific career guidance and counseling. The project is being implemented in 12 youth offices and reaches 40 young volunteers of the offices directly, and indirectly over 200 young people. For more information on the project see www.mingl.org/karijerakademija.
Training course „ One step to work 2 “ was delivered in cooperation with Youth Club Novi Becej. Training course took place in Novi Becej, on October 7-9, 2011. 10 Local youth office representatives participated in this training course (Ada, Becej, Zrenjanin, Novi Becej and Stara Pazova).
An international training course - Easy Transit - Education to Work Transitions was delivered in Becej, from September 23 to 30, 2011, with the aim to contribute to the quality of support systems for youth through capacity building of youth organizations and their workers to avoid unemployment of young people through career information and guidance. The training course included the EU and South Eastern Europe countries (24 participants and 5 experts and support staff from Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Macedonia, Italy, Spain and Turkey).
CV builder - another aid to young people in planning their career - was launched. This is a new online service to help young people with their career planning. The service, upon registration, gives user the opportunity to make a perfect resume in just a few minutes.
4-day training was delivered on peer career informing for young volunteers of Youth Offices for 21 young volunteers of 6 Youth Offices (Backi Petrovac, Bujanovac, Palilula (Belgrade), Temerin, Surdulica, and Vladicin Han). This training is organized as activity of the project "Career Informers" that is jointly immplemented by the Belgrade Open School, UNICEF in Serbia, and with sources of YEM and PBILD UN projects.
Brochure on Interships - for secondary VET schools and employers jonitly created and distributed by the Career Guidance and Counselling Centre of the BOS and Serbian Association of Employers. Brochure authors are Jelena Manic and Natasa Cupac Pavlovski. It is available in Serbian only and can be downloaded at old.bos.rs/materijali/brosura.pdf. This Brochure is funded through Community Connections Program, and by the USAID.
9 workshops for professional development of young talents, training 160 students who received scholarships from the Ministry of Youth and Sports` Fund for Young Talents. Workshops were held for the students of the Universities of Belgrade, Niš and Novi Sad. Beside workshops whose topics were related to CV, job interview, entrepreneurship, etc. the Centre organized 22 career counseling sessions for talented students. More information on Centres services can be found at http://old.bos.rs/ccb/sap/?page=cgcc_services&lang=eng.The project of the Centre for Career Guidance and Counselling of Young Talents is jointly implemented by the Ministry of Youth and Sport and Belgrade Open School.
Brochure "Your Career - Handbook for Career Planning and Youth Employment in Serbia" published as a result of the project "Career Academy". Beside the experts, young project participants from different Youth offices contributed with texts. Supported by Ministry of Youth and Sport, March 2010.
Web portal Mingl Career Profiles launched in order to help young people in Serbia to manage their career choices more easily and according to psychological standards of the career guidance and counseling process. Web adress is www.karijera.mingl.org. April 2010.
Several workshops held to young people from the Youth office of Cukarica municipality on topics related to career management through transition from secondary to tertiary education. April 2010.
60 teachers from 15 secondary schools of tourism and catering trained during 6 two day trainings in Belgrade Open School, about career guidance and counseling and introduction of its practices into the schools. Project is supported by USAID through DAI. January-April 2010. After trainings teachers transmitted their knowledge and skills toward 4221 students, 75 fellow teachers and 46 organized local activities.
Adopted Strategy for Career Guidance and Counseling in Serbia, as proposed by Ministry of Youth and Sport, on the meeting of Serbian Government held March, 4 2010. Initial text proposition for the Strategy was created in 2007, during the project of BOS Career Guidance and Counseling Center supported by CIDA.
Establishment of the Career Guidance and Counseling Center of the Fund for Young Talents, run by Serbian Ministry of Youth and Sport. BOS experts contributed to the establishment of the Center. November 2009.
CGCC Coordinator participated as a speaker on round table on employment, held on 3. 11. 2009. in Belgrade Architectonical Faculty, as a part of "Job Fair".
Two-day training "Career Planning and Active Job Search", for 26 young people in Loznica. Facilitated by trainers from CGCC. October 2009.
CGCC Coordinator participated in study visit program "Youth and Unemployment in Serbia". Program supported by USAID in Serbia was conducted in Chicago, USA, in March and April of 2009.
Workshops on the Career Guidance and Counselling Staretgy elelemts, public debate on above mentioned Strategy, conducted with participants of the project „Inclusive Strategy for Career Guidance and Counselling (CGC) Development in Serbia“, February 2008
Promotion of the Career Guidance and Counselling Strategy, conducted in the Serbian Chamber of Commerce, December 2007
Second one day training (as a part of the project Inclusive Strategy for Career Guidance and Counselling(CGC) Development in Serbia) for 12 VET schools’ facilitators and 3 consultants from three Regional Centres, during wich they have been offered expert help in implementation of the key tasks from the CGC, but also in their work with other stakeholders and in the CGC and VET system reform in general, August 2007.
Last one day training (as a part of the project Inclusive Strategy for Career Guidance and Counselling(CGC) Development in Serbia) for 4 Regional centre consultants, during wich they have been offered expert knowledge and skills needed for establishment of the CGC Centre, August 2007.
One day training (as a part of the project Inclusive Strategy for Career Guidance and Counselling(CGC) Development in Serbia) for 12 VET schools’ facilitators and 3 consultants from three Regional Centres, during wich they have been offered expert help in implementation of the key tasks from the CGC, but also in their work with other stakeholders and in the CGC and VET system reform in general, May 2007
One day training (as a part of the project Inclusive Strategy for Career Guidance and Counselling(CGC) Development in Serbia) for 4 Regional centre consultants, during wich they have been offered expert knowledge and skills needed for establishment of the CGC Centre, May 2007
Ongoing project Inclusive Strategy for Career Guidance and Counselling(CGC) Development in Serbia, supported by CIDA, May 2007
Successful implementation of project The implementation of Career Guidance and Counselling Model within Vocational Education and Training in Serbia, on school/local level, supported bi CIDA, October 2006
Three-day training has been organized for the selected students of DAUS former generations in the field of career guiding and counseling, October 2006
One-day training in the field of career guiding and counseling has been organized for children in Center for social matters in Novi Sad, October 2006
Round Table “Career guidance and counselling – experience and recommendation" as the final activity of the project "The Implementation of Career Guidance and Counseling Model within Vocational Education and Training in Serbia, on school/local level" was held. The guests were deputy minister of Education and Sport and deputy minister of Labor, Employment and Social Policy. October 2006, Belgrade
The training for trainers “Career Guidance and Counselling within the VET System“ for 15 teachers from 10 vet schools from Serbia and 4 Regional Adult Education Centers. CGCC team conducted the training.
The training “Basics of Career Guidance and Counselling” for employees of Faculty of Economics, University of Belgrade, conducted by CGCC.
Completed implementation of the project “Establishing Career Guidance and Counselling centre at the Faculty of Economics” supported by OSI.
Completed implementation of the project “Developing Career Guidance and Counselling Model within the VET System in Serbia”, supported by EU trough the EAR.
Data base of 138 students of final year of food processing and agricultural secondary VET schools and 75 employers interested in active involvement in career guidance and counselling.
Presentation to professionals at the meeting “Promotion of youth employment in order to create National Action Plan for Youth Employment”, organized by the National Employment Service and the National Chamber of Commerce.
Presentation of one of its projects within the 53. Congress of Psychologists of Serbia.
The training “Career Guidance and Counselling within the VET System“ for 15 teachers from 4 Regional Adult Education Centres, conducted by CGCC:
Mr Chris Evans (UK) conducted training in career guidance and counselling for the CGCC team.
The Career Evening, organized for DAUS students, with guests: Ms. Jelena Sevo (USAID) and Mr. Zoran Skopljak (US Steel).
CGCC’s representative at the International Meeting “Lifelong Guidance: Trends and Perspectives” in Athens.
Career Guidance and Counselling Centre’s representatives visited 10 related organizations in Bulgaria, 15–20.11.2004, Sofia and Blagoevgrad.
