Fight for Your Right to Work

Fight for Your Right to Work Ljubljana, 26 March 2013 Unemployment among young people is one of the most pressing issues facing the Slovenian economy. The Itak Job Project, a product of collaboration between Telekom Slovenije and the MojeDelo.com employment portal, is helping young people all across Slovenia prepare to search for their first job as effectively as possible. Around 1,000 young people took part in 6 career lectures in Maribor, Ljubljana, Novo Mesto, and Portoro , and the last of this series of free lectures is to take place on 28 March in Kranj. The 40 candidates who best convinced the committee received special consulting on preparing for a successful job hunt. The initial results are encouraging one of the candidates successfully found a job, and 10 more are interviewing.

According to Eurostat, the level of unemployment among young people (under 25) in Slovenia rose between December 2011 and 2012 from 15.9% to 26.9%. This is also the highest recorded increase in youth unemployment in all EU countries, as in times of crisis companies rarely look for new employees. Looking for a job, especially one's first job, has become quite a battle for young people. Toma Dimnik, business director of the MojeDelo.com employment portal, noticed that things have been getting better in the first few months this year: 2013 got off to a better start than we expected on the employment portal. The number of job offers posted has been 10% higher than in the end of last year. If that trend continues, we can expect more employment even among young people.

Young people, meanwhile, have not been left completely to their own devices in their quest for employment. Niko Ku ar, Telekom Slovenije's head of Marketing Communications, emphasized the advantages offered to young people by the Itak Job project: We realize that young people have fresh knowledge and raw energy, that they are creative, that they learn quickly, and that they know how to take advantage of modern technology and social networks. We are also finding out that we can help them with basic know-how about finding a job, as well as in understanding that job offers do not just come knocking on the door, but that it is necessary to grab the bull by the horns and clearly define their career goals, while being familiar with the tools available for assistance in their job hunt. That is what the Itak Job Project offers to young people.

Competition among those searching for a job and decreasing demand for employees make it even more necessary to be even better prepared for the challenges ahead. This applies even more so to first-time job seekers, as their lack of experience makes it even harder to compete. That is why Itak Job offered a whole series of free lectures in which various experts help young people in their search for employment. Selected candidates are offered even further assistance in composing a CV and applying for open positions. Since the beginning of the project over 1,000 people have attended the career lectures, while around 40 have received personal consulting.

In addition to the series of free lectures, young people also received literature which they can download from job.itak.si. Along with a handbook containing basic information, the website also offers other useful documents, including CV outlines, which present the biggest problem for job seekers. All of these tools are of crucial importance, as young people are entering the workforce these days completely unprepared: Young and inexperienced candidates have the hardest time setting a clear career goal. This is often too general, or indicates that young people are not familiar with the needs of the companies they would like to work for, says Gorazd Prah, career consulting expert at MojeDelo.com.

The Itak Job project is also supported by the Employment Service of Slovenia. Projects like Itak Job are welcome and are positive for young people, as they help them get engaged and become more active, helping them on their path, says Barbara Vrta nik, head of the Ljubljana office of the Employment Service of Slovenia. Marko from Maribor, the first to land a job through the Itak Job project, found employment at an accounting firm, and says that without the information, tools, and counseling which he received through Itak Job, he never would have succeeded so quickly.

We invite all young job seekers to take advantage of the last opportunity to equip themselves with know-how for a successful job hunt by taking part in a free career lecture in Kranj, on 28 March at 11 AM in Kolosej. You can do this at the following link: http://job.itak.si. There are a limited number of openings, so hurry up!

More info on www.itak.si, www.facebook.com/itak.si, and https://twitter.com/itak!

LINK:	http://en.telekom.si/company/press-releases/article?aid=2553...
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