25 May 2022 (Wednesday)
9:00
Meeting at the hotel lobby and transport to study visit venue
10:00 – 11:30
Study visit at Mareena
Mareena is a Slovak NGO that provides career guidance and support to people in need of international protection and foreigners living in Slovakia. Over the years, the organisation has designed and implemented various projects and instruments to support foreigners through the process of job searching and social integration and launched successful social media campaigns to promote positive image of foreigners living in Slovakia.
11:30 – 13:00
Lunch and transport to other study visit venue
13:00 – 14:30
Study visit at Profesia
Profesia is one of the most successful and well-recognised companies in Slovakia. It administers the largest job portal in the country and provides up-to-date labour market data and insights. In 2019, the company launched a programme that targets jobseekers with disabilities and aims at increasing their employability. One of the key outputs of the programme has been a handbook for jobseekers with disabilities and a series of inspiring videos of people with disabilities who successfully found a job.
17:00 – 17:30
Welcome drink at the Pisztory Palace
17:30 – 19:00
Keynote presentation
Prof. Ronald G. Sultana studied career guidance at the University of Reading (UK), and carried out doctoral research on career education at the Universities of Waikato (NZ), and post-doctoral research at Stanford (USA), where he was a Fulbright Fellow. He is professor of sociology and comparative education at the University of Malta, where he directs the Euro-Mediterranean Centre for Educational Research. In 2020, Sultana was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by Université Laval (Quebec) for his work in career guidance. A list of his publications is available at: http://www.um.edu.mt/emcer/publications19:00 – 20:00
Networking
26 May (Thursday)
09:00 – 09:30
Overview of the career guidance system in Slovakia – main features and challenges (Euroguidance)
09:30 – 10:00
Support and advocacy for social inclusion within the career guidance system
The Research Institute for Child Psychology and Pathopsychology (VUDPaP) is one the key guidance-related public instituions in Slovakia. The institute is currently responsible for the implementation of the national project “From standardization of the guidance system and prevention to inclusion and success in the labor market” which aims at introducing innovative training of career practitioners at schools and counselling centres, establishing process standards within the career education system and supporting multidisciplinarity.
10:00 – 10:30
Coffee break
10:30 – 11:00
Facilitating transitions of young people with disabilities
An NGO that offers a broad array of social and career serices targeted primarily at young people with disabilities or socially disadvantaged young adults (e.g. those leaving orphanages). The goal of these services is to support young people with disabilities (either social or physical) in making successful life and career transititons. Clients are seen as equal partners, and the services fully respect their needs and aspirations.
11:00 – 11:30
Supporting labour market integration of adults with disabilities through Erasmus+
An educational institution which main objective is to promote and develop activities for the active participation of citizens at the local, regional, national, and international level in various fields of social life, in particular in the areas of:
- adult education and lifelong learning;
- development of social responsibility;
- and (re)integration of job seekers with disabilities into the labour market.
11:30 – 12:30
Lunch
12:30 – 13:00
New Erasmus+ Programme: opportunities for career professionals (National Agency Erasmus+)
13:00 – 14:30
Group activity: Develop a project idea with your fellow European colleagues
14:30 – 15:00
Coffe break
15:00 – 15:30
Presentation of projects and follow-up discussion
18:00 – 19:00
City train tour of Bratislava
19:00 – 22:00
Joint dinner at the restaurant Leberfinger
27 May (Friday)
09:00 – 10:00
Keynote presentation
As modern people of the 21st century, can we still draw upon the “wild” nature? And do we have anything to offer in exchange? Can career guidance play a role in this? These questions are deeply connected with self-knowledge and building self-esteem as an important part of career development. The aim of the presentation is to provoke a discussion about the relationship between modern man and nature, we will talk about the concept of “sustainable well-being” of the individual as well as the whole society. We will highlight the role that career counselling plays in this and how we can draw inspiration from eco-psychology and other relevant approaches, as well as how to translate all this into everyday practice.
Helena Košťálová lives in Prague and works at the EKS (NGO) as a lecturer, career development professional, methods specialist and author of scientific publications. She is interested in all levels of career counselling – from policy level and theories to practical work with clients. At EKS, she organizes coaching meetings with clients at any age and conducts in-service training for career development practitioners. At Charles University, Helena is working on her PhD thesis in school counselling. She is proud of being awarded with the Czech National Career Guidance Award for eight times.
10:00 – 10:30
Coffee break
10:30 – 11:30
World café discussions
11:30 – 12:00
Summary and reflection
12:00 – 13:00
Lunch