Agencija za rad i zapošljavanje Bosne i Hercegovine

In the upcoming period the interested employers will announce their vacant posts during summer holidays to the ZAV. If the ZAV makes a good match between employer and applicant, the latter will be notified by means of a job offer (Stellenangebot) through the Labour and Employment Agency of BiH.
More about the Summer Job Programme in Germany:
Merkblatt Ferienbeschäftigung in Deutschland für ausländische Studenten.

The objective was to exchange experience and good practice in the field of labour market via the above topical issues, notably via the topic of global economic crisis and the impact it has on the operation of public employment services in Southeast European countries.

The General Assembly and the 8th World Congress of the World Association of Public Employment Services (WAPES), attended by over 150 participants from across the world, were held on 26-30 May 2009 in Dubrovnik, Republic of Croatia.

It is our pleasure to inform you that the Labour and Employment Agency of Bosnia and Herzegovina was elected as a member of the Managing Board of the WAPES which has over 90 members. The Managing Board consists of 16 PES representing five world regions through which the WAPES organizationally operates. These are: Africa, Europe, Asia and Pacific, America (South and North) and the Middle East and Arab Countries. The Labour and Employment Agency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, together with 7 other PES, represents the Region Europe which enables the Agency’s participation in the decision-making process and policy creation of the WAPES.

The WAPES was founded in 1988 with the purpose of getting together PES as the main players in the labour market. Such form of association provides great opportunities for using knowledge and skills of other public employment services, establishing bilateral cooperation, drafting joint projects aimed at improvement at the global, regional and local levels and obtaining funds for their realization.

The admission of the Labour and Employment Agency of Bosnia and Herzegovina to the Managing Board of the most important association of public employment services at the global level is acknowledgment for all the activities undertook by the Labour and Employment Agency of Bosnia and Herzegovina to date in improving the situation in the local and international labour markets. At the same time, this duty taken by the Labour and Employment Agency of Bosnia and Herzegovina in these difficult times of the world economic crisis obliges the Agency's staff to address all future activities and plans with equal enthusiasm and commitment as before.

ON THE FOURTH MANAGERIAL
CONFERENCE OF PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT SERVICES OF SOUTHEAST EUROPEAN COUNTRIES

The Fourth Managerial Conference of Public Employment Services of Southeast European countries was held under the presidency of Labour and Employment Agency of Bosnia and Herzegovina from 21 to 23 April 2009 in Sarajevo, Hotel Europe.

The Conference was attended by representatives of public employment services of the CPESSEC member countries from Bulgaria, Montenegro, Croatia, Slovenia, Serbia, Turkey and Bosnia and Herzegovina, representatives of the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Policy of the Republic of Austria, Austrian company Arbeitsmarktservice BetriebsgmbH & Co KG (amsbg), Austrian Embassy, Bundesagentur für Arbeit, International Labour Organization (ILO), Regional Cooperation Council (RCC), OHR, Embassy of the Republic of Slovenia, Papilot Institute from Ljubljana, Confederation of Trade Unions of BiH, Employers' Association of BiH, Ministry of Civil Affairs of BiH and representatives of the Employment Service of Republika Srpska, Employment Service of Zenica-Doboj Canton, Employment Service of Sarajevo Canton and Employment Service of Herzegovina-Neretva Canton.

One of the most topical issues surely refers to the consequences of the global economic crisis and its impact on industrial output, employment, real income and trade.

The Conference was opened by Mr. Senad Šepić, Deputy Minister in the Ministry of Civil Affairs. He stressed that, according to major labour market indicators, majority of countries felt the impact of recession reflected in increased number of laid off workers, growth of registered unemployment and increased number of cash benefit recipients who created additional burden for PES, both financially and in view of PES capacities which should respond with more efficiency in providing their services to the unemployed in such a situation.

By welcoming the Conference on behalf of the host organization, Director of the Labour and Employment Agency of BiH, Mr. Huso Sarić, stressed that the existing extent of regional cooperation and its further enhancement through sharing of practical experiences from the field of labour, employment and social policy was the common need and interest of all Southeast European PES.

The Conference started with brief introduction to the Report and Recommendations of the CPESSEC Third Expert Meeting which was held on 01 April 2009 in Sarajevo.

This was followed by presentations of the CPESSEC member countries which gave overviews of labour markets and proposals for measures and funds envisaged to cushion the effects of the global economic slump. The choice of the topic gave new impetus to continue with activities and called for the organization of another conference which would pay more attention to the effects of proposed measures and undertake their analysis.

Based on presentations of up-to-date labour market situations in the CPESSEC member countries it was concluded that the crisis had been present since October 2008 in almost all member countries. One of possible consequences of the global economic crisis is decline of industrial output leading to substantial job losses and increased unemployment. All countries envisaged their measures to fight the recession. In recent months, the labour market situation in almost all countries has been reflected in increased inflows to unemployment, reduced recruitments and more applications for unemployment cash benefits.

The heavier workload for PES staff is caused by increased number of cash benefit recipients impelling PES to respond rapidly in administering unemployment benefits and to provide appropriate funds. Some countries have already put in place mobile teams which provide advice and legal aid to companies laying off, as well as information and counselling to laid off workers. This indicates to the need to strengthen PES capacities with a view to speed up the administering of unemployment benefits. All countries have planned to allocate more funds for programmes of active measures such as employment through infrastructure activities, public works and support to short-time working schemes. The key measure is providing funds for vocational education, retraining and skills-upgrading. Highly skilled workers have been identified as the least laid off category which is indicative of the importance which the implementation of such measures have.

Measures implemented by the governments pertain to increase of funds for implementation of passive measures and allocation of more funds for implementation of active employment policy programmes. Some countries have started with implementation of intervention measures as well. Having adopted the Act on Partial Subsidising of Full Working Time, Slovenia stands as a pace setter in this field.Owing to this Act, 45,000 jobs were saved in the first three months of 2009.

The most vulnerable groups among the unemployed which have been hit by the global economic crisis are following: first-time entrants to the labour market, elderly persons, the disabled, youth, persons with low educational attainment as well as unemployed persons with occupations pertinent to sectors and industries which are most hit by the crisis.

In framework of the second topic ''Information Systems at the Service of Labour Market – Austrian Experiences'', Mr. Christian Operschall from the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Policy of the Republic of Austria gave a brief overview of the Austrian labour market situation in the context of global economic crisis. The slump in the Austrian labour market started in November 2008. The unemployment in March 2009 grew by almost 30% on March 2008. The largest unemployment growth occurred among the youth and men. Measures have targeted PWPs and infrastructure activities and good example are regional loans to companies investing into so-called green technologies also known as environmental technologies (large share of funds is energy saving-oriented).

The last presentation in the conference was delivered by the Austrian company AMSBG (Arbeitsmarketservise BetriebsgmbH & Co KG) which is highly specialized in providing IT services to the Austrian PES (AMS) and maintaining their information systems. The company has been providing these services since 1994 and is deemed as one of the most experienced companies in providing IT services in the labour market at the European level. The e-Government was established 3-4 years ago and serves as platform for all digital services in Austria. The electronic job portal of AMS (eJob-Room) is the most popular service for job seekers on the internet. All one needs to do is to register on this website to get all required services online. This system enabled such data management and monitoring which achieved better efficiency and effectiveness. The Austrian representatives have shown a great interest in launching a pilot project in the region. Their proposal was to launch the implementation in one of the entity employment services in Bosnia and Herzegovina but the proposal was addressed to all CPESSEC member countries.

2. It is necessary to initialize with governments the launching of large investment and infrastructure projects with a view of creating a large number of new jobs and reducing the high unemployment rate which is the consequence of the global economic crisis.

3. It is necessary to initialize with governments appropriate legislative measures and insist on implementation of the existing ones with a view of preventing unlawful layoffs and abuse of the grave economic situation by employers.

4. To strengthen dialogue among all social partners with a view of preserving macroeconomic stability and fair economic relations which will contribute in solving the problem of high unemployment rate as a consequence of the global economic crisis.

5. To take measures in reducing working hours with a view of maintaining the existing level of employment.

6. To strengthen employment services in order to efficiently resolve the issue of material and legal protection of the unemployed and maintain the quality of service provision for the increased number of clients.

7. In times of economic crisis there is the need to continue with sustained cooperation of public employment services of Southeast European countries in order to exchange positive experiences and examples of good practice on the issues arising from the current labour market trends.

8. By the end of 2009 the Fifth Managerial Conference will be organized which will evaluate the anti-recession measures taken in the CPESSEC member countries in order to resolve the problem of high unemployment rate as one of the consequences of the global economic crisis.

THIRD EXPERT CONFERENCE
OF THE CENTRE OF PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT SERVICES
OF SOUTHEAST EUROPEAN COUNTRIES

The Third Expert Conference of the Centre of Public Employment Services of Southeast European Countries was held on 01 April 2009 in Sarajevo, in the BiH Parliamentary Assembly Building. The topic of the Conference was ''Compilation of Statistical Bulletin No. 2 and Exchange of Monthly Statistics through Uniform Templates''.

Experts on statistics and labour market analysis from all nine CPESSEC member countries (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia and Turkey) were invited to the Conference. The following representatives of Croatia, Slovenia and Serbia.

The Conference was organized with a view of identifying indicators to be published in the Statistical Bulletin No. 2 and discussing proposals to enhance the existing statistical reporting on the CPESSEC Website which would contribute to improve the exchange of labour market data among the CPESSEC members. Proposals pertained to amendments and certain modifications to the content of Statistical Bulletin No. 2, alteration in the publishing frequency of the CPESSEC Statistical Bulletin and application of uniform templates – tables for regular reporting on the CPESSEC Website. It was proposed to have all statistical data in one place via a separate link ''Statistics''. By adopting these proposals we would provide for availability of statistical data of the CPESSEC member countries in one place, free and easy access to data and clear tabular data display.

Following the presentations and interventions by conference participants, the following conclusions were adopted:

- Table 1 – Monthly report – employment, unemployment and unemployment rate,
- Table 2 – Activity rate, employment and unemployment rates – Labour Force Survey.

Depending on data availability, Table 1 would be filled in once a month with the data referring to the situation of two months ago. Table 2 would be filled in with the data from the latest Labour Force Survey carried out in each of the member countries.
As the optimal mode of presenting the tables, it was adopted to create a new link on the existing CPESSEC Website called ''Statistics'' and that each country presents its tables on the link as documents in pdf format named after the respective member country. When inserting each new table as a new document, each member country has the responsibility to delete the document which already exists. It was agreed to have the link created by June 2009 and start publishing the data regularly from that month onwards.

Meeting of the Directors of Public Employment Services/Agencies of Southeast European Countries
06 - 07 February 2009, Herceg Novi, Republic of Montenegro

Upon the invitation of the Employment Service of Montenegro, representatives of the Labour and Employment Agency of Bosnia and Herzegovina took part in the meeting of directors of public employment services of Southeast European countries held on the topic of ''Providing Services to Employers and Activities for Integrating Difficult-to-Employ Persons in the Context of Economic Crisis'', held from 06 – 07 February 2009 in Herceg Novi, Republic of Montenegro. In his introductory remark, an Agency's representative welcomed the organisation of the meeting calling it one of the best modes of cooperation among employment services / agencies from the countries in the region. As many of them have almost identical but also specific problems associated with the two topics, the aim of such meetings is to share experience and good practices with peers from the region and keep track of up-to-date trends and new techniques in the labour market.

The introduction was followed by presentations of the host organization, the Employment Service of Montenegro, and additional five presentations of participating countries (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Republic of Croatia, Republic of Serbia, Republic of Macedonia and Republic of Slovenia), all of them on the topic of ''Providing Services to Employers and Activities for Integrating Difficult-to-Employ Persons in the Context of Economic Crisis''. The Agency's representative presented experiences of employment services in Bosnia and Herzegovina in working with employers and difficult-to-employ groups, impact of the recession on labour market trends and measures for alleviating consequential effects of global economic crisis.

1. The meeting of directors of public employment services of Southeast European countries represents continuity in cooperation among these services on current issues in the field of labour market. To that effect, topics discussed in the meeting ''Providing Services to Employers'' and ''Activities for Integrating Difficult-to-Employ Persons'' justified the purpose of the meeting, the more so because these issues become topical in times of economic crisis.

2. PES role in employment mediation under conditions of rapid labour market changes imposes the need for devising new modes and contents of cooperation with employers. Experiences vary in that respect but they are principally aimed at immediate and active modes of communication with employers in order to meet as much of their needs in shortest time possible.

3. The structure of unemployed persons in Southeast European countries consists of a relatively high share of categories of unemployed persons which are difficult-to-employ for a number of reasons (disabled persons, older persons, persons with qualifications which are not demanded in the labour market due to structural changes, etc.). Placing such persons in employment is much more complex and requires specific institutional and programme setups and even imposes multi-disciplinary approach for some categories. Working with difficult-to-employ persons, in particular with persons with disability, is either in its initial or developing phase in most of these countries which means that activities on establishing normative, institutional and programming framework of the system are yet to come.

4. Topics and issues discussed in the meeting, which are present in all countries of the region to a greater or lesser extent, point to the need of continual cooperation which will evolve through immediate and other modes of cooperation. In times of economic crisis these modes have to be more intensive, in particular in view of using examples of good practice not only in issues discussed in the meeting, but also in other issues ensuing from current labour market trends.

?hird Managerial Conference of the Centre of Public Employment Services of South East European Countries

On invitation by the National Employment Service of Serbia, a delegation of Labour and Employment Agency of Bosnia and Herzegovina attended the Third Managerial Conference of the Centre of Public Employment Services of South East European Countries (CPESSEC), held from 08 – 10 October 2008 in Belgrade. The Conference was attended by representatives of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia and Turkey.

As the major CPESSEC activity, it has been proposed to continue with preparation of Statistical Bulletin from the field of labour market of SEE countries. The Bulletin should contain major mutually comparable statistical data from the field of labour and employment, as well as new elements on the number of PES employees, PES organizational system and staff potentials. It has been proposed to have the Statistical Bulletin published each six months and organize meetings of experts from SEE countries, also each six months, to enable them prepare the Bulletin and exchange ideas and positive experience from this field. Participants have agreed on greater promotion of the joint website of Public Employment Services of SEE countries in the framework of WAPES and EURES.

It has also been proposed to organize several expert meetings in a calendar year which would adress issues from the field of labour, employment and social policy, with particular focus on implementation of bilateral agreements from the field of social insurance between respective countries. Another proposal refered to organization of expert meetings from the field of labour migration, in particular in the context of employment of workers in other countries.

All attending countries have presented in the Conference their experiences from using CARDS and IPA Funds in projects related to labour, employment and social policy.

In the end, it has been concluded that management of CPESSEC operation will be taken over by the Labour and Employment Agency of Bosnia and Herzegovina as of 01 January 2009, as provided for by the Standing Orders of the Centre.

National Tripartite Conference on Country Review of Employment Policies (CREP)

National Tripartite Conference on Country Review of Employment Policies (CREP) was held on 18 June 2008 in Sarajevo. The aim of the Conference was to give final suggestions for the Country Review of Employment Policies inBiH for 2006, done by a joint Task Force composed of the representatives of the ILO and Council of Europe supported by the Belgian Federal Public Service of Employment, Labour and Social Dialogue.

SIGNING OF THE ''PROTOCOL OF COOPERATION'' BETWEEN LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT AGENCY OF BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA AND EMPLOYMENT SERVICE OF MONTENEGRO

On invitation by Employment Service of Montenegro, a delegation of Labour and Employment Agency of Bosnia and Herzegovina paid a visit to Employment Service of Montenegro in March 2008.

Labour and Employment Agency of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Employment Service of Montenegro signed the ''Protocol of Cooperation'' on 20 March 2008 in the premises of Employment Service of Montenegro. Major objective of the signed Protocol is mutual cooperation in the field of employment between the two countries, with particular focus on recruitment of workers from Bosnia and Herzegovina by Montenegrin employers.

More than 80,000 foreign workers were employed in Montenegro in 2007, 10,000 of which were from Bosnia and Herzegovina. This year, 140,000 new demands for manpower have been announced, notably in construction, catering and tourism..

The signed Protocol will allow the nationals of Bosnia and Herzegovina to exercise the same rights stemming from employment as local workers in Montenegro, and get employment easier and safer through institutional setups of the two countries.

ROUND TABLE „ACTIVE AND PASSIVE EMPLOYMENT POLICY MEASURES ON THE LABOUR MARKET“
JAHORINA, BISTRICA HOTEL, 13 DECEMBER 2007

Labour and Employment Agency of Bosnia and Herzegovina organized a Round Table on topic ''Active and Passive Employment Policy Measures on the Labour Market'', held on 13 December 2007 at Jahorina. Besides the organizers, the Round Table was attended by PES representatives from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Slovenia and Serbia, an OHR representative, representatives of the Ministry of Civil Affairs of BiH, of the Council of Ministers' Directorate for Economic Planning and representatives of international organisations present in BiH.

The opening speech was followed by presentations of each country on Active and Passive Employment Policy Measures implemented in the previous period and comments on implemented measures and activity plans for the future period.

A discussion ensued after presentations involving all participants of the Round Table who adopted the following conclusions:

Each country implements Active Policy Measures according to thier needs, objectives and potentials. Likewise, all regions/entities/cantons/districts of each country should implement those Active Measures which achieve best results and are adequate for their disadvantaged target groups.

Notable similarities exist among South East European countries in their implementation of Passive Labour Market Measures. It is therefore recommended to enhance cooperation among the countries in the region around legal definition of adequate Passive Measures for the unemployed, in particular around definition of Health Insurance System for the unemployed, primarily in order to reduce registration of those unemployed pesons who do so in order to become eligible to certain social entitlements, and to improve PES work with active job seekers.

Further cooperation is required among Employment Servicies/Agencies of South East European countries in exchange of positive experiences from the field of labour, employment and social policy.

INTRODUCTION OF THE ISO 9001:2000 STANDARD IN THE WORK OF LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT AGENCY OF BIH

In accordance with agreed tempo of activities, an external audit was carried out in the Agency in the period 09-10 October 2007 for the purpose of acquiring the ISO 9001:2000 certificate. To that effect, audit system interviews were conducted in the Agency on all counts of external audit schedule.

After the audit, a meeting was held between the Managemet of the Agency and the audit team which presented us with conclusions of the audit and made record thereof stating:'' Based on the findings of this audit, the audit team finds that QMS has been implemented and is sustainable; therefore, it recommends to the BOSCERT and QA Managements (certificate issuers) to issue a valid certificate to the Labour and Employment Agency of Bosnia and Herzegovina for the QMS established in line with requests of BAS EN ISO 9001:2000 standards.''

WORKSHOP ON TOPIC ''STRENGTHENING THE CAPACITY OF LABOUR MARKET INSTITUTIONS TO IDENTIFY EMPLOYMENT POLICY PRIORITIES AND TO PLAN ACTION''
TURIN, 08-12 October 2007

At invitation of the International Training Centre of the ILO and the ILO's Sub-regional Office for Central and Eastern Europe, representatives of the Labour and Employment Agency of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Ministry of Civil Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina attended the workshop on topic ''Strengthening the Capacity of Labour Market Institutions to Identify Employment Policy Priorities and to Plan Action'', held in the framework of the international capacity building programme for employment policy experts. This project has been developed under the auspices of the Initiative for Social Cohesion of the Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe. The atendees were representatives of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Serbia, Montenegro, Macedonia, Bulgaria, Romania, Moldova and the Province of Kosovo under the UN administration. The Workshop was chaired by Mr. Gianni Rosas, Senior Employment Specialist and Ms. Valli Corbanese, Advisor in the ILO's Sub-Regional Office for Central and Eastern Europe.

The aim of the workshop was to discuss with the ILO's representatives the recommendations of CREP, identify employment policy priority measures and determine joint elements for regional cooperation on employment policy. The workshop was organized on interactive basis, through presentations on PES operations, identification of priorities in this field of the countries in the region, analysis of active employment policies, discussions with representatives of the International Labour Organization on human resources development in PES, passive labour market measures, as well as on development of employment strategies and action plans in participating countries and through exchange of experiences among experts. Workshop participants had the assignment of developing a workplan for the implementation of national employment policy priorities through identifying problems in the field of employment and political priorities and challenges, and setting up objectives in this field.

Towards the end of the workshop, participants proposed regional cooperation modalities on employment policy and future priority areas of cooperation. The proposed cooperation modalities and outcomes of the capacity building programme in South Eastern Europe will be presented at the meeting of the Permanent High-Level Committee of the Stability Pact, to be held in October in Montenegro.

CONFERENCE OF EMPLOYMENT SERVICES OF BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA, MONTENEGRO, CROATIA, MACEDONIA, SERBIA AND SLOVENIA,
ČATEŽ, 14-15 SEPTEMBER 2007

On invitation of the Employment Service of the Republic of Slovenia representatives of the Labour and Employment Agency of Bosnia and Herzegovina attended the Conference of Employment Services of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia, Macedonia, Serbia and Slovenia, held in Čatež, on 14-15 September 2007.

The Conference was venue for exchange of expert opinions on reports on ''National Employment Policies'' of the attending countries, which will be reviewed, on Initiative of the Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe, at the Ministerial Conference of the Western Balkan countries in Montenegro, in October this year.

The Conference was also venue for specific discussion and exchange of experience on efficiency of implementation of active employment measures aiming to boost employment. Labour market institutions from all countries have achieved best results in employment of young unemployed persons, which is entirely in line with the European Employment Strategy and Lisbon Guidelines.

National Employment Services attending the Conference reiterated their willingness to exchange all quality experiences from this field, particularly statistical data from the field of labour and employment.

In the course of the Conference, the delegation of the Labour and Employment Agency of B&H had a series of bilateral meetings with Employment Services of Montenegro, Republic of Croatia and Serbia. The talks held with the Employment Service of Montenegro referred to the Agency's initiative to consider the signing of the Agreement on Recruitment of Workers from Bosnia and Herzegovina in Montenegro, which was agreed by the Montenegrin Employment Service. The talks held with the Employment Service of the Republic of Slovenia were focused on activities realized in implementation of the CARDS Twinning Light Project titled ''Strengthening of the Institutional Capacity of the Labour and Employment Agency of Bosnia and Herzegovina'' funded by the EU. It was recognized that all projected activities from the Action Program, adopted by the Steering Board, were enfolding at the very top level with two trainings of expert staff already completed. Further talks with the Employment Service of the Republic of Slovenia referred to the issue of ''Agreement on Recruiment of Workers from Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Republic of Slovenia''. The Director of the Labour and Employment Agency of B&H informed the attendees about activities which had been successfully completed in order to prepare the proposed agreement for adoption by the Governments of the two countries at the earliest possible stage. He pointed out that the agreement had been a topic of discussion among the Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia, Mr. Janez Janša, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Repubic of Slovenia, Mr. Dimitrije Rupel, and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Mr. Sven Alkalaj at the Bled Conference, followed by consensus on necessity of the agreement as the best approach by employers from the Republic of Slovenia in recruiting workers from Bosnia and Herzegovina with adequate qualificational structure which the labour market of the Republic of Slovenia is short of.

MEETING WITH THE ASSOCIATION OF EMPLOYERS FOR CRAFT ACTIVITIES OF THE REPUBLIC OF SLOVENIA, CELJE, 17 SEPTEMBER 2007

On invitation of the President of the Association of Employers for Craft Activities of the Republic of Slovenia, Mr. Milan Škapin, and the Secretary General of the Association, Mr. Igor Antauer, a delegation of the Labour and Employment Agency of B&H attended the Confernce of Employers' Association of the Republic of Slovenia-GIZ, held on 17 September 2007 in Celje. On this occasion, a tripartite ''Protocol on Mutual Cooperation'' was signed by the Labour and Employment Agency of B&H, Employment Service of the Republic of Slovenia and the Association of Employers for Craft Activities of the Republic of Slovenia.

The signing of the Protocol was attended, on behalf of Bosnia and Herzegovina, by His Excellency, the Ambasador of Bosnia and Herzegovina to the Republic of Slovenia, Mr. Izmir Talić, Consul General, Ms. Sanja Eminović, and representatives of the printed media and TV. Upon the signing of the Protocol, the Ambasador of Bosnia and Herzegovina thanked all attendees for their support and suggested for the two states to sign the ''Agreement on Recruitment of Workers from Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Republic of Slovenia'' at the earliest possible stage.

Director of the Labour and Emplyoment Agency of B&H thanked the organizors for inviting the delegation from Bosnia and Herzegovina in such composition as a guest of the Conference. He stressed the fact that the best way for employers from Slovenia in establishing communication and recruiting the lacking skilled labour, necessary for their faster development, was through the Labour and Employment Agency of B&H as a state-level institution. He stressed that Bosnia and Herzegovina presently had many skilled unemployed persons, the situation which would not go on long because Bosnia and Herzegovina would start recruiting its own good-quality skilled labour due to accelerated economic growth.

The signing of the tripartite Protocol will result in recruitment of workers from Bosnia and Herzegovina in line with the Labour Law of the Republic of Slovenia, and in accelerated procedure in the issuance of work permits. This is why he particularly underlined the initiative launched by the two countries with a view to sign the bilateral ''Agreement on Recruitment of Workers from Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Republic of Slovenia'' as a best way of quality control over labour force between the two countries and supression of the grey economy. In this way, the Employment Service of the Republic of Slovenia and the Labour and Emplyoment Agency of B&H would entirely and in a quality manner meet the labour requirements of the Slovene employers. The President and the Secretary General of the Association of Employers for Craft Activities of the Republic of Slovenia, Mr. Milan Škapin and Mr. Igor Antauer, gave, on behalf of the Association, their full support to the proposed initiative for the signing of the bilateral agreement on recruitment between the two countries which would facilitate Slovene employers to recruit adequate skilled labour from Bosnia and Herzegovina in the shortest time possible.

During the Conference, representatives of the Labour and Employment Agency of B&H met with a number of employers already faced with the need to recruit labour force from Bosnia and Herzegovina. It was agreed that all interested employers send their labour force requests and terms of work contracts at the address of the Agency which will enable the Agency to organize employment mediation for the unemployed in accordance with employers' requests.

In the period from 11 to 15 June 2007, representatives of employment institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Labour and Employment Agency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Federation Employment Service, Employment Service of Republika Srpska and Employment Service of the Brčko District of BiH) made a study visit to the Austrian Employment Service (AMS), Vocational Training Centres and secondary vocational schools in Austria.

The purpose of the visit was to gain knowledge on organization, operation and achievements of AMS and, notably, on the training and retraining approaches for the unemployed in Vocational Training Centres and possibililties of implementing these experiences in employment services of Bosnia and Herzegovina..

A Delegation of the Labour and Employment Agency of BiH attended the Second PES Conference of SEE Countries, held in Belgrade from May 31 to June 01 2007. ''Guidelines for Work of the PES Centre of SEE Countries'' were signed at the Conference. The Guidelines were signed by Directors of the Labour and Employment Agency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Employment Agency of the Republic of Bulgaria, Employment Agency of Montenegro, Croatian Employment Service, National Employment Agency of the Republic of Romania, Employment Service of the Republic of Slovenia, National Employment Service of the Republic of Serbia and Turkish Employment Organisation.

Establishment of the Centre is the most effective way to overcome barriers in the labour market of concerned countries and to exchange good practice and experiences. It is the outcome of permanent iniciatives of bilateral and multilateral cooperation which the signatory countries have had so far, as well as of commitment and recommendations included in initiatives and documents of the Stability Pact for South-East Europe, International Labour Organisation, the Council of Europe, Bucharest Process, World Association of Public Employment Services (WAPES) aiming at closer interrelationships in the field of employment policy among the countries of this region.

Working part of the Conference was devoted to the topic titled: ''Youth Employment and Labour Migrations'' where the delegation of the Labour and Employment Agency of BiH took an active part with a presentation on topic ''Good Practice in Youth Employment in BiH''.

On June 07 2007, a delegation of the Labour and Employment Agency of BiH paid an official visit to the Employment Service of the Brčko District of BiH and held a meeting with its representatives. On behalf of the Employment Service of the Brčko District of BiH, the meeting was attended by Mr. Nenadić Mladenko, Director, and Mr. Vuković Milovan, Deputy Director.

Mr. Nenadić Mladenko underlined that since January 01 2007 the Employment Service of the Brčko District of BiH has been functioning independently in terms of organisation, personnel and material. The framework of the Public Administration Reform in the Brčko District of BiH has proposed a model of organisational structure for the Employment Service of the Brčko District of BiH envisaging posts for 14 employees in the Service. Furthermore, it was stressed that during 2006 the Service was working on implementation of the Act on Job Placement and Rights in the Event of Unemployment of the Brčko District of BiH, and discharging its commitments regularly and in accordance with the Law. The sources of funding for the Service come from the unemployment insurance contributions in the amount of 1.5 per cent of gross salary of employed persons, and from funds earmarked by the Government of the Brčko District of BiH. In 2006, the Employment Service of the Brčko District of BiH paid out pecuniary compensations for a total of 232 unemployed persons, while entitlement to health care benefits for the unemployed was used by 10,046 beneficiaries or 837 beneficiaries in monthly averages.

As to the Active Employment Policy Measures implemented by the Employment Service of the Brčko District of BiH in 2006, it is worth mentioning that 1,168 persons were recruited from the register of the Employment Serivce of the Brčko District of BiH, of which 334 through support to employers' programmes of new employment. Grants in the amount of KM 1,088,000.00 were allocated for the implementation of 38 programmes obliging employer to keep the number of his employees unreduced for the next two years. The 2007 Work programme envisages to resume realization of this programme, with plans to implement the Placing Trainees Programme. Furthermore, there are Prep Programmes for the Labour Market which should include trainig, re-training or upgrading of 500 persons for the known employer. The trainings would include foreign language course, PC course and training courses in book-keeping / accountancy.

The representatives of the Agency approved of the Serivce's option for Prep Programmes for the Labour Market and it was stressed that the Service should design programmes for other target groups in the labour market (youth, ageing labour force, long-term unemployed persons). It was also stressed that an excellent opportunity to approach active employment policy is through organisation of job fairs and that the Agency could lend all necessary expert assistance to the Employment Service of the Brčko District of BiH in their organisation. Representatives of the Service pointed out that their 2007 Work programme did envisage organisation of a job fair in Brčko planned as a side event to the Economic Fair of the Brčko District of BiH. In that regard, they stressed they were planning to start with prep activities in September and that they would ask necessary expert assistance from the Labour and Employment Agency of BiH.

INTERNATIONAL SEMINAR ON ACCESS TO EMPLOYMENT
IN SOUTH-EAST EUROPE FOR VULNERABLE GROUPS
STRASBOURG, 09 – 11 MAY 2007

On invitation by Directorate General III – Social Cohesion of the Council of Europe with its head office in Strasbourg, representatives of the Labour and Employment Agency of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Ministry of Civil Affairs of BiH attended the international seminar on access to employment in South-East European countries for vulnerable groups. Besides representatives of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the seminar was attended by representatives of Albania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Moldova, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia and Turkey.

In its first day, the seminar was organized through sessions and workshops. The introductory session was opened by Alexander Vladychenko, Director General of Social Cohesion of the Council of Europe. The introductory session was followed by sessions with following topics: ''Involvment of the Council of Europe in South-East Europe'', ''Vulnerable Groups and Employment in South-East Europe'', ''Activation Policies and Impact on the Vulnerable Groups'', and workshops on access to employment focused on three vulnerable groups (informal workers, Roma and long-term unemployed persons). Bosnia-Herzegovina Delegation registered for participation in the working group which dealt with the topic ''Long-term Unemployment''. The moderator of the said group was Mr. Franz Gundacker from the ILO.

Upon its work, the working group presented the joint position as an answer to three key questions coming from Mr. Gundacker: how does one become chronically unemployed, how to account for the long duration of unemployment record of some persons and what can institutions do to achieve improvement in this area.

The question how to face challenges and the fact that discrimination can be measured with great difficulties and that there is a huge problem in collecting data related to employment of most vulnerable groups, which was subject of a quite detailed discussion, points to complexity and gravity of the problem. One of the key conclusions of the seminar was the fact that employment policy has to be restructured, that employability reduces vulnerability, that PES have to operate in coordination, that discrimination at work has to be combated, that monitoring policy has to be more efficient, and that guidance of each unemployed person has to be done individually.

The second day of the seminar dealt with reports from the workshop and future development strategies in South-East Europe, while the closing panel refered to the topic of strategy for future: economic evolution in South-East Europe and employment perspectives.

MEETING OF SOUTH-EAST EUROPEAN PES DIRECTORS
AND THE WORKSHOP OF THE MIDDLE EAST AND ARABIAN COUNTRIES REGION OF WAPES ON TOPIC ''APPROACHES AND SUCCESSFUL PROGRAMS OF PROFESSIONAL INSERTION OF THE YOUNG''

On invitation by WAPES Secretariat for the Middle East and Arabian Countries Region, a delegation of the Labour and Employment Agency of Bosnia and Herzegovina attended the meeting of South-East European PES Directors and Workshop of the Middle East and Arabian Countries Region of WAPES on topic ''Accesses and Successful Programs of Professional Insertion of the Young'', held from 16 to 20 May 2007 in Ouarzazate, Morrocco.

The meeting started with the introductory session and welcoming address of Mr. Hafid KAMAL, Vice-President of the Middle East & Arabic Countries Region and Director-General of ANAPEC, followed by the speeches of Mr. Mustapha MANSOURI, Minister of Employment and Professional Training and Mr. Christian CHARPY, President of WAPES. Thereupon followed the meeting of South-East European PES Directors chaired by Mr. Patrick VENIER, Executive Secretary of WAPES Region Europe. The discussion that followed considered the possibilities of establishing a regional centre of WAPES for that region. The reason for this topic was due to a number of activities underway in this part of Europe, but also to the exceptional commitment of these PES. Nevertheless, it was decided to wait with this initiative until the next General Assembly, because establishment of one such centre has to be included in the Statute and Operational Procedures of WAPES.

The second day, according to the Agenda drafted by the organizers, started with the Workshop on topic ''Approaches and Successful Programs of Professional Insertion of the Young'' with two general themes forseen for working groups discussion:

''Self-employment''.

There were nine presentations delivered on topic of „Salaried Employment'' which refered to Youth Employment Programs in certain countries. One of the presentations was from representatives of the Labour and Employment Agency of BiH entitled ''Approaches and Successful Programs of Professional Insertion of the Young in Bosnia and Herzegovina''. Presentations were followed by discussion which focused on good practice of participating countries in realization of these programs, as well as on specific problems of individual countries.

The third working day was reserved for four presentations on topic of ''Self-employment'' which refered to Youth Self-employment Programs of respective countries. The presentations were followed by discussion wherein representatives of the participating countries presented good practice in realization of these programs and gave answers to questions.

According to the Agenda, the fourth day was reserved for the closing session which presented the following conclusions:

- all PES need to have the closest possible cooperation and create as many programs which will include the young;

- national PES need to cooperate as often as possible in order to be able to implement programs of other national PES which match their circumstances;

- national PES need to forsee those problems within their programs which may cause certain risks in their implementation;

- WAPES should be used as a medium of excellent opportunities for discussion and exchange of opinions, as well as of good practice of all its members;

- all PES from the Middle East and Arabian Countries Region should get involved to the greatest extent possible in contacts with all other Employment Institutions in order to acquire good practice and experience.

VISIT TO THE CROATIAN EMPLOYMENT SERVICE AND THE EMPLOYMENT SERVICE OF THE REPUBLIC OF SLOVENIA

On invitation by the Croatian Employment Service and the Employment Service of Republic of Slovenia, the delegation of the Labour and Employment Agency of Bosnia and Herzegovina paid visits to these two institutions and held discussions concerning cooperation in the field of labour and employment.

As part of the visit to the Croatian Employment Service on 16 April 2007, the delegation held discussions on Croatian experiences from negotiations with EU experts regarding labour market progress in Republic of Croatia and legislation harmonization from this field.

Within the visit to the Employment Service of Republic of Slovenia in the period 17 – 18 April 2007, the discussion focused on:

Action work programme in view of implementing Twinning Light Project for capacity strengthening and development of the Labour and Employment Agency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, approved by the EC Delegation to BiH and funded by CARDS programme.
Procedure and metodology in employing Bosnia-Herzegovina workers for employers' needs in Republic of Slovenia and in line with the Law on Employment of Foreigners of the Republic of Slovenia.
Implementation of Protocol of cooperation between the Labour and Employment Agency of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Employment Service of the Republic of Slovenia in view of employing Bosnia-Herzegovina workers in the Republic of Slovenia.

There is mutual interest for good cooperation between state institutions from the field of labour and employment of the Republic of Slovenia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, in particular in Twinning Light Project of capacity strengthening and development of the Labour and Employment Agency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, approved by the EC Delegation to BIH.
It was concluded that cooperation between these two institutions has been very successful so far, and that it should continue in the future.

On invitation by the Director General of the Employment Service of the Republic of Slovenia, the delegation of the Labour and Employment Agency of Bosnia and Herzegovina attended the opening of a Job Fair in Brežice on April 19 2007, organized by the Employment Service of the Republic of Slovenia. This Fair was organized by the Employment Service of the Republic of Slovenia on the basis of experiences transferred by the Labour and Employment Agency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which was stated in the introductory speech of Director General of the Employment Service of the Republic of Slovenia, Ms. Marija Poglajen, at the Fair opening ceremony.

PREPARATORY MEETING
for preparation of the Second conference ''Good practice and promotion of South East European PES cooperation''

In the period between 05th and 6th April 2007, a preparatory meeting concerning the Second conference titled ''Good practice and promotion of South East European PES cooperation'' was held in Mostar. The aim of the meeting was to reach an agreement regarding legislation on establishing ''South East European Centre for exchange of experience between South East European countries PES''.

The meeting was attended by PES representatives of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, Slovenia and Serbia. The meeting's agenda was as follows:

Discussion of the praparatory meeting report for the Second conference ''Good practice and promotion of South East European countries PES cooperation''.
Final text version of ''Proposal Guidelines for establishment of the South East European Centre for exchange of experience between South East European countries PES''.
Miscellanous.

All attendees reached an agreement with regards to the final text of proposed ''Guidelines for establishment of South East European Centre for exchange of experience between South East European PES''.
Second conference ''Good practice and promotion of South East European PES cooperation'' will be held in Belgrade on 31 May and 01 June 2007.
It was agreed that year 2007, in which the ''South East European Center for exchange of experience between South East European PES'' will be established, be the initial year, while the official term of presidency by National Employment Service of Republic of Serbia be year 2008.
In 2009, the Centre will be presided by the Labour and Employment Agency of Bosnia and Herzegovina according to alphabetical order.
''Migration and youth employment'' was proposed to be the topic of the Conference of Directors.

On invitation of WAPES Secretariat from Brussels and Mr. Günter Schauenberg, WAPES Vice-President for Region Europe, a representative of the Labour and Employment Agency of Bosnia and Herzegovina attended the WAPES Region Europe Expert Working Group meeting, held on March 16th 2007 in Brussels.

In November 2006, WAPES Managing Board adopted the decision to start with preparation of ''Peer Review'' elaboration by individual positive activities of national employment services/agencies in Region Europe, as a new form of cooperation between WAPES members.

Since Peer review topics as well as metodology for their implementation had not been defined, WAPES Secretariat set up a Working Group, which will include a representative of the Labour and Employment Agency of Bosnia and Herzegovina as one of its members.

1. How should the target of a peer review made by WAPES members be formulated? What are the expected results and what is the expected added value for WAPES members?
2. What kinds of chosen methods will lead to targeted results? How should the process be organized?
3. Which concrete content is suitable for a pilot scheme adopted by WAPES members?

1.     The first theme of the Peer Review will be ''ONE STOP SHOP'' (provision of high quality PES services to employers and unemployed persons through mediation process), which will be prepared by the Danish employment service.
2.     Two other themes of the Peer Review are ''Employment Promotion'' and ''Training of the unemployed for a known employer''.
3.     Experts from five countries will take part in preparation of the Peer Review, one of them being from South Eastern Europe.
4. Peer Review metodology was established and adopted.
5.     It was agreed to hold the next WAPES expert team meeting in April in Geneva on topic Implementation of the ILO Conventions in the field of labour and employment.

PRELIMINARY MEETING FOR ESTABLISHMENT OF ''SOUTH EAST EUROPEAN CENTRE FOR EXCHANGE OF EXPERIENCES BETWEEN PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT SERVICES OF SOUTH EAST EUROPEAN COUNTRIES''

On invitation by the National Employment Service of the Republic of Serbia, a delegation of the Labour and Employment Agency of Bosnia and Herzegovina attended the preliminary meeting related to the Second Directorial Conference for establishment of the Balkan Centre of Public Employment Services (PES) of South East European countries with the topic:''Good Practice and Promotion of Cooperation between the Balkan PES in the light of Euro-Atlantic Integration'', held in the period from 25 to 28 February 2007.

The preliminary meeting was attended by PES representatives of: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Monte Negro, Croatia, Macedonia, Romania, Turkey, Slovenia, Serbia, and representatives of the ILO and the Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe.

The joint agreement was to modify the proposed title ''The Balkan Centre'' into ''South East European Centre for Exchange of Experiences between Public Employment Services of the South East European Countries''. It was agreed that the main activity of this Centre be design of ''Statistical Information Booklet from the field of labour of the South East European countries''. The Booklet would contain statistical data from the field of labour and employment comparable between the countries. It was proposed to issue the Statistical Information Booklet every six months. It was also agreed to set up a joint South East European countries PES web site with a view to jointly promote the Centre.

Following the preliminary meeting, the Directors of the Labour and Employment Agency of Bosnia and Herzegovina and National Employment Service of the Republic of Serbia signed on 28 February 2007 in Belgrade the ''Operational Protocol'' related to the ''Social Security Agreement between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Federal Republic of Yugoslavia''. The contents of the form verifying the insurance periods taken into account in case of entitlement to unemployment benefits was agreed upon in this Protocol between the two states.

The delegation of the Labour and Employment Agency of Bosnia and Herzegovian paid visit to the regional branch office of the National Employment Service of the Republic of Serbia in Belgrade where they were presented with the operation of the Informational Program ''Job Bank'' which assists job seekers in finding companies with announced vacancies and in demand of employing persons with adequate vocations and skills.

ROUND TABLE
„EXPERIENCES IN EMPLOYMENT OF FOREIGNERS“
Sarajevo, 20.12.2006

The Round Table on topic Experiences in Employment of Foreigners was held on 20 December 2006 in Sarajevo in the organization of the the Labour and Employment Agency of Bosnia and Herzegovina as the first Round Table dealing with this topic.

The Round Table was attended by the participants of the National Employment Agencies – Services of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia, Macedonia, Slovenia and Serbia, representatives of the OHR, International Organization for Migration, Ministry of Civil Affairs, Ministry of Security, Ministry for Human Rights and Refugees, Entities' Ministries responsible for the field of labour and employment, Entities' Employment Services and Employment Service of the Brčko District, as well as the representatives of the Cantonal ministries in charge of labour and employment, Cantonal Employment Services and the media representatives. The attendants had the opportunity to introduce themselves with different legal arrangements in this field in the countries of the region, their specific characteristics, work permits issuing procedures and results achieved in this field.

After a very interesting and dynamic discussion the following conclusions were adopted:

1. To bring in line the existing entity by-laws on employment of foreigners with the Law on Movement and Residence of Foreigners and Asylum.

2. To organize within the shortest time-frame a joint meeting of the representatives of the Ministry of Security, Ministry for Human Rights and Refugees, Labour and Employment Agency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Employment Services of BiH entities, Employment Service of the Brčko District and of responsible entity ministries of BiH entities on the issue of discussing amendments to the Law on Movement and Residence of Foreigners and Asylum.

3. To consider the possibility of regulating the employment of foreigners on the level of Bosnia and Herzegovina since the Labour and Employment Agency of Bosnia and Herzegovina initiated and submitted the Predraft Law on Employment of Foreigners in Bosnia and Herzegovina via the Ministry of Civil Affairs in May 2005, which envisages the setting of quota in employment of foreigners in compliance with the needs of qualificational structure necessary for faster economic growth of Bosnia and Herzegovina.