Changes in the measures of active employment policy until entering the EU will primarily focus on vocational training for work without establishing an employment relationship, support for self-employment, and support for job preservation.
This was emphasized by the Minister of Labor and Pension System Mirando Mrsić at today’s press conference at the Croatian Employment Service (HZZ). ”We want to strengthen these measures,” said Mrsić, announcing that the changes will be implemented from November 8.
There was consideration of increasing the compensation of 1,600 kuna for work without establishing an employment relationship, but it was decided, says Mrsić, that instead, the HZZ will cover the health insurance costs for these individuals, instead of the employer, as it has been until now. The new measures also change the conditions related to inclusion in vocational training for work without establishing an employment relationship, so unemployed individuals who have more than a year of experience, but not in the profession for which they were educated, can apply for an internship, and the internship period for certain professions has been extended to 36 months, depending on how long it lasts for each specific profession.
Unemployed individuals who decide to start their own business will be enabled to realize their idea in the shortest possible time, and the limitation regarding the type of activity that the person will perform and previous entrepreneurial experience has been abolished.
Regarding support for job preservation, education of employees in conditions of technological and organizational changes will be co-financed to a greater extent, and Mrsić says that for a company that hires a worker who has been declared technologically redundant, the HZZ will co-finance 50 percent of the salary for two years.
Mrsić expressed satisfaction with the results related to seasonal employment in agriculture, stating that from June 18 to October 31, 328,460 value coupons for seasonal work in agriculture were sold.
In the same period, 62,252 books were purchased, meaning that this number of individuals worked, and 6.59 million kuna was collected in contributions.
This year, 378 million kuna has been secured for active employment policy measures, and I hope that the same or more will be secured for next year, said Mrsić.
When asked about his projections for a year from now, regarding how the number of unemployed might move, the minister said that making projections is very thankless and that he cannot speak about specific numbers.
The goal is to reverse the trend – to start opening more jobs than are closed. In the last four to five years, more jobs have been lost than opened, and the goal is to reverse that trend, he said.
The director of the HZZ, which marks 106 years of operation, Ankica Paun Jarallah, pointed out that in the first ten months, 157,202 people were employed through the Service, which is 5.2 percent more than in the same period last year, and slightly more than 38 thousand people were employed in seasonal jobs.
