The Active Labour Market Strategy Programme is the first programme to be implemented under the Decentralised Implementation System and Turkish Authorities will be responsible for contracting and implementation.
This programme aims to assist ISKUR under three different components. The aim of the first component is to provide support to ISKUR to build up its institutional capacity and to train ISKUR's staff and allow intervention of ISKUR into the labour market to be well designed, effective and represent value for money.
Under the second component, funds (24 million Euro) for active employment measures will be allocated to deliver extensive training to target groups to increase their employability and to stimulate public- private initiatives to boost employment at the local level.
Social Partners (employees and employers organizations, chambers of commerce and industry), local actors (i.e. local governments), local public private partnerships including private firms cooperating with NGOs, Universities and NGOs are invited to follow and apply for call for proposals to submit projects in 2004.
Finally, the third component aims to provide financial support to ISKUR to modernize its provincial offices and enhance functioning of its office network.
Results to be achieved by the Active Labour Market Strategy programme will help Turkey to get closer to the adaptation to the European Employment Strategy. The programme will increase institutional capacity of ISKUR to function as the main policy maker in human resource development.
The programme will also increase the employability of the people most affected by unemployment through the implementation of programmes and actions promoted by local communities and which are based on specific local and regional needs.
Moreover active labour market measures will help jobseekers to be better prepared for more complex and irregular work patterns, to ease their transition between different jobs or between work and training.
Jobseekers to be better informed and counselled about employment opportunities and to increase their employability through the training and retraining methods which are defined taking into account the needs of the labour market.
The active labour market measures will promote the adaptability of the labour force. The resulting change in the Turkish labour market should increase productivity and competitiveness as well as ensuring that people are retained longer in work and last but not least it should prevent social exclusion.
A technical assistance service contract has already been signed by CFCU with a consortium of four members, which include HIFAB International AB (Sweden based consultant firm), IMC Consulting (UK based consultant firm), Lernia (Sweden Vocational Training Institute) and Arbetmarknadsstyrelsen (Swedish National Labour Market Board) with a contract price of 9,502,000 Euro.
The Technical Assistance Team will support ISKUR in overseeing the progress under the Programme and in monitoring and supervising all project components as well as reporting upon the project components, during the full 25 months implementation period of the Programme.
The TA Team, together with ISKUR have started to prepare the global implementation and annual work plans of the Programme activities, which will then continue with the preparation of tender dossiers for the establishment of ISKUR offices and call for proposals for grant allocation.
The relevant tenders are expected to start during the course of 2004 and the programme is scheduled for completion by the end of 2005. (NM)
