Zachodniopomorska Wojewódzka Komenda Ochotniczych Hufców Pracy w Szczecinie

the tasks of the OHP are differentiated and complex - always currently adjusted to the requirements and expectations of these highly differentiated groups and included in the scope of the whole state social policy. In each school year, the organisational units of the OHP include in their system of training and educating over 32 thousand of youth. More than 28% of them originate from the single parent families and orphanages, almost 40% from families having many children, 44% from the families suffering from unemployment among which over 3,000 members originated from the country areas. Among them over 25% is already corrected youth, including 12% committed criminal acts of lower importance. The custodians, pedagogical and psychological centers, social support centers, custody centers, juvenile courts transferred such youth to the OHP. The effective system of education and correction - worked out within the years and currently modified - shall be applied in relation to the youth of above 15 years of age (it may change due to law and probably youth under 17 won’t be recruited to the OHP units), not continuing education and that shall not complete education in gymnasium, uneducated, endangered with unemployment and demoralization as well as in relation to the youth not being the members of the OHP but randomly using different forms of support offered by the OHP improve general education on the level of preliminary school of gymnasium gaining qualifications for executions of a particular job and continue their education in vocational school or on the vocational courses preparing for the exam giving professional qualifications. 95% of youth gathered in the OHP units positively complete their education. Employment and professional training of the members of the OHP is made on the rules relating to juvenile employees (three days of lectures, two days of practical training). The poorest youth gathered in the OHP (+/- 4,000 persons yearly) in course of stay in our units is awarded with free of charge accommodation. The activities focus on labour market too – such units of OHP like: Youth Employment Centers, their branches and Active Labour Searching Clubs governed by the Education and Labour Centers constitute the separate core of operation. The Youth Employment Center is dealing with employment mediation, advising and short employment contracts offered to the pupils of high schools and students. This unit searches and collects the offers of permanent and short term employment, maintain inventory of unemployed persons ordered according of information relating to the professions most demanded on the labour market, advice in terms of possibilities of gaining of profession or making professional reorientation, appoint to participation in professional courses or gaining qualifications to the new profession. The Youth Employment Centers find the job for over 50 thousand of youth yearly. The Labour Club constitutes one of the forms of its operation. At participation of specialists - sociologists, psychologists and educators - the club arranges long term panel discussions, lectures and talks dealing with behavior and attitude of the youth in different life circumstances. The leaders of the Labour Clubs conduct instructing workshops in scope of effective forms and methods of searching for the job, professional activating, labour market laws and rules. These and similar actions protect the psychic sphere of life of young unemployed people, create their sense of self-independence and self-security. Unemployed youth having professional qualifications that do not guarantee gaining of employment is offered (within Vocational Training Centers operating in the structures of the OHP) with changing of professional qualifications conditioning employment on the local labour market. 25 thousand persons is included in the courses of active searching of employment and individual counseling is allowed to 44 thousand of young people in scope of the program „Absolwent-Graduate”. During the year, especially in the period of free of education, the OHP organize the short employment labour frequently associated with the rest assigned for over 100 thousand of pupils and unemployed graduates of high schools. The differentiated group of youth gathered in the OHP requires continuous creation of the new, more attractive offers that shall be consistent to the requirements and expectations of the youth as well as objective actual condition of the labour market and different conditions of the social life. At least twice a year, in all units of the OHP are organized special events - labour fairs („Education - the way to success”, „The European Union - Chance - Youth”). Their main aim is to help unemployed people (esp. young ones) to find a new job or at least to give them advices how to run on the labour market. In the last years, the youth is more and more interested in the whole issue of integration of Poland with the European Union as well as participating in different forms of co-operation with their contemporaries from different countries. That is why, this part of operation of the OHP is developed in particular manner: • the co-operation with the closest foreign partner from Germany - Internationaler Bund e.V. • the co-operation in scope of Polish and German Exchange of Youth is equally effectively continued - over 40 bilateral and multilateral meetings are held yearly, including the special programs as well as meetings, camps, apprenticeships, trainings, • co-operation with the partners from other countries. • any activities aiming at building of relations with the new partners in scope of execution of different types of international projects are also supported. • participation in the EU programs esp. „Youth in Action” and „Leonardo da Vinci”. We have participated in projects as a sending organisation as well as we made a project as a hosting organisation.