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Decentralisation and Reorganisation of the Croatian Employment Services (CES), EuropeAid/119446/C/SV/HR
Training need assessment
IMO, 30th November 2006
INTRODUCTION
TNA was implemented through questionnaires on the sample of 28 CES managers. Furthermore, the data on already done trainings undergone by CES managers on management skills achieved in the last years through the project CARDS 2001 «Reconstruction of Labour Market», in the period 2003-2005 and the project DFID - Department for International Development of Great Britain Project that were financed by EU and other international donors.
The findings were additionally checked and updated through consultations with key CES stuff.
Based on these analysis it is evident that CES managers are good experts in their area of expertise. However, some of managerial skills are still more intuitive or at the level of information reached through the trainings, more than actually achieved skills used in everyday activities.
1. Demographic data
Training needs analysis was completed by 28 CES managers. Half of them were women, 36 % of them were male and four participants didn't specify their gender. All of them are highly educated and 21 % of them have completed a Master's degree.
Half of the interviewed CES managers are between 51 and 60 years. 20% of the Heads of the CES departments were between 41 and 50, 16% between 31 and 40, 12% over 61 years old, but there is no participants younger of 30 years. The youngest participant is 37 years old and the oldest is 64 years old.
2. Distribution of working time
The heads are usually engaged in their daily operational work for approximately 40-100% of their working time. It includes the realization of planning of their activities and control of the realization.
Several heads have stated that on management itself they spend maximally up to 20% of their working time.
Almost all CES managers spend 10-25% of their working time on cooperation with their environment – local self-governance, regional self-governance, national bodies, and business entities and citizens in the scope of CES activities related to Croatian labour market.
Additionally, some of them are actively involved in different working groups and boards outside CES on which they spend 5-10% of their working time.
CES managers spend very little (0-10%) time on education and professional improvement through seminars and workshops.
In addition, only some of them have stated that they spend up to 10% of their working time on the promotion of CES contacts with the media and on marketing activities as a whole.
The work on the design, development and implementation of new innovative projects has hardly been mentioned.
3. Necessary management skills
The main skills that CES managers identified as necessary for efficient daily work are: (i) communication skills, (ii) organization skills and (iii) expert models.
Moreover, the heads think that it is important to be (i) ready to change, and that it is almost impossible to achieve good business results without (ii) team work.
The majority of respondents think that it is important to be proficient in (i) use of information technology, (ii) motivating people, and (iii) have good knowledge in planning and analytical skills and goal setting.
Only some of the people interviewed mentioned managerial skills among which the (i) ability to make decisions and (ii) solve problems are considered the most important.
Consciousness and responsibility, knowledge of foreign languages, resources management such as human, financial and material are hardly recognized as skills and knowledge obligatory to CES managers in their everyday work.
Moreover, they have not recognized the importance of (i) initiative and entrepreneurial spirit, as well as (ii) marketing and (iii) strategic planning (setting the goals, development goals) knowledge and skills.
4. Key factors for successful implementation of work according to CES management
Key factors for successful implementation of work, according to CES managers are human resources (expert, competent and motivated employees with positive attitude and feeling of belonging towards the institution) as well as two-sided open communication and cooperation between all employees in all regional offices with those in the central CES office and the surroundings – local self-governance, regional self-governance, institutions at national level, employers and citizens.
In order to be able to undertake their everyday activities, the key factors are appropriate facilities/material conditions and appropriate IT support.
The CES management has stated that one of the key factors to implement everyday CES activities is the significance of investment into human potentials through a continuous education, seminars, lifelong learning, etc.
Only a few managers have pointed out the significance of international cooperation and exchange of experience, as well as the importance of marketing and promotion of CES activities aiming at successful cooperation with the surrounding.
Several managers have mentioned, as an important factor for successful business, the following managerial skills: setting goals/priorities, decision making, organization of work, defining business processes, planning and monitoring.
Moreover, the CES managers are aware of the significance of balance between work and life, i.e. family support as the key element for successful implementation of work.
5. The biggest problems in daily business according to CES management
In answering the question on the biggest limiting factor in successful business the CES managers have identified several internal and external key limiting factors.
Apart from the huge amount of work, tight deadlines and work overload the managers have identified the insufficient knowledge on systematic human resource management. The fact is that they have identified only a part of HRM, and do not have the overall picture of it.
Apart from the insufficient number of employees, they have mentioned the low level of skills and knowledge of some associates, non-acceptance of novelties and changes in work, insufficient system of motivation and remuneration of associates according to working results. Moreover, the fluctuation of young associates is very common due to relatively low income.
Among concrete problems they have mentioned insufficient self-reliance (financial and organizational) in work, strong hierarchy in CES as a whole, stiffness and slowness of the system which has difficulties in responding to modern labor market challenges. Skills and knowledge managers have stated as obligatory and are missing are two-sided communication, reporting and solving of conflict situations as a missing part in daily management.
The key work limiting factors from the surrounding are basically related to insufficient awareness of the surrounding on key significance of human resources for the overall development.
Moreover, CES managers have stated that they have difficulties in communicating with job seekers, who are sometimes not motivated for actual finding of job at one side, and the impossibility to satisfy the employers’ expectations and interests at the other. In some counties this problem of communication and cooperation of CES with the surrounding is even more stressed because of low economic growth and no need for new work force.
Moreover, CES managers have stressed as limiting factors of their work the existing institutional attitude which sometimes do not give room to initiative and entrepreneurship of CES employees, as well as frequent changes of law of which CES employees must be aware and which they must follow in their everyday activities.
6. Review of Management Training Programmes
CES managers (Department for Mediation and Active Policy Measures, Department for Development and Education of Employees) have had several training programmes in the last few years (since 2000) for acquiring skills and knowledge in the field of management. The trainings were organized in the scope of the project CARDS 2001 «Reconstruction of Labour Market», in the period 2003-2005 and the Project DFID - Department for International Development of Great Britain Project. Moreover, the heads participated at expert trainings related preparation and use of labour market information. Some of them also participated at trainings related to entrepreneurship and SME development, trainings related to upgrading the use of IT technologies in their everyday work, foreign language courses, especially English and German.
At these trainings CES managers were informed on relevant topics on managerial skills and management styles, human resource management, strategic planning and planning and change management. The specific topics which were covered trough these trainings are:
· Creation of vision
· The role of manager in an organization
· The elements of business planning process
· Developing of operation/business plan
· Methods for progress monitoring consistent to the realization of goals
· Strategy for change management
· SWOT and PEST analysis
· Communication skills
· Understanding stress and what should be done to avoid it
· Team work (responsibilities of working group leaders, identification of different roles of team members)
· Motivation techniques
· Understand the assessment process
· Delegate responsibilities
· Development of action plans
· Presentation skills (the needs of target audience, SMART presentation goals, gathering of thematic material, summaries and visual presentation tools, presentation performance)
· Successful organization of meeting
In the scope of the trainings organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration, CES managers have participated in the trainings for introduction to EU legislature, project cycle management, EU integration and EU regional policy.
Some additional training have been contributed to skills and knowledge of today's CES management as the strategy of adult education, management programme for entrepreneurial counselors, training on financial management and audit, and development of quality standard of CES professional guidance and EU Management systems.
7. Priorities which CES managers would like to acquire through the training
Managers differentiate two key areas in which they would like to upgrade their knowledge and skills: professional knowledge and managerial skills.
In expert knowledge they would like an additional training regarding:
· Modern ways and methods of cooperation with employers,
· Strengthening partnership for employment,
· Experience from foreign institutions at labour market, especially in EU member states,
· New scientific findings (economy and psychology) for applicable labour market,
· Possibilities for using EU (pre)accession funds for projects in the scope of the CES
Among skills in the scope of management, the heads have pointed out the need for additional education, especially in the following areas:
· project management,
· human resources management (they already had some general trainings)
· communication skills (delegating, negotiation, presentation skills)
· managing conflict
· time management
· self management (stress)
· specific management styles (crisis management, change management, case load management)
· financial management
Moreover, CES managers would like to have additional trainings on IT skills, foreign languages and business processes.
7.1. Preferred learning styles
CES managers have been asked to value four different learning styles such as classroom/exercise with instructors, Team work, Self-directed learning and Computer based training. They were supposed to give a mark from 1 (no benefit) to 5 (great benefit) to each learning style that was offered in a questionnaire. The answers are summarized in the Table 1.
Table 1 Preferred learning styles.
Mark / Classroom/ exercise with instructors / Team work / Self-directed learning (with provided training materials) / Computer based training (self study or interactive)1 (No benefit) / 1 / 0 / 1 / 0
2 / 4 / 1 / 1 / 3
3 / 14 / 2 / 9 / 14
4 / 6 / 14 / 11 / 6
5 (Great benefit) / 2 / 10 / 6 / 4
Total number of managers who selected particular mark for each learning style.
It can be seen from the table and the graph below great similarity in valuing typical classroom teaching approach and computer based training. That is much unexpected trend, but if we take into account the age structure of participants this phenomenon can be easily explained. It is logical that the group of people with average index of years 53 is not habituated to new technology solutions although they have a positive attitude towards it. Typical classroom lessons are something they are familiar with but it is not their favorite way of learning. Most of CES managers marked typical classroom lecturing with instructors as a not-too-bad and not-too-good option. CES managers the most positively valued team work and small work groups. It turned out that self-directed learning is very popular and 60% of managers gave one of two highest possible grades to that alternative.
Based on TNA future training should be organized as a combination of work in groups with provided training materials for self-study with some interactive computer learning. With this compromising combination everyone would be satisfied and could benefit from.
7.2 Computer skills
Estimating their computer skills CES managers were supposed to focus on four different programs or group of programs. They had to estimate how skillful they are in using Microsoft word as the most widespread text processing program, in using Microsoft excel as the most known tool for statistical analysis, in operating with E-mail clients and how acquainted they are with browsing Internet and transferring data. They had to mark their knowledge from 1 to 5 where 1 was insufficient and 5 excellent.
Table 2 Computer skills.
Mark / Word / Excel / E-mail / Internet (search and download)1 / 3 / 9 / 0 / 2
2 / 2 / 10 / 1 / 1
3 / 10 / 4 / 7 / 8
4 / 6 / 3 / 11 / 11
5 / 7 / 2 / 9 / 6
Average / 3,4 / 2,3 / 4,0 / 3,6
Total number of managers who have selected particular mark for each computer program.
Overall participants’ computer knowledge could be marked as good. They are the most accustomed to using E-mail clients. Over 30% of Heads of the CES departments rated their e-mail usage as excellent and almost 40% of them described themselves as very good in using e-mail clients.
Internet skills are also rated pretty high. Almost 40% of participants consider themselves as a very good in searching Internet and transferring data while 20% of them seem to be advanced Internet users.