Regional representatives of the Territorial Employment Pact Moravia-Silesia (CZ) gathering new ideas on partnership working
26. Jun 2012
Based on former cooperation of Zentrum für Soziale Innovation (ZSI) and the regional experts from the Moravian-Silesian region, the first Territorial Employment Pact Moravia-Silesia (http://www.mspakt.cz/) was established in the Czech Republic on 24 February 2011 by signing an offical agreement between Moravian-Silesian Region, The Union for the Development of the Moravian-Silesian Region, The Chamber of Commerce of the Moravian-Silesian Region and The Regional Council of the Moravian-Silesian Cohesion Region. The Pact has been inspired by experience gathered within the OECD LEED Forum on Partnerships and Local Governance (implemented at ZSI since 2004) and aims to explore new ways of partnership cooperation in tackling the issues of employment and economic development in the region, to provide for a source of information and experience in dissemination of the concept in other regions of the Czech Republic and its mainstreaming into relevant national policies.
Zentrum für Soziale Innovation (ZSI) together with other three international partners (Regional Authority of the Moravian-Silesian Region, Czech Rep. (lead partner); Gesellschaft für Innovative Beschäftigungförderung mbh, Germany; COVEPO, Spain) participates in a transnational project „International exchange of experience and good practices to develop skills in local partnership for employment”, submitted under the Operational Programme in the Czech Republic: Human Resource and Employment (Priority axis 5).
The joint objectives of the project are:
- Development of transnational partnership between European partners and Czech subjects participated in the Moravian-Silesian Employment Pact
- Development, innovation, evaluation and dissemination of methodology and procedures for Moravian-Silesian Employment Pact inspired by the best practice solutions in the field of TEPs and partnerships in the EU
Within the project implementation (04/2012 - 03/2015), 4 study visits of the Czech project team (Austria, Germany, Spain, Scotland), 3 working visits of foreign experts in the Czech Republic, 2 disseminations and one final conference will be organised.
In order to assure a complex know-how transfer about local/regional partnerships in Austria and worldwide, a study visit of the Czech project team composing of key representatives of the Pact at local level (Chairman of the board of TEP, Chairman of the Regional Chamber of Commerce, Regional Government Office representatives, Researchers and experts from universities, Representatives of the Regional Development Agency, Representatives of the Regional Office for EU funds implementation) was organised in Austria on 18 – 20 June 2012.
The study visit programme focused mainly on the system of TEPs in Austria, the coordination and supporting role of the Austria-wide TEP Co-ordination Unit (Kooo) – based at ZSI and the Coordination Unit Youth - Education - Employment, which ist closely connected with the TEP Vienna. Moreover the cooperation-form with the Federal Minstry of Labour, Social Affairs and Consumer Protection (BMASK) was examined more closely. Besides the European Social Fund (ESF) the BMASK is the most important co-financer of TEPs in Austria.
One essential focus was the visit of the TEP Lower Austria on behalf of the invitation of the Chairwomen of the TEP, LR Mag. Barbara Schwarz. LR Schwarz explained that a trustful and constructive partnership is the basis for the development of comprehensive approaches to deal with economic and labour-market-based challenges.
The programme was rounded off by the visit of the TEP-projetct FAIRnetzt. It offers female longterm unemployed a job under fair conditions for at most one year. In the course the project participation the women should improve their skills in the fields of social competence, personal job performance and working culture.