At the beginning of December, the transitory winter scheme of the Government’s public work programme engaged one hundred thousand people in learning courses, which figure is expected to increase to 200 thousand on average until 31 March 2014, Minister of State for Employment Sándor Czomba said at a press conference in Budapest.
Speaking at the Raoul Wallenberg Vocational Training and Secondary School, where the theoretical and practical training of care workers began within the framework of the public work programme, Sándor Czomba stressed that learning courses launched on 2 December were selected on the basis of demands signalled by national public work organizers.
In Budapest and the 19 countries of Hungary, the majority of announced courses have already started, said the Minister of State and added that this year more than the formerly anticipated 300 thousand people participated in the public work programme.
Course participants receive the adequate 8-hour public work minimum wage, he stressed. For traveling to and from the course’s location which they attend, participants may use local and interurban lines free of charge.
Responding to a question he said that learning facilities – most of them vocational training schools – were selected through tendering by employment centres. He emphasised that representatives of the private sector and the Government came to an agreement last week on next year’s minimum wage. As the Government has the competence to decide on the public work minimum wage Sándor Czomba expressed hope that in 2014 the minimum wage within the public work programme will also increase. “I hope that the budget and the Government will have enough manoeuvring room for raising the minimum wage within the system,” he said and revealed that they have already prepared an impact study.
He underlined that in the winter scheme of the public work programme, launched on 1 November, on average 200 thousand people are expected to participate until 30 April, of which on average some 100 thousand people take part in learning courses between the beginning of December and the end of March. As he pointed out, out of them some 20 thousand people are anticipated to receive state-accredited training which is conducted by the National Qualification Registry, 29 thousand people and 48 thousand people will learn standard work skills and basic work skills, respectively. Another 4 000 of them – those who have not completed the 8-grade primary school – will attend social adaption courses, while 1 000 people can learn driving a tractor or truck.
Sándor Czomba added that currently there are 500 thousand registered unemployed people in Hungary, of which more than 200 thousand only have primary school attainment, while 26 thousand are lacking even that. These people have no chance of finding a job on the labour market and their position is not easy even within the public work system. This was the reason for opting to provide education opportunities for them. He reiterated that the Government made it clear already in 2010 that it wants to establish a workfare society instead of a welfare society. Around the time of the Government change, out of the 500 thousand registered unemployed people some 100 thousand had had a job through the public work programme, while 200-250 thousand received various welfare benefits. This proportion has been reversed over the past years, he pointed out. Providing work instead of benefits for people he called a primary goal. He emphasised that due to the large numbers of people, the organizers are confronted with various problems day after day, especially as 40-60 thousand such people are also engaged in the public work programme who did not work or learn for a single day in the past years. Improving their skills is not easy for teachers, either.
In the opinion of Sándor Czomba, the winter scheme of the public work programme helps several people in hard times get some income or refresh their knowledge and acquire a state-accredited certificate which may later improve their prospects on the labour market.
(Ministry for National Economy)
