About Starfsmennt
The Educational Training Centre for Public Employees (Starfsmennt) is collaborative forum of cooperation on career development and continuous vocational training and education (CVT) owned by the social partners in the public sector. Its exsitence is based on labour market negotiations between the government (Ministry of Finance) and most trade unions within the Federation of State and Municipal Employees (BSRB).The Centre’s objective is to assist employees in adapting to changes in their work and professional environment by providing education and advice in the field of human resources. The Centre was founded in 2001 as a result from collective agreements between the Ministry of Finance and BSRB, where continuous education and career development are seen as an integral part of work and career development. The Centre’s services aim at strengthening the ability of employees to take on more challenging assignments in an ever-changing work environment and assist organizations with becoming better workplaces where people’s skills and well-being are at the forefront.
Taylor-Made Vocational Curriculums
The Educational Training Centre for Public Employees offers work-related continuous education for various occupations and provides organizations with complete services in the field of career development. The Centre has developed a number of CVT courses for state employees, in cooperation with staff and managers. Among those are vocational curriculums for doctor’s secretaries, customs officials, prison guards, courts of law, district officials, and professional societies within the health- and social sectors. The Centre builds custom syllabi for groups and also offers studies aimed at individuals, which are organised through the students’ electronic worksite on the web.The Centre has a powerful web system and electronically manages the studies, allowing it to oversee students and their studies all over the country. The Centre only recruits authorized educational partners to carry out educational programme, and supports organizations in paving the way for education in the workplace. The Centre actively encourages employees to study and promotes awareness on the importance of continuing education and enhancement of personal skills.
Counsellor for Hire
The Educational Training Centre for Public Employees offers a variety of services in the field of human resource management and consultancy that take place within organizations. Among those is a project called „A consultant for hire“, and provides assistance for organizations in marking a clear policy on career development and Lifelonglearning strategies.The Centre sends a specialist to the organizations to lecture on the relevant topics in education and human resource matters, and organizations can choose from a variety of course titles. The Centre also offers education for employees and employment consultancy as well as providing grants in cooperation with the funds of the member unions.
Developmental Projects
The Centre´s employees have taken the initiative in organising development projects and participate in both domestic and international collaborative projects in order to further develop the area for cooperation in the field of adult education. The Centre´s operating budget is approximately 100 million ISK annually and registrations for studies are about 4000 each year. Five employees work full time for the Centre.The Centre received the Vocational Training Council´s vocational training award for the year 2008 in the group for schools and educational entities for its cooperative project with district commissioners titled Járnsíða. The award is handed to those thought to have excelled in the field of vocational training. The Centre was also handed a best practice project award by the EU´s Lifelong Learning Programme for sending 19 specialists on week-long study trips to 7 countries. The Centre has years of experience in European cooperation mostly within the EU educational programmes.
Rules on the Educational Training Centre for Public Employees.