At a time of record unemployment, especially among young people, it is vital that we reform the system comprehensively. Some suggestions: - We need to introduce a single enrolment register for all colleges and universities as soon as possible. This would prevent fictitious enrolment and the exploitation of student status. -Studies should be limited to a programme of study + one year (the extra year can be used either in the first or in the second cycle - not in both). Most programmes last 5 years, so 6 years would be the maximum. If a student exceeded this limit, he/she could continue his/her studies but would have to pay for it or pay back the money the state had invested in him/her (something similar was written in the programme for higher education prepared by the ministry at the time under Minister Golobič). Student status could also be limited to full-time study only (max 6 years). Students would then study and not be able to work 20 hours a week - this would make the labour market easier. - We need to promote professional education, which is best achieved through scholarships. We should also consider limiting university enrolments and promoting education in deficit occupations. -Enrolment in secondary schools and in higher and university education should be less based on grades. The state should encourage family formation during the student years - so that young people already have a family when they enter the labour market and are not under pressure from employers. Incentives could be in the form of college childcare for full-time students, maternity benefits like those given to working women, housing subsidies, etc. Most young people will have children sooner rather than later and will represent a cost to the state, but I think we should encourage this to happen as soon as possible. -We should introduce a maximum pensionable age in the public sector that is +3 years more than the minimum pensionable age. In the event that someone really proves to be an indispensable link, a committee set up specifically for this purpose could decide that the person concerned could be given a further 2 years' service. This could be done on condition that during these two years the person would train his/her 'successor' in agreement with the person in charge. This would apply to the civil service but not to elected office. This would open up jobs for young people. - We need statutory minimum standards for traineeships and apprenticeships. It is not right that companies and public administrations in these times rely on trainees who work for free and even at their own expense, as they do not even get reimbursed for travel expenses and refreshments. It is the latter (reimbursement of travel expenses and snacks) that should be the minimum that a trainee receives. - Young people should be encouraged to enter the labour market as soon as possible - if not at home, then abroad. The Youth Guarantee initiative proposed by the EC, which foresees that every young person up to the age of 25 should be offered further education, an apprenticeship or a quality job when they finish their studies or are unemployed, should be transferred to Slovenia as soon as possible. We should make the most of EU programmes to create new jobs and tackle the youth bulge. We should fight so that we too can be eligible for Youth Employment Initiative funding. We need to accept that our youth unemployment is somewhere around 22% just because of the exploitation of student status - the state is aware of this and knows that restricting this would lead to even greater social hardship for young people. Student work is a good mechanism, but it does not work in its current form, because it is damaging the labour market. Personally, I think that just limiting abuse and study would radically help to change the student labour market. However, there are also some other options, such as increasing benefits, counting student work towards pensionable life and operating on the principle of 'every job is a job', abolishing student services and giving employment services the sole responsibility for mediating student work, and so on.