The
SECRET FORMULA OF EDUCATION IN SERBIA S P E CIA L S U P P L E ME N T
D I P L O M AC Y & CO M M E RC E 2017
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EVERY VET APPROACH HAS TO BE TAILOR MADE I am glad that Switzerland's expertise in the field is deemed useful by the Serbian partners and that concrete cooperation projects on the ground have been developed together and based on the needs of Serbian stakeholders INTER VIEW
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fter experimenting with dual education in several schools throughout the country with the generous transfer of knowhow from the leaders in vocational education, Germany, Austria and Switzerland, Serbia is getting ready to draft the legislation, which will give institutional framework to this new approach in training working force. Serbia considers VET education as an important tool to help in reducing two challenges the country is facing: one, the high level of unemployment among the youth and second the shortage of well trained workforce which is one of the pillars of the efficient economy. We spoke with Mr. Mauro Dell'Ambrogio, Swiss State Secretary for Education, Research and Innovation in the wake of his visit to Serbia where he will talk with the Serbian authorities about the fundamentals of the successful implementation of vocational education and lessons learned. Switzerland, which is considered as one of the top leaders in vocational education has significant experience in the matter both at the academic and practical level. By itself, VET education is much more than a system of teaching in which pupils are getting both theoretical and practical knowledge in the real life environment. It has to resonate with the demands of the businesses, to be up to date with technological changes, to be attractive for students and to offer solid chances for immediate employment. Therefore, the completely self-regulated system has to be put in place and able
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to respond on short-term shifts in demand of specific economic sectors and long-term structural and technological developments. Furthermore, it cannot be a dead end, but instead a system which will allow students to easily move along the educational path and acquire higher education. How much did good dual education help Switzerland to better respond to the global financial crisis and growing unemployment? › The dual vocational education and training system is only one of several key elements and policies which together contribute to Switzerland's resilience to economic crises and downturns. Apart from the efficient education system - of which dual VET is one main pillar, one must bear in mind the flexible Swiss labour market, the competitiveness and innovation capacity of Swiss companies, supportive fiscal and monetary policies and many more elements. In this complex interplay of mutually supportive policies, it is of course extremely difficult to isolate and precisely quantify the specific effect of dual VET. This being said, the high employment rates of VET graduates and other indicators point out the nature of the contribution of dual VET to economic robustness: It provides skills and qualifications to people which correspond to the real needs of the economy. Thanks to the self-regulating character of dual VET provision, the system can quickly adapt to short-term shifts
MAURO DELL'AMBROGIO Swiss State Secretary for Education, Research and Innovation
in demand of specific economic sectors and long-term structural and technological developments. Additionally, thanks to the permeability of the education system and the emphasis put on the capacity for lifelong learning, individuals can always upgrade their qualifications and/or reorient themselves. All in all, the balanced combination of a strong dual VET system and an excellent academic system is definitely a major factor for Switzerland's economic success. Many parents in Serbia have been reluctant to send their children to vocational schools because they rank very low in the society, and the jobs they train for pay very little. How can we convince them otherwise? › I think this might be the one of the crucial challenges. A promising approach is probably to work with positive examples and to also let the economic actors voice and show their support of VET. For instance, in Swizerland many CEO of large companies have a initial background i VET. On a more systemic level, several outcomes must be aimed for to improve the social recognition and prestige of vocational education and training. Firstly, VET must result in real and immediate
The balanced combination of a strong dual VET system and an excellent academic system is definitely a major factor for Switzerland's economic success
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employment and income prospects. This means that the VET qualifications must be accepted and sought after by the companies seeking a qualified workforce. Secondly, VET must offer a perspective beyond immediate employment through further education and career opportunities. VET must therefore not be a dead-end and isolated track within the education system. Instead, there must be opportuties for transition to attractive tertiary education options. For the education and career choice of young people such long-term perspectives are essential. The difficulty is to simultaneously work on changing a system and on changing the attidues of stakeholders, since both depend on each other. Are you satisified with the way in which Serbia has been utilizing the know-how transferred from Switzerland? › Although it still is quite early to assess large-scale results, what I have experienced so far looks promising indeed. I am glad that Switzerland's expertise in the field is deemed use-
ful by the Serbian partners and that concrete cooperation projects on the ground have been developed together and based on the needs of Serbian stakeholders. Education systems cannot be just copied from a country to another. But the philosophy, the underlying key ideas of a VET system based on private-public-partnership and workbased-learning can be adapted to a local context. This of course requires a careful analysis of what is required and of what might work in a given country as well as the willingness of all stakeholders to support such a reform. In Serbia, I have felt and seen this motivation to move forward. I am therefore positive that Serbia will develop its own brand of dual VET. Switzerland is ready and willing to continue supporting and contributing to this process. In your experience, what is the most important thing to provide to maintain the high quality of dual education? › Establishing and maintaining a working private-public-partnership based on mutual trust, coop-
eration and clear responsibilities and divisions of tasks. Such a partnership has to be the backbone of a high quality system of dual VET. Through this, it can be ensured that the private sector sees itself as a co-owner of the system and stays involved and motivated. Only then can it be guaranteed that the link to the effective requirements of the labour market and the needs of the economy remains strong.
I am therefore positive that Serbia will develop its own brand of dual VET
How important is well-trained workforce for Swiss investors when deciding to invest in Serbia? — I cannot speak for the companies themselves in detail, since the determining factors for investments of Swiss companies vary greatly. However, given the strong focus of Swiss companies on quality products and services, it is safe to say that a well-trained workforce is important. As I mentioned before, for Swiss companies this often means a good mix of skills and qualifications from different branches of an education system - vocational as well as academic. ‹
FOCUS
MIX OF SKILLS Swiss companies have strong focus on quality products and services. Therefore they value good mix of skills and qualifications from different branches of an education system - vocational as well as academic.
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THE FRENCH SCHOOL IN BELGRADE T
he French School in Belgrade is a foreign educational facility recognized by the Republic of Serbia’s Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development. The school’s curriculum is taught in accordance with the plans and programmes of the Republic of France – from kindergarten and primary school to gymnasium. After graduation, those pupils wishing to study in France or any other foreign country, are en-
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titled to certain benefits when enrolling into universities abroad, and especially in France, because the French baccalaureate certificate is widely recognized in the world. For more information, please visit our website www.efb.rs, or the Facebook page francuskaskola . You can also contact us at the phone number +381 11 369 17 62, or via mail secretariat.eleves@efb.rs and efb. admi@efb.rs. ‹
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TRUSTED EDUCATORS Brook Hill International School welcomes children of all abilities aged 3 – 18 years. The School is fully registered with Cambridge and formally recognised by the Serbian Ministry of Education
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rook Hill provides an educational programme based on the National Curriculum of England and Wales in conjunction with the Cambridge International Education and Examination framework. Lessons are taught in small classes, guaranteeing more one-to-one time for students with their teachers. With Cambridge qualifications, obtained at Brook Hill, children have easy access to enrolling in prestigious universities abroad as well as here in Serbia. Brook Hill School aims is to develop well-rounded children, both academically and socially, so parents can feel confident that their child will get the best possible start in life. Brook Hill takes great care of child’s safety, nutrition and health which is of the utmost importance to school. Why is this school best option for every child and Parent? FLEXIBLE PROGRAMME Brook Hill creates different types of programmes that will suite specific individual needs of every student. There are many talented young people, in sport or music, who sometimes need to be away from the school during normal school hours, and school like this one is ideal for those kind of students. This school has a flexible approach in these situations and school councillors are preparing a special programme tailored for each student. It is done through additional tuition or regular communication between teachers and students via email or skype. This way of learning will motivate children to challenge themselves to reach higher goals in their life.
CORPORATE
BROOK HILL INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL Augusta Cesarca 2 Dedinje, Beograd Kontakt +381 11 369 13 10 mail : office@brookhill.rs
LEARNING ENGLISH FROM BASICS Brook Hill has a very strong EAL (English as additional language) department which helps students that come with low level of English. These students also get very specific, individually prepared programme, with lots of English lessons, which gradually transforms into the main stream programme. CAREER ADVICE At age of fifteen, when joining Year 10, the students (and parents) are faced with important decisions. This school help them and guide them to make a right choice with their subject options at IGCSE level and later on with Advanced level. This is done according to their ability and preference as well as making sure they meet different requirements from universities. APPLYING TO UNIVERSITIES During the final year, School provides additional support to students, helping them writing motivation letters, searching and choosing the right university and going through the application process. They start with this process about a year in advance as many universities have different dates for application as well as specific requirements. STUDY ABROAD After successful completion of
secondary education at Brook Hill, majority of our students choose to go abroad and continue to study at different universities worldwide. Students easily meet the requirements as Cambridge certificates are internationally recognized and accepted. This school have established a lot of useful contacts with universities in UK, USA, and Europe which will help graduates to go through enrolment procedures. STUDY IN SERBIA Some students plan to continue with their academic development here in Serbia. Cambridge certificates are also recognized and accepted by Serbian universities and Ministry of Education which validates the certificates and transfers them into the point system used in Serbia. LEARNING OUTSIDE OF THE CLASSROOM Brook Hill tries to take the students and spend as much as possible time out of the classroom. Children learn better when exposed to practical experiences. In addition, school pupils and students are also going on local visits to museums, galleries, and science fairs as well as using the nearby woods to investigate topics in Science and Geography. Every year, younger students visit different farms to learn about food production, animals and experience traditional ways of life. ‹
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WE ALL HAVE TO CHANGE TO SUIT MARKET NEEDS Just like our education system has to adapt to market's needs to a much bigger degree, both parents and children also have to understand that state administration is increasingly becoming less appealing as an employer for the new workforce, while private sector demands a much higher quality of knowledge
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he new concept of industrial revolution entails a different approach to dual education where corporate managers play the role of mentors to students, and participate in school boards as the relevant voice of business community in devising curricula. Once the ongoing experimental stage is finished, Serbia is supposed to get a new law on dual eduction shortly after. At the same time, the process of adapting of the higher learning and vocational educational facilities to suit the requirements of dual education is being implemented. While working on the amendments to the Law on Higher Education, two task forces are also engaged in including higher learning institutions in the dual education processes – one task force is in charge of technical and engineering sector, and the other in social, economic and banking sector – the Serbian Minister of Education, Science and Technological Development, Mladen Šarčević announces. We are talking to Minister Šarčević about the plans to make our universities in Belgrade, Niš and Novi Sad more appealing to foreign students again, like many
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INTER VIEW
MLADEN ŠA RČ E V I Ć Minister of Education, Science and Technological Development
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NEW WORLD EDUCATION Foreign students have expressed a great interest for studying at our universities mainly due to the good results achieved by the Belgrade University, and the fact that the World Economic Forum has declared Serbia one of the seven superstars of new world education.
of the universities in Central European countries already are, and about the capacities and limitations of the education reform which is being implemented, modelled after the European education system, and adapted to the needs of Serbian economy.
schools are technologically lagging behind corporate professionals who are trained in new work processes. These corporate professionals should act as mentors. Earlier, companies were not the ones issuing training certificates, and taking part in school boards.
When do you expect the new law on dual education in Serbia to be adopted? › I expect the Law on Dual Education to be adopted in spring, or rather late March.
How many companies in Serbia are actually fit to take students in, and to provide them with good practical education? How limiting is this in terms of devising new educational profiles? › So far, we have been negotiating with over 150 companies, and in the upcoming period, we are going to negotiate with another 200. They don't have the same needs, but they do have certain requirements when it comes to education. Also, small and medium companies have expressed interest. We try to make school workshops functional, and more refined again. This pertains mainly to the workshops where students are trained for hazardous work processes, and those for the students under the age of 14. We are also planning to do this in towns with undeveloped economies, and thus accommodate investors by educating workforce that has more
In which way does the new approach to dual education differ from the current vocational system which was originally modelled after the German one? › The model you have mentioned suited the economy back then which had a different structure. In the meantime, great changes have taken place, and Serbia is now embarking onto a new industrial revolution. In the old model, most of the work practice was done in school workshops where the state acted as a manager. The new concept entails work practice being carried out in companies. People who conduct work practice in
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sophisticated know-how and technological skills. Considering that dual education also entails training students to be able to work in other economies too (German, Austrian, Swiss etc.), how is Serbia going to appeal these students to find work here despite having better earning opportunities abroad? › We cannot stop them. The EU countries have not succeeded in doing that either. After all, one of the basic postulates of the European value system is free flow of knowledge, education and workforce. The love for one's country is not enough to stop people from leaving Serbia. We need to improve earning opportunities. However, the situation in Europe is also not rosy. They also have unemployed people with certain professions being more in demand, like engineers and doctors. How much have the changes in high school education followed in the footsteps of the higher vocational education? › They have done that sufficiently because we are in the process of changing the Law on Higher Education. There are two task forces that are working on including higher learning institutions into dual education processes – one is in charge of technical and engineering sector, and the other in social, economic and banking sector.
Are we keeping up with Europe and the rest of the world in terms of adapting our curricula to market's demand for modernly educated workforce?
Many universities in Central and Eastern Europe have a number of foreign students which ensures their sustainability. When is the Belgrade University going to become a magnet for students wanting to study in their foreign languages? › We are working hard on that, and, apart from the Belgrade University, we are also working with the universities in Novi Sad and Niš too. There is a lot of interest for this bearing in mind the good results achieved by the Belgrade University, and the fact that the World Economic Forum has declared Serbia one of the seven superstars of new world education. However, in order to do this, we need to invest in expanding the capacity of our universities.
› We are not lagging behind Europe and the rest of the world but we have to be mindful of the reality of the situation in which our economy found itself in, and of certain forecasts. In areas where the state is building industrial zones, motorways, infrastructure, and energy facilities, and provides incentives for investors, our Ministry, the Serbian Chamber of Commerce and local authorities have been working together on planning educational development.
To what extent do educational institutions (nurseries, schools, faculties and universities, both private and staterun) can give proposals and suggestions, and serve as the driving force behind development of the Serbian educational system? › They can absolutely be and do that. We have been cooperating with all of them. We have people from all the sectors you have mentioned in our task forces. ‹
tractive is a certain profession, or how in demand are students of a certain college, or a faculty. This is a good reference point for them when choosing which schools to enrol into. On the other hand, some parents have been sending wrong kind of messages to their children. All they want for their children is to get a diploma, and then they would pull strings to find them a civil servant job. However, state administration is becoming increasingly less appealing as an employer, while private sector demands primarily good quality knowledge.
In towns with undeveloped economies, we are accommodating investors by educating workforce that has more sophisticated know-how and technological skills
Serbia today has more university students than before, but the quality of studies is not evenly balanced. What novelties are you going to implement in terms of improving the quality of studies? › True, the quality of university staff is not uniformed. Uniformed quality is possible if new standards are implemented. Until that happens in practice, the web portal of the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development called Dositej will continue to be the basic guideline for both students and parents. Making our activities public will help students to find out whether it would be worthwhile for them to enroll in certain studies or not. The aim of having a diploma is to find a job. Our web portal shows how job at-
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LEADER IN INCLUSIVE EDUCATION AND ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY Owing to production of sensory integration and psychomotor re-education devices and segments, AGE d.o.o. gives its contribution to providing proper equipment for institutions and schools that provide quality inclusive education. The company is recognized all over the former Yugoslavia for its original solutions CORPORATE
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GE specializes in multimedia, interactive and communication technology applied in conventional and inclusive education, and in assistive technology. Practically speaking, AGE is an integrator of complete turnkey systems in the aforementioned fields. AGE has been operating in the Balkan region for a decade and a half. Thanks to its solutions (AGE Concept) and production of sensory in-
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AG E D.O.O. B E L G RA D E +381 64 85 93 090 info@age.co.rs www.age.co.rs
tegration and psychomotor re-education devices and segments, as well as its presentation technology, the company is well recognized all over the former Yugoslavia. An electronics engineer, Ljubomir Adamov is both the company’s founder and proprietor. He has applied his extensive knowledge and experience as the leading technology expert in lower and higher learning systems in ex-Yugoslavia
in his own company, creating the renowned AGE Concept. At the time of regional budget cuts and financial difficulties, thanks to its production and solutions, AGE has managed to produce and implement the latest technology on a par with the leading global counterparts at affordable prices. At this year’s British Council 2017 event called “New Technologies in Education”, AGE presented
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a series of new sensory integration devices and their implementation in inclusive education and assistive technology. By strongly supporting inclusive education, AGE gives its contribution to the ongoing support and provision of equipment and new technology in institutions and schools that are involved in this very sensitive and marginalized segment of education. Sensory dysfunction manifests in three ways: • Hypersensitivity • Hyposensitivity • Th e mix of the two (which is a combination of both hyper- and hyposensitivity) The work with the children displaying sensory dysfunction could be individual, and is planned based on the individual assessment of each child. It can also be group / theme work. The work done is a sensory room prepares the child for learning in real classroomd. Often, the work in sensory rooms makes children more cooperative while ensuring they display a required level of cooperation and communication required for school tasks. For instance, hyperactive children calm down after spending time in sensory rooms, while the children suffering from extreme insecurity become more confident. This is also suitable for children with various disorders who have elements of sensory disintegration in their medical diagnosis. In order to help these children,
we build sensory rooms that contain specialized equipment for stimulation of child’s entire sensory system, or all five senses: • Visual stimulation (sight, lights of various wavelengths like UV light etc.) • Stimulation of taste and smell, i.e. aromas • Stimulation of touch (skin is the biggest sensory organ) • Materials of different texture for tactile stimulation •M assage equipment for deep stimulation (touch, vibration, pressure) •S timulating one sense with another where technology plays the role of interface between senses. Sensory room is a space that is injury-proof. All walls are covered in soft mats up to 2m high, while the floor is also laid with mats that are between 8 and 10cm thick. Sensory rooms are practically interactive rooms, helping users to gain control over equipment they use. The latest technology, especially the one in the field of electronics, has made incredible leaps and bounds and has created fascinating solutions in the area of interactivity and demonstration of sensory integration. Sensory room provides an opportunity of determining the level of stimuli for each sense that is adjusted to individual characteristics of each user. It creates an atmosphere where a child pupil chooses the level of sensory impulses adjusted to his or her own
Thanks to sensory rooms, children no longer perceive the outside world as threatening, but rather as a source of pleasantness
needs thus developing independence, freedom and initiative to choose his or hers own activities. The idea is to promote development of awareness and learning through relaxing that is contrary to the conventionally structured curricula and is necessary for working with this kind of population in all other areas too. In this way, the outside world doesn’t appear that confusing and threatening anymore, but it rather becomes a source of pleasantness. Anxiety, aggression and auto-aggression are all reduced, concentration, focus, communication and the need to be with other people are increased, and child slowly transitions from the sensory room into the outside world. ‹
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FROM PRACTICAL KNOW-HOW TO ENTREPRENEURSHIP The Serbian Chamber of Commerce (SCC) has enough capacity and possesses enough knowledge to become an important factor in creating such dual education that would fully meet the needs of the business sector, and provide young people with both theoretical and practical knowledge that will help them with find a job easier, or with making a confident decision to become entrepreneurs
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onsidering the benefits for economy and society on the whole, and mainly for young people, dual education is a profitable investment – says Mirjana Kovačević, Director of the Serbian Chamber of Commerce's Education Centre. What will the new concept of dual education bring compared to the exisitng system of vocational schools in Serbia which has failed to train those worker profiles that businesses actually need? › As its name suggests, dual education takes place in two different locations – at schools and in companies. At school, students are taught theory – general subjects and the theoretical part of vocational subjects. In companies, students apply and test their acquired theoretical knowledge, and gain practical knowledge while working with other employees. Currently, practical studying is done both in school workshops and large public enterprises, but this is not systemically regulated. In which way is the Serbian Chamber of Commerce going to secure a feedback from
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INTER VIEW
M I RJA NA KOVAČ E V I Ć Director of Education Centre at Serbian Chamber of Commerce
MODEL
BIG INVESTMENT Implementing dual education model is a big investment, but it is even more expensive for businesses not to have trained staff.
businesses about their need for certain worker profiles? › As an umbrella association of all business people in Serbia, the Serbian Chamber of Commerce has enough capacity to ascertain existing and future needs of businesses for certain occupations, know-how and skills. In cooperation with other partners with whom we are preparing adequate worker profiles, and I am primarily referring to the Institute for Advancement of Education, we are considering an option of having the SCC do job descriptions which are the first and basic part of any job qualification standard. It is important that education system is willing to be flexible, to change curricula more often in line with the technological changes, and to enable studying for several so-called outputs, or, in other words, studying for several related occupations. What is your cooperation with the National Employment Office and Serbian Government going to look like in practice? › An agreement has been signed with the view of forging strategic partnership on the activities like reducing unemployment, and boosting competitiveness and employa-
bility of the workforce. It will be implemented through mutual exchange of information about the trends on the labour market and the real needs of businesses, joint organization of employment fairs, exchanging information about the requirements of companies with the goal of improving and adapting the programmes and measures of the active employment policy to suit employers' needs, organizing additional education programmes and training for acquiring know-how, skills and work experience for job seekers in line with the employer's needs, and cooperating on implementing measures for professional rehabilitation of disabled persons and work integration / re-integration of vulnerable groups and people that are less employable. Could you tell us about the existing experimental education programmes that are implemented with the support of certain foreign investors in Serbia, and development programmes realized by Germany, Austria and Switzerland? › These pilot projects have shown that the cooperation between businesses and educational institutions in training young people in line with
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the dual education principles is possible in Serbia. During the last school year (2015/2016), there were 400 students in 10 schools in Serbia studying to become locksmiths-welders, electricians and industrial mechanics, and 25 companies, both foreign and domestic, which allowed these students to practice at their premises. In the school year 2016/2017 so far, 18 schools and over 60 companies undertook to educate around 1,000 students for five worker profiles. It is realistic to expect this trend to grow in the following period. Dual education is relatively expensive compare to other types of education that don't require that much practical work. Do we have apropriate prerequisites to make such education system financially sustainable? › Implementing the dual education model is a big investment. However, it is even more expensive for the Serbian businesses not to have trained staff. Every time an insufficiently trained worker or an intern is hired, employer has to bear bigger costs. Various surveys have shown that employers oftentimes organize training sessions to make up for the flaws in general education of young people rather than sending them off to attend highly sophisticated or advanced training. Bearing in mind that dual education is implemented in companies for most part, it is the companies that bear the brunt of the costs. Between 60% and 80% of these costs pertain to
scholarships for students (i.e. wages and insurance). Still, in countries where this model has been successfully implemented, the state offers assistance to companies, be it direct assistance through subsidies (like compensating a certain amount of disbursed wages / scholarships), and assistance in specialized areas when, for instance, girls are hired in jobs that are predominantly male, or indirect assistance (tax incentives). Young people in Serbia prefer general subjects when studying at universities. What should be done to make vocational occupations, like welders, tailors and similar, more popular and more respected? › The latest Employer Survey has shown that the most reqested skill in job candidates is their inclination to work. It seems that we have forgotten that work, especially production work, is the one that creates added value, first and foremost. Parents and children should be told and showed that many significant changes have happened in production and vocational jobs. These occupations are today paid much better compared to the average wage in Serbia, while contemporary production process is based on a high level of automatization and safety standards, which means that work conditions are much different to what they used to be. Dual education has to be a form of education, i.e. the principle, the way of thinking and acting, and not just one of the types of education.
As an umbrella association of all business people in Serbia, the Serbian Chamber of Commerce has enough capacity to ascertain existing and future needs for certain occupations, know-how and skills
How can we make sure that acquired knolwedge doesn't go obsolete, i.e. that it lasts for a lifetime? › In Serbia, the idea of life-long learning is still in its infancy. Certain individuals and companies, mainly big ones, have been implementing it because they are aware of the fact that only by continously investing in increasing knowledge and competencies can they keep up with competitors. Education is still not treated as an investment which can result in a signficant increase in revenue. Moreover, it is often viewed as an expense that companies will cut off first in case their financial situtation changes for worse. Although, every company with 10 or more employees should have its own HR department, in practice that is rarely the case. Also, a very small number of companies compared to the number of the officially registered ones has a HR development strategy and training strategy, as well as clearly allocated budgets for employee training that are in correlation to their gross salary budget. Considering that the cost of salaries makes over 50% of the overall costs in companies, the most important challenge for the management is managing people. Those companies that have smarter, better organized and more proactive employees are the ones that generate higher profit. This is especially true for companies which aim to beat the competition by providing good services. ‹
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BUSINESSES ANTICIPATE CREATION OF MORE NEW JOBS IN 2017 Adapting education to the needs of businesses in Serbia will be the biggest incentive for creation of new jobs – said Marko Čadež, President of the Serbian Chamber of Commerce (SCC) at the official presentation of the results of the 2016/2017 Employer Survey
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he business community forecasts that, in 2017, more new jobs will be created than extinguished, while small and medium enterprises will employ the highest number of people. Adapting education to the needs of businesses and labour market in Serbia will be the biggest incentive for creation of new jobs - said Marko Čadež, President of the Serbian Chamber of Commerce (SCC) at the presentation of the results of the 2016/2017 Employer Survey. Involving business community in this process, as the SCC President points out, will benefit the school enrolment process in a sense that the education system would now be more adapted to the market’s real needs, and, as such, enjoy more support from companies which will welcome dual education, take students to practice in their production facilities, shops, or construction sites, as well as help schools with purchasing proper equipment for their workshops needed for students to acquire practical knowledge and develop entrepreneurial skills. Čadež also underlined the SCC’s active role and support for all the processes that would improve the education system to suit market needs both
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This year, employment will grow by 4% in 3,775 companies that had participated in the survey
in formal and informal education and adult job training. The results of this year’s survey are especially significant for several reasons – this information comes at the time when we are building the foundation for dual education, and a new system for adult education – said the Chamber’s President. He also pointed out that the survey results and the structural data about unemployed people registered with the National Employment Office were cross-referenced with the results of a survey that the Serbian Chamber of Commerce conducted via its regional offices, in cooperation with municipalities and towns. The survey was conducted with the goal of collecting data about the job profiles that were most in demand in line with the development plans of companies and local plans for economic growth and development. The Minister of Labour, Employment, Veteran and Social Issues, Aleksandar Vulin said that, in 2017, the government allocated 2.8 billion Dinars for implementation of active employment measures, 550 million
Dinars for employment of disabled persons, and 970 million Dinars for various types of vocational and job training. Director of the National Employment Office (NEO), Zoran Martinović officially presented the results of the 2016/2017 Employer Survey, underlining that he expected employment to grow this year by 4% in 3,775 companies that had participated in the survey. The forecast shows that, by the end of 2017, the said companies would employ close to 325,000 people compared to 312,000 at the beginning of 2016. Martinović also pointed out that the biggest growth in the number of employees was expected in those surveyed companies that were based in South and East Serbia – 5.4%, followed by Vojvodina 4.5%. Šumadija and West Serbia 3.5%, and 2.7% in the Belgrade region. Transferrable skills and knowhow are most in demand, as are software engineers, mechanical engineers, truck drivers, shop assistants and retail workers. The National Employment Service has conducted the Employer Survey for the sixth con-
secutive year, and independently for the second year, asking company executives about their employment plans and their companies’ needs for certain job profiles, qualifications, and skills of the needed workers. This year, close to 4,000 small, medium and big enterprises from all over Serbia, all regions, and nine economic macro-sectors participated in the survey. According to the results, all macro-sectors are expected to record growth in the number of employees apart from the financial sector. President of the SCC, Marko Čadež and Director of the NEO, Zoran Martinović have also signed a cooperation agreement with the view of developing human resources, increasing employment and boosting competitiveness of the Serbian economy. The Chamber’s President said that the agreement was strategically important because it would bring together people looking for a job and employers in need of workers, and it would also help the creators of dual education to realistically assess the needs fo companies in Serbia. ‹