The non-governmental organization Mladiinfo Montenegro attended the conference “Presentation of a one-stop-shop youth employability model” organized by the NGO Forum MNE, on December 9, 2020 through the Zoom platform.
The conference is part of a regional project entitled ” “, implemented by the Center for Youth Work – CZOR (Serbia) in cooperation with Forum Youth and Non-formal Education – Forum MNE (Montenegro), Center for Youth Education – CEM (BiH), The Kosovar Organization for Talent and Education – TOKA (Kosovo 1244/99), Qendrat Youth for Social Changes – YSC (Albania), with financial support from the European Union and the Ministry of Public administration. The project will last for three years.
The audience was first addressed by Elvira Hadžibegović Bubanja, Executive Director of the NGO Forum MNE, who said more about the organization and activities and that young people have always been in their field of interest and “that this project and all others are in line with the vision of our organization, that is the contribution of a just and peaceful society, which is contributed by active young citizens.”
At the introductory panel: Multisectoral cooperation in encouraging youth employment, spoke: Jevrosima Pejović – Employment Agency of Montenegro, Marina Jovanović – Montenegrin Employers Federation and Sanda Rakočević – Association for Democratic Prosperity – Zid (ADP-Zid).
Jevrosima Pejović said that only together we can make a significant change when it comes to any activity, especially the employment of young people, and that the current crisis caused by the corona virus pandemic has further aggravated the otherwise difficult situation in which young people are in the labor market. She also said that “the problem is that most of us grew up in a culture that is not benevolent and not supportive for young people”, especially in cases when young people want to start their own business and that such attitudes are a big obstacle to professional development of young people. She stated that this project, which encourages young people to develop digital skills, where the labor market is much wider, is a great opportunity for young people, especially those from the NEET population.
The next speaker was Marina Jovanović from the Montenegrin Employers Federation, who answered the question, “What is the impact of digitalization, especially on small and medium enterprises, and are we ready for the fourth digital revolution or is it necessary to work further on improving digital skills?”
Jovanović said that the corona virus pandemic brought numerous changes and brought many companies, mostly micro and small companies, into a questionable state where it was not known whether the companies would be able to continue doing business. The pandemic itself has led to businesses adapting to the situation in record time and showing that many jobs can be done from home as well, if the organization is good. Micro and small enterprises have found it difficult to cope with this situation and may be affected by some minimal external influence and do more damage while larger systems have coped much better. She also said that companies that do not follow the digitalization trends will lag far behind their competition.
Sanda Rakočević spoke about how young people face many challenges, not only because of the mismatch of the education system with the needs of the labor market but also because of the complete challenge of the 4.0 generation because the biggest problem is the misunderstanding between baby boom, millennials and 4.0 generation.
She said the biggest problem for young people is the lack of jobs and that they very rarely get the opportunity for a job interview.
“Young people are very stigmatized, both from home and from the education system, in different ways, and they need support and understanding,” Rakocević said.
She also said that the civil sector is a great opportunity for learning and guidance and that the role of the civil sector is very important because it can connect all sectors to help young people to place themselves on the labor market.
On the second panel: Presentation of one-stop-shop youth employability model, spoke: Jelena Fuštić, project manager “My career from zero to hero”, Stevan Kandić – DeFacto Consultancy, Uroš Bulatović – Union of Young Entrepreneurs of Montenegro – Dimitrije Jovićević, Filip Anđelić – Oykos Development.
Jelena Fuštić said more about the one-stop-shop model itself, which is a model that will facilitate the transition of young people from the education process to the labor market, offering a range of services in one place. It offers education to young people in the fields of digital skills, soft or essential skills, entrepreneurship, career counseling and networking with employers.
Stefan Kandić from the company DeFacto Consultancy, presented the results of the research, which aimed to determine the needs of the NEET group of young people, determine their professional and social competencies and the requirements of key actors in the process of youth inclusion market. The research itself included four target groups: NEET population, IT companies and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), civil society organizations (CSOs) as well as representatives of state and local institutions. The research included 131 people from the NEET population, 31 IT companies and small and medium enterprises and 42 participants from CSOs.
40% of the surveyed members of the NEET population attribute their unemployment to the fact that they cannot find a job that suits their wishes or requirements, while one part believes that it is due to discrimination. Young people emphasize formal education as the most important criterion for employment in the future.
When it comes to IT companies and SMEs, 45.2% expressed a desire to hire new people. The main way i.e. 77.4% of employers hire new people through the recommendation of employees, colleagues or friends. As many as 71% of respondents state that the formal education of candidates is not adequate.
Finally, they presented the third and fourth components of the one-stop-shop model, in addition to the NEET population, training programs, the national consortium are civil society organizations that will implement the one-stop-shop model together with the MNE Forum, and the fourth are opportunities, for business sector as well as for young people.
