Employability boosting and active measures for employment of young people in the Western Balkans, were the topics on the second meeting of the Forum on Youth (Self-)Employment in Bosnia and Herzegovina which was organized on 19th September 2018 in Sarajevo.
Representatives of the Institute for Youth Development KULT presented regional reports on employability boosting and active measures for employment of young people in the Western Balkans, which were created on the basis of research carried out in BiH, Serbia, Montenegro, Albania, Kosovo and Macedonia. Research papers on the entrepreneurial learning and enabling environment for youth entrepreneurship were also presented on the meeting.
Young people run businesses out of necessity, not out of opportunity. Every second young person in the FBiH would start its own business, but there is a lack of financial and professional support. The strategic framework for entrepreneurial learning is a key competence in the educational system, both formal and non-formal. Those were some of the conclusions of the meeting of the Forum on Youth (Self-)Employment in BiH. On the other hand, the lack of good business ideas, lack of knowledge, innovation and skills, poor intergenerational support, time constrained support from the non-governmental sector have been identified as key obstacles to the success of young people in starting their own businesses. In addition, existing support programs are mainly intended to run a business, but not in the development phase.
The Forum on Youth (Self-)Employment in BiH was established within the regional project WeB4YES – Western Balkan Civil Society Organisations for Youth Employment Support, which is being implemented in six countries of the Western Balkans (BiH, Serbia, Montenegro, Albania, Kosovo and Macedonia).
The Forum consists of representatives of civil society organizations, authorities, academic and business communities, with the aim of establishing a dialogue between civil society, government and the business community in order to develop and advocate recommendations for policies that would improve youth employment and entrepreneurship.
The Institute for Youth Development KULT organized the meeting within the framework of the regional project WeB4YES – Initiative of Civil Society Organizations of the Western Balkans to support the employment of young people. The WEB4YES project is supported by the European Commission.
