Marija Kovačević, a graduated social worker from Pale, spent more than a year on the unemployment register. She used the opportunity and passed the training of the Public Employment Service of Republika Srpska for an active job search. She quickly realized that in the area in which she lives, there is a significant number of people of the same profession on the unemployment register and this will be an aggravating factor in finding a job.
In a discussion with her advisor, she learned that the Public Service is announcing a public call for co-financing the employment of young university graduates as interns. This program aims to train for independent work in the profession and increase competitiveness in the labor market. The largest percentage of participants in this program are young people under 30 who, on average, have been unemployed for more than a year. Marija’s experience confirms the results of research that show that women are at higher risk of long-term unemployment, and this measure also works to reduce the inequality between women and men in terms of participation in the labor market.
In the conditions of high youth unemployment rate and lack of work experience in their profession, it was necessary to give the maximum in performing traineeships and show full readiness for work. Marija successfully passed the internship exam and gained one year of work experience, after which she started working at the Center for Social Work.
This is just one of the positive examples of good practice in employment and confirmation that this program is recognized for enabling young people to acquire knowledge, skills and competencies as well as faster integration into the work process. However, as important as it is for the Service to have quality measures, it is just as important that the unemployed persons work continuously on themselves, and do everything in their power to become more competitive in the labor market. In addition to training young people for independent work in the profession, this measure also contributes to the stay of young people in the country.
The European Union provided support to the Employment Service of Republika Srpska in assessing and improving measures for co-financing the employment of trainees within the project “Improvement of Labor Market Research”. The goal of the European Union’s support is to increase the chances of the unemployed in the labor market, through more efficient spending of public money invested in employment programs. The project is a continuation of many years of European Union support in the field of labor and employment in Bosnia and Herzegovina to combat unemployment.
Marija’s story is another testimony that with her work on improving knowledge and skills and with the support of the Service, which adopts best European practices with the financial and technical support of the European Union, it is possible to make progress in employment in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
