From Education to Employment (E2E)
To raise labour market participation and address the growing workforce shortage affecting the Serbian economy, in partnership with the Serbian Ministry of Labour, Swiss approaches and instruments for labour-market insertion will be adopted and scaled by key labour-market actors from the central and local Government, civil society and the private sector. Serbian companies will be capacitated to train their workforce independently and sustainably, and to fill vacancies through improved job matching services.
Country/region | Topic | Period | Budget |
---|---|---|---|
Serbia |
Vocational training Employment & economic development nothemedefined
Vocational training
Employment creation |
01.05.2024
- 30.04.2028 |
CHF 7’000’000
|
- Commercial job matching service providers improve and scale their offers
- Non-profit CGC providers scale improved services, enhance visibility and attract more public funds
- Companies offer improved training solutions
- Training advisory providers sustainably offer services
- LSG’s are able to plan and implement updated labour market measures in a participatory manner and increase funding for CGC and training provision
- Ministry of Labour adjusts the legal and strategic framework to enable allocation of public funds towards CSOs for active labour market measures
- Foreign private sector North
- Research Organisation of South East
- NIRAS Germany (Directly awarded mandate for project implementation, as approved by legal department)
-
Sector according to the OECD Developement Assistance Commitiee categorisation EDUCATION
OTHER SOCIAL INFRASTRUCTURE AND SERVICES
Sub-Sector according to the OECD Developement Assistance Commitiee categorisation Vocational training
Employment policy and administrative management
Aid Type Mandate with fiduciary funds
Mandate without fiduciary fund
Project number 7F08747
Background | As Serbia’s population declines and ages rapidly (low birth rates, emigration), the economy faces a major workforce shortage. In 2023, 59% of companies complained of not finding adequate workforce. Despite of steady progress in terms of labour force participation in the last decade, there is still a vast untapped potential to enhance labour market participation and to match the need of skilled labour in the private sector. The Government of Serbia (GoS) is aware that it cannot afford to leave so many people outside of the labour market. At national level, the National Employment Service is funding and implementing an impressive array of labour market measures through a countrywide network of branches. At local level, the law foresees that Local Self Governments (LSG) formulate and co-finance local employment action plans (LEAP). In compliance with its obligations as an EU accession candidate, the recent commitment of the GoS to introduce a “Youth Guarantee” (YG) has also been a major game-changer. The YG requires the GoS to provide young people with job offers, continuing education, practice or training within four months of them becoming unemployed and has opened up a promising avenue for the disengagement and sustainability strategy of the Swiss supported E2E project. In its last phase, E2E will adopt amore systemic and facilitative way of working. Building on successes in terms of municipalities contributing to the labour-market services, the project will reinforce its work with both the municipalities and the Ministry of Labour/NES, to embed the tools and services it has developed and leverage national and local funds. |
Objectives | Women and men, including vulnerable groups, benefit from new or better employment opportunities through a more market-oriented job matching and industry-led training offer. |
Target groups |
All women and men of working age (15-65), including prospective workers (currently still in the education system) and inactive people who need to be mobilized to join the labour market (particularly women over 45 years, Roma, persons with disabilities, single parents, victims of domestic violence) Key targets: 2700 women and men matched with open positions, 35’000 women and men use improved labour market information, matching and career guidance services; 2700 women and men enrolled in new or improved in-company training centers; 4000 beneficiaries have new or better employment |
Medium-term outcomes |
Outcome 1: More women and men make use of better career guidance and counselling, job matching services and training solutions. Outcome 2: Companies make use of matching and advisory services to improve their training offer and human resources management practices. Outcome 3: Sub-national and national policy makers and implementers create a more enabling institutional and policy environment for employment and employability. |
Results |
Expected results: Outcome 1 Outcome 2 Outcome 3 Results from previous phases: 33’530 pupils, youth, and people seeking career advice received career guidance and counselling (52% female); 2‘316 people (48% female and 57% members of vulnerable groups) received work based learning trainings and 67% remained employed; using Swiss methods, 129 training programs wer developed/improved and used by 300 companies for in-company trainings. 750 in-company instructors were trained. On policy level: 1) opening up of GoS-funded active labour market measures to Civil Society Organisations (CSO), 2) improvement of non-formal training market and Career Guidance System, 3) Improvement of employment policies in 6 municipalities, incl. raising CHF 118,000 of cash contributions from LSGs for the implementation of measures established by E2E. |
Directorate/federal office responsible |
SDC |
Credit area |
Swiss cooperation with Eastern Europe |
Project partners |
Contract partner Foreign academic and research organisation Private sector |
Coordination with other projects and actors | Swiss support to Serbian dual VET system; SME Hub - Connecting private service providers, private agencies and SMEs; KfW Regional Challenge Fund; Institutional support to Standing Conference of Towns and Municipalities |
Budget | Current phase Swiss budget CHF 7’000’000 Swiss disbursement to date CHF 500’000 Total project since first phase Swiss budget CHF 17’260’000 Budget inclusive project partner CHF 24’260’000 |
Project phases | Phase 3 01.05.2024 - 30.04.2028 (Current phase) Phase 2 01.01.2020 - 30.04.2024 (Completed) Phase 1 01.04.2015 - 31.12.2019 (Completed) |