Many of us found ourselves in this situation - trying our hand at the labour market after graduating from school, full of dreams and expectations. After a series of unanswered applications, we would often be forced to adapt our career pathways, sometimes even give up on our dreams.

Today a new generation is facing similar, and it seems even harder challenges. Competition is greater than ever, and formal education is increasingly less able to meet the employers’ needs.

This is the impression held by twenty-eight-year-old Radmila Lalović, a young law school graduate from Novi Sad who, facing the limited job offer, decided to add to her skills so she could do the job she wanted

“I realized the degree is just not enough any longer. There are many law school graduates, and not enough adequate jobs out there. So, I started additional training and development at the university, aware that this is the only way to go. Now I turned to training that is highly relevant in the times we live in and enrolled in an IT skills course and a soft skills course. Perhaps there was a time when these skills didn’t matter, but nowadays they are necessary. Perhaps I’ll find a job in my chosen profession, but even if that does not happen, I want to be able to start my own business and secure a source of revenue.”

Until recently Radmila was in the NEET group of young people (NEET - not in employment, education or training) that are not in the education system, have no jobs, and are not included in a training programme. 

The problem Radmila and her peers are facing was recognised by the European Youth Centre of Vojvodina that is attempting to pave the way for young people to the labour market through select courses. “NEET youth are a highly vulnerable group facing challenges such as unemployment, social exclusion, and difficulties in finding stable pathways to employment and further education”, Milica Sekulić of the European Youth Centre of Vojvodina says. 

“This is why we came to the idea to make it possible for them to acquire additional skills that will lead them one step closer to their chosen profession, or help them recognise some new horizons and opportunities, and find their way under the labour market sun. Youths acquire basic knowledge from the technologies that are in highest demand in the IT sector, such as WordPress, HTML and CSS, Bootstrap, PHP and MySQL, SCRUM and SCRUM master, QA software testing, and a DevOps course. In addition to enhancing their IT skill, they will also get an opportunity to improve their interpersonal skills and learn about various forms of communication.”

Thirty-three-year-old Ivana Milojević also enrolled on the IT and soft skills course. As a young person with a disability, her employment options are even narrower. Ivana is a high school graduate and has a strong desire to acquire new knowledge that would help her find work. However, since she is unable to move around and leave home, this was wishful thinking for a long time.