OSCE-supported internships help Serbia's young people find jobs

Finding a job in Serbia is not easy, even for those with persistence and a college education. Given the high unemployment rate, prospects are daunting for those lacking professional experience.

To tackle the problem, the OSCE Mission helped to develop an internship programme in ten out of 167 municipalities across Serbia. The Municipal Assembly Support Project placed 12 young professionals in municipal assemblies, where they were able to gain administrative and political experience.

The Mission also organized training sessions throughout the programme on local government issues, report writing, European Union (EU) integration issues and preparation for the State Public Service Exam.

"This internship programme has created a strong foundation for participants to establish themselves professionally within their municipality," says Katia Chirizzi, Governance Advisor for the OSCE Mission. "It has also fostered the participation of Serbia's ethnically diverse youth in local government."

Valuable experience

Many of those college graduates who completed the internship programme in November 2006 have been successful at converting these experiences into a career of their choice with their municipal governments.

"The training I received from the OSCE before the internship helped a great deal once I began with the municipality," says former intern Boris Adamov from the Municipality of Dimitrovgrad. "Once I had completed the internship, I had some genuine experience behind me. Finding a job became a realistic possibility."

Adamov, an economist, has accepted a position as a consultant at the Municipal Assembly of Dimitrovgrad. He does legal research, consults with other municipalities on the implementation of laws and organizes events for the Assembly.

Better job prospects

"Unemployment is very high in my municipality and the internship programme presented a unique opportunity to improve my odds of finding a job," says former intern Barbara Radosavljevic of Bela Crkva municipality.

Radosavljevic, also an economist, is now part of the Municipal Project Management Team in Bela Crkva, where she drafts project proposals and helps implement and monitor local projects funded by donors such as the EU.

She is also organizing the team that will be working with international organizations such as the EU and the OSCE to create projects that focus on the development of her municipality. Her team is currently working to build a children's playground in Bela Crkva. Radosavljevic says that in her position she is able to take full advantage of the training and knowledge she gained through the internship programme.

More responsive community

"This level of involvement of young people also helps the municipality become a more representative and responsive community," adds Slobodan Milidragovic, Head of Municipal Administration in Bela Crkva and Radosavljevic's mentor.

"Municipalities in Serbia are taking a more central role in the lives of their citizens," notes the OSCE's Chirizzi. "For this reason, it is important that municipalities such as Bela Crkva have the enduring capacity to invest in a future that includes professional development of the next generation, while fostering diversity in the workplace."

The OSCE Mission will continue to offer training sessions in future, although it has transferred the management of the internship programme directly to the municipalities.

Other participants in the internship programme have gone on to secure positions in a variety of government departments:

• Predrag Nikolic, Kursumlija municipality: Assistant to the UNDP project in the Ministry of Local Self-Government
• Zorana Pavlovic, Krusevac municipality: Consultant, Department for Economy and Ecology
• Milica Vasic, Krusevac municipality: Architect, Department of Urban Planning
• Robert Zombori, Ada municipality: Legal consultant in the municipality
• Miroslav Jonas, Kovacica municipality: Legal consultant, Municipal Assembly
• Aleksandar Dimic, Smederevo municipality: Consultant, Department of Finance
• Dalmir Kozica, Prijepolje municipality: Legal consultant, Department of Urban Planning