Development of digital skills for a better future for young people in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Lifelong learning, retraining and non-formal adult education programs are not only an opportunity to improve the skills and qualifications of the workforce, but also an opportunity to increase the you...
Lifelong learning, retraining and non-formal adult education programs are not only an opportunity to improve the skills and qualifications of the workforce, but also an opportunity to increase the youth employment rate in Bosnia and Herzegovina. IT and technical capabilities, skills of the new age, are necessary for survival in today’s market, as well as for sustainable development and competitiveness of companies in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The ALDI Association from Goražde, together with local partners, is implementing a project to develop program and institutional capacities and improve the accessibility of adult education. Thanks to many years of experience in economic development and empowering citizens to actively participate in economic, social and political life, the organization puts a special focus in its activities on the development of the digital sector. Thanks to the support of the European Union, the Association continues to help young people from Goražde and the surrounding area in developing digital skills and thus enhances their employment opportunities.
“With the funds of the European Union that we received, we managed to equip the space here in the Aldi Association, so now we have 3 halls that we use for education. At that place, we gather young people who are undergoing various educations, primarily in digital skills, soft skills, which is very important that later they can find a job easier “, said the director of the ALDI Association Meliha Gačanin.
An innovative training laboratory will enable the acquisition of digital skills through training and practical work on the development of digital products and services. The activities will be implemented through a training program in the form of short courses, courses within approved educational programs for training in digital skills and through individual and group work through which the acquired skills are applied to real-life examples. ITLab in Goražde enables the monitoring of the latest digital trends and the creation of new, professional staff that can successfully cope with all the challenges of the digital economy.
Through a local employment partnership, the company MISTRAL from Sarajevo, specializing in innovative digital solutions, has successfully trained unemployed young people from Sarajevo at the Center for Development of Innovation and Entrepreneurship located in the premises of the High School of Electrical Engineering in Sarajevo. “The support of the European Union helped us to get financial support for our programming school through a local employment partnership. We paid for a classroom from the European Union and paid for the lecturers. Out of 20 trainees, 13 got permanent employment in Mistral,” points out Haris Hadžić.
By creating opportunities for the development of youth skills through an internal training program – Gigi School of Coding, which has so far been attended by over 70 young people, their skills have been strengthened and employment opportunities improved. Benjamin Bukvarević, one of the participants in the program, emphasizes the importance of such programs for young people, whether they are students and just entering the labour market or want to improve and direct their careers in another way. “It is significant that most people who pass this program stay to work in Mistral or are employed in one of the leading IT companies in BiH. I was very satisfied with the program I went through, ” says Bukvarević.
The European Union has recognized the importance of developing digital skills and by investing within the European Union and supporting all future members seeks to help new generations just entering the labour market, but also those who see the importance of developing these skills to advance and open business opportunities. By investing in education, the European Union is helping to create new opportunities for young people in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
