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20 08 2009 This Thursday, Life in Kosovo discussed the local labour market, looking at the obstacles youth encounter as they seek work.
What does the fact that, in a country with a 70% youth population, the unemployment rate stands at 40% imply? Has any government so far evaluated the market and its needs? What should be done in order for youth to have more job opportunities?
To discuss these issues, guests in studio were:
Adnan Dragaj – advisor to the Education Ministry
Gjergj Dedaj - deputy minister, Labour and Social Welfare Ministry
Mimoza Kusari - US Chamber of Commerce
Akan Ismajli - executive director, IPKO
Besnik Krasniqi - executive director, Business Support Centre
In answering the first question, Dragaj pointed to the “inability” of Kosovo institutions to thoroughly research and analyse the market, which would give a detailed description and clearer picture of what is offered by employers and employees.
“According to this research, we would then prioritise those issues which need to be solved earlier and have a considerable knowledge [base] regarding each specific area,” said Dragaj. He added that this should be a joint project involving different sectors and not the sole responsibility of the Education Ministry.
Gjergj Dedaj agreed with this point, saying that the rate of unemployment in Kosovo is the responsibility of all institutions. However, according to Dedaj, it is highly inadvisable to use statistical data when talking about this problem, since Kosovo still does not know have an accurate knowledge of its population, due to the failure of residents to register.
“There are also people who work in different companies as part of the black market and who are not registered; which makes it even harder to evaluate the exact rate of unemployment in Kosovo,” added Dedaj.
Mimoza Kusari stressed that it is impossible, for the moment, to know the needs of the market in Kosovo. According to her, Kosovo lacks a general strategic development plan.
“We should know what skills our youngsters obtain in their studies and the capacities of our economy to absorb those skills,” said Kusari, adding that, more often than not, there is a certain level of discrepancy between what is taught in universities and what is asked for by the open market.
Akan Ismajli shifted the discussion in a new direction, arguing that it is important to focus on promoting better communication between students and their future employers.
“The problem, in my opinion, is the absolute lack of communication between the education system and the labour market,” claimed Ismajli. He said that students who were employed in his company came equipped with general knowledge, but had to be trained by the company for the job they were about to undertake.
Besnik Krasniqi added that institutions should collect information and make it readily available for local businesses.
“Our institutions should work in this direction so that the information that is given is valuable to local companies and serves economic agents,” said Krasniqi.
Kusari also touched upon the subject of the accreditation process, while talking about the quality of education that is offered in Kosovo's universities.
Dragaj, countered, saying that a lot of effort was put into this process, and that numerous international experts gave their professional input.
Ismajli stressed that it is important to understand that most Kosovo companies, created after the war, started with minimal capital and one or two people.
“All those companies needed was an idea and a leader. All of these small companies, which are now contracted by IPKO, started because those people had an idea and a sense of entrepreneurship,” said Ismajli.
The host concluded the show by expressing her hope that the current trend with regard to job opportunities will change so that "diplomas will not serve as requisites but as functional tools".
At the beginning of 2010 BIRN network published Digging Deeper - A Guide for Investigative Journalists in the Balkans, written in cooperation with Sheila Coronel, Director of the Stabile Center for Investigative Journalism and professor of professional practice at Columbia University, New York.
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