RECONOMY (starting afresh) in the Western Balkans

The market demand for qualified IT professionals in the Western Balkans is rapidly growing and causing a gap between the labour market demand and the capacity of formal and non-formal education institutions and centres to produce this type of professionals. The RECONOMY programme in the Western Balkans is giving a chance to young people, women and other vulnerable and marginalised groups to increase their income in the sector of IT industry and outsourcing services (BPO – Business Process Outsourcing – hiring external associates in business processes).

One of the largest training centres in Southeast Europe, Semos Education has been present in the markets of Northern Macedonia, Albania, Kosovo for 25 years, and since 2019 in Serbia. It works in the field of service providing for the IT industry. They have developed a wide range of courses and training designed to meet the needs of students and attendees who have different levels of computer technology knowledge and literacy, as well as tailored training to meet the needs of the internal development of companies and institutions.

In addition to non-formal education, Semos Education organises and coordinates a system of internationally recognised certification in the IT sector. The certification process takes place in partnership with global IT companies like Microsoft, Cisco, Oracle, Vmware, Amazon, EC-Council, Autodesk, Adobe, Unity and others.

Therefore, it is within the RECONOMY programme in the Western Balkans that Help has supported the development of the Semos Education Career Centre to connect IT, course attendees, with companies looking for a skilled workforce. Thus, a bridge was established between the unemployed with an ever-changing active labour market through education.

One of the ways the Career Centre is doing this is a mentoring programme that Semos Education says gives participants a chance to gain experience and develop the necessary skills and competencies that employers are particularly looking for.

“Professionals from private companies, including their most experienced developers, and other professional profiles, take on the role of mentors and provide realistic projects for young people. Mentors closely and continuously monitor and support the attendees directing them to solve problems in a real, corporate environment. They provide them with a model that attendees can immediately apply to and successfully solve tasks, and implement activities on the IT project”

Apart from young people without experience, this programme is also suitable for those at the beginning of their careers who want to advance and need additional knowledge, they say in the Career Centre Semos Education, and add: “The mentorship programme allows such attendees developing their portfolio from the beginners level up and making a step forward in their career, and realise their full potential over the time.

The mentoring programme of the Career Centre started in June 2021 and is realised during the summer months. One of the companies, which is participating for the first time this year with its project for Python back-end developers, is the Netherlands’ company Sample Solutions.

“It is a pleasure to cooperate with the Samos Education Career Centre on a common goal, which is to provide attendees with the opportunity to work on real projects. Through involvement in teamwork within the company and the application of acquired knowledge, participants learn and develop. As a mentoring company, we believe that this programme will produce qualified staff who will join the Sample Solutions team and progress with us.”

The goal of this Help’ project within the RECONOMY programme is to improve the employment opportunities for young people, women and other unemployed through skills development in the IT/BPO sector, improve the business services and advocacy, as well as the development of market systems.

“We’ve noticed that the companies are truly dedicated to young talented people and ready to invest time, expertise and technology to provide them with the best possible development experience. On the other hand, young people have the opportunity to be part of a team of renowned corporations and work with top professionals. This gives them additional motivation and self-esteem, as well as the opportunities to get a job in a mentoring company,” says Jelena Antic from Help, in charge of monitoring and measuring results within the project.

The partnership between Help and Semos Education within the RECONOMY programme uses the strengths and resources of both partners, whose mobilisation through synergetic action contributes further to tangible results.

“Since the beginning of the partnership, the Semos Education’ Career Centre has achieved significant results in terms of the number of companies with which cooperation has been established. The role of the private sector in the process of educating young people is crucial. Companies that provide mentors and projects become part of the education system, actively participating in the development of the skills and competencies of attendees. This increases the relevance of the acquired knowledge, which further leads to an increase in the employability of attendees.”

Since the contract signing with Help, at the beginning of April 2021, within the RECONOMY programme, Semos Education has established cooperation with 29 companies and 78 new users of the Career Centre’ services. In addition to certified IT training, users also acquire additional interpersonal, creative problem-solving skills and critical thinking.

“The project contributes to the targeted impact of the private sector on educational outcomes and greater investment by companies in youth education encouraging the development of successful business models. These are important indicators for us of how inclusive and sustainable such interventions are because they provide a systemic solution for the lack of qualified workers on the labour market – education tailored to the employer,” concludes Antic.

More about the mentoring programme of the Semos Education’ Career Centre on the webpage https://semosedu.com.mk/

RECONOMY is a regional inclusive economic development programme of the Swedish Development Agency Sida, implemented by HELVETAS Swiss Intercooperation, in cooperation with partners from 12 countries in Eastern Europe, the South Caucasus and the Western Balkans.

In the Western Balkans, HELVETAS’ executive partner in the RECONOMY programme is Help – Hilfe zur Selbsthilfe with its regional offices in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, Northern Macedonia and Serbia.