Following the activities implemented over the last year and a half, a study visit started as a joint final event for the partners in the project Overcoming Gender and Age Gaps in the Labor Market through Capacity Building and Promoting New Business Opportunities in the Cross-Border Region – CBC Business Gender and Age Equalizer.
The project is being implemented by the Serbian Business Women’s Association (UPŽ Serbia) as the lead partner, in collaboration with the Vranje Business Women’s Association (UPŽ Vranje) and partners from North Macedonia, including the Foundation for Management and Industrial Research (MIR) and the organization Just and Professional.
The event was attended by project participants from Serbia and North Macedonia, as well as representatives from local communities, including the president of the Trgovište municipality, Nataša Manasijević, and the president of the Gjorče Petrov municipality, Aleksandar Stojkoski, who signed a Memorandum of Cross-Border Cooperation. Representatives from secondary technical schools in Serbia and North Macedonia were also present, whose final-year students eagerly participated in the training and workshops within the project. Employers, including representatives from the companies Knauf and Ukras, and representatives from the National Employment Service were also present. Additionally, a Cross-Border Cooperation Agreement was signed between the Milutin Bojić Secondary Technical School from Trgovište and the Zdravko Cvetkovski Technical School from Skopje.
The event included a panel discussion on the topic Institutional Support for Unemployed Women and Youth: Opportunities in Entrepreneurship, Education, and Local Development. At the end of the first day, brief peer-to-peer meetings, experience exchange, and networking took place. During the second day a workshop on the topic Improving Public Policies and Communication Strategies to Promote Inter-Sectoral Cooperation for Greater Employment Opportunities for Women and Youth was held.
The idea behind launching this project is to empower women, youth, and vulnerable groups of women for the labor market, so that they can more successfully engage in the construction, metal processing, and information and communication technology sectors, which are better paid but predominantly male-dominated. Over 500 participants from both countries took part in the training and related activities, with mentoring work organized for the most successful participants, as well as company visits on-site to see firsthand what they had learned in the training sessions. In addition, recommendations for further implementation of the project goals were made, a series of 10 podcasts were recorded featuring successful female entrepreneurs running businesses in so-called male sectors, memorandums of understanding and cooperation agreements were signed between key stakeholders from both countries, and cross-border agreements were established. A website and an application were launched to make information on activities and the labor market more accessible.
The project, which will run until the end of March 2025, is co-financed by the European Union within the framework of the IPA II financial instrument, through the Cross-Border Cooperation Program Serbia – North Macedonia 2016-2020.
