E-Skills for the unemployed

Unemployment is described as Serbia's single most serious social problem. As of May 2012 (Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia), the employment rate was 27.7% for women and 41.5% for men; 60.9% of women (versus 43.9% of men) were inactive in the labour market, and 77.7% of the unemployed had been out of work over 12 months, including 260,544 long-term unemployed women (55.42% of that group). State-provided retraining opportunities were scarce.

To raise IT literacy and practical use of information-communication technologies among the unemployed to improve their employability, and to improve the social skills and psychological status of the long-term unemployed to increase their motivation for job-search.

Free ICT courses and social skills trainings (communication skills, presentation skills, CV writing, job interview technique, assertive behaviour, self-management) were provided to more than 5,000 unemployed people, combining recognised-qualification IT courses with job-search training (individual potential analysis, career planning, communication skills). Curricula covering 7 IT modules and 6 social-skills modules were developed, including an adapted version for people with hearing disabilities. Funded by the European Union, Microsoft, the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Policy, and UNESCO.

Programme evaluation found that 30% of beneficiaries who entered as unemployed got a job during the training or within six months of finishing it; participants also reported increased competitiveness, self-confidence and motivation for job-hunting.