[challenge:future] employ.me - platform for youth employment
TRANSCRIPT
Team members: Filip Mladenovski | Jovana Gjorgjioska | Dragana Stojanovska
General rate of unemployment: 30.6%
0102030405060708090
Unemployment by level of education - %
0 20 40 60
15-19
20-24
25-29
30-34
35-39
40-44
45-49
50-54
55-59
60-64
Unemployed by age - in thousands
Average age of respondents: 23.8 years old
0 20 40
Skopje
Bitola
Kumanovo
Prilep
Stip
Veles
Other
City
0 10 20 30 40 50
Undergraduate …Postgraduatestudent
UnemployedPart time employeeFull time employee
Occupation
0
5
10
15
20
25Formal education
The internships have lost their value due to the fact that they do not focus
on providing experience.76% agree
0 10 20 30 40
Educational system
Financial crisis
Political situation
Weak labor laws
Inability of Macedonian companies to produce workplaces
Other
Reasons for high unemployment according to the youth
The educational system is different from what companies want.
95% agree
Companies require previous experience in
order to give a job, but companies are reluctant to
give this experience to students and recent
graduates.93% agree
The Bureau of Labor does not serve it’s purpose and does not help young people get employed. 89%
There are many opportunities for young people to find work in Macedonia. 10%
Career centers at Macedonian Universities are almost non-existent. 78%
The current internship system is unfair and exploitative towards young people. 73%
‘Students apply for postgraduate studies because they can’t find a job after graduation.’
‘Short term jobs prevail on the job market, with a great degree of uncertainty for a stable career path for arts and humanities
professionals.’
‘Students are forced to work virtually for free in the first two years after starting a career.’
Social Sciences students
Arts and Humanities
students
Technical Sciences students
Professors
Company representative
NGO representative
‘Students need to diversify themselves and to invest in their formal and non-formal education
before looking for a job.’
‘Students need to be stimulated into seeking other, more perspective career paths; Educational system is not compatible with the demand side of
the job market.’
‘Students from other cities don’t use the opportunities in their home towns and flock to Skopje, leading to
overpopulation in Skopje University and greater competition for fewer workplaces.’
With the current rate of unemployment among young people, the diminishing number of new work
places, aging population and increasing immigration, it is crucial to keep the Macedonian
youth in the country and employed.
If you were given the chance, would you leave Macedonia in search of better employment?
Yes (85%)
No (15%)
So we decided, that instead of encouraging young people in Macedonia to go abroad and seek a job there, we need to offer them the support and the chance to utilize their potential in their own country.
Vision: To provide guidance and non-formal education to every young individual in Macedonia in order to help them launch a professional career.
Mission: Assist every young person in Macedonia to find their place in the professional environment.
We asked young people whether they would use the services of an intermediary agency to
help them gain non-formal education and offer them part-time and/or permanent job
positions
Yes (90%)
No (10%)
Target group: young people aged 19-26
Educational background: social sciences, technological sciences and arts and humanities.
Our program consists of two segments:
Education: We recognize that these people
already have a professional profile. Therefore, our aim is to decrease the gap between the formal education and the job market requirements, by soft
skills trainings, career direction advices, workshops about
realizing their potential, self development through self
discovery, all headed towards helping them sell themselves on
the job market.
Temporary employment:
After they have been educated, they are connected
with domestic and foreign companies that need additional
workforce, through outsourcing, micro sourcing and crowd sourcing. We will ensure partnerships with the
companies, who will offer short term job opportunities. Young
people will work from their homes in Macedonia or will work at the company in the
foreign office for a brief period of time thus gaining valuable
experience.
With this program we will help the fresh graduates to decrease the
discrepancies between their formal education and the job market
requirements. With that the young people will be one step closer to
reaching their professional goals and getting a permanent job. That will help the Macedonian society by decreasing the brain drain and
boosting the economy.
Decreasing youth unemploymentFinal solution
EvaluationCurrent formal and non-
formal education of applicants, their profile and competencies are assessed
and a plan for improvement is drafted
EducationOur organization will assist
people in getting and improving relevant job skills
through training, mentorship and
intelligent matching
Temporary Employment
Intensive short term working
experience in a domestic or
foreign company with the additional help of a mentor
EmploymentAfter young people attain
critical skills, they are fit to open
their own business or apply for a job
with their experience
In the end, we hope to improve the position of young people in Macedonia, create a stable organization which is self-sufficient and partners with the relevant educational, business and governmental entities.
We measure our success by:
– Decreased brain drain
– Increased % of young people employed in Macedonia
– Increased number of successful new business started by youth