Technical Support to Civil Society Organisations (TACSO) in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the national TACSO Resource Centre in BiH led by Vesta, organised a two-day conference in Mostar „Partnership of Local Stakeholders for Development and Employment“ within the People to People (People to People – P2P) programme, which is part of the strategy of the European Commission to support civil society as an essential component of the TACSO project funded by the EU.

The focus of the conference was the importance of partnership between institutions, the business sector and non-governmental organizations as well as local stakeholders in order to identify opportunities for the development and creation of new jobs, especially in rural areas, as well as for young people and socially marginalised groups.

During the first day of the conference, one of the best practice examples of cooperation between government institutions, companies and civil society organizations was presented, which has reduced unemployment in Gorazde and increased employability of adults by almost 40% , who have gone through programs developed to support the employment of marginalised groups, through the activities of the Social and Educational Centre (SEC).

“The Gorazde model was created out of necessity, when an investor ASA Prevent, reached to us with a request for 700 workers, which could sew car seat covers. Employment service at the time did not have a single person with these qualifications. We were lucky to get the support and understanding from relevant local institutions which have the understanding for the needs of investors and the needs of our local community. With the additional support of USAID Firma project, establishing cooperation with educational institutions and non-governmental sector we were able, through retraining and education of unskilled unemployed in Gorazde, to create a favourable environment for investors, jobs for local population and, now recognizable model of partnership of local stakeholders”, explained Nafija Hodo, director of the PI Employment service of the Bosnian-Podrinje Canton.

The role of civil society, among other things, is to recognise the areas in which is possible to create jobs, support for self-employment and education whihc will correspond to the needs of the labor market. The theme of quality of lifelong learning is the key to all civil society organizations in BiH dealing with it, in order to ensure its usefulness and effectiveness.

“We recognised adult education as an area in which we can make a major contribution. So far, 1005 persons attended our trainings, women and men who can now respond to the needs of the labour market. We have identified the space in which we need to act, and have found a way to also include marginalised groups, such as women over 40 years of age who have difficulty finding a job and we know that the employability of our students has increased 40%. We want this percentage to be even higher because we believe that the area of adult education, although is becoming a trend, must become an integral part of education policy”, said Igor Lukenda, director of the Social and Educational Center (SEC) where he also highlighted the importance of introduction and respect of andragogic quality standards, in both, formal and in particularly the non-formal adult education programs.

Civil society organizations, through the presentation of good practices, workshops and opportunities for exchange of knowledge and information, define their resources to provide trainings and retraining services which will meet the needs of the labour market and provide increased employment.