Apprenticeships provide opportunities for young Serbs

Forty percent of young people in Serbia are unemployed. Now the country has introduced apprenticeships, with Swiss assistance. The programme gives young people a new perspective. (SRF/swissinfo.ch)

Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabić pointed out the importance of Switzerland for her country when she told Swiss Public Television SRF that Switzerland played a key role in the introduction of a dual education system, which combines apprenticeships in a company with vocational education. The idea is to give hands-on and theoretical learning equal importance in higher education.

The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation supports Serbia with a total of CHF9 million ($9 million) for the introduction of the dual education system. This is aimed at both helping to increase work opportunities for young people and helping employers to train their own specialised staff.

The concept of hands-on apprenticeships according to the Swiss model is still quite new to Serbia. Young people get to visit theoretical courses, but when it comes to gaining real work experience and finding a job, many struggle.