The Youth Employment Project (YEP) aims for the Public Employment Services (PES) to improve their performance, strengthen their mediation role in the labour market, and become more successful in activating and placing young people into jobs. The project began in October 2008 and ends in April 2020.
During the current phase that started in 2016, YEP has developed a new PES model for the country, consisting of the division between administrative and counselling work packages. YEP has reached 14 PES and equipped 38 PES offices, going far beyond the project targets of 5 PES and 5 equipped offices. From the planning target of 203,706 unemployed persons/beneficiaries, 430,053 unemployed persons have benefited from our PES activities.
Additionally, YEP's Entrepreneurship Development Support Programme established a systematic approach to entrepreneurship, known as “Business Ideas Incubator”. It developed local employment partnerships in 32 communities throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina, supporting the creation of 120 new businesses.
YEP's contributions and achievements in employment promotion have been widely recognised at both national and international level:
- International Conference on Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Business Sustainability, Economics & Social Sciences (IEBS), The Netherlands – Award for best paper: “Effectiveness of Entrepreneurship Development Support Programmes – Case of YEP Business Ideas Incubator”, August 2019
- International Federation of Training and Development Organisations (IFTDO) – Acknowledgement of the “Human Resource Development” category for YEP's Entrepreneurship Support Programme, June 2019
- PES of Bosnia (Podrinje Canton) – Acknowledgement/- Recognition for Improvement of Business Processes and Results, February 2019
- PES Republika Srpska – Acknowledgement for Contribution to Overall PES Reform, December 2018
- International Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) – President's Medal, December 2017
- Government of Tuzla Canton – “Statehood Day Public Recognition”, December 2017
- Private Employment Agency Posao.ba – Award for “Innovative Approaches to Youth Employment”, November 2017
GOPA has also been invited to deliver training sessions at the United Nation's International Training Centre (ITC) in Turin, the training arm of the ILO. ITC provides learning, capacity development and training services for governments, employers’ organisations, workers’ organisations, development partners and other national and international players in support of decent work and sustainable development. ITC runs more than 450 programmes and projects for a total of around 11,000 people from over 180 countries each year. In August 2019, YEP team members conducted two sessions on PES and entrepreneurship during the “Effective Employment Services for Youth”, a 3-day programme organised by ITC every year.
We are announcing that YEP project is becoming sustainable effort through establishment of the Investment Foundation IMPAKT. The Foundation has been registered in January 2019, while it is gradually taking over temporary project role, and will become official YEP spinoff as of March 31 this year. The Foundation will be supported by Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC).
Good luck to all of us!
