Serbia - Review of Human Resources Development

8/3/2019 Serbia - Review of Human Resources Development

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this publication.

Luxembourg: Publications Office of the

European Union, 2010.

ISBN: 978-92-9157-593-0

doi:10.2816/14631

European Training Foundation, 2010.

Reproduction is authorised provided the source

is acknowledged.

Printed in Italy Cover photos: ETF/A. Jongsma


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SERBIAREVIEW OF HUMAN RESOURCES DEVELO

PREPARED BY VACLAV KLENHA, SREN NIELSEN, EVGENIA PETKOVA ANOctober, 2010


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FOREWORDThis report is about the future of Serbia. What are the choices that should be made regardinpeople, how can the education system better match labour market needs, what should be learning, and how should Serbia deal with unemployed people or those disadvantaged in ththis interesting and valuable document which I am sure will make an important contributionaccession to the European Union (EU).

This report, prepared by the European Training Foundation (ETF) at the request of the EmplEqual Opportunities Directorate General of the European Commission, seeks to set out an times, of the situation as regards human resources development in Serbia. The analysis is consistently based on facts and figures. The review also aims to provide options and recomhuman resources development strategy.

The report underlines the difficulties faced by Serbia, while confirming its great potential. Athe challenges and requirements for (further) change.

We believe this report will help Serbia, which has not yet received candidate country statusmedium term operational programme for human resources development, addressing its cupreparing it for the challenges of tomorrow. Any such programme should be elaborated in pstakeholders, the social partners in particular.

Since 2007, the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA) supports five policy areas, indevelopment (Component IV). It helps candidate countries to fulfil EU requirements and in pthe use of the European Social Fund.

I believe this independent review will help Serbia in its preparations for the IPA. It will makechoices, concrete. Progress on programming will soon make clear that resources are essenestablishment of a modern administration, applying accountability and transparency as key

Real progress on these elements programming, partnership and institutional capacity for mSocial Fund would indeed constitute a very positive signal to the European Union. I hope assist Serbia in doing exactly that.

DireSocial A


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PREFACEOver the past 15 years, the EU enlargement process has provided solid evidence that humaimportant in the wide-ranging reforms launched by countries on their road to EU membershBalkans and Turkey invest huge effort in harnessing the potential of their human capital andto economic and social welfare.

The Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities Directorate General of the EuropeaETF to draft a human resources development country review for Serbia. This has given the at the development of human resources as both an aim and a means of EU driven reforms.ETFs understanding of the major human resources development challenges faced by the cobjective of EU accession and its endeavours to achieve sustainable growth, increase proscohesion. It is my hope that the findings and conclusions of the review will inform the IPA pEuropean Commission and the national policy-making process.

The review has been prepared by the ETF country team for Serbia. It focuses on the interplaspects of human resources development: education and training in a lifelong learning pers

The review also reflects on the importance of equal opportunities in society for the quality oand takes into consideration the inclusiveness of Serbias education, training and employme

Relevant national and international documents, research papers and studies have provided the review. In the process of collecting up-to-date information and the verification of the maETF experts have consulted and involved key national stakeholders. During a series of missNovember 2009 and March 2010, the ETF team conducted interviews and discussions withMinistry of Education, the Ministry of Economy and Regional Development, the Ministry ofNational Employment Agency, the Centre for VET and Adult Education, education institutiothe main social partners and civil society organisations, as well as the EU Delegation in Belginternational donors. The draft version of the review was discussed at a national workshop Belgrade.

On behalf of the ETF, I wish to thank the Employment, Social Affairs and Equal OpportunitieEuropean Commission for entrusting us with the preparation of the review. I would also likeappreciation to all experts and institutions in Serbia for their responsiveness, involvement athis paper. I am convinced that this report can be used effectively to better inform decisionEuropean and national levels. At the same time, I would like to underline the importance of policy-making process at national level, in all its phases: policy formulation, implementation

and to assure Serbia that the ETF will continue to provide support for fostering the developmin the country.


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CONTENTSFOREWORD

PREFACE

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

1. POLITICAL AND SOCIOECONOMIC BACKGROUND

1.1 European, regional and national political contexts . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1.2 Demographic developments and trends, including migration . . . .

1.3 Economic developments and trends, effects of the economic crisi

Tables and figures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

2. KEY POLICY ISSUES, STRATEGIES AND CHALLENGES IN EDUTRAINING IN A LIFELONG LEARNING PERSPECTIVE

2.1 Investments in human capital. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

2.2 Lifelong learning strategies, broadening the education and training

r e c o g n i s i n g q u a l i f i c a t i o n s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2.3 Secondary and post-secondary vocational education and training .

2.4 Higher education. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

2.5 Learning in schools and teachers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

2.6 Vocational counselling and guidance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

2.7 Policy framework for education and training . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2.8 Capacities of ministries and their agencies, social partners and civ

organisations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Tables and figures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .


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4. KEY POLICY ISSUES, STRATEGIES AND CHALLENGES IN SOCIAL I

4.1 Policy initiatives and programmes for vulnerable groups . . . . . . . . . .

4.2 Social inclusion in education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

4.3 Social inclusion in employment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

4.4 Territorial cohesion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Tables. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

5. MAIN DONOR INTERVENTIONS IN HUMAN RESOURCES DEVEL

5.1 Education and training . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

5.2 Employment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

5.3 Social Inclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

6. MEDIUM-TERM CHALLENGES

7. RECOMMENDATIONS

7.1 Horizontal and cross-sectoral . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

7.2 Education and training . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

7.3 Employment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

7.4 Social inclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

ANNEX EU BENCHMARKS

ACRONYMS

BIBLIOGRAPHY

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1.1 Population, 2000-10 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Table 1.2 Dependency rates, 2000-10 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

T bl Mi i

8 SERBIA REVIEW OF HUMAN RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT


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EXECUTIVE SUMMARYImportant policy measures have been implemented

recently in Serbia, representing a new policy direction that

builds much more on national priorities and ownership.

The new Law on Education System Fundamentals lays

the cornerstone for future developments and is providing

clear guidelines for action in the short term. Activation of

the National Education Council provides substantial

support to continuing development, quality care and

monitoring of the overarching progress of the education

system. The advisory role of the Council for VET and Adult

Education is an important new voice, hopefully with a

capital V and it has a number of important functions,

among others links with business, national qualifications

framework (NQF) and new curricula. Serbia has recently

designed two new Tempus projects; one aims at

developing a national education research capacity and theother aims at establishing new basic teacher education (as

specified in the new Education Law) designed as a result

of collaboration between the Ministry of Education and a

number of Serbian and foreign universities. This

represents a whole new model for teacher qualifications

in Serbia. Both initiatives are generated and owned by

Serbia, which is the best way forward for the country in

place of the frequent over-dependency on foreign

technical assistance.

There are still a number of weaknesses within the

education system, especially at secondary level and in

adult education. Only some vocational curricula have been

reformed and implemented in pilot schools leaving the

country with a fragmented curriculum structure and

unevenly developed schools. The upper secondary

gymnasium has not been reformed at all, which is

problematic in a knowledge economy. Adult education

provision is still very weak and needs reform of itscontent, methods and infrastructure. Teacher and school

leader competences need to be developed. Teaching and

learning methodologies require reform and the education

system would benefit from a competence development

initiative for teacher educators.

and, to some extent, higher e

crucial, as their inputs to the

linkages to be developed bet

education.

It is necessary to regularly ev

outcomes of the education s

point-of-view. A follow-up m

on the graduates of VET and

recommended as a means o

been placed in the labour ma

this would lead to an ongoing

system. Such evaluation and

involve social partners and ot

increase the accountability o

education systems.

Job creation is still very wea

years are almost over. Most

2000s were generated by sm

enterprises (SMEs) which als

proportion of employment. H

been established as the last

is a sustainability problem fo

conditions, such as access to

counselling, and entrepreneu

improvement. In addition, it i

self-employed people and SM

access to information on the

including foreign markets.

Although the Ministry of Eco

Development is the authority

policy, it is not the only actor

employment policies, as job developments in education a

the labour market. A sustaine

institutions and social partne

necessary to ensure better c

policy.


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evaluation of programmes and a better division ofresponsibilities between the national and local levels. Therecent increase of the budget allocated for ALMMs is agood sign as it may lead to increased staff numbers andenhanced capacity. Much of training/retraining provided bythe National Employment Service can be outsourced.

The Serbian government is committed to increasedparticipation by vulnerable, excluded and poor groups ofthe population in economic and social life. Broader

education and employment opportunities need to remainat the core of these efforts. Numerous educationinitiatives aimed at ensuring better education access,participation and attainment of vulnerable children areessential, yet they have to be better coordinated toensure accumulated and synergetic effects. Affirmativeinterventions promoting pathways to formal employmentfor vulnerable groups also have to be considered inpartnership with the private sector. Successful labourmarket inclusion requires an integrated approach,

supported by specialist social seemployment and training prograleast, basic income security. Theimplementation of measures shoanti-discrimination measures addcommunities, employers, educa

The deepening disparities betweare problematic. There is a needmulti-dimensional and locally des

tackle interconnected problems such as out-migration resulting inpopulation ageing, a diminishing limited employment opportunitiedependence on social welfare anand quality of education. Part of solved by rebuilding the social inmobilising and empowering localives themselves through comm


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1. POLITICAL AND SOCIOECOBACKGROUND

1.1 EUROPEAN, REGIONAL

AND NATIONAL POLITICALCONTEXTS

Serbias accession to the EU is a national strategic goal. InApril 2008 Serbia signed a Stabilisation and AssociationAgreement which provides a framework of mutualcommitments on a wide range of political, trade andeconomic issues. An Interim Agreement on Trade andTrade-related Measures with the EU was signed at thesame time and entered into force in 2009. SinceDecember 2009 the citizens of Serbia no longer need avisa to enter EU Member States (except for the UnitedKingdom and Ireland) and three non-EU countries that arepart of the Schengen area.

Serbia submitted its application for EU membership inDecember 2009 and is preparing to become a candidatecountry. The Serbian government has demonstrated its

commitment to bringing the country closer to the EU byundertaking a number of initiatives, including theimplementation of the above-mentioned InterimAgreement.

According to the Serbia 2009 Progress Report, capacitywithin line ministries regarding EU integration issuesneeds to be further improved and public administrationreform needs to be accelerated (European Commission,2009). Insufficient attention has been paid to effectivelyimplementating existing laws and impact assessment.Government planning needs to be strengthened andgreater cooperation needs to be ensured betweenministries. Serbias active participation in regionalinitiatives and bilateral relations with neighbouringcountries has improved.

in 2008, remains low and ve

average of 1.5 (in 2007). Thethe 2002 census (SORS, 200of Serbs (83%), with significaHungarians (300 000 or 4.1%Roma (1.4% of the populationon-governmental organisatiaccount for 6.2% of the popuof the total population)1.

Life expectancy at birth, at 71

women in 2009, is lower in S(75.2 years and 81.5 years, reimprovement in comparison wexpectancy was approximatesexes. The age structure of thsimilar to the EU-27 average aexperiencing demographic agto 2009 estimates by the Staof Serbia (SORS), 17.1% of th

65 years almost equal to the

The number of refugees andremains high. According to thCommissioner for Refugees there were 86 351 refugees displaced people in Serbia, aexercising their social rights.

Serbia, ranking 36th out of 1

emigration rate of 13.6% (UNdestination for migrants fromreceives 72.3% of emigrantsmigration from Serbia was 3Another important challengeemigrants in recent years areeducated people (Vukovic 20


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Between 2000 and 2008, gross domestic product (GDP)growth in Serbia was 5.4%. Privatisation has led to aneconomic structure dominated by small firms withrelatively few medium and larger companies. In 2007,98.8% of companies were small and micro firms, 1.0%were medium-sized enterprises and only 0.2% were largefirms (OECD et al., 2009).

TABLE 1.4 summarises GDP developments from 2000 to2008, with the services sector gaining ground over

industry and agriculture. TABLE A.1 in Annex comparesthese macroeconomic indicators for the IPA countries andthe EU. Competitiveness, corruption and freedom indicesare shown in TABLE 1.5 and FIGURE 1.1, whileTABLE 1.6 provides the composite human developmentindex, in which Serbia is placed 67th out of 182 countries.

The Serbian economy has been severely hit by the currentglobal economic crisis. Growth slowed down at the end of2008 and the economy entered into recession in 2009.According to the Statistical Office of the Republic ofSerbia, GDP in 2009 decreased by an estimated 3.0%compared to 2008. As a result, macroeconomic stability

has deteriorated, domestic demforeign direct investment and exdeclined. The International Monehave provided financial assistancof the Serbian authorities to the limit its negative effects. As the efforts should be made to stimumedium-term growth. There is ainfrastructural and fiscal policies exports and savings.

Serbia needs to strengthen the pbut there are still insufficient incelabour-intensive production. Talepublic sector where salaries hava 140% increase for private sectwinners is not a viable economicits growth strategy will have to bsectors. The Strategic Economic2006-15 provides weak guidanceaccount of major bottlenecks. Thdue to the economic and financi


TABLE 1.1 POPULATION, 2000-10

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 20

Totalpopulation (m)

7.516 7.503 7.500 7.480 7.463 7.440 7.411 7.381 7

Populationaged 0-14(% of total)

19.9 19.6 19.3 19 18.7 18.5 18.2 18

Populationgrowth(annual %)

-0.32 -0.17 -0.05 -0.26 -0.02 -0.3 -0.39 -0.41

Source: SORS LFS 2009 (October) and 2010 (April).

TABLES AND FIGURES


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1. POLITICAL AND SO

TABLE 1.3 MIGRATION, 2000-08

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 20

Net migration -147,890 -338,540

Source: World Bank WDI database.

TABLE 1.4 GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT, 2000-08

GDP 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005

Per capita GDP* 6,004 6,457 6,851 7,190 8,041 8,841

Growth (annual %) 4.52 4.84 4.23 2.5 8.45 6.19

Agriculture (% valueadded)

20.6 19.7 15.9 14.4 14.2 16.0

Industry (% value added) 31.4 27.6 26.7 26.2 28.1 29.1

Services, etc. (% valueadded)

48.1 52.7 57.4 59.3 57.7 54.8

Foreign direct investment,net inflows (%)

0.28 1.4 0.87 6.69 3.94 6.14

* Purchasing power parity at current international USD.

Source: World Bank WDI database.

TABLE 1.5 GOVERNANCE INDICATORS, 2004-09

2004 2005 2006 2007 2

Corruption Perceptions Index1

Rank 97* 97* 90 79

Score 2.7* 2.8* 3 3.4

Global Competitiveness Index2


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TABLE 1.6 HUMAN DEVELOPMENT INDEX, SELECTED COUNTRIES 2000 AND 2005-

Rank 2007 2000 2005 2006

Very high

1 Norway 0.961 0.968

38 Malta 0.874 0.897

High39 Bahrain 0.864 0.888

45 Croatia 0.837 0.862

65 Montenegro 0.815 0.823

67 Serbia 0.797 0.817

69 Saint Lucia 0.817

70 Albania 0.78471 Russian Federation 0.804

72 Macedonia (FYR) 0.800 0.810

76 Bosnia and Herzegovina 0.803

79 Turkey 0.758 0.796

83 Lebanon 0.800

Medium

84 Armenia 0.738 0.777

158 Nigeria 0.466 0.499

Low

159 Togo 0.495

182 Niger 0.258 0.330

Source: UNDP.

FIGURE 1.1 ECONOMIC FREEDOM INDEX, 2010


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2. KEY POLICY ISSUES, STRATAND CHALLENGES IN EDUCAAND TRAINING IN A LIFELONLEARNING PERSPECTIVE

2.1 INVESTMENTS IN HUMANCAPITAL

Expenditure on education and training

Public investment in education is relatively low in Serbiabut has grown steadily in the last decade. Before theglobal crisis, investment in education increased from2.7% of GDP in 2001 to 3.7% in 2007. Education salariesgrew steadily at the rate of 20%-30% a year. An increaseof up to 3.9% was planned for 2009 but only 3.3% wasachieved because of the crisis. Investment in schoolinfrastructure has also increased but is far from sufficient.The need to gradually increase the percentage of GDPspent on education to 6% is widely accepted and hasbeen stated in many inter-sector strategic documents inSerbia (Mijatovic, 2008). However, it is essential that themacro-level perspective is followed up withmicro-efficiency analyses of the allocation of disposablefunds (Vukasovic et al., 2009).

According to the Law on the Budget of the Republic ofSerbia 2010, based on ETF calculations educations shareof the whole budget is 16.85%, amounting to EUR 1.35

billion (TABLE 2.1). The education budget breakdown is48% for preschool and primary education, 21% forsecondary education, 22% for higher education, 8% forstudent welfare and 1% for the work of the Ministry ofEducation and other bodies such as the educationcouncils and institutes. Formal adult education does nothave a separate budget line, so it is not possible to

cover the cost of textbooks, Most higher education studefees. TABLE 2.4 shows the education and the differenceareas. Data on private and coto adult education and trainin

indicate company investmeneducation and professional d

Financing the education s

Education in Serbia covers psecondary and university eduschools, 1 400 000 pupils or employees. After preparatoryprimary education, secondargeneral stream in four-year gthe VET stream (53% of puppathways and 23% in three-y2007). Serbia has 35 private and vocational schools). Thehigher education institutionsof 43% (Vukasovic et al., 200

The education financing syst

inputs and the use of a formthat includes salaries, numbebetween school profiles, etcnot fully binding and their coe1990s (Masson, 2008). Whilenational budget, about 20% primary and secondary educa


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secondary schools in 2006 (Mijatovic, 2008); in the OECD

countries, the average is 15.2 and 13.0, respectively.

There are other opportunities for increasing efficiency andeffectiveness in the Serbian education system and thusrelease funds urgently needed for implementing changes.Such opportunities lie in many aspects of the reformprocess, such as decentralisation, the foreseen per-capitafinancing of education institutions, the involvement ofsocial partners, broadened VET programmes,

school-based in-service training for teachers, linking formaland informal education, cost sharing for adult educationand training and, finally, rationalising the network ofschools and allocation of resources. The need to optimiseschool networks and resources is increasingly consideredto be a key driver of education reform. Later on in thisreport we will examine how some of these aspects aretackled in national policies and strategic documents andhow their implementation could be supported.

2.2 LIFELONG LEARNINGSTRATEGIES, BROADENINGTHE EDUCATION ANDTRAINING SUPPLY ANDRECOGNISING

QUALIFICATIONSEducation level of population

Serbia needs well educated citizens to be able to furtherits economic and social development. The currenteducational structure of the Serbian population is veryunfavourable from this point of view. The latest LFS(SORS, 2010a) confirms the low educational attainmentof the population: 3% of the over 15-year old population

does not have full elementary education, 35% have onlyelementary education, 48% secondary education and14% higher education. For almost half the populationaged over 15 years, secondary education representstheir highest educational attainment. In comparison, inthe EU-27, 71.5% of the population aged 24-65 yearshad completed upper secondary education in 2008

According to the analysis of edu

government level, there is insuffawareness of the relationship beprosperity (Standing ConferenceMunicipalities, 2008). It is importeducation brings the expected ewhole. The goal should not be thdegrees, as is the case now, butknowledge and skills in the labouworkforce development review

mindsets to lifelong learning amgeneral public (USAID, 2009).

While this review focuses on edemployment and social inclusioneducation that matters. Preschochildhood development are crucdevelopment through lifelong leakey competences. Just as imporgeneral secondary education in t

has the largest impact on the tecand science graduates indicator.

Access to education

Overall in Serbia, the education speople to access adequate learnHowever, national authorities, toproviders, are increasingly engag

to remove barriers to learning anespecially regarding specific grodisadvantaged for different reasoeducation. Chapter 4 of this reviinclusion and looks more closelyThe following data illustrate somissues in the youth and adult pop

Preschool attendance of any kin2005) until recently, when a com

preparatory programme was intrschool year. According to the Mprogramme covered 97.7% of cthe 2009/10 school year, the preprogramme was extended to ninnow means that compulsory edSerbia The official school enrolm



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Early school leaving

According to a Living Standards Measurement Study(LSMS) survey (SORS et al., 2008), dropout rates were1.6% in primary education (2007) and 2.3% in secondaryeducation (2005). However, as compared to the officialstatistics, which does not record data for pupils by agecohort, other data show much higher dropout rates of15% for primary education and around 30% for secondaryeducation (Government of Serbia, 2003). According to the

Ministry of Education, a generation survey for 2000-08showed the dropout rate to be 7.3% (Ministry ofEducation, 2009).

The EU has made tackling the problem of early schoolleavers one of its priorities, with the aim that early schoolleavers should represent no more than 10% of 18-24 yearolds in the EU-27 by 2010 (TABLE A.2 in Annex).However, in 2008, 14.9% of 18-24 year olds had notcompleted upper secondary education in the EU-27, while

that proportion for the same year in Serbia was 10.0%(Eurostat, 2010). In contrast with these figures, the LSMSsurvey concludes that one fifth of children in Serbia arestill not included in secondary education, especially boysand young people from socially deprived areas.

Education reform so far

Serbia is striving to develop a modern education system

which would contribute more efficiently to economicrecovery, support the development of democracy andcontribute to the European integration process. Theevidence of its efforts are the first achievements of thereform process improving the quality of education andtraining. A compulsory six-month preparatory preschoolprogramme was introduced in 2006/07 and extended tonine months recently. In primary education, foreignlanguage, information technology and health educationsubjects were strengthened and new standards to be

achieved by the end of compulsory education werepublished in 2009.

However, further improvement of primary and generalsecondary education quality will be necessary. SerbiasProgramme for International Student Assessment (PISA)results point to a performance in mathematical scientific

set a framework for an integ

described in Section 2.7 belo

Adult learning

Adult learning is a dynamic sin connection to the planned this area. Education and trainrange of formal education inscompanies, professional ass

providers, NGOs and other oprivate providers and NGOs, democracy and civil society, entrepreneurship, healthcareliteracy and foreign language2008). A consensus is emergbarriers and to open the whoand especially to those difficEducation is currently being dinvolving the Ministry of Edu

Economy and Regional Devestakeholders.

There are no accurate data aparticipation in adult learningcollection, research, and monlacking. It is estimated that 325-64 participate in educatiois less than half compared to

According to the LSMS survepeople aged 15-24 attend sotraining, mostly language, coRecent statistics from the Wformal training to employeesin Serbia, which is less than than in Croatia (28.0%) and Band IFC, 2009).

Ongoing training in technical

and meeting the need to incrprepare the restructuring of cslowly. The Serbian National organised training for about 12007, representing less thanMinistry of Education has statraining centres based on ex

2. KEY POLICY ISSUES, STRATEGIES AND CHALLENGES IN EDUCATION AND TRAINING IN A LIFEL


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education is organised by grades from first to eighth grade

and lasts three to five years, depending on the schoolprogramme. After completing eighth grade, adult learnerscan continue formal education and obtain a furtherqualification. However, the existing system of adult basiceducation is inadequate to the needs of the adultpopulation and is not adapted to labour market needs(Popovic et al., 2010).

As noted in a Conference on Adult Education

(CONFINTEA) study, one of the key problems for thedevelopment of adult education and training is the weaklink between formal and non-formal education (Medicet al., 2008). The lack of public financing and ofcost-sharing mechanisms for the state and companiesand the absence of incentives for companies andindividuals hamper the development of adult educationand training. The prevailing concept insists on the needsof individuals and makes ample reference to illiteracyissues, but neglects training activities initiated by

companies and, in particular, the development ofon-the-job training/learning. Adult education issupply-driven, since little room is given to analysis andreflection on the needs of the economy and formalprovision is favoured, through programmes designed oraccredited centrally.

Qualifications

Although the notion of learning outcomes andcompetences is widely accepted by policymakers, expertsand providers, in reality a traditional approach still prevails.Skill levels I to V are aligned to secondary vocationalschool programmes of different duration (SORS, 2009c),while levels VI to VIII are acquired in higher education.There is no validation system for prior learning as thepreconditions are missing: social partnership does notfunction very well, there are not enough partners (or theirquality is not assured) and the formal education system is

very closed.

An overarching NQF, with the European QualificationsFramework (EQF) as its main reference, has beendiscussed in Serbia for several years (Lazic et al., 2007).The tasks of developing an NQF up to skill level V are nowformally assigned to the Serbian VET Centre The

2.3 SECONDARY APOST-SECONDARVOCATIONAL EDAND TRAINING

VET reforms to date

It is generally acknowledged by

education and training does not employment and the labour marsystem where employees were secure, life-time employment wa competitive and challenging laprogress. As a result, there is a pthe demand for skilled employeeincreasing faster than supply, thcovers profiles no longer in dem

demands within occupations areAn employer survey by the EconInstitute in the districts of Beogridentified a shortage of middle-minsurance, security and businessbricklayers, carpenters, waiters, (ESPI, 2009). Besides specialist survey found that employers inccommunication, team work, fore

problem-solving and leadership csurvey carried out in the districtsfound that the sectors showing tservices such as real estate, finaconstruction, trade and catering,communication. The newly requcommunication, teamwork, stresocial skills (FIGURE 2.2). AccorChamber of Commerce, the key

are numerical and language literacommunication skills and team w

In 2007/08 there were 214 925 psecondary school enrolment) in (SORS, 2009c) with approximatetrainers. Secondary vocational ed



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and the major part of the VET system remains unchanged,

with obsolete profiles, low in-company experience andinadequate practical skills training.

Access and quality

The development of quality in primary and secondaryschools is a joint task for school boards, principals andpedagogues, who are also supported by professionalschool bodies, consisting of the teacher council, class

councils, professional councils and their sections forcurriculum development and developmental planning (CEP,2008). Quality assurance at the level of schools and othereducation and training providers is overseen and supportedat national and regional levels. The Ministry of Education,supported by its 19 regional school directorates, and itsprimary, secondary and school supervision sectors play aleading role. There are also two tripartite councils and twoeducation institutes involved (see Section 2.8 below).

Some access barriers to VET can be observed in thestructure of the education system, the existing learningpathways and the enrolment policy for transition betweeneducation sectors. Differentiation between high- andlow-achieving primary schools without effective supportfor improvement of the latter does not guarantee pupilsequitable access to secondary education. In addition, thecurrent qualification examination at the end of primaryeducation appears to lead to rather arbitrary decisions

regarding secondary school enrolment and is thus abarrier to more equitable access to secondary education.Issues of access by pupils from disadvantaged groups andterritories are discussed in Chapter 4.

Enrolment statistics of the Ministry of Education2 reveal,among other things, the big gap between theattractiveness of four-year profiles which enable accessto higher education and three-year profiles. Similar toprevious years, the fulfilment of enrolment quotas

showed the highest interest in the health and economicsareas and the lowest interest in mechanical engineering,construction, wood processing and agriculture. Pilotprofiles are clearly more attractive than non-pilots. Amongthe 140 four-year profiles VET is more attractive than thegymnasium. There is also a gender imbalance, as only athird of students are females in three year schools

According to the employers

training is formal or informal,and more practical skills deveZrenjanin confirmed that the improved on a larger scale if active part and led the initiati

School-business cooperat

There are other good examp

cooperation, e.g. under the E(www.vetserbia.edu.rs), traincentres and the National Emproject by the Serbian Chamredundant workers have beecraftsmen in Ni. However, morder to bring education-busisatisfactory level. To move foexperience, in 2009 the educthe ETF developed an entrep

that included reflection on hocompetence could play a maeducation. The positive evalua subject in pilot VET profilestaken into account.

Another important step was Council for VET and Adult Edchaired by the vice-president

Commerce and involving reptrade unions. According to thFundamentals, one of its tasguide activities which represand employment and to mondevelopment.

2.4 HIGHER EDU

Reforms to date

A total of 237 598 (55% femSerbian higher education in t(SORS, 2009). Of that numbethe total) were financed fromfees are relatively high at m



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The Law on Higher Education of 2005 introduced the

Bologna Process three-cycle system and started theprocess of accreditation and external evaluation ofuniversities. The first phase of the process, nowcomplete, paid attention mainly to physical infrastructures.The second phase will focus more on curriculum quality,including labour market needs. This law is now beingrevised to include a short cycle and to newly definediploma recognition for jobs as separate from recognitionfor academic purposes.

In 2007, vocational post-secondary schools (vie kole)went through a process of accreditation; 48 wereaccredited and became academies or colleges ofvocational studies and part of the higher education systemof visoke kole. These schools are now closer touniversities in terms of duration of studies aligned atbachelor level, proportion of PhD graduates amongteachers and other accreditation criteria. However, thismove has placed them further from vocational schools,

increasing the gap between VET and higher education.

Access and quality

Graduates from three-year vocational profiles do not haveaccess to higher education, e.g. through a one-yearadditional general education programme leading to amaturaexamination. The planned new nationalexaminations at the end of four-year secondary education

(general maturaand VET matura) aim to enableprogression to the corresponding higher educationinstitutions without having to pass entrance examinations.Although the two maturaexaminations are to beintroduced in the 2013/14 school year, the developmentof new secondary education standards has not yetstarted. Graduates from former vie kolehave problemsof recognition for university access, grounded in the factthat these schools do not meet the requirement of 50%of teaching staff having PhDs.

Links between higher education and the economy areweak. Higher education graduates are not prepared in thenew technologies and do not have the competencesrequired by enterprises (Government of Serbia, 2008). Theeducation process is underpinned by lectures that take upalmost all of the required 30 contact hours per week

soft skills. Due to financial restric

limited capacity (four staff membstudents), partly resolved by buivoluntary associates from the dimediates internships in compantrainee programme in Belgrade porganises one-day enterprise viscompanies. Internships are very recent recruitment drive had 700internship places. The University

development centre has also initestablish a network of similar ceof Ni, Novi Sad and Kragujevac

Serbia makes good use of the Tesupport the modernisation of higIn the current phase of the progrpronounced involvement of educnational bodies focusing on resoimportance in the field of higher

are the Education Policy Study Plaunched in 2009 and the MasteTeachers (for application in 2010with a strong expected impact aquality assurance, lifelong learningovernance. Just as important alinking higher education to the emarket, e.g. projects on the knowconversion courses for unemplo

accreditation of engineering stud

2.5 LEARNING IN AND TEACHERS

Teaching and learning

Teaching has not yet been reform

challenges of a changing societytraditional model of frontal teachtransmitter of knowledge who fumodality of lecturing-examining-teaching and learning process ison the acquisition of factual knowdiscouraging student inquiry and



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the lack of standards regarding the quality of the teaching

process and of teachers themselves. While much teacherand school principal training has taken place since 2003through pilot projects under the CARDS programme,these efforts need to be taken forward to the systemiclevel.

In 2009 the Law on Education System Fundamentals seta new legal framework for teaching and learningprocesses, aiming in particular at inclusive education,

better learning outcomes and the professionalisation ofteachers. As a quality assurance mechanism, all schoolsare obliged to start self-evaluation and developmentplanning, while external assessment of teaching andlearning quality is being revised according to this law. Oneof the current national initiatives helping to make thishappen is the School Quality Monitoring in Serbia projectimplemented by the Institute for Education Quality andEvaluation assisted by the Dutch Inspectorate ofEducation. The project is developing and testing a national

framework for school quality and evaluation, withstandards and indicators of achievement in seven qualitydomains: curriculum, ethos, school management, pupilattainment, resources, support for pupils and teaching andlearning.

Teacher education and professional development

The Law on Education System Fundamentals puts

forward clear guidelines for a strategy of teacherprofessionalisation based on continuous professionalteacher development and sets, among other things, anobligatory minimum of 30 pedagogical credits and sixteaching practice credits; this is a good choice in asituation where most teachers need upgrading in subjectand pedagogical skills. Another important reform strategyfor modernising the overall system of professional teacherdevelopment is the proposal to create a system that willconnect initial with ongoing education. The ongoing

revision of the Ministry of Educations Guidebook onProfessional Development and Guidebook on Licensingare steps in this direction.

The three days' leave per year allowed to educators underthe legislation to attend approved programmes isincreasingly being granted in the three new regional

teacher trainers to innovate m

this could happen as part of hthe lines of the Bologna Procthe one hand, to effectively cteacher training and, on the odrivers for improvement of thcompetences and skills of te

The Teachers Union of Serbiand other employees from a

participates in the reform proin-service training of teachermembership of around 40 00Education International, the gteachers and other workers i

2.6 VOCATIONACOUNSELLING

GUIDANCEThe current provision of vocaguidance in Serbia is mainly by means of information andto job seekers, primarily the There are 30 National Emplooffering these services and aguidance centres in Belgrade

good results, developing expextending the provision. Howgiven the growing needs amgroups, the necessity to profthe requirements to reach ouand networks.

In the education sector, therprofessional guidance providpedagogic-psychological serv

secondary schools. The Belga model of career guidance fbased on that, a career guidaestablished at the MechanicaBeograd. As mentioned earlipublic and private, have carecareer guidance centre for ta



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establish and develop the career guidance and counselling

system foreseeing an investment of RSD 91.15 million(approximately EUR 900 000) over a five-year period through a partnership between the Ministry of Youth andSport, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Economyand Regional Development, the National EmploymentService, universities, schools, social partners and NGOs.

2.7 POLICY FRAMEWORK FOR

EDUCATION AND TRAININGEducation reform agenda

By stipulating new principles and strategic approaches,the 2009 Law on Education System Fundamentals sets aframework for an education policy across the preschool tosecondary education sectors and is seen as a point ofdeparture for further, more specific, regulatory steps

leading to reform implementation.

The key innovations of the new law include:

+ new principles of equity, improved access,individualised approach to learners and lifelonglearning and of better planning, quality and efficiencyof education;

+ educational goals of investing in human capital,developing key skills, matching competences to therequirements of jobs, the economy, science andtechnology;

+ standardisation of learning achievements, teachingand school leadership competences and quality;

+ establishing the Council for VET and Adult Education;+ increased autonomy of schools and more flexible

learning programmes;+ introducing per capita financing;+ quality assurance based on self-evaluation, external

evaluation, development planning and extended scopeof schools professional bodies;

+ redefining initial and in-service teacher training: allfuture teachers will be obliged to obtain at least36 ECTS credits in psychological, pedagogical andmethodological training.

specifying the different provisions

System Fundamentals are planneInstitute for the Improvement of for Education Quality and Evaluatrespective councils and issued byEducation. These documents incdefined standards (attainment in VET, school quality in general edueducation, teacher and principal cimplementation of special presch

textbooks and other learning matVET profiles and programmes), pexaminations at different levels, irecognition of prior learning, a quvocational education and new seand curricula. The timeframe foredevelopments is no later than Se

Towards an integrated educa

The National Education Council pconcept of overall education refoDirections for the Development System, prepared by a National working group and currently subthe education committee of the document is based on a lifelong aims at an integral approach to eemphasising key competences a

is planned to be built on broad paacross the political parties. The Nis also preparing national indicatoeducation system in Serbia (in linwith the Directions for the DeveEducation System).

The Ministry of Education has coof initiating an overall education/development strategy, as it fores

substantial mid- and long-term meducation sectors. After the DireDevelopment of the Serbian Eduby the National Education CouncMinistry of Education will lead thoverall education strategy so thaParliament in 2011



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Development Programmes and Projects was established

in 2009 and horizontal cooperation with other keyministries has made further progress, although there isstill room for improvement. The Ministry of Educationswebsite, which developed significantly in 2009, nowincludes a resource centre. The Ministry of Education hasorganised a number of donor coordination meetings and aforum of researchers and policymakers which first met inMay 2010. However, the capacity for designing, managingand monitoring VET policy and governance at the

ministerial level is much too weak. Staffing for secondaryeducation adds up to only eight civil servants; five work onVET but two of these are allocated 80% to work in theIPA project implementation unit.

The three educational councils (National Council for HigherEducation, National Education Council, and Council forVET and Adult Education) are becoming importantmulti-stakeholder governing and advisory bodies. Thenewly established Council for VET and Adult Education is

responsible for a huge agenda among other things, formonitoring and analysing VET and adult education, forproposing educational profiles, qualifications framework,standards and curricula and for securing better linksbetween education, employment and economicdevelopment.

Established by the government and funded from theMinistry of Educations budget are two education

institutes. The Institute for the Improvement of Education,established in 2004, has 106 employees and consists ofthe Centre for VET and Adult Education, the Centre forProgramme and Textbook Development and the Centrefor the Professional Development of EducationEmployees. The Institute for Education Quality andEvaluation, with 36 employees, has the role of defininggeneral education standards, assessing pupil and studentachievements, including the new national exams, andsupporting education quality assurance (see also

Section 2.5).

The Centre for VET and Adult Education employs25 specialists in qualifications and curricula. These alsoprovide expert support and development capacity to theCouncil for VET and Adult Education. Given the magnitudeand scope of reform tasks in VET and adult education the

function as a policy unit in th

area.

Researchers and practition

Besides the dedicated officiaMinistry of Education, the ththe two institutes, there is aresearchers active in the areworking either individually or

alphabetical order) the Adult Belgrade Open School, the Cthe Centre for Liberal-Democand Social Policy Institute, thFoundation for the AdvancemInclusion and Poverty ReducConference of Towns and MGovernment Forum).

There is also a significant pra

largely untapped, with numbenthusiastic teachers, traineof these are internal or exterand curriculum developers frIn several sectors VET assoclevel, all this capacity could bnetworks created to supportgood practice.

Social partnersOverall, the involvement of scontinuing VET is still low (Krpartners highlight the lack ofgovernment during law-makicapacity to implement and eDelegation, 2009). In intervieserious mismatches betweeof the economy. They consid

key skills not covered, and thand lengthy procedures for inprogrammes. They are not ssocial dialogue in the human The Social and Economic Cosatisfactorily with important stagnant; of the 28 existing r



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Federation of NGOs represents the civil sector. According

to a Serbian NGO called Civic Initiatives, the main issue inhuman capital development is to achieve betterrecognition of informal education and training, an areawhere the civil sector plays an important role.

In Serbia there is scope and available capacity to create acluster of development expertise based on the manytrained civil servants, experts, vocational school principalsand teachers. Learning in horizontal networks could be

used when generalising pilot curricula and could help theirimplementation in all schools by September 2011. Such atransmission and cascading model could be built up

between the Ministry of Educati

and Adult Education, vocational based on staff at the school levedevelopment officers (teachers),change agent teachers and schothrough CARDS). Such a horizonshould be anchored in the NationAdult Education and would also preparation of an NQF in Serbia.partners, the school world and n

school associations will have to work, together with the Chambhas good relations with compan


TABLE 2.1 MINISTRY OF EDUCATION BUDGET, 2010

Budget line Amount (EUR) %

Ministry of Education 11,284,310

Primary education 639,907,350

Secondary education 288,159,920

Pupil standard 35,045,910Higher education 297,252,370

Student standard 70,136,810

Institute for the Improvement of Education 1,403,490

Institute for Education Quality and Evaluation 583,920

Total 1,343,774,080

Percentages and conversion to EUR calculated by the ETF, based on a rounded-up rate of RSD 100 = EUR 1 (April 2

Source: Zakon o budzetu Republike Srbije za 2010.godinu (Law on the Budget of the Republic of Serbia 2010).

TABLES AND FIGURES


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TABLE 2.3 NUMBER OF SCHOOLS WORKING IN SHIFTS, 2008/09

1 shift 2 shifts

Primary schools 2,370 1,131

Secondary schools 162 326

Source: Serbian Ministry of Education.

TABLE 2.4 INDIVIDUAL CONSUMPTION OF EDUCATION, 2005-09

% of total consumption Total Urban

2009* 1.0

2008** 1.3

2007 1.1 1.3

2006 1.1 1.3

2005 2.0 2.6

* Second quarter preliminary results; ** Fourth quarter preliminary results.

Source: SORS Household Budget Surveys.

TABLE 2.5 PRIMARY AND SECONDARY SCHOOLS: NUMBERS, CLASSES AND PU2006/07

Source: Based on data from SORS.

School yearPrimary education Seconda

Schools Classes Pupils Schools C

1990/91 3,616 32,039 812,218 442

2006/07 3,551 30,077 622,562 472


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TABLE 2.7 TEACHING STAFF IN THE SECONDARY EDUCATION SYSTEM, 2001-07

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 200

46,368 47,095 47,904 48,268 49,946 50,75

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics.

TABLE 2.8 EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT OF POPULATION BY AGE GROUP, 2008-10

2008 2009 (October) 2

% Total Withouteducation

Low Medium High Total Withouteducation

Low Medium High Total Withoeducati

15+ 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 10

15-24 14.2 2.2 17.7 15.9 2.6 13.6 2.5 17.4 14.9 2.0 13.6 4

25-34 14.1 2.2 6.1 19.5 18.8 13.2 1.8 5.3 18.6 17.0 12.9 1

35-44 14.5 2.3 8.4 18.8 17.4 14.2 1.6 7.6 18.9 17.2 13.9 2

45-54 18.1 5.1 14.1 20.7 23.1 17.6 4.1 13.4 20.4 21.3 17.2 4

55-64 17.1 7.5 19.5 15.2 21.0 18.7 8.1 20.5 16.8 23.1 18.7 6

65+ 21.9 80.7 34.2 9.9 17.1 22.8 81.9 35.7 10.4 19.4 23.8 79

Source: SORS LFS.

TABLE 2.9 EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT OF INACTIVE URBAN/RURAL POPULATION

2008 2009

Total Urban Rural Total Urba

Total 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

Without 6.8 3.4 12.0 5.6

2 KEY POLICY ISSUES STRATEGIES AND CHALLENGES IN EDUCATION AND TRAINING IN A LIFEL


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TABLE 2.10 TOTAL ENROLMENT BY ISCED LEVEL, 2006-09

ISCED 0 ISCED 1-2 ISCED 3 ISCED

2006/07 150,651 653,649 291,978 2

2007/08 154,444 641,034 289,766 2

2008/09 157,566 628,517 289,746 2

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics.

TABLE 2.11 ILLITERACY RATE: URBAN/RURAL POPULATION AGED 10+ BY GEND

Total Male

Total 3.45 1.08

Urban 1.55 0.50

Rural 5.90 1.79

Source: SORS Census of the Population, Households and Dwellings 2002.

TABLE 2.12 SECONDARY EDUCATION BY AREA OF STUDY, 2009/10

Area of study Students Area share in % Fem

Total 287,599 100.00

Religious education 755 0.26

Grammar schools 68,426 23.78

Agriculture and food processing 18,524 6.44

Forestry and wood processing 3,909 1.36

Geology, mining and metals 1,021 0.36

Mechanical engineering 30,097 10.46

Electrical engineering 28,422 9.88



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FIGURE 2.1 EDUCATION SYSTEM

Higher

education

IIIcycle

IIcycle

Icycle

PhD studies180 ECTS

Graduate academicstudies

60-120 ECTS

Specialist academicstudies

60 ECTS

S

Basic academic

studies180-240 ECTS

Basic professio

studies180 ECTS

Secondary

education

Secondary 4-year education(grammar schools and

secondary vocational schools)

Secondary 3-ye(secondary voca

ry n

Primary education(8 years)

2 KEY POLICY ISSUES STRATEGIES AND CHALLENGES IN EDUCATION AND TRAINING IN A LIFEL


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FIGURE 2.2 REQUIRED CHARACTERISTICS, KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS OF EMPLO

Source: EU Support to the Unemployed and Human Resource Development Project, Labour Market Analysis 2

www.radimozajedno.org/Downloads/publikacije/Results_of_the%20company_survey_2008.pdf

Level of education

Occupation (acquired in formal education)

Qualification (regardless of how it was acquired: formal/non-formal/informal education)

General working experience

Working experience related to the activity and jobs they do

Positive attitude towards work

Speed, skill, precision, efficiency, etc.Ability to work in a team

Flexibility related to work conditions and/or working hours

Computer literacy (user's level)

Computer literacy (specialist level)

Foreign language

Communication skill in a team, organisation, with clients

To be young (up to 30 years of age)

To be women

To be men

To be of a pleasant appearance

1.

FIGURE 2.3 HIGHER EDUCATION BY FIELD OF STUDY, 2007/08

Health and socialservices

9.0%

Agriculture andveterinary

3.4%

T h l

Services7.7%

Education

6.2%


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3. KEY POLICY ISSUES, STRATAND CHALLENGES IN EMPLO

3.1 STRUCTURE OF THE

LABOUR MARKETThe process of market liberalisation in Serbia has not yetcreated a positive labour market dynamic. Privatisationsduring the transition years after 2000 led to mass layoffsand further contributed to a reduction of the activity andemployment rates. Remarkable economic growth rates ofmore than 5% on average in the 2000-08 period did nottranslate into net job creation but to jobless growth,

similar to what happened in other Western Balkancountries. The global economic crisis also had a negativeimpact on net job creation. The total number of jobs(2 450 653 in October 2009) has decreased by 8% sinceOctober 2008. In the same period, the LFS indicated thatthe number of unemployed people went up by 11.6%(see TABLE 3.7).

Insufficient net job creation has led to persistent problemsin the Serbian labour market, namely: (i) continuously

falling activity and employment rates, in particular forwomen; (ii) a high youth unemployment rate;(iii) extremely difficult labour market integration forvulnerable groups such as Roma and people withdisabilities; and (iv) a highly segregated labour market withinsiders in relatively protected jobs and outsiders inprecarious informal jobs.

Activity and employment rates

There has been a continuous decline in the activity rate inrecent years, which has fallen from 66.4% in 2004 to60.5% in 2009 (SORS, 2009a; see TABLE 3.5). The lowactivity rate has many causes including: (i) early labourmarket exit (41.2% of the inactive are in retirement);(ii) discouraged job seekers (accounting for 6 8% of the

Employment rates have folloalthough less abrupt, trend. Etotal population decreased fr2009 (SORS, 2009a). There ibetween educational level anof secondary school graduatehigher education graduates a

Women in the labour mar

Women in the labour market

According to LFS (SORS, 200participation rate of 52.8% ismales (68.4%). This discrepaof childcare and elderly care rate of women (42.7%) is thecountries after Turkey and thof Macedonia. Women with and poorly paid jobs in the inafford care facilities for depeand individuals with disabilitie

pay gap is estimated at 15%EU average (Arandarenko an

Women are also more often unemployed compared to an to the LFS (SORS, 2009a). Hohas declined more, the gap bterms of unemployment has women registered with the N

(data for January 2010) make registered unemployed. Job l70 000; most losses occurred20 000) and the wholesale an30 000). It is evident from theskills and low education attainexposed to the impact of the



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Self-employment constitutes as much as one third of the

total employment for this age group. Unpaid familyworkers also have a very high share of employment(12.6%). Almost half of the older workforce is employedin vulnerable jobs. This certainly affects theunemployment trend which, for this age group, reached10% in October 2009, up from 7.6% in October 2008.

Changes in the employment structure

The employment structure in Serbia remained quite stablebetween 2004 and 2009 (TABLE 3.8). Agriculture, with24% of employment, is still an important sector in thelabour market. The high share of agriculture is verycommon in the Western Balkans (with the exception ofMontenegro). Although employment in agriculturedecreased between 2004 (24% of total employment) and2007 (20% of total employment), it increased again from2008 because people tend to return to the subsistenceeconomy in times of crisis. The industrial sector increased

its contribution to employment between 2004 (26.9%)and 2007 (29.5%) but has been in decline since the onsetof the economic crisis in response to falls in exports anddomestic demand (25.1% in 2009). As in most transitioncountries, the service sector gained ground until mid-2000but its share of employment has stagnated at around 50%since 2004.

The government has repeatedly emphasised that thedriving force of the labour market must be the privatesector. As the privatisation process has not yet been fullycompleted, employment in the public sector stillconstitutes almost one third of salaried employment.

Although still limited, flexible forms of employment haveincreased in recent years: 7.5% of formal wageemployment is part-time and 12% of jobs are fixed-termarrangements (Arandarenko and Krstic, 2008). As much as70% of the job vacancies reported to the Serbian National

Employment Service are for fixed-term jobs. It remains tobe seen whether fixed-term employment offers a decentcareer perspective to young people or whether itcontributes to raising youth unemployment by facilitatinglast-in-first-out dismissal practices in times of crisis.

Informal employment

employment mostly absorbs unq

labour. Of the informally employprimary education, about 39% hand around 8% have university e

Informal work has become quitepeople, increasing from 41% in 2(SORS et al., 2008). According totransition from school to work injob holders in the 15-19 age grouthe 20-24 age group, informally eoutnumbered formally employedlower the educational level, the hinformal employment. Informal wvery common in the services anLSMS survey has concluded thawidens the wage gap and deteriand, hence, directly contributes exclusion.

It is worth noting that informal edecreased with economic declincrisis in 2008. According to the Lwas 23% in October 2008 but fe2009, a decline of 100 000 peopemployment cannot be explaineemployment (as the latter did nooutcome of more people remain

3.2 UNEMPLOYMGeneral unemployment trend

Following the economic restructongoing since the beginning of 2rate increased to 17.4% in 2009 brief jump in 2008). With 60 000people from the previous year, t

unemployed people in 2009 wasLFS.

The main reasons for the soaringrecent impact of the economic ceffective labour market policies wand after the years of transforma

3. KEY POLICY ISSUES, STRATEGIES AND C


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highest youth unemployment rate of all the IPA countries,

with only the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedoniaperforming worse in this respect. The reason for this highunemployment rate, apart from the impact of theeconomic crisis on job creation, is that young people aremostly employed in the private sector and in the informaleconomy, which are both more exposed to economicdevelopments.

Both activity and employment rates for the 15-24 agegroup fell between 2008 and 2009. While the youthpopulation was 900 000 in 2008, it decreased to 860 000in 2009. Inactivity, affecting 600 000 people, remained thesame in both periods. The high level of absence of thisage group from the labour market is not only due to thecontinuation of education and training but also to realinactivity: more than one third of 15-24 year olds areneither in employment nor in education or training (Krsticand Corbanese, 2008).

Young people work in informal jobs more often than anyother age group, although the share of young peopleworking informally has gone down from an estimated37.6% in 2008 to 29.4% in 2009, in line with the generaldecline in informal employment during the crisis period.

The employment rate for young people also reveals aworrisome gender gap, with a 26.3% employment ratefor men but only 15.7% for women in 2008 (Arandarenkoand Nojkovic, in press). According to the LFS, in 2009,37% of all unemployed people and almost 77% of youngunemployed people were first-time job seekers. Morethan half of young unemployed people have beensearching for a job for more than one year. An ETF 2007study on transition from school to work in Serbia foundthat one in three young Serbs take more than two yearsto get their first job after leaving school.

The government aims to tackle the problem of youth

unemployment with the launch of a new apprenticeshipprogramme entitled First Chance, targeting 10 000 youngpeople (up to 30 years of age) with wage subsidies(Arandarenko and Nojkovic, in press). According to theSerbian National Employment Service, 9 577 traineeswere employed within the framework of this programmein 2009 for a spending on incentives of RSD 1 3 billion In

This is supported by the late

among those who reported iregistered with the National to find a job, only 42% were according to the ILO definitio23% were inactive individualemployed but registered as uinformal economy. (Arandar

Long-term unemployment

One of the common problemcountries is the high share ofand Serbia is no exception. AOctober 2009, 65.5% of the unemployed. According to thService register for January 2people had been out of workSpecifically affected are peoplevels. These breakdowns po

process whereby the economshedding many employees wlonger in demand. It can be aunemployed people end up bcontinuing to participate in th

3.3 JOB CREATI

Job creation is an urgent issu

business climate and steady (registered) employment hasobstacles to job creation wergroup in the Serbian Employslow economic developmentflexibility; limited reach of ac(ALMMs); non-engagement inadequate skill levels in man

SMEs constitute an importangenerating 67.6% of the couemployment. SMEs generatbetween 2004 and 2008 (Ins2009). The government strivand has developed a StrategCompetitiveness and Innova



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3.4 PASSIVE AND ACTIVELABOUR MARKET POLICIES

Passive labour market policies

The recently enacted Law on Employment andUnemployment Insurance has tightened the entitlementconditions for receiving unemployment benefits.According to the National Employment service (data for

2009), only 11.5% of the registered unemployed (8.6% ofwomen) receive unemployment benefits. The number ofbenefit recipients has climbed 18% from 2008 to 2009.Of total programme spending by the Serbian NationalEmployment Service (passive and active measures,without administrative costs), around 90% of the budgetwas spent on unemployment benefits during 2003-07(Arandarenko and Krstic, 2008).

Active labour market policies4

Since 2005, active labour market policy (ALMP) is definedas an explicit policy within the National EmploymentStrategy 2005-10. The budget allocated to ALMMs by theSerbian National Employment Service was less than0.12% of GDP in 2008. This is low compared to the EUaverage (0.47% of GDP in 2007) but more than in mostother IPA countries. The budget was increased to aroundEUR 35 million for ALMMs in 2009 to alleviate the impact

of the crisis. According to the Serbian NationalEmployment Service, 40 000 unemployed people wereemployed after their participation in ALMMs(apprenticeship programmes, employment subsidies andpublic works) in 2009.

The ALMMs implemented by the Serbian NationalEmployment Service are clustered in four groups: careerguidance and counselling (including also active job-searchtraining, job clubs, job fairs, assessment of employability,

individual employment plans, selection and classification);additional education and training (including First Chanceprogramme); job subsidies (including self-employmentschemes); and public works.

In terms of budget allocation, the lions share is spent on

registered unemployed and 516

moderate but remarkable placemincrease in recruitment in June arelated to the measure to increa(targeting 10 000 young people) subsidised wages.

The number of notified vacancieNational Employment Service wand 2009 by more than one thirdto the abolition of the compulsosystem as well as to the impact

A project entitled Data Forecastithe Serbian National EmploymenMarch 2010 under the IPA 2008of improving the capacity for skilabour market and monitoring anof ALMPs.

3.5 LABOUR MAREMPLOYMENT POFRAMEWORK

National Employment Strateg

The Ministry of Economy and Re

developed several national strateemployment. The most importanEmployment Strategy 2005-10, employment guidelines of the EStrategy. It has three objectives:quality and productivity; and socmarket inclusion.

The document highlights the impgeneration at regional level, soci

generation by the private sector investment. The quantitative targ

+ increase labour force particip+ increase employment to 67%+ reduce unemployment to 8%



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In September 2009, the Government of Serbia also

adopted the Youth Employment Policy and Action Plan2009-11 prepared by the Ministry of Economy andRegional Development, defining five strategic objectivesto be pursued for the promotion of full, productive andfreely chosen employment for youth.

The government has recently adopted a Career Guidanceand Counselling Strategy (see Section 2.6 above).

The Poverty Reduction Strategy paper (in line with the

National Employment Strategy), adopted by thegovernment in 2003, emphasises the importance of jobcreation within the private sector. The Poverty ReductionStrategy in the field of employment is closely linked to theNational Employment Strategy.

In 2008 the government adopted the National SustainableDevelopment Strategy of the Republic of Serbia 2009-17defining the following priorities: EU membership,

development of competitive market economy,development of human resources and increasedemployment, development of infrastructure and balancedregional development, and protection of the environment(Government of Serbia, 2008b).

3.6 INSTITUTIONAL SET-UPAND LABOUR MARKETMANAGEMENT CAPACITIES

In 2007, the Ministry of Economy and RegionalDevelopment took over responsibility for employmentissues and is now the main body defining employmentpolicy and measures. The number of civil servants workingwith employment issues is quite limited, however, eventhough there has been some progress in terms of

recruitment. Labour relations, labour inspectorates andsocial protection in general are governed by the Ministry ofLabour and Social Policy. Its Labour Law covers allemployees, including public employees. It was adopted in2005 with the aim of making the labour market moreflexible. The ministrys capacity is well developed,particularly the labour inspectorate with 270 inspectors

strategy and action plan prepa

phases, between ministries sEducation, the Ministry of LabMinistry of Trade and Serviceand Technological Developm

National Employment Ser

The National Employment Sethe political responsibility of tRegional Development, is in

unemployment insurance scplacement services, guidancand the implementation of A2009 Law on Employment aService delivery is organisedAs of 2010, the Serbian Natio1 800 employees, of whom counsellors dealing with cliencentres have been establishe

Employment Service so far: Ni. The caseload of registercounsellor is approximately 52008). There is a need to prooriented staff training, strengcapacities at the local levels and ensure continuity in ALM

Social partners

The Social and Economic Couconsultative mechanism at thgained importance when meaimpact of the economic crisisalso participate in the Republat national level and its local ea consultative role. These aretogether with their local netwof two different ministries (th

Social Policy and the MinistryDevelopment). Bilateral, sectohowever, remains weak. Althincrease in the number of tripcouncils, the effectiveness ofcouncils remains limited. It is employment dialogue platform



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TABLE 3.2 EXPENDITURE ON ACTIVE AND PASSIVE EMPLOYMENT POLICIES, 2006-

As % of GDP 2006 2007 2008

Active measures 0.07 0.09 0.12

Passive measures 0.40 0.43 0.26

Source: Based on data from the National Employment Action Plan for 2010.

TABLE 3.3 ACTIVITY AND EMPLOYMENT RATES BY EDUCATIONAL LEVEL, 2008-10

2008 2009

Activity rates by educational level, age 15+

Total 51.4 4Without education 12.8 1

Low 35.5 3

Medium 61.0 5

High 68.1 6

Employment rates by educational level, age 15+

Total 44.2 4

Without education 12.2 1

Low 31.4 2

Medium 50.9 4

High 61.9 5

Source: SORS LFS 2009 and 2010; 2009 data refer to October and 2010 data refer to April.



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TABLE 3.4 ACTIVITY AND EMPLOYMENT RATES BY AGE GROUP, 2008-10

2008 2009

Activity rate

15+ 51.4 48.9

15-24 33.8 29.5

25-34 78.7 77.635-44 85.6 86.1

45-54 74.8 74

55-64 41 38.9

65+ 11.4 9.7

15-64 62.6 60.5

Employment rate

15+ 44.2 40.8

15-24 21.2 17.0

25-34 63.4 60.6

35-44 76.4 73.6

45-54 67.0 64.3

55-64 37.9 35.0

65+ 11.4 9.7

15-64 53.3 50.0


TABLE 3.5 BASIC LABOUR MARKET INDICATORS, 2004-10

% 2004 2005 2006 2007 2



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TABLE 3.6 EMPLOYMENT GROWTH, 2005-10

% 2005 2006 2007 2008

Employment growth 15-64years (base year 2004)

-6.3 -8.7 -8.3 -3.4


TABLE 3.7 EMPLOYMENT AND UNEMPLOYMENT, 2004-10

Source: SORS LFS.

15-64 yearsEmployment Unemplo

Total Female Male Total Fem

2004 October 2,735,977 1,141,187 1,594,789 664,002 3

2005 October 2,574,139 1,033,151 1,540,988 718,773 3

2006 October 2,516,794 1,029,085 1,487,709 691,877 3

2007 October 2,525,570 1,064,011 1,461,559 584,216 2

2008 October 2,646,222 1,122,835 1,523,387 457,205 2

2009 October 2,450,653 1,058,767 1,391,875 516,990 2

2010 April 2,278,505 977,548 1,300,957 572,502 2



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TABLE 3.8 EMPLOYMENT BY SECTOR AND GENDER, 2004-10

Year Age 15+ Total Agriculture Indust

2004 Total 100 24.0 2

Male 100 23.9 3

Female 100 24.1 1

2005 Total 100 23.3 2Male 100 23.3 3

Female 100 23.3 1

2006 Total 100 20.5 2

Male 100 21.5 3

Female 100 19.2 1

2007 Total 100 20.8 2

Male 100 21.7 3

Female 100 19.5 1

2008 Total 100 24.1 2

Male 100 23.7 3

Female 100 24.5 1

2009 Total 100 24.0 2

Male 100 24.8 3

Female 100 22.9 1

2010 Total 100 22.9 2

Male 100 24.1 3

Female 100 21.3 1




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TABLE 3.11 DURATION OF UNEMPLOYMENT BY AGE AND GENDER, 2004-10

Year Age 15+ Total Less than 1 year

2004 Total 100 22.6

Males 100 24.4

Females 100 21.1

2005 Total 100 20.3

Males 100 19.8

Females 100 19.9

2006 Total 100 19.2

Males 100 22.9Females 100 15.0

2007 Total 100 18.7

Males 100 20.1

TABLE 3.10 UNEMPLOYMENT RATES BY AGE GROUP, 2008-10

Age 2008 2009

15+ 14.0 16.6

15-24 37.4 42.5

25-34 19.4 21.9

35-44 10.5 14.5

45-54 10.4 13.1

55-64 7.6 10.0

65+ 0.3

15-64 14.7 17.4




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TABLE 3.13 NATIONAL EMPLOYMENT SERVICE REGISTERED FEMALE UNEMPLAND EMPLOYMENT, 2004-09

Year Unemployed First timejob seekers

Unemploymentbenefit recipients

Newlyregistered

Fivaca

2004 460,887 263,008 na 14,054

2005 480,492 267,810 na 15,968

2006 493,599 269,820 na 15,989

2007 457,762 244,709 na 14,935

2008 408,767 212,525 na 16,923

2009 397,230 168,619 34,480 19,636

Source: Serbian National Employment Service.

TABLE 3.12 NATIONAL EMPLOYMENT SERVICE REGISTERED UNEMPLOYMENTEMPLOYMENT, 2004-09

Year Unemployed First timejob

seekers

Unemploymentbenefit

recipients

Newlyregistered

Registeredvacancies v

2004 843,692 456,003 76,584 28,287 507,694

2005 888,386 467,430 63,295 32,779 602,558

2006 913,293 467,421 75,059 32,542 707,140

2007 850,004 419,397 71,334 30,791 758,832

2008 755,953 360,030 72,719 34,293 790,261

2009 746,605 280,858 85,695 40,299 516,116

Source: Serbian National Employment Service.

TABLE 3.14 ACTIVE LABOUR MARKET MEASURES, 2007-09



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TABLE 3.16 DOING BUSINESS RANKING: EMPLOYING WORKERS, 2008-10

Employing workers Doing Business 2008 Doing Business 2009 Do

Rank 87

Redundancy costs(weeks of salary)

25 25

Rigidity of employment

index (0-100)

31 31

Source: World Bank Doing Business Reports 2008, 2009 and 2010.

TABLE 3.15 DOING BUSINESS RANKING, 2010

Doing Business 2010 Rank

Ease of doing business

Starting a business

Dealing with construction permits

Employing workersRegistering property

Getting credit

Protecting investors

Paying taxes

Trading across borders

Enforcing contracts

Closing a business

Source: World Bank Doing Business Report 2010.



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TABLE 3.18 AVERAGE MONTHLY WAGE AND YEAR-ON-YEAR INDICES, 2000-08

Source: Arandarenko and Avlijas (in press).

Year

Nominal wages Yea

Gross in RSD Net in RSD Gross in EUR Net in EUR No

2000 3,804 2,393 74 47

2001 8,712 5,394 146 91

2002 13,298 9,224 219 152

2003 16,638 11,518 256 177

2004 20,576 14,121 283 194

2005 25,565 17,478 308 211

2006 31,801 21,745 378 258

2007 38,781 27,785 485 3472008 45,690 32,757 561 402


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4. KEY POLICY ISSUES, STRATAND CHALLENGES IN SOCIAINCLUSION

The concept of social inclusion is relatively new in Serbiaspolicy discourse, with research and policy priorities so farfocused mainly on poverty, economic vulnerability andsocial protection of the population. The recent shift offocus from poverty reduction towards broader socialexclusion issues and social inclusion strategies has beenbrought about by progression in the countrys EUaspirations and by an awareness of solidarity and socialcohesion as key EU values and objectives.

4.1 POLICY INITIATIVES ANDPROGRAMMES FORVULNERABLE GROUPS

Current national legislation and policies aim to provideefficient social protection to vulnerable groups in thepopulation. The Law on Social Protection and Provision of

Social Security to Citizens (Official Gazette of the Republicof Serbia, Nos 36/1991, 79/1991, 33/1993, 53/1993,67/1993, 46/1994, 48/1994, 52/1996, 29/2001, 84/2004and 101/2005) is the basic regulatory act in force since1991. Designed in a completely different economic andsocial environment, this law has been amended manytimes and recently a new draft was produced and debatedand is expected to be adopted soon. The new draft, basedon EU standards and lessons learned during reforms ofSerbias social protection system (underway since 2001),

provides for decentralisation of social protection provision(through larger local government involvement indeveloping, funding and managing different types ofsupport for poor and marginalised people) and a focus oncommunity-based social services.

Department for Internationalembassies of Norway and SwInternational Development CUnited States Agency for Intand international organisationCommission, the World BanDevelopment Programme (Uto establish efficient domestkey national actors in leading120 local governments have

The drafting of a national Pov2003 involved over 3 000 govactors. In 2004, a specialisedthe Office of the Deputy PrimIntegration, was established cooperation with the StatisticSerbia) the implementation oStrategy, while in 2009 its futhe Social Inclusion and Pove

developing social inclusion ppractices in Europe (see Sec

In March 2010, the governmInclusion Working Group of kresearchers, civil society actiserve as an important forum government and non-governthe formulation of recommeinclusion in Serbia within the

European integration.

Groups with high levels oexclusion

There is a consensus among



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from abroad) and an efficient social transfer policy are

behind the substantial decline in poverty in Serbia. Theeconomic crisis, however, has reversed the povertyreduction trend and led to a deterioration in livingconditions. Estimates for the first half of 2009 indicate anincrease (as compared to 2008) in absolute poverty and inthe poverty gap, particularly affecting young andnon-educated people and those living in rural areas(Matkovic et al., 2010).

Research data document that the unemployed,

households with two or more children, the elderly, peopleliving in non-urban areas, Roma, internally displacedpeople and people with disabilities are the groups with thehighest poverty incidence and at higher risk of socialexclusion (Krstic, 2008; Government of Serbia, 2009c;European Commission, 2008). Educationalunderachievement, long-term unemployment, poverty,social and spatial segregation and political and socialmarginalisation often combine and accumulate to producean adverse overall effect for these groups, exposing themto multiple deprivations and chronic, intergenerationalpoverty (UNDP, 2006a; European Commission, 2009c).The combination of these factors is particularly salientwith Roma and people with disabilities, therefore theremainder of this chapter focuses mainly on the existingpatterns of in/exclusion in education and work for thesetwo groups in Serbia.

4.2 SOCIAL INCLUSION INEDUCATION

New legislation

Education legislation in Serbia and the newly adopted Lawon Education System Fundamentals in particular, promoteinclusive education by upholding the principles of equalopportunities, accessibility, non-discrimination and choiceof language of instruction. This law, which will enter intoforce in the 2010/11 school year, aims to remove previouslegal or institutional barriers to the inclusion in mainstreameducation of children with developmental disabilities andthose coming from vulnerable social groups.

Education of children with dis

Children with developmental diseducated in special schools or inschools, with only a small numbschools. There are 74 special scprimary education and 25 for sec7 400 students (approximately 5and 1 700 in secondary educatiostudents with development disamainstream schools exist in 82 p

secondary schools (ETF, 2010). decline in the share of children in8% in 2002 to 5.6% in 2007 (Klathere is worrying evidence that 7development disabilities remain education system (UNICEF, 200

Currently, the education of childmainstream schools in Serbia is individual actions and sustained NGOs, parents, experts and teacthan to systemic support or favosettings. The national NGO, Velipoints out that discrimination in ewith disabilities is present in madiscrimination is present within schildren with mild and moderateattend special schools while chilprofound mental disabilities are c

non-educable (VelikiMali, 2005). disabilities enrolled in mainstreaproblems, such as hostile attitudinaccessibility of schools, teachewith children with disabilities andand individual education plans inAs a result, children from inclusipass exams and end up transfer(ETF staff interview with VelikiM

Only a small percentage of peopSerbian universities. While officisome estimates suggest that thstudents with disabilities at the Uof total of 74 496 students in theenrolled mostly in the Faculty fo

4. KEY POLICY ISSUES, STRATEGIES AND CHALL


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