Kamočaji and Grebo sign Agreement on mutual cooperation

 

President of the Chamber of Commerce of Sarajevo Canton Kemal Grebo and Director of the Employment Service of Sarajevo Canton, Igor Kamočaji, today signed an Agreement on mutual cooperation aimed at joint action in developing educational plans and implementing projects, reports the Patria news agency.

The goal of the Agreement is to reduce the number of unemployed, address issues in the field of employment, and achieve economic recovery and development of Sarajevo Canton.

President of the Chamber of Commerce of Sarajevo Canton Kemal Grebo stated that the Chamber and the Employment Service have been cooperating well for many years and noted that today a small step was taken, with the intention of encouraging all other relevant stakeholders to join in solving the unemployment problem.

"In this country, the key problem is employment. It must be urgently placed as a priority national goal in all strategic documents we need to create by 2020. From the perspective of unemployment and employment, we have reached a critical situation. Current employment levels do not allow for the filling of social funds, which are so strained that they can no longer fulfill their obligations because there are not enough employed people to contribute to those funds," said Grebo.

Grebo also added that after a strategy is developed, it is necessary to define the branches and sectors of the economy that will most quickly resolve this acute problem. He emphasized that the economy should provide the most employment, and that in Sarajevo Canton, the ratio cannot remain at 51 percent employed in the economy and 49 percent in non-economic sectors, as it is now.

"The most significant tasks arising from the Agreement include: launching activities in employment projects, creating feasibility studies for business development, innovation, labor market development, preparing projects and applying to available foreign and domestic funds for the implementation of joint projects," said Kamočaji.

Kamočaji particularly highlighted the joint goal of developing and improving educational programs, which will in the future be strategic, operational, and aligned with the needs of the labor market in Sarajevo Canton.

The Agreement also envisions strengthening the Center for Education and IT Services, as well as establishing joint teams aimed at enhancing retraining/upgrading programs and additional training, and gaining practical experience and the latest knowledge needed in the economy of Sarajevo Canton.

"Today, it is essential that all actors involved in employment, economic development, and creating an environment where certain success can be achieved have 'total' coordination. We continuously initiate the idea that all actors, through the public sector and the private sector, should be connected in solving the burning issue of employment," said Kamočaji.

Kamočaji stated that as of today, the Service's records show over 73,000 unemployed persons, of which 61 percent are women, and young people up to 35 years of age account for 43.42 percent, according to a press release.