A drop in the unemployment rate and an increase in the number of employed persons are the results of economic recovery, higher FDIs and the government’s effort in reducing unemployment, with the latter being at the top of its priorities in coming months
The National Employment Service enjoys the confidence of all labour market stakeholders and an increasing number of employers are using its services – says Zoran Martinović, Director of The National Employment Service.
What do you think about the drop in the number of unemployed persons registered with The National Employment Service, and what had the greatest influence on employment growth?
– The average annual unemployment rate in 2015 relative to 2014 and 2013 has gone down by 1.5% and 4.4% respectively.
At the same time, in Q1 of 2016, the number of unemployed persons registered with The National Employment Service who found jobs rose by 13.5% compared to last year. A drop in the unemployment rate and an increase in the number of employed persons are the results of economic recovery, higher FDIs and the Serbian government’s effort in reducing unemployment.
Employment is certainly one of the country’s economic priorities, and The National Employment Service is one of the important links in the chain of creating prerequisites for supply matching the demand on the modern labour market.
Employment fairs are one of the popular measures implemented by The National Employment Service. What results have they had?
– For the unemployed, fairs are a very simple way of applying for jobs with several companies at once and having interviews with multiple employers, all in one place. In 2015, over 12,000 people found jobs in this way.
Employment is certainly one of the country’s economic priorities and National Employment Service is one of the important links in the chain of creating prerequisites for supply matching the demand on the modern labour market
The IPA 2012 project, implemented by The National Employment Service with the support from the EU, is ongoing. What results do you expect?
– One of the priorities of the employment policy in 2016 is introducing employment incentives for less employable people, especially younger and older job seekers, redundant workers, people with no professional qualifications, and people with disabilities.
The Increasing the Effectiveness of Employment Policies for Vulnerable Groups project calls for the opening of 60 job search clubs, 20 information and consulting centres, and 80 self-service workstations, as well as launching an internship programme for the rural youth and training courses for jobless vulnerable groups.
In late March, you received the Captain Miša Anastasijević Award. What do you think was crucial in you winning this award?
– I was very pleasantly surprised by this award that I received for social responsibility, and I am especially humbled by the jury’s explanation of why I won it, namely due to my personal and professional commitment. I have been at the helm of the National Employment Service since 2014.
One valuable thing that I hopefully contributed was reestablishing the confidence of the labour market in our work. More and more employers are using our services, almost all local self-governments have made employment their top priority and we are jointly implementing all employment programmes regardless of what political option is in power.
I have always viewed holding a state function as my job. I believed and continue to believe that knowledge, expertise and responsibility, along with continuous personal growth, are a sure path to success.