We live in a time where technology is all around us. Out of the comfort of our own beds we can do just about anything – be it shop, order food, find out information, talk to someone across the globe. Thanks to that automatization, certain jobs have become redundant, making room for new careers to emerge – programming, marketing, design, sales. The IT industry is among the biggest industries in the Western Balkans, opening up a plethora of jobs and internships. However, despite the amount of job openings on the market, the education system in the Western Balkans can’t adequately prepare its young people to fill them. Which is why it’s no wonder why many young people aren’t employed, especially those who haven’t gotten higher education or completed some form of training.
The project 02hero was created with the aim to help young people kick start their career in IT. Through digital skills courses, 50 young people will have the basic skills to get an internship and even a job that would be reliable in the long run. Apart from technical skills, employers emphasize the value of soft skills – teamwork, flexibility, curiosity, organization skills, communication, and interpersonal skills. When recruiting youth, employers look for not only basic industry knowledge, but that the candidate has developed soft skills and previous experience. IT is an industry that’s constantly evolving, which is why it’s important that a candidate shows initiative to learn and develop their skills over the course of their career.
The project 02hero is based on the one-stop-shop methodology, meaning it covers all the skills needed for employment in the current labor market. Which is why, apart from the digital skills course, the participants of the training will complete a transferable skills course and gain support through career counselling and connect with employers. After the six-month course, young people will get the opportunity to take part in a course in entrepreneurship.
“My Career from Zero to Hero“ is a joint three-year programme of Centre for Youth Work – CZOR (Serbia), Forum MNE (Montenegro), Center for Youth Education – CEM (Bosnia and Herzegovina), Youth for Social Changes – YSC (Albania) and TOKA (Kosovo).
02hero is funded by European Union and implementation of the project is supported in each country by: Serbia – Swiss government through project “Education to Employment – E2E“ which on behalf of the Government of the Republic of Serbia, is implemented by Social Inclusion and Poverty Unit (SIPRU), City of Novi Sad i European Youth Capital Novi Sad (OPENS).; Montenegro – Ministry of Public Administration of the Republic of Montenegro.
Applications for the 02hero graining program open on August 15th, and the program starts in November 2021!