The FightForFuture team from Montenegro proposes creating a non-profit organization to address high youth unemployment. The organization would match students' skills to employers' needs through career counseling, internships, workshops and networking opportunities. A survey found students lack practical skills while employers need specialized workers. The long-term goal is for youth to gain skills, employers to find quality candidates, and for the organization to become self-sustaining through engagement of former youth participants. Two companies have already agreed to partner in the program.

1. Project name:
Team name: FightForFuture
Country: Montenegro
School: Faculty of Economics, University of Montenegro
Mentor: mr Srdjan Vukcevic, Faculty of Economics, University of
Montenegro

2. Ready. Set. Explore!
Unemployment is a very serious problem in Montenegro and its rate is constantly
increasing. In order to experience unemployment in our community we undertook two
surveys. The first one targeted 300 students studying in Montenegro and its results
showed as follows:
625 266
 Only 16% of students are currently population
working (part time job, full time job or
volunteering)
18.8%
 79.66% of students said that they Unemploy
ment rate
would be willing to volunteer during
their studies but on the other hand 40.1%
only 45,76% of them have actually Unemployment
tried to find employment. rate age 15-24
Data taken form Statistical Office of
Montenegro, MONSTAT, 22.02.2013, 08:36
pm.

3. Of 300 students 74.82% think that their university does not enable them to
take an active part in labor market and that they need more practical experience.
 When it comes to working/volunteering/internship opportunities opinions are
divided, 48,44% think there are enough opportunities for everyone who wants
to find employment.
The other survey targeted exchange students from Montenegro in order to
discover why they decided to study abroad and to draw a parallel between ours
and foreign study programs. The results revealed:
 Great majority answered that they decided to study
abroad for better opportunities in work and life;
due to more practical experience during studies.
 Only 25% of them want to return to
Montenegro after their studies.

4.  When asked what are the main causes of youth unemployment their answers
were:
• Nepotism
• Lack of industry and undeveloped agriculture
• Insufficient support for entrepreneurial development
• Young people are too much under the influence of overprotective parents and
the remains of socialism in their environment
A little less than half of questioned companies (45,75%) are offering internship
programs to students.*
All this research has led us to a
conclusion that there is dissent
between demand and supply on
Montenegrin labor market. The lack
of cooperation and collaboration
between the employers and potential
employees is so great that there is
very small (almost nonexistent)
workforce in some occupations, and
vast workforce in others, less
demanded ones.
*Research “Best Place to Work For” in
Montenegro conducted by Blue Coach
consulting firm.

5. Ready. Set. Envision!
Our solution to this problem would be founding a non profit organization or agency
with a goal to:
offer guidance empower help students
Parents
Students
Teenagers
for teenagers parents to in their quest
who are still support their for
discovering children in internship/volu
their interests, pursuing their nteering
in accordance interests opportunities
with demands by connecting
of the labor students and
market employers
The entire system would be based on matching the employer’s needs and student’s
knowledge and skills. Montenegro has no adequate personnel development strategy,
especially in areas that could improve its economy. We face the fact that Montenegrin
production companies, have to import specialized workforce from the region.

6. Employers
What We Provide What They Provide
 Guiding students based on  Information about deficient
information on deficient occupations
occupations they provided us
with  Information which skills are
needed for certain positions in
 Contribution to the their firm
development of specialized
workforce they need  Internship/volunteering
practice for students (min one
 Available students for month)
internship/volunteering
programs  (Optional) participation of their
employees in orientation
seminars and workshops

7. Teenagers
Teenagers will be offered counseling and guidance in choosing and pursuing
their interests. They will be informed of current and future needs of labor
market.
Teenagers will be offered an opportunity to participate in various workshops
and orientation seminars that will be held by actual employers and their
employees; which will aim to bring them closer to business processes and
practices of particular occupations.
Through counseling
teenagers will be
encouraged to pursue
their interests.

8. Parents
The agency will offer counseling and workshops for parents in order to
empower them in helping their children choose their profession by providing
them information about opportunities and needs of labor market.
We decided to undertake this initiative because the parents have big influence on
their children when choosing their future profession. Montenegrin culture is still
strongly influenced by remains of socialism. Overprotective parent’s attitude often
suppresses their children entrepreneurial and artistic skills and directs them to
“safe and stable” jobs in public administration.

9. Students
What We Provide What They Provide
 Internship/volunteering  Their time and effort
opportunities during studies
 Engagement in building their
 Practical skills that will help own and, by extension our
them find job after studies
future
 Information about labor market
vacancies and deficient  Engagement in future work of
occupations the agency by being our
advocate and/or (potential)
 Building business contacts and employer in our network
network

10. Explore. Envision.
Implement!
The project is planned to go on indefinitely and to self-sustain by transforming
teenagers to students and students to employers, who will, in one of the before
mentioned ways be involved in the organization's work. It has the potential to
engage and reach all the youth of Montenegro.
Organization will require our everyday efforts for foreseeable future. Model is
easily copied and can be implemented by willing parties in the region, that would
allow the exchange of interns/volunteers between agencies.
We already contacted two companies that are willing to be partners in the
program, which is the best indicator of the feasibility of the solution.