Programmes for vulnerable young people

Job Info Centres (Job info centri) are career guidance centres providing support to young people in career planning, decision-making related to further education and training, employment preparation, job search, and career choice or change. The main target groups include secondary school pupils, students, unemployed young people, and jobseekers, while employers are also supported through recruitment and competency assessment services. Established in nine cities within the project Education to Employment – E2E (Znanjem do posla), a joint project of the Governments of Switzerland and Serbia, Job Info Centres connect schools, individuals, businesses, and civil society at the local level and serve as a bridge between the education system and the labour market by strengthening employability skills and facilitating the transition from education to work.

Centre for Youth Integration (Centar za integraciju mladih) is an inclusive initiative aimed at children and young people, particularly those living in street situations, from informal settlements, or at high risk of exclusion due to extreme material poverty, discrimination, or lack of access to education and social support. The programme’s core activities include Drop-in Shelter Services that improve the quality of life for street-involved children and youth, psychosocial support, and the drop-out prevention activities. Multidisciplinary teams engage families and communities, deliver learning support and educational workshops, and coordinate volunteer involvement and partnerships with health, social protection, and education institutions to build a sustainable support network for vulnerable children and youth.

Strong Youth Centre – (Centar „Jaki mladi“) is a support programme for young people from vulnerable social groups, with a particular focus on youth in alternative care. The programme targets young people aged 16 to 30 from the territory of the City of Belgrade and aims to support their socio-economic integration by strengthening life skills, employability, resilience, and independent living capacities. Services are tailored to individual needs and include career counselling, mentoring, life skills and employability training, professional training, work-based learning through internships and employer placements, as well as peer mentoring and peer support activities that foster social inclusion and community engagement.

From Inactivity to Employment – Support Programme for Young People in NEET Situations (Od neaktivnosti do zaposlenja – program podrške mladima u NEET situaciji), implemented by CEPORA – Centre for Youth Development, targets young people who are not in employment, education, or training. The programme provides flexible and individualised support aimed at independent living and labour market inclusion, allowing young people to join activities at any stage based on assessed needs. Key activities include individual career guidance, employability training, social skills development, peer mentoring, all designed to strengthen personal capacities, improve employability, and support sustainable social inclusion.

Funding 

The Job Info Centres network operates within the Education to Employment (E2E) programme, a long-term partnership between the Governments of Switzerland and Serbia. The programme is supported by substantial funding totaling approximately €37,900,000 and runs from 2016 to 2028.

The Jaki mladi programme, implemented by SOS Dečija sela Srbija, is financed through various forms of donations, including from companies but also private ones.

CEPORA, an NGO, receives funding from EU sources such as the Erasmus+ programme, as well as national support through the Ministry of Tourism and Youth financing programmes. In 2025, CEPORA’s programme was awarded RSD 900,000 for its programme Stronger in Independence.

The Centre for Youth Integration (Centar za integraciju mladih) provides its services through a mixed funding model, combining donor contributions with project-based financing.

A key challenge for all these initiatives remains sustainability, as they rely primarily on project funding and donations rather than stable, system-level financial support.

Quality assurance 

Although each programme may have different reporting obligations to the responsible authorities throughout its implementation, there is currently no established system-level quality assurance mechanism that is flexible and adequate to accommodate the diversity of programmes.