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1. Programmes specific for vulnerable young people

2. Funding

3. Quality assurance

Programmes specific for vulnerable young people

Housing programmes for vulnerable young people:

The Programme for Construction and Maintenance of Apartments Owned by the Republic of North Macedonia, implemented by the Ministry of Transport and Communications, provides social housing for specific vulnerable groups, including:

1. Young people without parental care (aged 18 and above) who were previously under institutional or foster care.

2. Single parents with minor children.

3. Blind individuals who are recipients of social or permanent financial assistance.

To apply for subsidies, applicants must:

• Be citizens of the Republic of North Macedonia.

• Have a permanent residence in the municipality where the social housing is located.

• Not own an apartment, nor have one owned by their spouse or other household members in North Macedonia.

Since 2016, the ‘Buy a House/Buy an Apartment’ project has been available for young people under 35. The Government covers up to 70% of the monthly annuity (principal and interest) in the first five years of loan repayment for purchasing a new home. The 2024-2025 cycle expands eligibility criteria to include single young professionals and newly formed households.

Additionally, the Right to Financial Support for Housing remains in place for individuals who had the status of a child without parental care until 18 or after guardianship ends, up to age 26.

Health protection programmes:

At a Government session in March 2024, the Exemption from Participation in Health Services programme was updated to expand free healthcare coverage for young people under 18 from families receiving social financial assistance. The budget allocation has increased to 25 million MKD, extending coverage to approximately 25,000 beneficiaries. The programme ensures access to free treatment in all public healthcare institutions. 

Employment programmes:

Some of the active employment programmes are:

    ○ Youth Guarantee

Youth Guarantee is a Government programme that enlarges the scope and engagement of young unemployed persons on the labor market. The objective of this measure is for young people to stay in the country and work here. Youth Guarantee is open to all young unemployed people up to the age of 29, who have already completed their education and are not registered in the Employment Service Agency. Applicants get quality offers for employment, further education or internship, thus successfully integrating the youth in the labor market and reducing brain-drain from the country. However, in the Youth Guarantee 2023-2026, it is foreseen to refer not only to the young people persons, but also to the general public. The plan is to adopt a legal solution that will cover unemployed persons, students over 15 years of age, pensioners, beneficiaries of guaranteed minimum assistance and persons in employment who perform additional work.

    ○ Subsidized workplaces for people with disabilities

This measure is foreseen in the Annual Work Programme of the Employment Agency for 2024 (Програма за работа на Агенцијата за вработување на Република Северна Македонија за 2024 година). It’s not particularly intended for youth but they are also in the focus. The aim of this measure is to increase the employment rate and employment opportunities for people with disabilities registered within the Employment Service Agency as unemployed persons.

Educational programmes:

    ○ Programme for conditional financial support for high school education  - The program "Conditional Compensation for Secondary Education" (Програма за условен паричен надоместок за средно образование) aims to improve the access and quality of education, increase the number of students enrolled in secondary education from household’s beneficiaries of social financial assistance, and encourage the implementation of compulsory secondary education in the Republic of North Macedonia. On a long-term basis, the program aims to increase employment and reduce poverty, as well as to create a better workforce. This program is implemented by the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy, the Centers for Social Work, the Ministry of Education and Science, secondary schools and the Ministry of Finance, in accordance with the Manual for Administration of the Conditional Compensation for Secondary Education Program.

       ○ Free school books for all students in the primary and high schools  -  In order to scarce the parents' budget, the Government decided from the school year 2009/2010 to start distributing free textbooks for all students in secondary and elementary education. After the end of the school year, the students have an obligation to return the textbooks. 

       ○ Scholarships for students with special needs in the public and private high schools in North Macedonia - The Ministry of Education and Science awards 180 scholarships for students with special needs from public and private secondary schools in the Republic of North Macedonia (Стипендии за ученици со посебни потреби од јавните и приватните средни училишта). 

       ○ Scholarships for social support of students in the public high schools in North Macedonia - In the school year 2024/2025, the Ministry of Education and Science announced a call to award 900 scholarships for social support to students from public secondary schools in the Republic of North Macedonia (Стипендии за социјална поддршка на ученици од јавните средни училишта). 
The criteria for awarding these scholarships are: the achieved success, the material condition of the immediate family of the student, the awards won in international / state competitions won during the previous two school years for the students from the first year, i.e. during the previous school year for the students from II, III and IV year and the social position of the immediate family of the student. 

    ○ Scholarships for students – children without parents and parental care in the public and private high schools in North Macedonia - The Ministry of Education and Science for the 2024/25 school will award 50 scholarships for pupils - orphans from public and private secondary schools in the Republic of North Macedonia (Стипендии за ученици- деца без родители од јавните и приватните средни училишта). The amount of the scholarship is 3.500,00 MKD per month for nine months during the school year. 

      ○ Scholarships for full-time students from social categories enrolled in undergraduate studies from the first cycle at public universities and higher education institutions in the Republic of North Macedonia - The Ministry of Education and Science for the 2024/2025 school year awarded 1470 social scholarships for students enrolled in undergraduate studies from the first cycle in the Republic of North Macedonia (Стипендии за студенти од социјални категории запишани на додипломски студии од прв циклус на јавните универзитети и високообразовни установи во Република Северна Македонија). 

Child and Social Protection programmes:

○ Guaranteed minimum assistance 
With the new revised law on Social protection (Закон за социјална заштита) on 21 may 2019 the measure Right to social welfare allowance was changed to Guaranteed minimum assistance, and the amount of 2,871 denars is increased into 4,000 denars. The right to guaranteed minimum assistance (Гарантирана минимална помош) is intended for a household that is materially unsecured and does not own property and property rights that can be supported. A household whose total average amount of all incomes of all members of the household on all grounds in the last three months before submitting the request for exercising the right and during the exercise of the right is lower than the amount of the guaranteed minimum assistance in accordance with this law.

○ Permanent compensation 
The right to permanent compensation (траен надоместок) has a caregiver who took care of a person in his family and a parent who took care of a child with a disability

In the sense of the Article 58 of the Law on Social Protection (Закон за социјална заштита), the right to permanent compensation has a person:

- who has cared for a person in his family for at least fifteen years, after reaching 62 years of life for a woman, i.e. 64 years of life for a man, who is unemployed and does not use the right to a pension on any grounds.

 - a parent who has a child with a disability. The right to permanent compensation has a parent who has taken care of a child up to the age of 26, without using a non-family social protection service, who is unemployed and does not use the right to a pension, after reaching 62 years of life for a woman, i.e. 64 years of life for a man.

○ Right to financial support for housing of a person which had a status of a child without parents and parental care by the age of 18, or/and after termination of custody, maximum to the age of 26 
The right to financial assistance for social housing (Право на социјално домување) is provided to socially endangered persons - not provided with housing. Socially endangered persons are: beneficiaries of guaranteed minimum assistance and a person who, by the age of 18, had the status of a child without parents and without parental care, that is, after the termination of the guardianship, and up to the age of 26.

○ Subsidized Student Meal
In 2024, the Ministry of Education and Science, launched a call for realization of the right to subsidized student meal. Within the call itself, it’s defined that the only eligible students are the following:

1. Who are citizens of the Republic of North Macedonia;
2. Who are full-time undergraduate students at public and private universities:
3. Who are not in regular employment;
4. Who are not registered as individual farmers and
5. Who do not have a monthly income on any basis greater than the minimum net salary in the Republic for the current year.

Based on the call, the students  received a subsidized student meal of 3.360 denars (roughly 55 EUR) on a monthly basis.

Funding

The planned budget for 2025 allocates 191,045 million denars for social transfers, reflecting a sustained commitment to supporting vulnerable groups across the country. Within this, 2,459 million denars are earmarked for active employment measures, aiming to address the growing need for job creation and improved workforce participation. This budget increase underscores the government's focus on social welfare and economic integration, particularly through initiatives that aim to reduce unemployment and provide financial support to those in need.

Quality assurance

As for many other policies undertaken by governmental institutions, there is no publicly available information about evaluation processes and measurement of the quality of inclusive programmes and policies. The lack of transparency and systematic reporting raises concerns regarding the effectiveness and impact of these initiatives. Without clear monitoring mechanisms, it remains uncertain whether these policies achieve their intended goals or require adjustments.