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EACEA National Policies Platform
Serbia

Serbia

3. Employment & Entrepreneurship

3.2 Administration and governance

Last update: 28 November 2023

Governance 

Three ministries are the main actors involved in policy-making in the field of youth entrepreneurship and employment:

  1. Ministry of Labour, Employment, Veteran and Social Affairs (Ministarstvo za rad, zapošljavanje, boračka i socijalna prava
  2. Ministry of Youth and Sports (Ministarstvo omladine i sporta), 
  3. Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development (Ministarstvo prosvete, nauke i tehnološkog razvoja)

Department for Active Employment Policy (Odsek za aktivnu politiku zapošljavanja), within the Ministry of Labour, Employment, Veteran and Social Affairs, conducts tasks related to the analysis of the labour markets trends and preparation of strategic documents (National Employment Strategy, National Employment Action Plans). The department is also responsible for the development of measures for active employment.

Youth Sector (Sektor za omladinu), within the Ministry of Youth and Sport, is responsible for the support and promotion of youth employment, self-employment and entrepreneurship. The support and promotion are mostly done through youth work activities and informal education. The Ministry opens regular annual calls for financing projects related to the youth employability and entrepreneurship.

Department for dual and entrepreneurial education (Sektor za dualno i preduzetničko obrazovanje), within the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development, is involved in preparation and supervision of legal regulations in the field of entrepreneurial, dual, financial and IT education, as well as career guidance and counselling. 

The main public actors involved in policy-making in the field of youth entrepreneurship and employment are:

  1. Development Fund of the Republic of Serbia (Fond za razvoj Republike Srbije),
  2. Development Agency of Serbia (Razvojna agencija Srbije),
  3. Serbian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Privredna komora Srbije),
  4. National Employment Service (Nacionalna služba za zapošljavanje).

Development Fund is responsible for financing projects that encourage:

  • businesses and entrepreneurs in the Republic of Serbia,
  • employment,
  • production,
  • sustainable and comprehensive development.

The main activity of the Development Agency is to support micro, small and medium enterprises and entrepreneurs. The Agency informs entrepreneurs about different support programs.  

Chamber of Commerce and Industry is the national association of Serbian businesses that represents the interests of its members to the state authorities and institutions. Among different promotional and support activities directed to the businesses, the Chamber actively supports and encourages youth entrepreneurship through its project “Caravan of Youth Entrepreneurship” (Karavan omladinskog preduzetništva). This project supported the establishment of youth companies, as well as the empowerment and promotion of youth entrepreneurship in the territory of the Republic of Serbia. 

National Employment Service supports young entrepreneurs through different support programmes, trainings, mentoring, especially through the Subsidy for Self-Employment Programme (Subvencija samozapošljavanju).

Cross-sectoral cooperation

Cross-sectoral cooperation occurs at the governmental level. The mechanisms of cross-sectoral cooperation vary according to the concrete needs and planned activities. 

Ministry of Youth and Sports and Ministry of Labоur, Employment, Veteran and Social Affairs, are implementing the IPA project “Youth Employability and Active Inclusion”. The project aims to increase employability and self-employability of youth by developing the sustainable solutions that address the needs of youth. 

In addition, the Ministry of Youth and Sports established collaboration with different international organisations such as United Nations, Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe, German organisation for international collaboration – GIZ, Swiss Cooperation Office. The fields of collaboration are: improvement of the conditions for youth employment and employability, youth entrepreneurship, empowering youth offices, developing local action plans, informing young people about environmental protection, regional integration and youth mobility.