Measures for easier employment that include cash compensation do not exclude social assistance
An IPA project for easier employment of vulnerable categories is underway. The goal of the project is to reduce long-term unemployment and dependence on guaranteed minimum assistance, to bring young people up to 29 years of age, Roma, women, people with disabilities and long-term unemployed people into the labor market.
For the fourth year, a project financed by the Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance (IPA) of the European Union "Activation of vulnerable groups on the labor market" has been implemented. Many things, as they say from the Employment Agency, are solved in od, and the biggest demotivating obstacle for registering this category of citizens has been removed, so that for some time now, those who register for measures that are accompanied by a certain monetary compensation, at the same time, they also receive social assistance, unlike in the beginning when it was abolished.
- When we started the project, we were faced with the fact that if someone participates in training for in-demand occupations, where the monthly compensation is 9.000 denars, he loses social assistance, but that problem does not exist now. It was really demotivating - said Vlatko Stojanovski, who is part of this project.
The goal of the project is to reduce long-term unemployment and dependence on the guaranteed minimum assistance (GMP), to bring young people up to 29 years of age, Roma, women, people with disabilities and long-term unemployed people into the labor market.
- A prerequisite for the inclusion of persons is that they are registered in the Employment Agency as unemployed persons and active job seekers. The Employment Centers and Social Protection Centers select the most easily employable members of the GMP-households and prepare an Individual Activation Plan for them, which is a condition for the person to use the services and measures from the project. It is the same with active job seekers from vulnerable groups for whom an Individual Employment Plan is prepared. In the past three years, the centers have prepared more than 4.200 individual activation plans - says project coordinator Natasa Zdravkovska.
The project consists of two components: the Counseling and Motivation Program and the Employment Support Program through training for 2.659 in 5 measures: training for in-demand occupations, on-the-job training at a specific employer, employment subsidies, internships and the pilot program "Second a chance."
In-demand occupations, for this year in individual cities, there are caregivers, make-up artists, hairdressers, pedicurists, masseurs, confectioners, bakers, cooks, welders, fitters... Those who apply will receive practice, but also 9.000 denars monthly compensation.
The trainings at a specific employer last 3 months, and both employers and those who go to training receive compensation, with the employer having to keep at least 50 percent of those who went to training.
In order to interest employers, wage subsidies are also offered for 849 workers.
The internship is cited as a particularly interesting measure, where the interns also receive a net amount of MKD 9.000, and no compensation is provided for the employers.
The project "Activation of vulnerable groups on the labor market" has a duration of 54 and started to be implemented from September 20, 2019. The total budget of the project is about 4 million euros, of which 3 million are provided by the Delegation of the European Union.
9,5 percent of the unemployed have not completed secondary education
With the pilot measure "Second Chance" as part of the whole project for easier employment of vulnerable categories, it should be possible for 200 people who are missing the last year of secondary education to complete it, and their costs will be fully covered.
- When we made an analysis, we came to the data that 9,5 percent of the unemployed have not completed secondary education. But it should also be taken into account that there is a certain number who in the meantime finished high school, and some even graduated from college, but they have not entered that data in the Agency. However, the number of those who have not completed secondary education is large and we currently have 85 people who are studying their last year and we expect them to successfully complete secondary education - said Vlatko Stojanovski, coordinator of "Second Chance".