Caught between two views, the first being that young people do not want to work and that youth in the past was better, and the second, that young people have no opportunity to get a job and are not offered decent work or pay, it is difficult to play the role of an impartial interpreter and researcher. And it is not only difficult to be objective toward these two views, which a researcher must be, but the main problem is that detailed data are not available on people in the labor market aged 15 to 30 who are neither working nor studying. Since there is no data on which an analysis could be carried out and an economic diagnosis of the problem could be made, proposing economic policies to solve the problems of these young people is almost completely like walking in the dark.
Official statistics, more precisely the Labor Force Survey, in the first quarter of 2022 identified just under 1.1 million young people between 15 and 29 years old. Out of 1.1 million young people, 179,000 were neither working nor studying or in training – they were in the so-called NEET position. This indicates that one in every six people in Serbia aged 15 to 29 did not have a place in the labor market nor were preparing for it in any way, representing a completely unused human resource for Serbia.
Of these 179,000 young people in the NEET position (Neither in Employment nor in Education and Training), 103,000 were aged 15 to 24, and around 76,000 were aged 25 to 29. More detailed data on these young people are not available in official statistics, so every source or database is a unique opportunity to learn something about young people looking for their place in the labor market. The Institute for Development and Innovation runs a retraining project for graphic designers aimed at young people in a disadvantaged position in the labor market. Through the call for retraining, the campaign reached at least 70,000 people; 750 applied for retraining, and 65 selected participants go through an intensive four-month retraining program.
Therefore, it was an excellent research opportunity to give the participants a survey and learn some of their socio-economic characteristics. Although this sample and number of respondents are not statistically representative, the answers and socio-economic characteristics are an excellent first step for creating future state economic policies, as well as employment strategies for private companies in the future.
Young people aged 15 to 30 who are highly motivated and selected to go through retraining for graphic designers come from all parts of Serbia; 46% of them are unemployed, 20% are students, and 34% are employed. What is characteristic for employed and unemployed people in the retraining program is a very difficult position in the labor market: the unemployed have been looking for a job on average for 10 months, and the employed work in low-paid jobs and not all have permanent employment. The biggest problem when finding a job, most of them say, is lack of experience, and because of that, they do not pass the selection process for the positions they apply for.
Out of 1.1 million young people, 179,000 were neither working nor studying or in training – they were in the so-called NEET position.
In addition, they mention the small number of jobs available in the field for which they studied, which is understandable due to the mismatch between the labor market and the education system, but also because of the characteristics of the respondents. Regarding education, almost two-thirds have higher education obtained at state and private universities, and it is noticeable that they are mostly former or current students of social sciences faculties (philosophy, teaching, political sciences, management). When analyzing the position of this group of young people, it is important to consider their expectations in the labor market, especially regarding salary.
The question they answered was about how much salary they would need to live according to their wishes. On average, they answered 100,000 dinars, and most answers were in the range of 65,000 to 120,000 dinars. This question was intentionally asked “loosely,” not technically precise as in job interviews, because we wanted to know the salary these young people would need to feel fully materially satisfied. It is very likely that they would accept a somewhat lower salary if offered employment.
Regarding other socio-economic characteristics analyzed in the selected group, half live in their own apartment or house, 15% with their parents, while almost one-third rent an apartment or house. Of all selected retraining participants, almost 85% live in urban or suburban areas, and 15% live in rural areas. Also, regarding education compared to their parents, retraining participants are on average more educated than their parents, although the structure of parents’ education is not unfavorable – 48% have higher or university education, 45% have secondary education, and 8% only basic education. Regarding thinking about leaving the country, that is, emigrating, half said they are considering it, and half said they are not.
With another emphasis that this group cannot be claimed to be a representative sample, but that its socio-economic analysis is an important clue for us economists who propose economic policies, I would conclude that young people in the NEET position are a great opportunity for faster economic development in Serbia. Directing them toward export-oriented ICT sectors and professions in shortage is something that would be a good direction for state action and economic policies of the future government. In addition to government actions, private companies seeking staff are also important, which will be a challenge in the coming years.
Private companies should create special programs for practice, training, and employment of these young people. The fact that 179,000 young people aged 15 to 29 are in the NEET position shows that if government economic policies and human resource strategies of private companies do not integrate them into the labor market in the short term, the most powerful economies in Europe, as well as neighboring countries like Slovenia, will do it.
In addition to government actions, private companies seeking staff are also important, which will be a challenge in the coming years.
I would say that young people are the silver of the labor market in Serbia, which needs good polishing to shine, and this requires coordination of government economic policies and a broader view of private sector HR policies. I believe there is enthusiasm and optimism in these people, which I base on their answers to the question of how they rate their position in the labor market on a scale from 1 to 5, where the average rating was 2.9.
Understanding what the NEET position means, before I saw the results of this question, I was sure the rating would not exceed 1.5 and that everyone would look at their position negatively and pessimistically, but I was proven wrong by the results. Therefore, they only need support through additional training and a chance for their first job; everything else they will do by themselves!
Author: Nenad Jevtović, Economist, Institute for Development and Innovation
