Skills Gap Analysis in the Gostivar Municipality

THE EUROPEAN UNION'S CROSS-BORDER COOPERATION PROGRAMME THIS PROGRAMME IS FUNDEN BY THE EUROPEAN UNION

Report of Skills Gap Analysis in Gostivar Municipality

This project is financed by European Union

Report of Skills Gap Analysis in Gostivar Municipality

This report is a part of “Development of integrated touristic products for sustainable economic growth of Gostivar and Korca regions”

Report of Skills Gap Analysis in Gostivar Municipality

Prepared by: My Career

“This publication has been produced with the assistance of the European Union. The contents of this publication are the sole responsibility of Municipality of Gostivar and the partners My Career and Center for Mountain development Skopje and can in no way be taken to reflect the views of the European Union.”

January, 2016

Content:

I. Executive Summary

II. Introduction

a. Background b. Methodology III. Survey results

a. Company profiles b. Current workforce situation c. Cooperation with educational institutions d. Future skills IV. Conclusions and recommendations

I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The EU Project “Development of integrated touristic products for sustainable economic growth of Gostivar and Korca regions” in Macedonia sought to assist the Gostivar Municipality, in general, and the sector based companies more specifically, so that the can improve the their competitive position in the market.

To do this, MyCareer, a local NGO that works in the field of career counseling and internship program, as an implementer of the activity completed the following; (1) undertook qualitative and quantitative skills gap assessments in the region, (2) provided recommendations to Municipality of Gostivar for making the educational program more responsive to the needs of the private sector and (3) improve the cooperation between the academia and the businesses, including establishing a structured internship program. By assisting the business and educational communities take a systematic ap- proach to addressing the skills gaps in the region, the project will be helping to create jobs, start new businesses and improve the competitiveness of existing enterprises in the Gostivar region.

For this reason, My Career prepared a survey/assessment analysis that focuses on workforce development in Gostivar region, with special focus on the tourism based sector and provided recommendations that are immediately implemented by the academia and the private sector to overcome some of the identified gaps. To obtain best results and get the necessary information a specific methodology was developed which included: (a) Determining target sectors though secondary research (b) Defining of survey sample, (c) Devel- opment of survey questionnaire, (d) Development of follow up

4 interview questionnaire, (e) Training of interview implementers, (f) Implementation of survey process, and (g) Implementation of follow up interviews.

There were 65 contacted companies from three selected sectors, which responded to the questionnaire and provided specific rec- ommendation on what needs to be done so that the cooperation between academia and business community is improved. The questionnaire was focusing to assess the following the interviewee and company profile, the current stat of the workforce, level and quality of education programs and future program to improve the skill-sets of recent students and future job seekers.

Some of the key findings from the analysis of the questionnaires are that the size of companies in Gostivar region are small companies, majority of them employing less than 20 employees with more than 75% of them employing only full time employees with secondary education degrees (56%). The companies believe that current employees are missing soft skills such as (critical thinking, foreign lan- guage, customer service) believing that this could be improved by offering job specific trainings and introduction of new technology and management practices in the training programs. The current state of cooperation between academic institutions and business community is not satisfactory for majority of the respondents therefore they suggest new initiatives such as joint partnership programs, internship programs and other initiatives should be established so that this cooperation is enhanced.

It is positive that majority of respondents (35%) believe that their company will grow in the next three years thus creating new job

5 opportunities for new entrants in the labor market however, half of companies (50%) indicate that the situation will remain the same in the next period. They indicate that the number of new jobs created will be up-to 5 as a result of their growth. It is interesting to note that companies consider that job opportunities predominantly will be for sales and customer services positions and professionals (technical staff). However, the predominant part of the respondents thinks that even though these jobs will be created it is very hard to retain them meaning that the company will experience a cost of developing a professional and companies with better financial indi- cators will have a free ride in “stealing” these readymade professionals. The companies consider also that is very difficult to find employees in the market because of the absence of recruitment agencies and employment mediators.

At the end, companies provided several recommendations and suggestions on how to overcome these hurdles that prohibit the growth of companies because of lack or absence of talents and skill- sets of job seekers in the companies. The recommendations were divided into two parts: quick fix (short term) and transformational (long term) activities that would improve the linkages for of talented workforce. The quick fix includes activities that build on career perspective of current talents as well as recruitment of these talents by companies. Whereas the transformational activities focuses on building long-term relationships between academic institutions and business community that focuses on providing the talented workforce that match the needs of fast growing companies and competitive sectors in the region.

II. INTRODUCTION a. Background Gostivar is located in the Polog valley, forty five minutes drive from Skopje. The land is fertile. The municipality is surrounded by high mountains, Shara, Bistra and Suva Gora. The biggest Macedonian river – Vardar has its springs here. Gostivar is situated on the route of the Corridor 8, projected to connect Varna to Skopje and Tirana. Agriculture and cattle-breeding contributed to the local economy. The number of inhabitants of the town grew constantly, from about 2.000 in 1874 to 7.832 in 1948. Today the Municipality of Gostivar has 35 inhabited settlements with a total population of 81.035 out of whom 35.847 live in the town of Gostivar. The Municipality is among the biggest in Macedonia.

Gostivar has one of the lowest activity rates in Macedonia. This directly affects the low employment rate. The gradual rise in unemployment was the most eminent result of the transformation of the economy of Gostivar. The collapse of the “Gostivar’s” former socialist enterprises resulted in a loss of over 4.900 jobs. Although the big industry in Gostivar did not cease to exist overnight, its downfall was one of the most dramatic features of the transition. ndeed, few persons work in Gostivar today. The number of officially registered jobs in Gostivar has almost halved since the beginning of 90’s. Official employment in Gostivar is remarkably low, just 10.087 persons. Bearing in mind that there are 51063 persons aged 15 to 64, then we have a strikingly low activity rate of approximately 21,3%, among the lowest in the country.

Many of those who are employed hold jobs in the public sector, either within the municipal administration, or in the local health, social, cultural, educational and judiciary institutions. In fact, the single biggest employer in the Municipality of Gostivar is the local hospital with about 650 employees, followed by HPS “Mavrovo” with 360.59 The various bodies of

7 the municipal administration employ around 100 persons, whereas the municipal enterprise for Water Supply “Komunalec” employs another 200 people.

Moreover, Gostivar lacks qualified labor force that would make the economic activities in the municipality move to a higher value added production and services. Considering the low level of education in Gostivar it is not surprising that few people are employed. Among those who are registered as unemployed, only a fraction has degrees from universities (2%). About 21% of the job seekers have secondary education degree, the other 77% holding a diploma from primary school if that.

The small and medium enterprises (SME’s) make more than 99% of all business subjects in Gostivar. There are just seven companies employing more than 100 workers. The number of companies employing more than 10 workers is also extremely low, not bigger than 40-50. What prevail are sole proprietors or companies engaged in petty trade and services employing 2-4 persons, including the owner and manager. The construction sector and related activities such as manufacturing and trade of furniture, windows, doors, floors bathroom’s equipment as well as processing of different construction materials (marble, cement, and granite) is the most vibrant part of the economy. The major reason for that is the huge demand on behalf of the Gostivar’s emigrants. Popularly referred to as guest-workers these people invest part of their savings earned abroad building houses or buying apartments in their native Gostivar. According to official statistics, 295 private dwellings with an average surface of 69 square meters and the average cost of 31.000 euros were completed in the Municipality of Gostivar in 2004.67 Only Skopje and Tetovo saw more dwellings constructed that year. The construction and construction-related sectors are the driving forces for the Gostivar’s economy in recent years.

The foreign investments are low preventing the town and its economy from access to new technology and the know-how. b. Methodology The project methodology implemented in order to do the analysis and provide recommendations for future action was divided in five phases:  Secondary Data research: collection of reports, materials, information available on Gostivar region, more specifically Gostivar Municipality and economic outlook and its workforce.  Primary Data Research: this includes developing the questionnaire to be distributed to companies included in the interviewing process,  Interviewing: face to face interview with selected companies in the tourism sector,  Data analysis and draft report presented to stakeholders  Advisory board members (including Municipality members and Project staff) comments and remarks about the survey

1. Secondary data research

The first phase consisted of reviewing existing documentation and meet- ing key stakeholders in order to:  Gain a better understanding of the current state of the labor market supply and demand in the Municipality of Gostivar;  Get to know which ones are the most dominant and fastest growing sectors in the region ;  analyze the profiles and skill sets of students entering the labor market from secondary education providers such as Zllate Mal- lakovski Economic High School in Gostivar;

 analyze the relevant skill development activities currently provided by the public and private sectors as well as customer satisfaction with these services ; and  understand the e-competencies framework and its application in Macedonia. During this phase the consultants also identified relevant stakeholders and gauged the level of activity across sectors, assessing their willingness and capacity to address the job creation and skill development opportunities and challenges. In addition, My Career has established links with Municipality of Gostivar as a main partner in the activity, which also served as liaison organization between the local business community and My Career.

2. Primary Data Research: Preparation of Skills Gap Assessment methodology The second phase was focused on the development of a methodology for both qualitative and quantitative analysis of the workforce needs in the Gostivar Municipality in the selected sectors. It was expected that the analysis assess the profiles of the workforce that is anticipated to be needed in the near future, simultaneously identifying the specific soft and technical skills that these profiles require. This also included providing an estimate of the number of needed workers in these profiles. In this phase, the consultant interviewed the key influential members in order to tailor the methodology according to their input.

3. Conducting the Skills Gap Assessment The Skills Gap Assessment was itself implemented in a number of steps. Using the data gathered through the secondary research and taking into account inputs from key stakeholders, tourism was selected as target sector. With the help of Municipality of Gostivar volunteers, the consult-

10 ant then went on to identifying the survey sample, compiling lists of active companies in the selected sector. The aim was to interview a total of around 62 companies (see annex A). Parallel to this, the consultants developed both the survey questionnaire (see annex B) and the interview questions guide (see annex C), which was adopted by all parties involved in the project. With the sample and survey ready, the consultants then went on to train selected students identified by Municipality of Gostivar (see Annex D: list of Students engaged) on successful implementation of the survey process. Additionally, the consultants met with a smaller number of select companies (high growth or high employment) in order to identify the opportunities for employment growth and the reasons why this is currently not happening. Through these structured interviews, the consultants gained a more in-depth understanding of the underlying causes for the skills mismatch, testing different hypothesis for overcoming the situation.

4. Data analysis and draft reported presented to Advi- sory Board

Once the questionnaire was analyzed and follow up interviews with managers of the anchor companies conducted the consultants shared the draft of the main findings with members of the stakeholders.

5. Event with Diaspora and Gostivar citizens

After the results from the Skills Gap Assessment survey were received and processed, the project organized a presentation with the interested citizens and companies as well as diaspora interested in hearing about the findings of the assessment. The event initiated with a presentation of the findings and conclusions of the Skills Gap Assessment, followed by a facili- tated work group discussions aimed at jointly developing recommendations for future actions. The goal was to propose actions that could be divided in two groups: transactional (quick fix) activities that can be im-

11 plemented in the short term, and transformational activities (scalable and replicable across the country). These activities would be undertaken in the future by the members of LEG office in Municipality of Gostivar in order to improve the employability of the high school graduates and meet the private sector workforce demand.

III. Survey results The survey used to assess the existence and the extent of the skill gaps in the Gostivar region was structured in a way intended to capture both quantitative and qualitative data. It included questions defining the interviewees’ profile as well as the interviewee company’s profile, questions that address the current work force status in the interviewed companies, a portion intended to obtain qualitative information on the current state of cooperation between industry and education along with collecting insight on proposed interventions for expansion of this relationship, ending with questions aimed to assess the need for future skills within the surveyed industry sectors.

Fig.1 market composition The results of the survey are herewith presented according to its’ previ- ously defined structure and represent the replies of all the companies in all sectors combined. a. Company profiles

The survey was carried out on a total of 62 companies from the selected sector: tourism In terms of types of businesses, the tourism sector included: accommodation (hotels, motels, guest houses, etc.), food and bever-

13 age (cafes, restaurants, catering), transportation companies and the sales side of tourism (travel agencies and tour operators). In terms of the profiles of the interviewees, all held senior positions with almost two thirds (65%) of them being the owners of the companies,

Fig. 2 Sector of companies

26% were managers and directors while only 2% were HR managers. This is due to the structure of the Pollog economy (much like the whole Mace- donian economy) where most of the companies are micro and SMEs and only a few are big enough to employ specifically HR managers. This is confirmed by the following question addressing the annual revenue of the surveyed companies.

over 500.000 over100 mil USD USD- 1 milion 0% over 1 mil USD- USD 10 mil. USD 0% 1% Over 10 mil. USD-100 mil. More than1 USD 00.000 USD- 2% 500.000 USD 15% under 100.000 USD 82%

Fig.3 Revenue of companies

Human Resource Posi on Manager 2% Professional 2% Member of the Board 2%

Manager 26% Owner 65% Director 3%

Fig 4. The position of interviewees

Les than 2% of the companies stated they made annual revenue of more than 10 million USD while the majority had less than 100,000 USD (82%).

In terms of market orientation, only around 10% said that they are engaged in exports while the majority (79.37%) was inward oriented and dealt only with the local market. It needs to be noted that these numbers could be skewed somewhat because they include the tourism sector. Mainly it is difficult to assess the level of export as in tourism where the provision of services to foreign tourist is the “export”. These values are hard to measure.

The next couple of questions dealt with the economic reality and outlook of the interviewed companies. Most of the companies (75%) reported growth during average the last three years, with a total of 12% having reported a growth higher than 10%. Considering the current economic conditions in the rest of Europe, this seems to be a good result. In terms of the outlook in the near future (12– 36 months), the sample majority expects stabilization or growth (50% with only 35% expecting growth), while the rest expect a decline in business.

20-100 201-500 2% 101-200 0% 0% > 1000 501-1000 0% 0%

< 20 98%

Fig. 5. Profile of companies

Huge incline H u g e d e c l i n e 0% Decline 2% 13%

Growth 35% No changes 50%

Fig.6 prediction of sector

b. Current workforce situation The next group of questions tried to capture the current situation with the work force engaged in the surveyed companies, both in the quantitative and the qualitative aspect. As expected, most of the companies fell in the category of micro and SMEs, which is in line with the structure of the Gostivar region industry. The absolute majority (98%) employed up to 20 workers and only a few (2%) had between 20 – 100 workers which tells a lot about the size of the sector and the size of economy of the Municipality. None of the interviewed companies had more than 1000 employees.

Fig. 7 number of employees

In terms of the age structure of the work force, a total of 70% were in the range of 25-44 years of age which explains a lot about the preference of the youth remaining in the sector, while only 3% ware above 45 years. The surveyed companies employed 58% males and 42% females.

45-59 16-18 35-44 3% 0% 60-64 14% 0% 19-24 27% Female (%) 19%

Male (%) 81%

25-34 56% Fig. 8 Age structure Fig.9 Gender of employers

In regards to the model under which the workers are employed, 75% are full time, 6% are part time employees while 14% are contracted and only 5% are self-employed (a new model of employment in the country). The majority of existing employees working in the surveyed companies are high school graduates (56%), followed by university graduates (33%) and vocational school graduates at 8%, which indicates that the sector is attractive for employees with no less than higher education degree. It needs to be noted here that there is a relatively low level of vocational school educated workers, which could be a result of the unattractiveness or the level of quality of vocational schooling.

Fig. 10 the education level of employees

The succeeding questions were aimed at capturing information regarding the criteria used by companies when hiring, the level of effort they put into work force development and their views in regards to what they are missing in terms of skills.

Asked to rank the top three characteristics that the surveyed employers look for in their employees, most gave greatest importance to “experience”, followed by technical, education degree and soft skills.

Fig. 11 Demand for Employees

The next question enquired about the skills and characteristics that the employers feel are lacking in their current work force. Written communication came in first with 19% of the employers marking it as an issue. We need to take into account that many of the respondents were from the tourism sector where knowledge of written skills is crucial. Second with 18% was personal character while third the employers wanted that their employees have some strategic skills allowing them to give insights about the perspective of the companies. The rest of respondents offered skills and characteristics were spread pretty evenly.

Fig. 12 Competencies needed

After assessing the lack of skills, the next couple of questions provoke insight into what the companies are currently doing, or are willing to do in the future to develop their work force. Unfortunately, the current level of investment in workforce development is very low. A majority of the companies answered that they did not invest at all in trainings (60%) or invested on an ad hoc basis (14%). Only 26% have regular budgeted investments. Not surprisingly, the main reasons for the low level of investment in work force improvement were costs. Namely, cost and lack of training subsidies (also connected to costs) were noted by 12% of the companies as the main reasons for their low level of investment in training. It is worth mentioning that a relatively high percentage (11%) of the companies stated that there is no availability of the types of trainings that they re-

21 quire. This potentially provokes questions about the availability, relevance and potentially, quality of the existing work force development programs and trainings that are offered in the Gostivar market.

Invests a lot Regularly invests 0% 26%

Doesn’t invest 60% Periodically invests (ad-hock) 14%

Fig. 13 Human resource development by companies

Can’t find Training centers Other adequate training 2% located far Cost of trainings 6% 0% 21% Lack of Lost me in informa on about trainings training 8% opportuni es 15%

Hard to find a Lack of subs tute subven ons 23% 25%

Fig. 14 Why companies don’t invest in their human resources

The last question dealing with investments in work force development mostly concerns those companies that already invest in this. The question is intended to capture what kind of capacity building is needed in addition to what the companies have at the moment. Most of the replies (21%) stated they needed more job specific training, insinuating training directly connected to the companies’ work. With 19%, new technologies trainings came in second.

Other None of the above 5% 3% Job specific trainings Work ethique 37% trainings 21%

Supervision trainings 2% Training on new Trainings on technologies personal Management 11% development trainings 12% 9% Fig. 15 Preferences on training topics c. Cooperation with educational institutions

The next group of questions tries to gauge the level of success with which education meets the needs of the industry. The questions are intended to provide insight to the current state of collaboration between the educational institutions and business, as well extract potential future actions to deepen this cooperation directed at streamlining curricula to meet the needs of the industry. One of the most interesting results of this survey was the reply to the question asking businesses how the national education system satisfies their needs. Even though 13% of respondents replied that it “does not

23 meet their needs at all”, if we take into account the qualitative element of the other categories of replies, it turns out that the overwhelming majority thought that the system dissatisfies! Almost half (44%) replied that it satisfies somewhat, with another almost 40% answering “satisfies” and a minor portion (3%) evaluating the system as totally satisfactory. All of these answers have a positive connotation concluding that in general, the current education system, though not the best, does meet the needs of the industry.

Fig. 16 Satisfaction with education institutions

The logic behind this conclusion can potentially be found in one of the previous questions. Specifically, we need to remember that from the provided response options the businesses ranked “education” (the level of), as least important when hiring new staff. This could mean that the educational system does provide a good basis for development of future employees but does not provide “ready to work” students, hence the low level of importance that the employers give to education. As the previous question determined the need for deeper cooperation between industry and education, the next couple of questions tried to define the types of activities, which could contribute to this. Asked what they would recommend for possible future programs connecting educa-

24 tion and industry, the majority of companies opted for internship programs (25%) while 11% would like to see more guest speakers from the industry lecturing at the education institutions transferring their practical know-how to students.

Fig.17 suggested activities to improve the industry-education cooperation

In terms of the willingness of the companies to engage in certain projects aimed developing cooperation with education, the results of the survey were mixed. The highest percentage (32%) would get involved in organization of joint conferences and seminars, while 29% would organize Career Fairs. Developing joint presentations was chosen 17% of the respondents respectively. A relatively high number of companies (5%) stated that they would not engage in any of the proposed activities, which leads us to conclude that either their choices were not included in the possible survey answers (internships were chosen as the favored programs in the previous question), or that they are reluctant to invest time in these types of activities.

Fig. 18 preferred partnership activities

As anticipated by the consultants, internship programs were the preferred choice by most companies hence the next group of questions tried to assess the details. A total of 67% companies said that they would engage interns if offered. The relatively high number of companies that said that they would not have interns (33%) is a result of the current gray area with the mechanisms for engaging interns. The companies especially were concerned the absence of a law that allows the Internship program in the companies. Many of them either knew or have cooperated with MyCareer and suggested that companies together with International donor community lobby that internship program continues to function since it improves the dialogue between business and academia as well as have benefits for interns which get practical knowledge and skills in addition to theories gained at education institutions. The average number of interns that the companies would accept at moment was 3and the preferred average length of the internship would be 3 months. Also, 57% of companies would cover the expenses of the interns that they would engage.

NO 33%

YES 67%

Fig. 19 the % of companies that would engage interns

NO 43%

YES 57%

Fig.20 % of companies that would pay to interns

The last group of questions deals with the companies’ expectations for future employees and skills needed. The initial results have some positive connotation as the most of the companies (39%) expect the number of their employees to grow in the short term (12-36 months). As most are micro and SMEs, the number of employees expected to join the surveyed companies are mainly up to 5 (with a total of 22%). Only 2% of the re-

27 spondents expect to employ between 21 and 30 new people in the next 2 – 5 years, again coinciding with the structure of the economy. In terms of the model of employment, the companies expect 1/3 to be seasonal and almost 15% to b offered a full time contracts. In terms of what types of positions the employers are expecting to fill, most of them are in professionals in the areas of work (20%) while 13% are customer care.

Fig. 21 type of employees needed

Fig. 22 profile of employees needed

The survey also looked into the mobility and availability of talented work force. In terms of staff retention, the situation is fairly even with 48% of the companies reporting issues with retaining talented employees and 52% having no difficulty with this. It seems that the majority of companies find it either very difficult or difficult to obtain employees with the re- quired skills (a total of 74% answered in these two categories). Very difficult Very easy 5% 12%

Difficult 26%

Easy 57%

Fig. 23 how difficult/easy is to retain your employees’

Very easy 0% Easy 21% Very difficult 23%

Difficult 56%

Fig. 24 how difficult/easy is to find new employees

The main issues with finding new staff seems to be in-line with the earlier responses the employers gave to questions enquiring about the characteristics that they look for in new recruits. The main issues seem to be with the experience of the potential candidates (16% response rate), followed by the number of applicants they have for their positions (9% response rate) and the attractiveness of the jobs they offer on the market (17% rate). The other responses worth noting are the lack of attitude towards work and the level of motivation in the potential candidates (6% response rate).

Fig. 25 reasons for not finding appropriate employee

Asked what measures would give the best effects in order to accommo- date the work positions that are hardest to fill, most of the companies (18%) answered “salary raises”. This somewhat confirms that the salary levels in the region are not up to the level of effort needed to fulfill the work and that the companies know this. Some deductions regarding the level of productivity and profit margins can be made based on these results. Other replies worth noting are investing in promotion (14%).

Fig. 26 Measures to be used for recruitment

IV. Conclusions and Recommendations

A. Quick fix activities- short term gains: From Internship to Employment

The education institutions should work with regional stakeholders (Municipalities, Chambers of Commerce, professional Associations, the Business Angels network) and donor partners mentioned above to introduce a job creation platform which by offering internships and externships, and innovative entrepreneurial services to be delivered by Intermediaries (Training providers and consultancy companies) . My Career considers this component as very important for improving the skills and competencies of job seekers as well as provide quick talented labor to companies. Here are some of the recommendations and suggestions resulting from the questionnaire and face-to-face interviews with anchor companies and advisory board members:

 Setting up Career Centre and Information offices— companies strongly recommend that education institutions in the Gostivar Municipality establish a Career Centre or Information Centre which will serve as a point of contact and act as a liaison between student, academia and business community. This Centre will institutionalize the cooperation among partners because without it is hard any communication or cooperation be established between partners.  Organizing the Career Fairs/ Career days—Of course the Career Centre should establish services to attract the companies visit the campus on a permanent basis. One specific activity that focuses not only on their presence but also recruitment is Career

Fairs. These events are good opportunity for companies to develop a database of future employees, interview them and even offer them job/internship opportunities.  Study visits of students at company premises— companies are willing to open doors for organized visits of student’s part of the academic course and deliver presentation about the company, products and other specific information for the course require- ment. The company representatives also are willing to offer study tours around production facilities to the students so, they understand the production process better.  Scholarship fund—for more perspective students the companies are willing to create a scholarship fund that will cover the cost of studying and tuition fees for talented students during the study period. However, the company would like to retain these talents once they complete studies. These would enable companies to have the control over the future needs for talented people and invest in their professional development by offering additional training and specialization programs.  Internship/Volunteers and Externship programs for current students— internship programs should be provided to all entry level students (1st and 2nd year) looking for practical knowledge achieved through internship experiences in the companies. At the end of internship period students should be able to choose their career paths. On the other side, externship or job-shadowing is an opportunity for students in their upper level of studies (3rd and 4th year) to gain understanding of a business, industry, and/or job function and to be more directly involved in the day to day business operations. Companies are willing to use this externship

program to fill short term positions needed by temporary leave of the current workforce (e.g. maternity leave, educational reasons), allowing gaining new and fresh ideas from the interns. Students should receive academic credit, after completing internship/externship. Since My Career works in the field of internship placements and employment activities the organization is willing to allow actors use its internship platform and internship methodology that focuses on proper utilization of students at the workplace and is willing to offer its expertise to support the program and education institution in placing the interns in the companies.  Introduction of Mentorship program— once the intern is placed in the company the primary objective is to appoint mentors on both side of equation: at the education institution who will oversee the work of the student at the company through internship reports and company mentor, who will guide the students on a daily basis and inform the education mentor about the pro- gress of the internship program. Once the internship experience is completed the feedback and evaluation mechanism should be completed by all actors involved: students evaluating the company bases on the resources and tasks provided, company evaluating the student about the entire experience and education mentor evaluate what are some of the good practices and practical knowledge that could be integrated in the curricula of the specific department.  Developing a Case studies and Business challenge on local companies—companies believe that they will solve their real issues by issuing a Business Challenge mainly to master’s students. The Challenge will group students into teams of up to

five members mentored by a professor. This program will give the students a chance to work on realistic local company issues, participating in all the critical business decisions that affect the company. The Challenge will be a true learning experience for all those who participate, incorporating academic models to contribute in resolving real life problems of companies and businesses. This will help students improve their decision- making skills, develop their team-working abilities and increase their knowledge of key business areas such as marketing, finance and production.  Developing the next-generation innovative entrepreneurs—As it is in constant contact with students and recent graduates, MyCareer has found that many students do not necessarily see trainings and internships as potential access to employment, but rather as a doorway to gain experience that will help them start their own businesses. Therefore business support service companies partnership with LED units in Municipalities and education institutions, should develop a solution based platform to support all graduating students interested in establishing a start- up company in their place of living thus, contributing to decreasing the migration from smaller places and prevent brain drain. Education institutions should provide incubation services (free space, desk, and internet) for newly established start-ups and create a platform for entrepreneurs to test and convert their idea into business.  Guest speakers from Companies — CEO’s, founders and company managers are in unison that academia should use more often and in regular basis the practical knowledge and experience of these people by inviting them to deliver lectures as guest speak-

ers on specific topics that in-house knowledge doesn’t exists. The local companies are willing to participate on a regular basis in the lecture theatres and share their expertise for topics in which industry is more advanced than academia.

B. Long-term Scalable Activities – Transformational programs ensuring future competitiveness

These activities should use the knowledge and experience of anchor companies and industry champions to stimulate curricula revisions through innovation by enabling transfer of the knowledge in the wider economy. Such innovations often come from specialization within an industry. Therefore, here some of the suggestions on some of activities that on a long run could reform the entire education system:

 Industry and WFD assessment in the selected region: Although multiple towns around Macedonia have common issues, industry and skills gaps must be addressed at the local level (i.e. Municipality level), with appropriate responses that reflect a Municipality’s specific economic conditions and dominant sectors. More rapid assessments targeting local companies and firms within priority sectors in partner localities should be completed more often to identify 1) skills gaps and industry trends within the region; 2) changes needed in curricula of local educational and training institutions to address long-term skills needed; and 3) opportunities to conduct short-term training programs  Industry-led training—these activity requires collaboration among LED units, VET Centre, business associations, technical

secondary schools, Universities and the regional business community, to deliver academic training programs targeting skills needed in sectors within a priority areas and sectors with big absorption capacity for employment. These trainings could help youth develop skills to get their first “real” job, or upgrade (re-qualify)the skills of older, unemployed workers to become re-employable.  Curricula Development—Building upon the similar experience of MyCareer staff targeting the automotive and construction material (throughout Macedonia), a closer collaboration among partners should be established to encourage curricula changes. This will help ensure that schools produce a pool of students with the hard and soft skills to meet a region’s workforce needs without significant additional training (as identified through the regional assessments).  Certification Programs- Participants in the survey believe that companies should be supported in adoption of international standards and technical specifications that could contribute to product upgrading and exports. Moreover, as Macedonia’s strategic goal is EU accession, there is an urgent need for introducing specific knowledge that will enable companies to utilize the opportunities that arise from EU accession, as well as fulfill compliance to EU regulations. Therefore, an agreement between academia and private sectors should be established to offer non-degree program for future entrants in the labor market, companies and LED units. The program should be based on the curricula of worldwide recognized certification programs and be completed in three semesters (for one academic year) focused on courses developed by International certification programs. Certification programs such as TS mark, ISO,

HACCAP, etc for should be obtained by companies in order for them to comply with current requirements for export. On the other hand, must be developed Skills certification – with focus on the capacity building of individuals, targeting skills of newcomers in the labor market (i.e. Career Counseling, Project Management, Management Consulting) that will help them gain knowledge for more effective utilization of EU accession, structural funds and subsidy programs for specific sectors.