Ylberina Morina, a student of Political Sciences at the University of Prishtina, thinks youth in Kosovo need more opportunities in employment.
“Youth are finishing their studies, they are even doing their master`s degree and are still searching for a job. I believe that we should be able to have jobs we dream about, right after finishing our studies. Especially women, they should be given more space, specifically in decision making,” she says.
Ylberina will soon finish her studies and will join an “army” of unemployed people in Kosovo.
The number of job-seekers in Kosovo is higher than the number of available jobs. The statistics from the Kosovo Agency of Statistics (KAS) show that in the previous year alone, 101,773 job seekers were registered, whereas this year there were only 425 jobs that were publicly announced.
Youth are having the most trouble getting a job in Kosovo.
Also, according to KAS, among the 15-24 age-group, 52.2% were unemployed in 2016 alone.
Even though the number of available jobs is very low compared to the number of job-seekers, youth in Kosovo continue their studies, hoping that it will help them finding a job.
The number of graduates in Kosovo during 2014-2015 was 7,621, out of which, 6,628 graduated with a bachelor’s degree and 993 with a master’s degree.
According to the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare, in 2015 alone, 5,052 bachelor and 226 master graduates were recorded as unemployed.
Since they are not able to find jobs in Kosovo, many Kosovar youngsters are focusing their job hunts on Western Europe, specifically in Germany, in order to find seasonal jobs.
Bedri Xhafa, general manager at the Employment Promotion Agency Kosovo (EPAK), says that since 2001, this agency has implemented projects, with over 15 million euro brought to Kosovar society. Over 30 thousand candidates have been trained and over 20 thousand others have received support in economic integration.
“In the recent years we are mainly co-working with employers from Germany. We send them to Germany to get an education, and also for training and employment. This year we are in process of sending 150 individuals to work for two or three months and gain enough income for their study expenses when they return,” he says.
But it is not only youth who are facing this existential problem. Even though they continue to hope that finishing their studies will help them in finding a job, Idriz Krasniqi, a 45-year-old, has no more hope for this.
He explains that he finished university some years ago, hoping that he would find a job.
“I graduated at the faculty of law many years ago, but was never able to find a job in this profession/field. I have no hope for employment. This situation will never change in Kosovo,” he says.
According to KAS, the rate of unemployment in the first three months of 2017 was 28.9%. The employment rate is higher for men – 44.6%, whereas the employment rate for women is 13.0%. Women are mainly employed in the education sector, trade and medical care (49.8%), whereas men mainly work in the sectors of construction, production and trade (43.8%).
Shejnaze Ramadani, a 40-year-old housewife, says that she really wants to find a job.
“Even though I have finished high school only, I applied for many jobs, but did not get accepted. I do not even work as a maid. Since life in Kosovo is very difficult, we have to provide income in some way,” she says.
Njomza Berisha
