First chance for 16,000 trainees - open competition for subsidized employment

Between January 28th and March 31st, 2010, all people without job and younger than 30 will be able to apply to the "First Chance" open competition of the National Employment Agency, which will provide jobs for 16,000 trainees this year. In addition to unemployed, private entrepreneurs should also apply to the open competition and they will be invited by the Minister of Economy, Mlađan Dinkić, to join the government's program aimed at reduction of unemployment rate.

- I will send the letters to the addresses of about hundred companies and invite them to participate in the open competition, thanks to which 11,000 people got jobs last year. When compared to 2009, the only change is that the trainees will be working voluntarily during the first three months and be paid 10,000 RSD for that - Dinkić said at the press conference.

The condition for application is that the unemployed person is in the registry of the National Employment Agency and that he finished, at least, secondary school. The employers who have companies with 10 employees will be able to hire two volunteers, while larger companies will be able to take not more than 20% of total number of their employees.

- If the employer choose to keep a volunteer in the company, the state will be covering the expenses of his salaries during the first 12 months. The only cost that has to be covered by the employer is the tax on salary. After that, the employers are obliged to keep the trainee for one more year - Dinkić explained. The salaries of trainees will be higher than 16,000 RSD for those who graduated from high school and above 20,000 RSD for those with faculty degree.

According to the words of the CEO of the National Employment Agency, Vladimir Ilić, about 70,000 people got jobs in Serbia last year through various subsidized employment programs. This year's plan is employment of over 20,000 young people only within the framework of the "First Chance" program. The open competition for "First Chance" is published today in several daily newspapers.