EU4Employment in Bosnia and Herzegovina - Harnessing the green and digital transitions
The project aims to facilitate post-pandemic employment and enhance access to the labour market in support to green and digital transitions in Bosnia and Herzegovina. This initiative contributes to addressing the challenges faced by individuals who encounter compounded labour market barriers and whose access to current and prospective economic opportunities generated by structural and sectoral transformations is severely constrained.
Duration
1 November 2024 - 31 October 2028
Budget
5,552,000 EUR
Development partner(s)
European Union
Reference
BIH/24/02/EUR
Contact
Daniela Zampini, ILO Employment Specialist, Katarina-Crnjanski Vlajčić, ILO Senior Technical Officer, Amar Numanović, ILO Project Manager through budapest@ilo.org
Additional details
Access project dashboardBosnia and Herzegovina’s post-pandemic labour market faces significant structural challenges. While employers across industries struggle to recruit a workforce that matches their needs, unemployment remains high, with long-term unemployed individuals and those outside the labour force comprising a large portion of the non-employed. This situation is further exacerbated by a persistently high incidence of informal employment. Many individuals, especially youth, women, Roma, persons with disabilities, victims of domestic violence, low-skilled workers, and those in oversupplied vocations, encounter compounded barriers to entering formal employment. These challenges demand robust policy and service-level responses.
On the other hand, ongoing green and digital transitions create new employment opportunities. Yet, those furthest from the labour market are at risk of not accessing opportunities due to limited outreach, underdeveloped adult education systems, and poorly aligned active labour market measures (ALMMs) with emerging opportunities in green and digital economies.
Therefore, the project aims to enhance post-pandemic employment and labour market access in support to a resilient, regenerative and circular economy in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Through a dual-track approach combining a grant scheme and technical assistance, the initiative promotes innovation and sustainability in labour market policies and practices, by focusing on:
- Outreach and activation: Introducing innovative services to engage persons outside of the labour force and long-term unemployed individuals in employability and job-search activities.
- Training: Delivering quality reskilling and upskilling programmes aligned with labour market demands, particularly in the green and digital economy.
- Targeted ALMMs: Developing and implementing at least 20 innovative programmes focused on green and digital jobs to support structural transformations.
The initiative engages labour market institutions as well as key actors concerning green and digital transitions, including ministries, public employment services (PES), funds for professional rehabilitation and employment of persons with disabilities, civil society organisations, business support entities, and social partners.
The initiative will improve employability for at least 1,800 individuals through (re)training, with at least 600 beneficiaries expected to secure formal employment, primarily in the green and digital economy.