COVER STORY
Spring 2017 / Issue 53
Interview with Gjorgi Kusevski, Chief of Party, YES Network Project
Vocational Education is an
Investment – Not a Cost
What impact did the YES
Network make in Macedonia?
The Youth Employability Skills
(YES) Network was a five-and-a-
half-year project implemented by
the Education Development Center
and funded by the U.S. Agency for
International Development; it closed
in June 2016. It was designed to
help Macedonian partners enhance
the knowledge, understanding and
application of employability skills
among 15-27 year old Macedo-
nians. The project engaged directly
with secondary school teachers,
Employment Service Agency (ESA)
staff and members of youth-serving
NGOs to equip them with theoretical
and practical knowledge about work
readiness skills, work-based learning
opportunities and career guidance
and counselling methods to prepare
youth to find and maintain a long-
term work position. The project also
partnered with municipalities to help
create Local Economic and Social
Councils (LESCs).
From the very beginning of the
project, the YES Network team
worked very closely with national
educational institutions to include
YES training programs as a part of
the regular school curricula and to
train more teachers per school to
ensure their ability to meet the needs
of more student groups interested in
the programs. Work Readiness Skills
(WRS), Work Based Learning (WBL)
and Career Planning were approved
and adopted by the Vocational Edu-
cation and Training (VET) Center as
optional courses in VET schools
nationwide.
Also, the project achieved sustain-
able results by introducing training
courses at ESA centers. Selected
staff from all 30 ESA offices were
trained to deliver WRS and WBL
programs to unemployed youth.
The WRS and WBL trainings are
part of the National Operational Plan
for Employment of the Macedonian
14 AMCHAM MAGAZINE
Government and delivered as part of
regular ESA Job Club activities.
One of your project goals was to
“Facilitate Public-Private Dialogue
that will improve demand-supply
labor exchange at the local level.”
Can you tell us about some of your
successes in this area?
To overcome the lack of effective
public-private collaboration among
employers, government and edu-
cational institutions, the YES Net-
work helped establish LESCs in
seven partner municipalities. Each
LESC includes representatives from
local government, employer orga-
nizations, trade unions, industry
associations, chambers of crafts or
commerce, educational institutions,
youth councils, NGOs and Disabled
People’s Organizations (DPOs) in
their membership.
To help LESCs sustain and make
the best use of their resources, the
YES project provided support in
implementing their main priorities,
strengthening their partnership with
mayors, building their capacity to be
a relevant factor on the local labor
market; and helping them network
and share best practices. LESCs
now operate as advisory bodies to
municipalities, considering issues,
providing opinions, and drafting
proposals and recommendations to
Municipal Councils on socio-eco-
nomic issues, particularly on youth
employment issues. Over the life of
the project, most (but not all) of the
LESCs went from being fledgling
institutions to leaders and advocates
for youth across a number of social
issues pertaining to the effectiveness
of municipal labor markets.
You have a good sense of the
vocational education landscape.
What are some of the strengths
or best practices in place in voca-
tional schools in Macedonia?
I think establishing Career Cen-
ters in vocational schools that offer
career education activities was a
highlight in the last few years. The
Centers provide a recognizable loca-
tion in schools where students are
able to get career counseling, learn
about different career paths and
WBL opportunities and participate in
workshops and trainings.
Career Centers became the meet-
ing point between schools and other
local stakeholders, as well as a venue
for events where primary school stu-
dents learned about various VET
education options, potential employ-
ers, universities and other organiza-
tions available to them.
Selected school teachers and
school psychologists were also
trained to understand the role of the
Career Centers and to provide career
related services to students. The stu-
dents are now more encouraged to
research job opportunities and edu-
cational opportunities aligning with
their career goals, and then make
a practical plan leading them along
their desired career path.
In your opinion, what is the
most urgent challenge to be over-
come to better match youth skills
with