The capacity building training in the field of youth employment and entrepreneurship development aimed to promote entrepreneurship, the civil sector operating in the field of entrepreneurship, promotion and support of entrepreneurial learning and employment through policy strengthening, public advocacy and funding. The training aimed to bring the participants closer to the ways of raising funds for various initiatives, to network civil society organizations and to encourage participants to create concrete proposals, on which they will work together.
The lecturers were Radosav Babić and Marko Nišavić, MA. Lecturer Radosav Babić has an enviable academic career, experience in the public sector (Ministry of Economy), but also extensive knowledge and experience in the field of entrepreneurship. On the other hand, lecturer Marko Nišavić has enormous entrepreneurial experience, he is a university lecturer, as a financial consultant and, above all, an entrepreneur. Both trainers have vast knowledge related to the financing of initiatives and projects in the field of entrepreneurship, which are a prerequisite for the success of the Training.
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Some of the topics covered at the CSO training are: ways of financing initiatives, businesses, entrepreneurial ventures and NGO sector, concrete examples of various types of funding, practical work on initiatives and applications for some of the European, public, private and other calls, networking of civil society organizations. The trainers elaborated on all types of funding funds, and passed on to the participants extensive knowledge that will help them launch future projects within their organizations. By working in groups, the participants prepared specific projects that can apply for some of the funds that the lecturers talked about, and agreed on cooperation in order to implement and realize the projects together.
Mr. Radosav Babić presented the Program Line for cluster development especially of the Ministry of Economy, of which he is
a representative and emphasized that the concept of clusters has become a central idea of competitiveness and economic development in Europe. The reasons for the establishment of clusters and their importance for the productivity and innovation of the companies themselves have become better known, and encouraging the integration of companies into clusters is accepted as an effective instrument for strengthening the competitiveness of companies, and their ability to produce goods and services income in the domestic and international market.
Through clustering, companies realize benefits in a much more efficient way, thus providing a secure market niche for their services. The coach also emphasized that there has been an increase in the number of companies joining clusters in Montenegro. “Encouraging the association of Montenegrin companies is of particular importance, taking into account the introduction of EU standards and the application of rules and procedures in the field of state aid.” – pointed out Mr. Radosav Babić.
The sixth phase of the Training continued with the dynamic work of the group, where the
participants were selected from one of the invitations of the Government of Montenegro
and the Ministry of Economy. Each of the groups in the fourth phase of group work began
to design the concept in more detail and the way in which they could effectively respond to
the Call they had chosen. They also prepared a presentation of the idea for the last day of
the Training
Group 1 in the form of PPT presentations presented their idea of organizing an entrepreneurial competition called “Entrepreneurial hut”. The team consists of representatives from non-governmental organizations: Center for Entrepreneurship, Center for Economic Prosperity and Freedom, Women’s Alliance, Accelerator of Entrepreneurship and Student Business Center. In the presentation, they listed the key problems, among which stand out: underdeveloped entrepreneurship, the fact that 1% of young people said that formal education helps to start a business, providing labor and sustainability of 20-30% of the unfilled capacity of ethno villages. Through the idea of forming a cluster of several NGOs that will work on improving entrepreneurship and the tourist offer in ethno villages, they came to the conclusion that the persistence of most problems will be reduced. The group stated that it would organize the competition by bringing young people who are the target group to ethno villages, involving them in the work of the same under the supervision of a mentor who was brought in as an expert in the field in which they will mentor, and that the end result will be a new product. which will contribute to the improvement of the tourist offer, and thus to the development of entrepreneurial skills among young people.
Group 2 briefly presented their idea on the topic of education, and the team consisted of MladiInfo, Business Improvement Organization of Montenegro, Student Council of the Faculty of Economics, Center for European Education, Culture Club and Student Business Center. Their idea was a workshop for high school students that would take them to companies once a week to get first-hand information directly from entrepreneurs. Training high school students and acquiring knowledge about entrepreneurship. The goal would be the experience they would gain from people in the field of entrepreneurship, networking and a chance for prosperity in the field of self-employment. The second idea, ie two inseparable units in the creation of the idea, is the application of simulation of a virtual enterprise. They explained that high school students could download the application and virtually run a company that they would develop themselves. The project would have two phases, and the inclusion of both ideas and applications within one.
Group 3 is composed of the following organizations: Student Business Center, Freedom and Entrepreneurship Foundation, Center for Economic Prosperity and Freedom, Business Improvement Organization of Montenegro, Institute for Entrepreneurship and Economic Development and Mladiinfo. They briefly presented a project concerning the automation of the complex process of founding a company through digitalization. Creating a platform that would be connected with the banking sector, the notary house and other important entities, as well as on which all the necessary material and important documentation will be available. Through the platform, companies will be fully established, and thus contribute to increasing the number of domestic and foreign enterprises in Montenegro. The importance of the application is reflected in the simplification of the founding process and the reduction of founding costs, as well as raising the motivation to engage in entrepreneurship. The group drafted two letters: a request for sponsorship sent to the Mortgage Bank and a proposal for cooperation sent to the Ministry of Economy, and began filling out an application for a public call for financing
Group 4
The group consists of the Student Business Center, Mladiinfo, the Chamber of Crafts and Entrepreneurship of Montenegro, then the Business Improvement Organization of Montenegro and the Union of High School Students of Montenegro. During the first part of Phase III of the teamwork, CSO Training participants researched open calls to apply together. They have chosen a UNICEF call that aimed at identifying eligible civil society organizations for future partnerships, which will support the implementation of programs that will provide an opportunity for Montenegrin adolescents to learn more about career opportunities and prepare for the labor market. As the main problem, they identified insufficient support for professional orientation, which causes young people to continue their education in a direction that does not match their affinities, and this creates more serious problems
The need to overcome this problem, as participants point out, is needed to create a workforce in line with market needs, and to reduce unemployment and brain drain. Their idea is based on the creation of an online platform for help with professional orientation, with which the students of the final grades of primary schools could focus on what interests them and direct their further education. After enrolling in the recommended school, through the platform, students as young people could gain an internship with the desired employer, in a workplace where they will acquire crucial knowledge that will greatly contribute to a successful career, while the employer will get a highly motivated workforce.
The third training is also the last CSO Training for 2020 within the BY LEAP project, but it is also just one in a series of project activities that will aim to strengthen cooperation between NGOs and jointly prepare new actions and steps.