To the Job Fair held recently in Belgrade also came three women with university degrees, who have been trying to find a job unsuccessfully through the National Employment Service for years.
The only offer that was given to them throughout all those years was to “retrain” to be pizza makers, Serbian daily “Blic” reports.
“I am a graduate biologist and physiologist. I have been looking for a job for a long time. So far I only volunteered. And that’s it. Do you know how hard it is to live without income? I sent about 100 job applications, no one ever called me for an interview. The National Employment Agency proposed me to go to school for pizza maker. I’m desperate, I’ll eventually agree on that,” said Nevenka N. for Serbian daily “Blic”.
Long lines of unemployed youth at the fair.
“I graduated the Chinese language at the Faculty of Philology and I have been looking for a job for years. So far I have only worked part-time. I am 35 years old, and I had to borrow money to come to the fair, because I did not even have for the bus ticket. My only option is to become a pizza maker because that is what we’ve been offered at the National Employment Service. I’ll have to go to school again,” said S.P.
N.M is also looking for a job, and she was also offered to become the pizza maker.
“How can I tell my children to finish faculties when even I, with my university degree, cannot do anything? I’m visiting every job fair, but I have never found a job. I worked in the restaurant business, briefly. I’ll manage somehow, but I’m not going to make pizzas,” explains N.M.
The 1,717 jobs were offered at the job fair, and there were many more unemployed people looking for jobs.
Education of a top expert costs between 100,000 and 240,000 euros (total costs), 7-10 years takes schooling and they cannot find a job. For a pizza maker, education costs 125 euros, 2-3 months is duration of schooling, but they find employment almost immediately.
Source; in Serbia
