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Montenegro

An advanced EU accession candidate with structural labour market challenges
Since its independence in 2006, Montenegro heavily invested into the reform of Vocational Education and Training and is the first among the six Western Balkan countries to introduce a Dual TVET system in 2017/2018.

The COVID-19 pandemic hit the tourism-dependent economy particularly hard. GDP dropped by 15% in 2020 and reversed the positive labour market trends from previous years. The pandemic exacerbated the structural problems of the Montenegrin labour markets from before the pandemic, i.e. low employment and high inactivity, especially for youth, women, and the low skilled, as well as elevated levels of informal employment.

ILO support for Skills Development in Montenegro
Montenegro is a candidate country for EU membership. ILO technical assistance focuses therefore on supporting an EU-compatible skills development system. In 2019, ILO and ETF jointly conducted an evaluation of Dual TVET in Montenegro. The Recommendations were welcomed by the Ministry of Education and translated into different actions to improve the system, e.g. the training of in-company mentors. In 2021, upon the request of the Ministry of Education, ILO developed a proposal for a Student Graduate Tracking system that combines education statistics with tax data and labour market data. Such a system would allow to understand better the effectiveness and relevance of TVET and to adjust policy development and the further shaping of skills development in Montenegro, to achieve better labour market results.
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Skills mismatch in ETF partner countries
Publication Date: 24 Aug 2022
Source: International organizations-European Training Foundation

Skills mismatch problems in the labour market have been widely recognized by both current literature and policymakers. Skills mismatch indicators inform policies to improve the matching between labour demand and labour supply, making labour markets more efficient and reducing the wage penalties due to over-education or other types of mismatches. The skills mismatch indicators have been measured, so far, only for a limited number of the European Training Foundation (ETF) partner countries and they are not always comparable. This report provides an update and an extension of the work which has already been done to measure skills mismatch in ETF partner countries. The analysis following the choice and the construction of skills mismatch indicators provides a timely overview of this labour market issue which will be important for governments, stakeholders, and other stakeholders to shape future labour market policies.

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Policies for system change and lifelong learning - A Torino Process cross-country digest (2018–21)
Publication Date: 22 Aug 2022
Source: Bilateral organizations-European Training Foundation
This report presents an overview of policies and actions in support of lifelong learning in the ETF’s partner countries in South Eastern Europe and Turkey, Central Asia, the Eastern Partnership region, and the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean. Our analysis explores the extent to which the creation of lifelong learning opportunities is a priority in the reform agenda of these countries in the field of education and training, and the ways in which they are influencing the formation of that agenda. The report also discusses the efforts of authorities and stakeholders in implementing their reform plans in the wake of changing circumstances before and during the Covid-19 pandemic, and identifies policy gaps and lessons to be learned before providing a handful of policy recommendations in a cross-country perspective.
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Embracing the digital age - The future of work in the Western Balkans: New forms of employment and platform work
Publication Date: 22 Aug 2022
Source: Bilateral organizations-European Training Foundation

Driven by social, economic and technological changes, labour markets are becoming more flexible in the European Union and EU Neighbourhood countries. This translates into growth in novel employment relationships, which differ from “traditional work” in terms of working conditions, content, and regulatory and legal ramifications.


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Exploration of impact investment for skills creation: Existing actions, emerging trends, implementation modalities, best practice
Publication Date: 22 Aug 2022
Source: Bilateral organizations-European Training Foundation

This study provides an overview of impact investment and skills creation in innovation, covering the main features of impact investment, the historical development of the phenomenon, and how it can be linked to the skills creation process. The study examines the emergence of impact investing and explains its principles and defining features. It maps some existing initiatives at European and local levels, presents examples of good and innovative practices in investments with social impact, and explores what practices and instruments for impact investment in innovation skills have been and/or could be applied in the Western Balkans. While the discussion and awareness about impact investment in the region appear to be highly limited, there is a need for developing new (financial and capacity-building) instruments to promote and spur impact investment so as to ensure sustainability in the skills creation and retention process, ultimately resulting in reducing the brain drain and supporting the creation of high value-added jobs

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