The Ministry of Labour, Employment, Veteran and Social Affairs of the Republic of Serbia is implementing the project “Upskilling Pathways: New opportunities for work-skills development for adults in Republic of Serbia” (UP NOW).

This blog post is a continuation of the interview with Jelena Popović, UP NOW project coordinator at the National Employment Service.

You can find the first part of the interview here.

A proposal for the Communication Strategy of the National Employment Service was drawn up based on the research findings.

What are the main conclusions of the communication strategy? Which modes of communication were preferred among the unemployed and did some of the research findings surprise you?

Since data collection coincided with the beginning of the pandemic, we had to change our original plan. Under the assumption that digital literacy is better developed among the younger groups and that they are more probable to use modern technology to communicate, the sample was disproportionally allocated to younger unemployed individuals so that more detailed statistical cross-examinations could be made.

The research has shown that a third of respondents think that SMS messages are the most suitable mode of communication with NES. The same number of individuals prefer phone calls (mostly older respondents), while one fifth of the respondents state they would prefer to communicate via Viber app. Since over 80% of respondents use a smartphone, these modes of communication were listed as primary modes that can be used to share new information from the website or the mobile app.

Having that in mind, the communication strategy has been devised to improve communication with unemployed individuals by gravitating towards younger generations, but we also had to take into account communicating with the traditional, mostly older generation.

In that regard, the main conclusion of the research is not surprising. Even though we can expect an increase in the number of people using mobile phones and smart technologies, direct primary communication has to remain the main mode of communication, even when automatised, as this mode allows people to feel that relevant institutions are committed, and this feeling should not be neglected. On the other hand, even though trends and digital technology advancements call for better webpage content and app development, this content and written communication (via mail service) need to be simplified and customised due to the age group of the end users.

The candidates were tested after the research – an assessment of their literacy, numeracy and digital skills was carried out by the Institute for Education Quality and Evaluation.

Can you tell us more about that? What were the differences between the self-assessment and the objective assessment of participants’ knowledge?

In order to develop education policies and training programmes aimed at improving skills among low-qualified and unqualified unemployed groups, the Institute for Education Quality and Evaluation defined a skill minimum and conducted the assessment of the research participants. 

The results have shown that the average test score is 14.7 out of 30 points. This means that the assessed groups only possess half of the recommended literacy, numeracy and digital skills. In addition to the specific results on the development of skills and abilities among the assessed participants, the test results fully or partially confirmed some of the self-assessment results (communication question, understanding measures or tables and graphs), while they refuted other – giving change in a store, calculating discounts and using the Internet to find a job.

The conclusion is that we need to bear in mind that self-assessment is not enough for recruitment and that we need to take into consideration the research results. Furthermore, IPSOS findings suggest that it is important to take someone’s motivation to participate into account when recruiting, as well as their habits and preferences in digital technology.

The design and implementation of training sessions for the unemployed individuals took place in the third stage of the project. How will these improve existing training sessions organised by the National Employment Service?

The Agreement on Conducting of Training Sessions was signed on December 24, 2020 with the School for the elementary education of adults “Branko Pešić” in Belgrade. This school has many years of experience with our project target groups. Training sessions were adapted for each individual and their unique needs, and they were based on the test results and their preferences. 

You mentioned the COVID-19 pandemic. How did the epidemiological situation affect your project?

Bearing in mind that the start of our project was postponed due to technical and administrative difficulties, key project activities coincided with the pandemic, and this not only additionally postponed our project, but also hindered its implementation.

These new circumstances affected our Work group meetings, that had to be organised in accordance with the COVID-19 safety measures, as well our planned methods of project implementation.

The research itself, and then participant assessment, were also at risk of a poor candidate response, given that the measures prohibiting public gatherings were in force. The IPSOS conducted the survey via phone instead, and the Institute for Education Quality and Evaluation conducted the assessment within smaller groups and in rooms that met the safety requirements. 

More information on the project “Upskilling Pathways: New opportunities for work-skills development for adults in Republic of Serbia” (UP NOW) you can find on its official website: www.upnow.rs.