Job shadowing is a type of learning where a person observes the work of another person or team in their workplace. It can be, and it is reckognised by Erasmus + programme as an important capacity development tool for individuals and organisations out of several reasons:

• It enables transfer of skills and knowledge: Job shadowing enables learners to transfer skills and knowledge from experienced colleagues to themselves. By observing and learning from more experienced colleagues, learners can quickly acquire new skills and knowledge.
• It supports career development: Job shadowing can help learners develop their careers by providing exposure to different job roles, industries, and work environments. By observing the work of others, learners can gain a better understanding of their own career aspirations and how to achieve them.
• It strengthens networking: Job shadowing can help learners build relationships with colleagues and mentors, which can be valuable for future networking and career opportunities. These connections can also provide access to resources and knowledge that may not be available through other channels.

Given these advantages, the Center for Knowledge Management (CKM) from North Macedonia developed a KA104 application and received funding from the from the Erasmus+ program for two job shadowing mobilities for its junior and senior employees.

Dr. Andriana Bogdanovska from CKM, undertook a job shadowing mobility to strengthen her skills in preparing and managing of Horizon Europe projects (job shadowing). The mobility was carried out at the organization Zentrum für Soziale Innovation (Center for Social Innovation) in Vienna, Austria under the mentorship of Mrs. Elke Daly, in the period from 8.11.2022 to 23.11.2022. During the mobility, Dr. Bogdanovska G. had the opportunity to review the winning application for Horizon Europe covering organizations from the Western Balkans, to gain an insight into how a Horizon Europe project is managed and how these projects are incorporated into the work of the organization.

Junior CKM team member, Aleksandar Gjurovik attended a 4 week job shadowing mobility in the Dutch Space Campus in Leiden, Netherlands in May 2022. Mrs. Maaike Smelter from Dutch Space Campus and Mr. Berry Sanders from start up company HDES were Aleksandar's mentors. Aleksandar had an opportunity to develop his capacities in the operations of high-tech clusters and how these clusters work with start-up companies and other stakeholders in their normal setting.

"One thing that I enjoyed while working at the Netherlands Space campus was the relation that all of the employees had between each other. Most employees had built up friendships within each of the startups as well as with people from the other startups. This was often seen as most employees would sit down and lunch together. I thought this was a very good decision as everyone is in the loop and everyone is more motivated to do the work alongside each other, while being more proficient at it. Another activity I enjoyed was spectating the work they were doing in their labs with the equipment that HDES possessed. This job shadowing mobility was a remarkable experience." – A.G. (June 2022)