Help’s mediators in Nikšić organized a two-day training for unemployed Roma and Egyptians (RE), where they trained them with professional assistance on how to become more actively involved in job search. A total of 14 unemployed persons from the RE population, from the records of the Employment Bureau in Nikšić, with the help of pedagogue Milena Vlahović were trained – how to write a CV and how to become more actively involved in finding a suitable job.
The training was organized in the eve the employment fair, which is being held this week in Nikšić at the Onogošt Hotel, and which will, among other things, gather a large number of employers from the Montenegrin coast. It will be an opportunity for trained members of the RE population to present themselves to potential employers more easily and professionally.
Help’s mediator, Valentina Naza, hired as a social worker for employment at the Nikšić Labor Office, said this was a great opportunity for unemployed people from the RE community to learn the importance of CVs and active job search, and that the opportunity has now been created in order to make it easier to apply to any public call.
“Most of our community is illiterate, but they have work experience. Also, a large part of the Roma and Egyptian communities regularly register with the Bureau and are usually employed seasonally. But they never had the opportunity to prepare their CVs on their own or with the help of others. This initiative is very important, although a small number have passed our training so far, “said mediator Naza.
Training participant Leonora Kelemedni is pleased to have received her first professional bio, adding that she regrets not finishing high school, which would open up greater opportunities for her to find employment.
“I will continue to actively look for a job and I hope that there will be a place for me in a seasonal job, although I would be glad to get a job here in Nikšić. But I didn’t finish high school, and that’s my fault as well as my parents’. But I’m still looking for cleaning service job or something similar to that” says Kelemendi.
The head of the Regional Unit of the Employment Bureau in Nikšić, Aleksandra Radulović, says that 152 people from the Roma and Egyptian populations are on the records of the bureau, of which 92 are women and 60 are men. There are 86 of them without finished school, 29 unemployed with completed grades from 1 through 7, and 34 with completed primary school.
In 2020, 11 people were employed and in 2021, 19 people of the RE population. Seven of them are interested in getting involved in public works, and two people are interested in getting involved in projects for people with disabilities – said Radulović.
Everything is organized through a joint project of the European Union and the Government of Montenegro “Social inclusion of Roma men and women and Egyptians with the mediation of associates for inclusion” which is implemented within the European Union and Montenegro Program for Employment, Education and Social Protection.
The project is implemented by “Help”, which is also the employer of mediators deployed in institutions, in partnership with the municipalities of Podgorica, Ulcinj and Berane.
A total of 34 mediators, who underwent professional training and received certificates, were deployed in 11 municipalities, with the task of providing members of the RE community easier access to local services, and thus better integration into society.
Help’s project coordinator, Dijana Anđelić, point out that this initiative of Nikšić’s mediator Valentina Naza speaks in favor of the justification of the project and its final goal – to systematize the position of RE mediator in the competent state services.
“More such initiatives are expected, in all cities where our mediators work,” Andjelic said.
