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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

National Programme "My First Salary" receives first European award

Belgrade, 25 June 2022

The Serbian government stated today that the National Programme "My First Salary" received international recognition in Brussels, which is awarded by the organisation Emerging Europe.

The Emerging Europe awards are given each year to initiatives in the region which includes 23 countries in Central, Eastern, South-Eastern Europe and the Caucasus, in the areas of sustainability, innovation and entrepreneurship.

The project "My First Salary" won the first place in the "Prosperity" category, as the best initiative in the previous year that puts people at the centre of the economy, reducing the gap between urban and rural development, income disparities and labour market development. The selection was determined by a jury of 23 experts from around the world and over 8,300 votes from the audience.

"My First Salary" was created when we noticed the problem that companies do not have enough staff on the market and are looking for experienced candidates, and young people have a hard time getting the opportunity to gain their first work experience. That is why, in association with companies and young people, we have created a programme in which the state finances nine months of work, during which young people gain knowledge about the basics of business and the working world, said Finance Minister Sinisa Mali.

The award was presented by Anthony Kim from the Heritage Foundation and it was received by Vukasin Grozdic, advisor to the Prime Minister of Serbia.

It was a pleasure to work on this project, which would not have started without the support that existed at all levels, and I hope that we will continue with the successful implementation next year. The long-term goal of the programme is to ensure that all young people on the labour market gain work experience, Grozdic said.

The programme "My First Salary" was launched in 2020 and two cycles have been realised so far, which gave over 17,000 young people, of whom 60 percent are women, an opportunity to gain their first work experience at more than 10,000 employers.