The E2E project has published a public call for employers with the aim of organizing work-based-learning (WBL) for young people looking for employment through public-private partnerships with companies from target areas in Serbia, including the City of Cacak. The support program will make the process of selection, training and employment of new workers easier for companies. Funds totaling 5,500,000.00 RSD have been allocated for implementation of the call over the territory of the City of Cacak and the training of 50 young people with local employers, 30% of which will come from the budget of the local authority. In addition to this amount, the employers will provide additional funds from their own resources necessary for the implementation of WBL training at their premises.

As the Mayor of Cacak, Milun Todorović, pointed out during the signing ceremony, this was an exceptional day for Cacak, especially for young people from Cacak who, thanks to the Swiss Government and an excellent NGO project, will get the chance to gain valuable training in renowned and high-standing local companies and acquire knowledge, skills and experience that will make their path to employment easier. Todorović mentioned that last year a pilot project was successfully organized with the company "Stax", which was an excellent experience and confirmed that organizing such trainings is the right way for unemployed young people to find work more easily, and local employers to find and employ the staff they need. “I want young people to get involved in this project, very quickly acquire new knowledge and skills, and stay here in Cacak, which is our main goal.” Todorović emphasized.

Derek George, Deputy Director of the Swiss Cooperation Office, Embassy of the Swiss Confederation in the Republic of Serbia, expressed satisfaction to be in Cacak, saying that through the implementation of the E2E project fifty young people from the city will have the opportunity to gain new knowledge and experience, and get on the path to employment more easily. “We congratulate the City of Cacak for deciding to allocate financial resources and participate in the project, which we believe is a visionary move on the part of the city authorities. The contribution of the city of Cacak will benefit the young people who transition into the labour market and the companies offering training.  During the visit to a local company, we witnessed that there is a great need for workers here, and that local companies are motivated to enter such programs in order to access better staff. We believe that the interest of the City of Cacak is obvious, to get as many young people as possible into full employment through such activities, so that they stay here and thus benefit the entire local community,” said George.

The goal of the "Education to employment" project is to increase the employability and employment of young people and indirectly support faster, more sustainable and inclusive economic development in Serbia. The E2E project encourages, supports and offers a model of lasting cooperation between local governments, schools, civil society organizations and businesses in order to provide young people with the opportunity to learn the skills required by the labor market and thus find work more easily, and enable companies to find employees who meet the requirements of their businesses.

This is the third call published within the E2E project, supported by Switzerland, with a total value of 14.3 million euros over the eight-year project implementation period. During the first project phase (2016-2019), 1,060 young people went through 61 WBL training programs, for which 1.2 million euros were allocated, and another 350 young people from hard-to-place groups received assistance on their way to employment, for which 180,000 euros were allocated. More than 70% of these young people find employment after the training. One-hundred-and-twenty-eight companies participated in the implementation of the WBL placements, and on average provided 50% of the co-financing. A further thirty partners from both the public sector and civil society also took part in implementation of the training program.