As part of the implementation of the project "Identifying the causes of long-term unemployment among older women in Serbia and North Macedonia" supported by the International Visegrad Fund, in which the Institute of Economic Sciences plays a leading role alongside the partners Economic Institute Skopje, Institute of Economic Research of the Slovak Academy of Sciences and Faculty of Management of the University of Information Technology and Management in Rzeszow, a focus group with representatives of key stakeholders in the field of employment at the level of the Belgrade region was held on April 11, 2025.
After more than two hours of discussion, the focus group participants agreed on the main obstacles that accompany women aged 50 and over who want to integrate into the labour market, assessed the current situation and focused on some elements of labour demand by identifying possible jobs and sectors in Belgrade that could attract available workers in the coming period. The focus group participants also mentioned some administrative assumptions that are perceived by women with a potential entrepreneurial career as limitations and inconsistencies between the sectoral policies that are supposed to solve the problem of long-term unemployment of hard-to- employ persons.
The focus group consisted of representatives from the Ministry of Education, the Office for Dual Education and the National Qualifications Framework, the National Employment Service, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Employers' Association, the Regional Agency for Development and European Integration Belgrade, the ILO office in Serbia and two non-governmental organizations dealing with issues of women's employment and well-being, "Women at the Crossroads" and "Strength of Friendship - Amity".
In the next focus group, long-term unemployed women over 50 will assess their situation, identify the obstacles they face and express their expectations regarding the use of existing forms of support to improve their position on the labour market.