UNMIK on Air
25 September
2003
Danish
production school
(opportunity for
youngsters to get new skills)
(By Andrea
Saula)
SLUG: The Danish Production School in Doljani
offers free courses in various fields for young people to learn new skills.
Hello and welcome to UNMIK on AIR with Sputnik Kilambi
and Martin Redi
Another noisy morning at the former Danish Military
base in the Doljani neighbourhood of Zvecan – the base has now been transformed
into the Danish Production School. An ambitious project aimed at equipping
local youth with new skills. The school offers workshops in various fields
-
Textiles, metal work, cookery, carpentry, gardening and
landscaping, and since this summer, computer training – all of them are
intended for young people between 16 and 25.
The School offers a combination of practical and theoretical education
for young people interested in acquiring new skills. The courses are of a one
year duration and completely free of charge. Aleksandar Vukicevic has been doing computer
training since March and is more than satisfied.
Aleksandar Vukicevic: It’s very
good. We are learning Internet, Word, and Excel. We are learning something that
we’ll need in the future. This school is very good. In the future I will have a
diploma and some knowledge.
Dusan Mladjovic, the co-head of the Danish Production School says that the combination of theory and practice makes this school quite unique, especially in northern Kosovo where there are no schools like this.
Dusan Mladjovic: The final products are for sale. Also, besides teaching them how to
produce, participants are also given lessons in advertising - how to sell the
product, how to set the price. They are also working with their instructors on
planning workshops.
The school is supported by the Danish Association of
production Schools and the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. But the school
also has its own budget. All the workshops sell hand-made products and the
money generated is funneled back into the school budget.
Slobodan Filimonovic: There is nothing to say. I’m inviting everybody to come here and
learn some craft. One can really learn a lot of things here. One can learn how
to prepare caviar but common, everyday meals as well.
Mladjovic
stresses that the School is open to participants of all nationalities. Women
are especially encouraged to join. A
positive development has been that some Kosovar Albanians have also signed up
for courses in this predominantly Serbian part of Kosovo.
Currently six instructors are
training some 35 participants.
Successful participants are awarded certificates at the
end of their course and according to school authorities, till now 50 % of
graduates have found a job. In some cases the school tries to find jobs for its
successful students. Some of them like Biljana Krsmanovic decide to join the
school after finishing their training.
Biljana Krsmanovic: I was attending the computer
course till two months ago. Since our administrator went on maternity leave and
I’m good in English, they’ve invited me to take her job. My computer teacher
recommended me.
The workshops began in June 2002 and have been expanded
during this summer. A similar school
has been set up in southern Mitrovica and instructors from both schools have
been trained jointly, something that is likely to continue. By the end of the
year both schools will come under the Ministry of Labor and Social
Welfare. Dusan Mladjovic again.
Dusan
Mladjovic: Of course there is
cooperation, especially with a school in Zabare in the South of Mitrovica. This
summer we had a joint working visit to Denmark. Teachers from both schools were
together for nine days. The purpose was to see how Danish schools, like this
one, function. Together we consider their and our problems.
Unemployment is a
huge problem in Kosovo. The problem is
not the lack of jobs but also that in a process of transition a lot of people
will be forced to go in for extra training in order to qualify for the kind of
jobs demanded by the free market system. Goran, for example, is comfortable
with the skills he has acquired.
Dusan Mladjovic:
First of all I came here because of my self. It’s good when one knows
something like carpentry. Who knows when I’m going to need something like this?
One never knows what work one will get in the future. Maybe after this I’ll
start working as a carpenter.
That does it for
this edition of UNMIK on AIR. Thanks for listening.