Youth Employment Forum CoChairs Zbigniew Bochniarz Anto Domazet

Youth Employment Forum Co-Chairs: Zbigniew Bochniarz Anto Domazet Keynote Speaker: Ziga Vavpotic Sarajevo, Bosnia i Herzegovina, July 1, 2014

Introduction 1. Untapped Opportunities & Success Stories: Almir Jazvin, Vesna Milosevic Zupancic 2. Promoting Entrepreneurship and Selfemployment: Nermin Kadric 3. Enhancing Performance of Existing Businesses: Kenanan Salihbegovic 4. Conclusions for the Bi. H Youth .

1. Untapped Opportunities & Success Stories • What are the most significant success stories in the past decade that have potential for further growth, replication or imitation? • What success stories have been achieved in other countries that can be extended, replicated or imitated in Bi. H? • Which sectors, industries and businesses in Bi. H have the largest potential for growth? • What domestic and international markets offer the greatest potential for growth? • What practical measures can be introduced to tap these opportunities? • Which countries or regions offer viable models that can be replicated in Bi. H? . • What obstacles retard development of these opportunities?

2. Promoting Entrepreneurship and Selfemployment • What steps can be taken to promote entrepreneurship and self-employment? • How can the start-up of new businesses be facilitated and accelerated? • How can the failure rate of new business start-ups be reduced? .

3. Enhancing Performance of Existing Businesses • How can existing enterprises become more efficient and competitive? • How can agricultural extension services be improved to raise crop yields & quality? • How can transparency be increased to facilitate the functioning of businesses? • What systems or organizational. innovations can be introduced to improve the functioning of the business and the economy?

4. Conclusions & Recommendations: Summary A. Support the Social Entrepreneurship through introducing good conditions for NGOs and non-profit organizations – they create jobs, contribute to GDP, build Social Capital. B. Brake out existing barriers for student jobs and establish necessary legislative base for converting students jobs into permanent jobs after graduation. C. Open enormous potential for job creations by opening market for solid FDI D. Support endogenous, high value added organic agriculture by removing existing barriers . E. Open universities for the inflows of new knowledge and skills coming from industries.

4. Conclusions & Recommendations: Details A. Support the Social Entrepreneurship through introducing good conditions for NGOs and non-profit organizations – they create jobs, contribute to GDP, build Social Capital: a. Eliminate barriers for development of the 3 rd Sector (NGO & non-profit) and let them to contribute to local/regional wealth. b. Utilize untapped knowledge and experiences of the inactive, particularly numerous older generations through collaborative networks with young generations by facilitating support from EU Social Fund and this way converting Bi. H liability into valuable assets. c. Invest in development of the tele-communication, particularly in broadband network country-wide. d. In order to scale-up a potential project to become a national network, project leaders should offer an inclusive, win-win approach for the all interested organizations in Bi. H.

4. Conclusions & Recommendations: Details B. Brake out existing barriers for student jobs and establish necessary legislative base for converting students jobs into permanent jobs after graduation: a. Invest in student job opportunities during their schooling years to give them the 1 st contact with the labor market and to acquire 1 st working experience. b. Support student jobs that develop their soft skills – crucial for their future employability. c. Record and recognize student jobs for their future regular jobs as the ILO-awarded practice My Experience indicates. d. Treat student jobs as a stepping stone for regular jobs.

4. Conclusions & Recommendations: Details C. Open enormous potential for job creations by opening market for solid FDI and connect them with the Bi. H SME: a. Stop costly subsidizing few but largest Bi. H firms, with their semi-monopolistic positions preventing often development of SME, entrepreneurship, innovation and thus keeping Bi. H competitive. b. Support development of SME and their clustering activities that proved to be a successful strategy for knowledge dissemination, innovation spillover and improving competitiveness in the most advanced countries. c. Reduce the burden of taxes by eliminating some of them and by introducing transparency and full accountability of spending the tax revenues. d. Bi. H should take advantage of the proximity of the world largest EU market by opening its economy and promoting competitive exports.

4. Conclusions & Recommendations: Details Support endogenous, high value added organic agriculture by removing existing barriers D. a. Convert subsidies for big commercial farms producing mainly industrial crops (cotton, corn & soya) to support education and training for individual and cooperative farmers needed for developing their high-value-added organic production. b. Harmonize with EU the agricultural and food production standards to facilitate export development. c. Remove barriers of land ownership transfer, particularly for the new highly-educated labor interested in moving to the countryside. d. Attract investors to food processing industry to take advantage of fast growing organic agricultural production.

4. Conclusions & Recommendations: Details E. Reform relations between universities and business : a. Support the local talent development and retain them in Bi. H by opening possibilities for new sources of funding for cuttingedge inventions. b. Open Bi. H universities for cooperation with industries, particularly with IT by letting them to share with their newest technologies. c. Revise time allocated for Knowledge, Skills & Attitude Building in favor of the last two, including more soft-skills. d. Collaborate closely with organizations from business, public or NGO sectors to get students involved in team work and solving real world problems. e. Take advantage of alumni associations to learn about needed knowledge and skills in their industries. f. Introduce incentives for faculty to focus on more practical problem solving for student diploma works. .

Thank you for your participation!