MDF - Micro Development Fund

Business Development Services

The aim of the Vocational Training Program is to improve the skills and knowledge of its beneficiaries in order to modify their professions according to the labor market’s needs. The program consists of theoretical and practical part of the training.

Who are the beneficiaries

Refugees and IDPs who show initiative for employment/self-employment, but whose education does not fit into the local market

Advantages

Increasing the education level is the step toward faster employment and income generation. That is why a lot of beneficiaries decide to choose vocations with higher possibilities of employment.

Beneficiaries have the possibility to choose the Vocational Training type individually, as well as the place where they will take practical training.

Theoretical Training

Theoretical part of the training is run in cooperation with local educational institutions (workers’ universities, private centers for learning). After course completion, beneficiaries take exams in order to obtain diploma for:

individual running of business
regular employment

Practical Training

Practical training for the activities that the beneficiary is being trained for, is run in companies or workshops. Except obtaining of practical skills, the beneficiaries are becoming familiar with ways of working, work organization, relations with clients.

After practical training, the beneficiaries are ready to perform that activity, to integrate easily into working environment and to adjust to the market needs successfully. Large number of clients remain employed with the firms/workshops where they had their practical part of education.

After the completion of the training, the beneficiaries who are decided for self-employment can apply for micro-credit within Micro Development Fund, in order to start-up or expand their current business.

Practice has shown that this type of education is one of the most efficient ways of increasing the educational level of the young and the adults.

Program Statistical Data

Program has been functioning since 2000. About 2750 Vocational Trainings have been conducted since the beginning of the programs implementation, including more than 50% of women. The following municipalities have the biggest number of approved projects: Nis, Leskovac, Prokuplje, Krusevac, Kraljevo, Uzice, Cacak, Jagodina, Kragujevac.