Deputy Minister of Economy and Labor, Marjan Risteski, participated in a panel discussion titled "Business and Youth" which was held as part of the Pelagonia Region Business Fair "PELO FORUM 2025" in Bitola.
At the panel discussion, representatives from youth associations, the business sector, state and local institutions discussed greater inclusion of youth in economic flows in the Pelagonia region, as well as the challenges that young people face in entering the labor market.
Deputy Minister Risteski addressed the panel discussion on the activities and projects that the Ministry of Economy and Labor is implementing to improve the employment conditions of young people, develop their skills and help them open their own businesses.
- The main measure of the Ministry of Economy and Labor to improve the situation of young people on the labor market is certainly the Operational Employment Plan, where this year we allocated record funds in the amount of over EUR10 million to support young people up to 29 years of age to open their own business, with the highest support so far of up to EUR10.000 per applicant. This year, more than 2.250 applications were received for the use of funds from this measure, and a total of 950 grants were approved, while specifically for the Pelagonia region, 237 applications were received, of which 115 were approved for grants. This is a strong message to us as a Government and indicates to us that there is great interest and desire among young people to open their own business and stay at home, as well as that we should continue to implement them next year - said Risteski.
Risteski also followed up on the other measures from the Operational Plan that are aimed at improving the skills of young people for their integration into the labor market, such as internship measures, training measures for acquiring additional skills and further training, which would increase the competitiveness of young people in the labor market, as well as training for prequalification and orientation towards professions that are in short supply on the labor market.
The Pelagonia Region Business Fair "PELO FORUM 2025" is organized by the Regional Chamber of Commerce of Bitola in cooperation with the association "Pro Local" from Bitola.
The event was addressed and attended by, in addition to Deputy Minister Risteski, H.E. Özlem Canel – Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Daniela Dimovska – Director of the Agency for Innovation, Scientific Technological Development and Entrepreneurship (INOVA), Stevče Stevanovski – Mayor of the Municipality of Novaci, Mirko Velkovski – President of the Regional Chamber of Commerce, representatives from several state institutions and municipalities from the region, as well as representatives from the civil sector.
