Within its Sida-funded project Supporting Social Entrepreneurship and Promoting Socio-economic Empowerment in Minority Communities in Kosovo, DRC is currently providing support to vulnerable individuals from the Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities of South Mitrovicë/Mitrovica through basic-level vocational training courses.

On 9th September 2019, the latest cycle of training ended. This is the eight cycle organised by DRC through Sida funds, and it saw the participation of 27 trainees, of whom five women, distributed in six profiles (constructions, auto-mechanics, welding, carpentry, barbering and hairdressing).

Thanks to these trainings, participants develop basic working skills that are crucial for them to access vocational training opportunities organised by the Kosovo institutions, and thus improve their chance to enter the job market. Trainings started in 2013 and are organised in close cooperation with the Employment Office and Regional Vocational Training Centre of South Mitrovicë/Mitrovica.

Hatixhe is one of the trainers. She is an engineer with 20 years of experience and has been teaching the constructions course since its start six years ago. According to her, her five trainees – aged between 25 and 55 – are eager to learn.

“I hope that, in the future, women from South Mitrovicë/Mitrovica Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities will start to take an interest in constructions, so that the prejudice that labels this field as exclusively for men is dissipated.”
- Hatixhe

Shaban, 54 years old, is one of Hatixhe’s trainees. He realises that “without any diploma or any experience nowadays it is hard to find a job”, and signed up for DRC’s training so that he can gain the basic skills he needs to continue his professional learning path at the Regional Vocational Training Centre of South Mitrovicë/a. “Thanks to this training I am even able to plan my day better”, says Shaban full of excitement; “What I learn motivates me to continue to learn”, he adds. Shaban also mentioned that the bond among trainees – who knew each other beforehand – has become stronger thanks to the time they spent learning together and working together at solving problems. He is confident this is something they will take away from their participation and continue in their daily lives.