Following the global market and industry trends, the information and communication technology sector is becoming one of the fastest growing industries in Bosnia and Herzegovina. According to the latest research, some of the most sought after jobs in the country include software developers and IT programmers. IT companies have a hard time finding skilled workforce to fill these positions due to inadequate education and training for young people wishing to enter the industry.
Hoping to improve the situation, the Education Development Center (EDC) launched a pilot internship program aimed at providing training in the ICT skills required for some of the most common sector careers, such as web developer and software programmer. A four week program was attended by 50 high school and university students across BiH. Participants received both theoretical and practical learning, with six private companies mentoring them, teaching them theory, and helping them with their software development projects.
“The internships provided students with a bridge from the classroom into business,” said EDC’s Cornelia Janke, director of Partnership for Innovation. “The internships show them how what they learned in school—for example, in math or engineering—is applied in business. They learned the theory behind software development and how to carry out and manage their own hands-on projects.”
The internship program is just one of several Partnership for Innovation projects in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Four Business Innovation Centers, set up across the country, will serve as help centers for small and medium sized businesses wishing to use ICT to enhance their competitiveness and productivity, as well as as training hubs for young people who want to learn ICT skills or start their own business.
The Partnership for Innovation project is funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and managed by the EDC.
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