Investment should be made in training young people in digital skills, increasing digital literacy and improving access to digital devices, especially among marginalized groups, such as the Roma.
These were the conclusions of today’s panel discussion on the topic “Digital Skills and Youth Unemployment”, within the framework of the National Conference on the Implementation of Roma Inclusion Measures, organized by the Institute for Research and Policy Analysis – Romalitico.
The discussion was led by Albert Memeti and Marija Sulejmanova, Program Managers at Romalitico, Mila Josifovska Danilovska, Program Coordinator at the Metamorphosis Foundation, as well as Mitko Pishtolov from the Macedonian Civic Education Center, Team Leader for Skills Development at the USAID Youth Actively Create Opportunities (YACO) Activity.
Sulejmanova presented the research on digital literacy among the Roma community, conducted by Romalitico.
Of the 1,269 respondents, 54 percent were unemployed. Thirty-four percent of the respondents had only primary education, 33 percent had secondary education, and 18 percent had no education.
More than half of the respondents had never communicated with public services online, and over half of those who did not said that this was due to a lack of skills and knowledge. Additionally, almost 80 percent of the respondents had not paid an online bill for electricity, heating, water or other services.
Sulejmanova noted that the research recommends implementing digital literacy programs in schools of Roma communities, and greater promotion of current websites for online services, such as e-services.
“I am concerned that policies such as VAT refunds do not reach the more marginalized and poorer, who need them the most. Such policies remain in the middle class. Poorly designed policies can result in the wrong targeted population,” Memeti says of the research findings.
He then presented the findings of another Romalitico survey, regarding unemployment among the young Roma population. The survey found that 19 percent of male Roma had been unemployed for more than two years, while 11 percent of female Roma had been unemployed for more than two years.
It is striking that only half of the respondents would accept a job in another city, but as many as 77 percent of the respondents would accept a job outside the country.
“Young people are dissatisfied with the social situation. They are dissatisfied with the presence of bribery and corruption. Even though some will complete higher education, social conditions force them to leave the country,” says Memeti.
He believes that digitalization can be beneficial for Roma, especially when dealing with public institutions.
“The development of digitalization will reduce the discrimination that Roma face in public services. They will not have to deal with the well-known ‘come tomorrow, come the day after tomorrow,'” says Memeti.
Pishtolov spoke more broadly about the working conditions for young people. Although he believes that education in our country is useful, it has a lot of room for improvement.
“This world is not the same as it was twenty years ago. Different skills are required, and education is the same as it was twenty years ago,” said Pishtolov.
He noted that the curricula of current educational institutions lack adequate teaching of soft skills, digital skills, financial literacy, and career counseling.
But according to Pishtolov, the main reason why young people are leaving the country is that there is a lack of employment and capacity-building opportunities. He says that companies are generally more willing to hire older, experienced people than to take on young staff and train them. Although the latter option requires more energy and resources, he believes it is necessary for the country to develop, saying that institutions such as the Chamber of Commerce should consider ways to reward companies that hire and train young people.
Josifovska Danilovska addressed the importance of spreading digital literacy, enabling access to digital devices, as well as implementing full digitalization in state institutions.
Photo: Romalitico
“What we, as Metamorphosis, have proposed as an initiative to be included in the government program for 2025 is the creation of a comprehensive national strategy for digital literacy, which will also include citizens outside the formal education system,” says Josifovska Danilovska.
Digital literacy is particularly important for citizens to be able to recognize disinformation and online fraud, which are becoming increasingly prevalent in the age of content generated by artificial intelligence, pointed out Josifovska Danilovska.
Regarding access to digital devices, she emphasized the need for special centers where citizens could use such resources, noting that previously this role was played by state internet clubs, but that they should also be places where citizens could receive on-site support.
Josifovska Danilovska explained that the Metamorphosis Foundation, with support from the European Union, supported three organizations in Skopje, Prilep, and Kichevo to establish and manage e-government support centers, i.e. to support citizens in using existing e-services, but also to increase their digital literacy. Within a year, more than 7,300 citizens from different communities in those three regions were served. This project reached many more people compared to the state-run “One Stop Service,” through which, according to Metamorphosis’s analyses from last year, around 1,000 citizens were served.
However, there is also a problem in the synchronization of digitalization between institutions. Josifovska Danilovska noted that it often happens that a notary does not recognize a document issued electronically, or that it is necessary to attach a physically issued document when using a certain online service. She pointed to the so-called X-Road system in Estonia, which is used to transfer all kinds of information between institutions, reducing the obligations of citizens to upload the same personal information to multiple institutions.
The ultimate goal of the conference, which began yesterday, is to identify barriers that hinder progress towards inclusion and to identify solutions that will contribute to the sustainable progress of the Roma community.
Link to the original post: Digital skills are crucial for young people, especially marginalized groups like the Roma
