Over the past year, EPI CENTAR International as the main implementer of the USAID Project Partnership for Better Business Regulation has been actively involved in the preparation of the first draft Law on Internship.
Resulting of these activities, the Law on Internships for the first time will be introduced in the legal regulations of the Republic of Macedonia, intending to fill one of the main legal gaps between the knowledge and skills of the labor force in the country, and the supply and demand on the labor market.
For these reasons the implementers of this project made an extensive survey analysis, including over 800 students and users of the active measures of the Employment agency of Macedonia.
According to the results of the conducted survey, 94.5% of the respondents who underwent internship programs, stated that this experience contributed for building a better personal biography and increasing the possibility of employment. On the other hand, 42.96% of the respondents were offered employment after the completion of the internship.
The results additionally confirmed the need for the preparation of this Law and thus, intensified the cooperation between the relevant institutions, chambers of commerce, the NGO sector and all social partners in the country, in order to define the conditions under which the internship should be carried out, as well as to design a solution that will work in the long run.
As a result of the project activities, during the past week, the Government initiated the first public debate on the new Draft Law on Internships, in order to finalize the definitions regarding the rights and obligations of the interns - persons from 15 to 29 years old. The purpose of this Law is to provide the companies with the opportunity to hire young interns, while assessing the labor market according to their needs. On the other hand the Law should provide opportunities for the young people to learn and gain experience, and at the same time to be paid for their effort.
Finally, the main expected results that should arise of this Law refer to the reduction of unemployment in the country, especially among younger people, and intends to help the companies to receive capable and useful young staff that will be the main driving force of the domestic economy.
The Ministry of Labor and Social Policy is the main holder of the activity and in the following period will be responsible for delivering the final Law to the Assembly of Macedonia.
The Law was drafted as part of the USAID Project Partnership through Better Business Regulations, implemented by EPI CENTAR International and the four chambers of commerce: Economic Chamber of Macedonia, ICT Chamber of Commerce – MASIT, Economic Chamber of North-West Macedonia and Macedonian Chamber of Commerce. In this process the Project also included all social partners and representatives of the non-governmental sector, to provide their support and insights regarding this matter.
The draft text of the Law was officially published on www.ener.gov.mk on September 4, 2018, following the regular procedure for public commenting and submission of proposals for improvement and revision.