04.11.2010.
Continuation of the IO/PFP Trust Fund project for retraining redundant military personnel
The Ambassador of Norway to Serbia Nils Ragnar Kamsvag and the Head of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) for Serbia Gudstejn Gregoire signed the Annex Agreement, which continues the project NATO Partnership for Peace Trust Fund for Assistance to Discharged Defence Personnel in the Republic Serbia which has entered its fifth year of implementation.The inking was organized on the premises of the Norwegian Embassy residence in the presence of foreign ambassadors and envoys of Defence of 18 countries, the donor countries within the fund. Because of the significant results achieved during the past four years, the donor countries have agreed to support the project by the end of June 2011.
State Secretary in the Ministry of Defence Igor Jovicic said on that occasion that the project had yielded good results and that the project has seen very successful individuals who have used the help they received in an effective and beneficial manner combining it with their previous knowledge and skills. On the other hand, he said, some of them have used the help to retrain for certain simpler skills and profession that will enable them to earn a living after leaving the defense system. He added that this model of assistance based on the success of our country, accepted, and Ukraine, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Macedonia.
Since 2006, the IOM, in cooperation with the Ministry of Defense, has been implementing a program of retraining of professional Army members and the Ministry of Defence. To date, more than 4,172 former members of the defense system have received grants to start or expand an existing private business, to fund specialized courses, as well as subsidies on earnings for the current employer.The project has in the last three years invested about8 million EUR, opened in 3227 small and micro enterprises, and 425 former members of military forces are employed in the already existing businesses in Serbia.
