The IT industry is one of the most perspective economic sectors globally. At the same time, Europe faces a significant lack of qualified labour in the field, which slows down companies' digital transformation. There is a lack of one million IT experts in Europe, and 35% of labour don’t even have basic IT skills.

The IT industry is rising in Bosnia and Herzegovina as well. The number of companies and new start-up businesses is constantly increasing, which speaks about this field's potential to positively influence the unemployment in B&H and be the leading industry generating the highest income.

The project “New power of the IT industry - Empowering women for employment in the IT sector” includes the development and elaboration of two training programmes for IT skills extremely wanted and needed in the labour market: Data Science and UX/UI Design, and the implementation of the training Data Science for 15 unemployed women. The project aims to contribute to the increased employability of women in the IT sector in Sarajevo Canton.

Specific objectives of the project are:

1. To increase and promote employment and self-employment opportunities for women in the IT sector.
2. Develop/improve IT competencies of unemployed women.
3. Strengthen the socio-emotional competencies of unemployed women after a long period of unemployment.

TARGET GROUP: 15 unemployed women from Sarajevo Canton who have completed minimum secondary education
PROJECT DURATION: 8 months (April-November 2020)

• Developed and accredited two new non-formal adult education programmes in line with the labour market needs
• 15 unemployed women successfully completed 120 hours of the training for the occupation Junior Data Scientist
• Three webinars from the fields of digital skills held for more than 120 participants
• The project team conducted 60 hours of individual mentoring through which the participants’ attitudes towards their capabilities have been significantly enhanced, and their needs and possibilities for improvements have been identified
• Nine participants got a job or practice in IT companies based on the knowledge and skills gained within the training.