Young people have little hope for future in Kosovo

The United Nations Development Programme published today's Public Puls Analysis Report on the issue offides and the angles of youth in Kosovo.

Analysis done by UNDP and USAID with group focus in Kosovo municipalities, where minorities were involved, has concluded that young people are not determined whether the current situation in Kosovo is favourable or not, but most of them expressed pessimistic about the country's future.

Alessandra Roccalsalvo, representative of the UNDP, said what is most disturbing to young people is that about 50% of them are unemployed, and that the desire to leave Kosovo is too high.

Comparing that nearly every youth has at least one degree of schooling as a bachelor, she said the employment rate is very low and should be done more in this regard.

There is no society that can grow with prosperity without the next generation, no matter what this generation sees as important, and what politics have about it. As for content, you will see great surprises in people's minds, job security, prosperity for their families. But there is also corruption, nepotism, how to find the job that is well paid and allows you to succeed in Kosovo. The desire to leave Kosovo is high enough and for me it is a sorrow, and also about 50% in a way are unemployed and that's a very large number, and I respect that, as well, everybody wants to work for a better future for their family, because that's what makes the world go beyond”, she said.

Paul Vaca, director of U Program AID, said these tests are aimed at deeper issues, focusing more on education, migration and prospects for the future, where, for the latter, he said, he noted lower optimism compared to past reports.

We've thought that we wanted to focus on university issues, we thought about working in migration, education, employment, interethnic relations, and also about prospects for the future. Even our goal has been quite optimistic. Public pulse now tells us that young people are not quite optimistic, a large number of answers have been quite pessimistic about the future job prospects, and also nepotism, corruption, poverty has been the main challenges to a perspective in Kosovo. Also, a large number of answers have said that the political situation is like the main problem and that it is linked to the part of the assessment and quality of education and could not get rid of the political situation”, he said.

While project manager Atthe Hetemi showed the report's data, he said the purpose of the public Pulsis has been to take up youth expectations and prospects for their future in Kosovo.

“The main goal of this analysis has been to draw up perceptions, attitudes, expectations of youth in Kosovo as far as the overall political situation is concerned, migration, education issues, employment, interethnic relations and their prospects for the future in Kosovo. Initially, I want to check that the main sources used in this report are drawn from a survey that has included 452 residents aged 14 to 35, and about 8 focus groups that have been held with young people in different Kosovo municipalities. It is noteworthy that in the survey, young people of different communities and all Kosovo regions” are involved, he said.

The report has concluded that 48% of young people think Kosovo is neither in the right direction nor in the wrong. The biggest challenges, survey young people praised lack of job opportunities, poverty, nepotism and corruption, and poor quality in education.

As for migration, about 31% of respondents would consider it possible in the future, with lack of employment as the main reason.

The largest percentage of them said they attend university studies, where only 15% want to attend the master and 4% programme and doctors as well. As an obstacle to higher education, financial problems were highlighted.

For employment, the results are that 56% of women and 40% of men surveyed are unemployed, totaling 36% of both genders are full-time employees.

For relations between communities, 28% respondents said they are tense but that there has been improvement in recent years and 27% think these relations continue to remain tense.