A total of 4.294 highly educated people in Montenegro is unemployed. Around 43% is younger than 30. However, the fact that 1.632 entrepreneurs under 35 were registered in 2017 shows that young people are looking for salvation in founding their own company.
According to Darko Kuzmanović, statistics adviser within the Employment Agency of Montenegro, most unemployed highly educated people are from Podgorica, 1.206. Podgorica is followed by Nikšić and Bijelo Polje.
“Records of the unemployed persons counts 244 master degrees and 19 PhD degrees. There are 3,154 women and 1.770 men among the unemployed”, says Kuzmanović.
As representatives of the Chamber of Commerce state, number of small and medium enterprises whose at least one owner is under 35, amounted 4.795 in 2017.
“Young people account for 17,4% of the total number of entrepreneurs. In the total number of micro, small and medium enterprises, they take part in the ownership structure with 24,7%”, said the representatives of the Chamber of Commerce.
Current economic situation recognizes entrepreneurship as one of the ways of tackling the unemployment problem. Development of entrepreneurship skills would contribute to higher employment.
“Results of the research suggest that entrepreneurship career is very popular among young people in Montenegro. More than 60% of the young people would rather work for themselves than for the employer, 75% think that starting their own business is risky, but that entrepreneurs enjoy social reputation, while one third thinks about entering into entrepreneurship. Young entrepreneurs often choose sectors that are easily accessible and that do not require huge initial capital”, said the representatives of the Chamber of Commerce.
Representatives of the Union of Young Entrepreneurs think entrepreneurial resources aren’t used enough.
“Young people in Montenegro are becoming more and more aware of the opportunities for their own business. We must identify the space for putting our ideas into action. The idea doesn’t have to be innovative and special. It should be sustainable and real and that’s enough”, said the representatives of the Union.
However, young people are faced with so many obstacles in their efforts to develop their own business.
“Moral support and finances are first challenges young people face. Those who have already started their business face even greater challenges. They should be taken into account before launching anything”, said the representatives of the Union.
Ministry of Economy has envisaged a special programme line for entrepreneurship development for 2019. Besides, Chamber of Commerce provides young people with many educational activities.
“They also have Enterprise Europe Network that offers the possibility of connecting with the partners from abroad. Also, Chamber implements projects that include clusters as a good model of cooperation”, said the representatives of the Chamber of Commerce.
