The Ministry of Labour, Employment, Veteran and Social Affairs organized the first meeting of the Working group on internships on August 18th 2021. The task of the working group is to conduct an analysis of the legal framework and the current state of internships and plan recommendations on changing the existing framework and/or adopting new law in this area.

Working group gathers representatives of the institutions dealing with employment, education and youth, labour unions, employers’ associations and civil society organizations including representatives of Belgrade open school. Research studies on the legal framework for internships conducted by Belgrade open school in cooperation with the Social Inclusion and Poverty Reduction Unit were presented at the meeting, as well as recommendations for normative regulations of internships. The example of the Law on internships of North Macedonia was presented.

There are many positive effects that internships can have. These include reducing the transition from education to the labour market, improvement of knowledge, skills and competencies, gaining work experience and exploring career options. Yet, these effects can be expected only if internships meet quality elements. These elements are limited duration, quality mentorship process, setting and monitoring learning goals, financial compensations, a contract at the beginning of the internship and certificate at the end. According to the review of the recent research results, these quality elements are missing in many internships, which indicates that it is important to regulate them.

Belgrade Open School has advocated for quality internships since 2015 through different initiatives, promotion events, legal analysis and research studies. It will continue these efforts in the next period as well. Quality internships are of great importance for the improvement of employability. The legal regulation of internships is an important step in this direction.