Air Serbia signs memorandum of understanding with five key educational institutions for national "Youth Come First" programme
06 November 2015
As part of its commitment to the national education programme, "Youth Come First , Air Serbia has signed memoranda of understanding with five key institutions in Serbia.
The agreements were signed in a series of ceremonies at the airline's New Belgrade headquarters between Air Serbia, represented by Aleksandra Dutina, General Manager - People and Performance, and representatives of the Faculties of Economics, Transport and Traffic, Electrical and Mechanical Engineering of the University of Belgrade and the Aviation Academy.
The objective of the programme is to better align the knowledge and skill sets acquired by university students with the requirements of the labour market in Serbia through a series of specific joint activities with educational institutions. The programme, which includes activities with an educational, practical and developmental aspect, offers Air Serbia and other companies the opportunity to identify and select students as candidates for immediate or future employment.
Dane Kondić, Air Serbia's Chief Executive Officer, said: "We are committed to the development of our people, as they are the foundation of our long-term success. In today's competitive business environment, their knowledge, capabilities and skills are those that will continue to drive our growth and progress. This is why we remain focused on helping our future generation develop capabilities that will be valuable for their future and the companies they will work for. As the national airline of Serbia, we actively help build the future of our younger generations by implementing such programmes with our partner airlines, such as Etihad Airways. Young Serbs gain invaluable knowledge and experience from these development opportunities, making them strong candidates for employment at Air Serbia where we can work together to achieve our collective ambitions".
The programme was launched and presented earlier this year, when the first Memorandum of Understanding was signed with the Faculty of Organisational Sciences in Belgrade.
Modules within the programme comprise student internships, lectures and workshops led by Air Serbia managers, workplace visits to Air Serbia, practical assignments on real-world projects, and mentorship in writing research papers and theses.
Practical lectures will be delivered by Air Serbia's managers, who will share their experience through situational analyses and case studies, while real-world projects will provide an option for students to tackle practical tasks and scenarios, and to participate in resolving them. The research paper programme will enable students to analyse all aspects of their research topic - knowledge which they will able to use in their educational development.
Students will also have an opportunity to enhance their knowledge and skills through an internship programme at Air Serbia, where they will work together with experienced managers to develop practical knowledge in specific sectors of the company, depending on their educational profile.