Ten Years of Local Employment Partnerships in Bosnia and Herzegovina

The two-day conference „Ten Years of Local Employment Partnerships in Bosnia and Herzegovina – From Innovation to System-level Impact“ concluded in Sarajevo on 23 June 2026.  The conference brought together representatives of institutions, public employment services, employers, trade unions, civil society organisations, development partners and labour market experts from across Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The event was an opportunity to take stock of the achievements of the European Union's decade-long support for the local employment partnerships, exchange experiences, and explore future directions for the development of labour market policies in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

In his address, the Director of the Employment Agency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ivan Barbalić, emphasized the importance of local approaches to understanding and addressing challenges in the labour market.

„A local approach truly gives as an accurate picture and enables us to clearly target measures that lead to real results“, Barbalić emphasized.

He particularly emphasized the importance of considering both local and global trends shaping the labour market, including migration, labour shortages, demographic change, and the mismatch between labour force skills and employers’ needs. He also underlined the need to create high-quality jobs that can help retain the labour force in the country.

Over the past decade, the local employment partnerships, supported by the European Union and in cooperation with the International Labour Organisation (ILO) have helped develop innovative and inclusive models of cooperation among public employment services, local communities, employers, trade unions, educational institutions and civil society organisations.

On the second day of the event, special focus was on some of the most pressing challenges in the labour market in Bosnia and Herzegovina.  In the session focused on labour shortages, skills mismatches and labour force participation, participants discussed the effects of demographic change, population migration, and structural shifts in the labour market, as well as the need for evidence-based public policy responses. The discussion also addressed job quality, decent work, and future directions for the development of labour market policies.