On January 31^st, some 21interns in northern Kosovo received certificates of completion for a three-month internship in the wood-processing sector.  In total, 61 individuals, including 21 (nine women) from north Kosovo were placed in three-month internships with 15 companies.  The internships were in the areas of production operations management, sales and marketing, and business administration.  Of the 21 interns placed in the north, seven have already found employment with the Fontana Company.

USAID Mission Director James Hope joined Patrick Etienne (Director of Swiss Cooperation in Kosovo), Goran Paulsson (Head of Development Cooperation for SIDA), and Fontana’s owner Dragisa Jovanovic in speaking at the ceremony.  Arieta Vula – Pozhegu, the Executive Director of the Association of the Wood Processors and Producers, presented the certificates. 

The wood-processing internship program is a cooperative effort supported by USAID EMPOWER Private Sector, the Enhance Youth Employment (EYE) project, and the Association of Wood Processors of Kosovo.  The program helps to address the lack of trained and properly-qualified workers in the wood-processing sector.