NOVI SAD – USAID Mission Director Azza El-Abd and Vice-President of the Provincial government Miroslav Vasin attended  the Novi Sad ICT Cluster Academy graduation ceremony today. 

From February through November 2014, the ICT Cluster Academy prepared young and unemployed people for jobs in the IT industry.  In addition to learning the particulars of programming and software development, graduates applied their knowledge to real-life projects during their internships with Vojvodina ICT Cluster member companies.  Before their training was completed, 12 out of 45 students were employed by Novi Sad IT firms.

At the event, USAID Mission Director Azza El Abd stated:  “I am confident that today’s graduates are the first of many ICT Academy generations to come,” adding:  "For any country facing high levels of unemployment, it is vital to ensure that qualified candidates are available when valuable new job openings are created."

Milan Solaja, Vojvodina ICT Cluster Director emphasized that he is proud of the results of the first-generation students, and added: "The results of future graduates can only be even better.  We believe that we will continue this success story, in cooperation with the Provincial Government, for the benefit of future students, who will get a chance to be employed; the IT companies, which will have less trouble finding qualified personnel; as well as the rest of us, who will be delighted with reduced unemployment and the encouragment provided to the healthiest part of the local economy. "

Speaking about the IT industry in Serbia and globally, Solaja said, "Information technologies are on the rise.  In Serbia, this sector recorded double-digit growth in the last five years, even during the global economic crisis.  These technologies have penetrated all areas of the economy and life, resulting in the constantly growing need for IT solutions and services.  Serbian software companies, particularly the ones from Novi Sad, have managed to become competitive in global markets and achieve continued success.“

Vice-President Vasin expressed his thanks for USAID’s support to the first generation of graduates, adding that “from now on the Vojvodina Provincial Government will take over the responsibility of supporting the Academy.” 

The ICT Cluster Academy project was implemented by Vojvodina ICT Cluster and funded by USAID.