Dual Education for Reduced Youth Unemployment

President of the Croatian Chamber of Economy (HGK) Luka Burilović and the Dean of the Faculty of Economics at the University of Zagreb Lajoš Žager signed a Cooperation Agreement aimed at connecting the entire economy and the academic community.

The agreement, Burilović stated, establishes joint activities that will further strengthen the existing cooperation and encourage even stronger connections between science and the economy. Žager emphasized that the areas of potential cooperation between the Chamber and the Faculty are numerous, benefiting both sides, and that these two institutions have an obligation to collaborate for the betterment of the entire country. 

– The Faculty of Economics in Zagreb (EFZG) is oriented towards economic practice in the interest of its students who, based on this cooperation, can expect higher quality studies and prospects for the future, said Dean Žager, congratulating HGK on its 164th anniversary.

On this occasion, Luka Burilović presented the new HGK project Dual Education, which, as he says, will facilitate the alignment of the educational system with the needs of the labor market. 

– This project has shown excellent results in Austria and Germany, where the youth unemployment rate is below ten percent, while in Croatia it is nearly 50 percent, said Burilović, adding that HGK, through the implementation of this project in collaboration with the Ministry of Science, aims to reduce the youth unemployment rate by at least half in the coming years.

HGK Vice President for Tourism, Trade, and Finance Josip Zaher believes that science must establish its knowledge through the economy and that EFZG is a good example of connecting with all areas of economic activity, through HGK.