Belgrade Open School (BOS) organized the Fair of School Teams for Career Guidance and Counseling (CGC) for the fourth consecutive year. The Fair was held on May 29th 2018 in Belgrade, with the partnership support of the Solidar Foundation, the Serbian Chamber of Commerce, and the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development. The Fair gathered 19 of the best secondary school teams for career guidance and counseling from across Serbia, as well as other interested representatives from secondary schools and other institutions and organizations, in order to exchange experiences and thereby improve their work in this field. The Fair was also supported by the Institute for the Improvement of Education and the Tempus Office in Serbia – Euroguidance Centre.

The Fair was opened by the Director General of the Beogradska Open School, Vesna Đukić, who welcomed all participants and wished exhibitors success in the competition. On this occasion, she emphasized that since 2002, BOS has been working on establishing and developing career guidance and counseling services in Serbia.

After the official opening, visitors and members of the commission had the opportunity to get acquainted with the work of the exhibitors. A five-member commission, consisting of Tatjana Glišić Milutinović (Institute for the Improvement of Education), Ivana Kovačević (Serbian Chamber of Commerce), Dragana Jovanović (Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development), Ivana Vulić (Euroguidance Centre), and Jelena Manić Radoičić (BOS), visited all stands and became familiar with the work of the school teams. The commission was tasked with selecting the most active school team for the 2017/2018 school year based on submitted plans and programs for career guidance and counseling, reports on implemented activities during the school year, and school presentations at the Fair.

The main criteria used by the Commission were aligned with the proposed Standards of Services for Career Guidance and Counseling and included four key areas: quality of CGC plans and programs; quality of implemented CGC activities; resources and cooperation; and presentation at the Fair.

Before the awards were presented, commission members addressed the audience and shared the conclusion that there is an active improvement in the quality and diversity of CGC services provided by secondary schools. On this occasion, the chair of the commission, Tatjana Glišić, from the Institute for the Improvement of Education, emphasized the importance of career guidance and counseling and advised teachers and professional associates to work on improving quality monitoring and the implementation of innovations in CGC services. Dragana Jovanović also highlighted the Ministry of Education’s support for the development of career guidance in schools and praised the exhibitors for their enthusiasm and support provided to students.

By decision of the Commission, the first prize was awarded to the team from Grammar School “Branko Radičević” from Stara Pazova, which particularly stood out for its proactive approach and diverse activities for students. These activities were planned and successfully implemented in cooperation with a large number of partners from the private, public, and civil sectors. The prize of 20,000 dinars and a study trip to Istanbul were presented by Olivera Stepanović and Vesna Đukić. Second place was awarded to the Grammar School from Zaječar, which received a prize of 10,000 dinars and a study trip to Nottingham. Due to the large number of high-quality exhibitors, two additional awards were given at the fourth Fair of School Teams.

A study trip to Tirana was awarded to the Economic and Trade School from Požarevac for third place, while the Technical School from Požega, for fourth place, received participation in a regional forum on youth employment in Skopje.

The Fair was implemented within the project “Quality Services for Better Youth Employability – KVIS na BIS,” with financial support from Solidar Suisse – Office in Serbia.