The USK Chamber of Crafts, a non-governmental, non-political, non-partisan association of craftsmen from this area, has been recording extremely good results in the last few years. They refer not only to the harmonization of the common interests of the members of the Chamber, but also to numerous projects and programs that facilitate the work of craftsmen, provide guidelines for development, but also encourage citizens, especially women and young people, to start their own trades.
” Our Chamber of Crafts brings together between 2,500 and 3,000 active craftsmen, as well as those who perform related activities. Most of them are from the domain of service activities, they lead, followed by production and processing activities, and agriculture as a related activity. It is important to note that in addition to these permanent members, we also have around 500 seasonal members, those who provide tourist activities during the summer, in the height of the season. I believe that they also make a significant contribution to the overall economic development of the Canton, even though they are seasonal jobs,” we learn from Enes Arapović, president of the USK Chamber of Crafts.
Membership and membership fees in the Chamber are mandatory, adds Arapović, but these funds are insufficient to carry out the activities that the Chamber has initiated and which include not only members, but also all those who, in various ways, can contribute to the development of the craft.
” Finance is never enough for planned activities, if you want to achieve good results and invest in the progress and development of your members. That is why the Chamber regularly organizes various events, such as fairs and events, and in this way manages to generate certain income. We also have support from the Ministry of Economy FBIH, through grants to help chambers, and I especially emphasize applying to calls for various projects. It is thanks to these projects that we got the tradesmen interested in educating themselves about creating business plans, achieving better results, as well as independent bookkeeping,” Arapović adds.
One such project is “Entrepreneurial education, strengthening trades and entrepreneurship”, which includes 300 to 500 users. The goal of the project, financed with 50,000 KM by the Ministry of Economy of the USK, is to develop and strengthen the entrepreneurial skills and inclinations of artisans, which includes strengthening initiative, creativity, independence, taking responsibility for managing entrepreneurial ventures and managing projects from idea to their realization.
In addition, the program includes the necessary education from the development of new products, the application of standardization in production, as well as the placement of products on the market. Among other things, bookkeeping educations, the program How to become an independent entrepreneur/craftsman are implemented, and as an important segment I must mention the independent preparation of investment business and business plans. Education on the importance, introduction and implementation of the ISO 9001 Quality Management System Standard is also included, as well as the education of participants to find acceptable funds to provide funds for investing and strengthening the company’s capacity, necessary documentation, creating and writing a project application, elements of a project application and project management . One part is intended for individuals who are employed in the position of a responsible person in order to master the basics of working capital management, and agricultural producers are also involved in the project through education on the importance, introduction and implementation, standardization and certification in agricultural and food production systems, he explains briefly. this important project Dženana Ahmetspahić, project coordinator at the USK Chamber of Crafts.
It is necessary, adds Ahmetspahić, to mention the competence of the so-called unemployed persons. “Competence Passport”. The analysis, for which eight people were trained during the training, will record the acquired competences of unemployed persons through life and work, create a database and thus reach the available workforce.
In recent years, the need for retraining in accordance with the needs of the labor market has been especially pronounced in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Recognizing this situation and in USK, the Chamber of Crafts, thanks to the application for European Union funds, realized the project “Development and implementation of the program of employment by retraining according to the needs of the labor market” in the amount of 180,000 dollars.
The project is in partnership with the USK Employment Service, the Biotechnical Faculty of the University of Bihać, the First Secondary School “Dr. Husein Džanić” from Velika Kladuša, by the company “Strojopromet” and the Municipality of Velika Kladuša, was implemented over 21 months, and exceptional results were achieved.
” Two centers for retraining and adult education were opened. At the Biotechnical Faculty, 40 participants completed retraining, while in Velika Kladuša, 60 participants completed retraining for CNC operators. We are proud that eight start-up businesses were launched, according to the principle: Come up with an idea – start your business. In this way, a total of eight new trades were opened – three of which were fully financed by Velika Kladuša, while the other five were co-financed. The Municipality of Velika Kladuša allocated 20,000 KM for this purpose. It is very important for us that local units also recognize the importance of such projects, which can be seen in the example of Velika Kladuša”, says coordinator Ahmetspahić.
Dženifa Elezović is from Velika Kladuša, who opened the “ND” beauty salon. As she says, she had the idea of starting this business from before, and it was suggested to her to join the project at the Chamber of Crafts, at the moment when she came to inform about the trade.
” I have nothing but words of praise for the Chamber of Craftsmen, because they supported me from the very beginning. Thanks to this project, I got the courage to start a business, the lecturers were exceptional and they conveyed the necessary knowledge to us. It is extremely important to me that thanks to the project I also received funds for equipping the salon, so that I did not have to go into credit, which I had already planned before coming to the Chamber”.
The participation of women was also noted in the project ” Strong women in successful business “, which was implemented with the financial support of the Australian Embassy with the aim of encouraging women to start an independent business project, introducing them to examples of good practice of female entrepreneurship and consulting with already successful female managers. The project resulted in two start-ups, which was the original goal of this project. One of the participants of this program, Ramiza Miljković, started a construction business.
” I am an economist by profession, and considering that I do not work and that I need years of experience to meet the requirements for a pension, I decided to start a business. We are talking about the “Miljković” trade, which deals with excavation, demolition of buildings, i.e. dredging. The Chamber of Crafts, through the project “Strong women, successful business”, helped me tremendously in this process and I am really grateful to them, just like my husband, who is a huge support to me. It is important to point out that there is a lot of work in our area, I am really satisfied and I tell all unemployed women to find themselves in some activity, to get started, come up with an idea, get involved in projects and start. My example, that I am a wife, mother, housewife, and that I drive an excavator in the field, proves that women can do everything, that we are ladies of steel. We definitely need the support of society, that is, the state, and I expect that there will be even more of it in the coming period, for the benefit of the entire community.”
The team of the Chamber of Crafts is also proud of the certification of Krajina trahana and Krajina sauce with the Guaranteed Traditional Specialties (GTS) mark in the Register of the Agency for Food Safety.
” These are the first products in Bosnia and Herzegovina to receive the Guaranteed traditional specialties label, and we are proud to be the initiators of this positive story. The registration activities were financially supported through the “USAID Tourism BiH” project, and the preparation of the manufacturer’s specification and other necessary documentation was prepared by the professors of the Biotechnical Faculty of the University of Bihać. The ceremonial handing over of the certificate was attended, along with numerous other dignitaries from business life, by American Ambassador Michael Murphy. As part of the project, the Professional Association “Stari novi okus” was formed, which through its work will promote traditional Krajina specialties, thereby enriching the tourist offer of USK”, says Arapović.
Cooperation with local communities, as well as USK institutions, is excellent, and the Chamber is often a partner to other organizations in the implementation of certain activities. Worth mentioning is the project of the United Women’s Association “E – craft”, financed by the Ministry of Economy, USK. It is a free online platform for producers, especially women, who want their products to find their way to end customers in the USK and FBiH.
There is no shortage of activities and projects, just like people who are interested in participating. Everything realized in the Chamber is summarized before the end of the year. As in the past, at the end of 2023, they are satisfied with the work done, but they emphasize that they can and should do more, in order to help their members as much as possible, encourage new ones who are thinking about starting trades and related activities, and thus contribute to the strengthening of the economy in this part BiH.
They believe that there will be no shortage of projects and that they will be talked about and written about in the coming year.
Written by: Nermina Zulić
This story was written thanks to the generous support of the American people through the “LOCAL WORKS” program of the American Agency for International Development in Bosnia and Herzegovina (USAID). The author and “Network for Peace Building” are solely responsible for the content of the story. The views expressed in the story do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government.
