The number of minors looking for work through youth cooperatives is constantly growing. The umbrella organization of the youth of Serbia warns that as many as 12 percent of young people work "on the black". What jobs are offered to them
It's getting more and more minor who earn their first money through youth cooperatives. A large number young people, although they are not socially disadvantaged, they want to gain a variety of experiences with different employers. And that they can buy for themselves what their parents can't or don't want to afford.
However, the problem is that employers resort to temporary contracts or contracts through the Youth Cooperative, in order to avoid high taxes and contributions.
Contact info Youth umbrella organizations of Serbia (KOMS) they say that less than 10 percent of young employees in 2025 had a contract with a youth cooperative that has an increasing offer of jobs for young people.
The director of the youth cooperative "Bulevar", Breda Milić, tells "Vreme" that the offer is jobs through youth cooperatives has been very good for years and does not expect it to decrease.
The most often offered jobs are declaring goods, working in warehouses, cinemas and bookstores, physical jobs such as loading and unloading various goods. Such jobs are offered literally on a daily basis.
"The work on is very current." Nikola Tesla Airport on auxiliary jobs and working in restaurants, and these are jobs that are offered every day," says Milić
Administrative jobs are not offered every day, for which young people who want to do them need to have a driver's license, know how to work in the Excel program, be students and be able to work full-time. Such jobs are mainly for those who study at private colleges or are nearing the end of their studies.
"Young people are not picky when it comes to jobs, but it is important for them to be able to plan their working hours. In the past few years, there have also been employers who meet young people and make a schedule adapted to their obligations. There are many jobs that can be done two, three or four times a week. Also, those jobs can be done in shifts of four, six or eight hours, before or after noon, according to the wishes and possibilities of the young people," says Milić.
Every year there are more and more minors who want and can work through youth cooperatives. They were attracted by the fact that they can work only on weekends, or only one day a week, so they can go to school on weekdays.
Milić explains that, in order for minors to be engaged through the youth cooperative, it is necessary for them to have a document with an identification number, whether it is an identity card, passport or birth certificate.
In addition, they must have a certificate from the school that they are students and the consent of one parent or guardian.
"Minors are not allowed to work in positions with increased risk, so our youth cooperative does not offer such jobs," says Milić.
She points out that she is delighted with the increasing number of minors who want to work.
"The law allows this from the age of 15. In 2025, an exceptional increase in the number of minors whose first employment was through a youth cooperative was recorded," says Milić.
He points out that young people are good students and great workers, and that many, even though they are not socially disadvantaged, want to gain different experiences with different employers.
"They manage to balance school with work, and if it wasn't like that, they certainly wouldn't have accepted the job," says Milić.
The average price per hour for jobs performed by young people is between 400 and 500 dinars, and daily wages are between 4.000 and 5.000 dinars for lighter, auxiliary jobs.
"There are also lower hourly wages, but these are very attractive jobs in the city center with flexible working hours that young people like. Young people who do such jobs are simply not looking for better-paid jobs because they are happy at work, they are aware that they can write what they did in their CV and know that future employers will be able to appreciate it," says Milić.
Their motives are different: either because of their work resume, or to pay school fees and some of their own expenses, and there are also those who want to impress their parents who have enough money, but to whom they want to show that they can earn money too.
"Young people are familiar with the working conditions before they start working. We try to make sure that their jobs are relatively close to where they live, so that if possible they only use one line of public transport. They are presented with what is expected of them at work and they have no doubts before they start working. They decide on the basis of how close the job is to them, how much the labor costs and on the basis of the type of work," concludes Milić.
Gordana Adamov, program manager of the Youth Umbrella Organization of Serbia (KOMS), says that according to the organization's data, less than 10 percent of young employees in 2025 stated that they have a contract with a youth cooperative.
"The percentage of young people who have such contracts is small compared to those who have fixed- or indefinite-term contracts, which are around 66 percent. It is worrying that in 2025, 12 percent of young people stated that they worked illegally," warns Adamov.
He states that the KOMS survey from 2025 showed that a total of about 42 percent of young people had experience working through a youth cooperative and that most of them evaluate that experience neither positively nor negatively, but neutrally.
"Generally, we notice that a large number of employers often resort to alternative ways to regulate the working relationship of young people if they do not want their workers to work 'on the black'. Due to high taxes and contributions, especially for less experienced staff such as young people, they resort to temporary-occasional contracts or contracts through a youth cooperative, just to avoid high taxes and contributions. This automatically means lower incomes for young people," says Adamov.
When it comes to youth cooperatives, young people share both positive and negative experiences. "They sign contracts with the Omaldin cooperative, which mediates between young people and employers. The most important issue here is the length of service, because in that option, such engagement is not the same as an employment contract. Also, in addition to the problem of low incomes for young people, there is also the problem of excessive taxes and contributions that employers, who may want to hire someone full-time, cannot do so because of these reasons," says Adamov.
That is why in 2025, the Komsomol has developed a White Book on youth policy, with 50 recommendations for improving the position of young people.
"One of the recommendations is the introduction of tax breaks for employers who want to hire young people between the ages of 15 and 30, who otherwise fall into the socially vulnerable category, so that they are provided with good working conditions, and that they do not accept illegal work," concludes Adamov.
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