Prime Minister of the Republic of Serbia Ana Brnabić visited Mechanical School “Pančevo” as one of the first Serbian schools that successfully introduced dual education programmes. After a tour of the school facilities she talked with teachers and pupils and informed them of the plans of the Government to ensure better education which can lead to better jobs. Serbian Government plans to establish 10 regional training centres, one of which will surely be in this high school. This is why the Government plans to fund construction of a new mechanical workshop (ballpark value 106 million RSD and 1800m2):

– Since I last visited Pančevo, a lot has changed. ZF company has opened a factory and now another German company Brose plans a big investment. Only these two companies will offer 2000 new work places in Pančevo. The local SMEs are also growing in strength, so this school is not only important for Pančevo but for the entire South Banat, to the benefit of the entire Serbia and the region. The first results of the pilot dual education programme show that 80% of pupils are now employed with the companies where they had practical lessons. In this new workshop, with the new equipment, the pupils will be able to acquire knowledge and skills required by the local businesses, which is of interest to both local workforce and to the job market. The economic situation in South Banat is now much better than five years ago, but a lot more needs to be done which can positively affect economic and social development.

The school headmaster Nenad Dojčinović expressed great satisfaction with the Prime Minister’s visit:

– You have seen now what we do and how we do it and we hope to continue on that trail.

Mayor of the City of Pančevo Saša Pavlov also expressed gratitude for the visit:

– We know that Prime Minister’s visit to local governments always are a positive signal for their further development. In the last four years we have managed to create good business environment for investors, and one of the factors in this was definitely good quality education. I am happy that the Prime Minister had a first hand opportunity to see what dual education means for the Mechanical School in Pančevo and to see the conditions in which our pupils are educated.

After visit to the Mechanical School, Prime Minister and Mayor also visited the Pančevo Quay whose reconstruction is planned in the period to come.

Source and photo: Pančevo moj kraj