Higher Education in Serbia: From Socialism to the Free Market Economy and Implications for the Labour Market

This paper focuses on the relationships between higher education and the labour market in Serbia. In order to understand this relationship better, this paper will first provide a brief history of the country and the history of its higher education structures. The paper will then discuss higher education from post Second World War until the fall of communism, highlighting how tertiary education met the goal of preparing young people for life in a socialist economy. The second part of the paper will discuss higher education after the fall of communism, and will show how higher education is not inadequately preparing Serbian graduates for the needs not only of the free market, but the new global economy. Brief Country History Serbia has had a long and turbulent history. It has been through two Balkan Wars, two World Wars, a civil war and numerous uprisings throughout the last two hundred years. It emerged as an independent nation in 1804, after five hundred years under the Ottoman Empire’s rule. In 1918 it joined together with Croatia and Slovenia to form the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. The country was later renamed th