Inclusion of Roma in the education system, increase of their education level, as well as involvement in active employment policies through training and retraining are the ways for their competitiveness at the labor market and improved access to jobs, said Minister of Labor and Social Policy Spiro Ristovski at Thursday's international conference "Decent Work for Roma", organized within Macedonia's chairmanship of the Roma Decade.

"The Government is annually allocating scholarships for Roma high school students, the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy is implementing a project on conditional cash transfers for high school students from socially vulnerable families, of whom 90 percent are Roma beneficiaries. This will contribute to their continual development and education, enrolment at faculties and increased competitiveness at the labor market", said Minister Ristovski in the address.

"The Government is focused on the fact that proper education of Roma can contribute to their competitiveness at the labor market, and this is the only formula of success", he added.

Minister without Portfolio Nezdet Mustafa said about 100 Roma have been employed in the public administration over the past three years.

"Another 70 are to be employed in the coming period, thus meeting the percentage of just representation in public administration, in line with the Framework Agreement", stressed Mustafa.

The conference aims at exchanging experiences of Decade member-states in the field of increasing the employment of the Roma population, as well as best practices in non-member states, along with analysis of results achieved from prior measures and activities.