Building the “Missing Middle” – How Private Sector Engagement is Transforming Careers in North Macedonia

When Katerina Simonovska from Triglav Insurance enrolled in the Leaders of Tomorrow program at the M6 Educational Centre, she wasn’t simply looking for a certificate. She wanted practical tools to become a stronger leader: to improve her communication, make better decisions, and build a team culture where people feel valued and motivated. What she didn’t expect was how quickly these skills would transform her work and career path.

Katerina is one of 2,000 employees who strengthened their leadership and management skills through the Private Sector Engagement (PSE) modality, introduced by Switzerland’s project Education for Employment (E4E), implemented by Helvetas. 

The PSE model brings together over 30 private companies, M6 Educational Centre as the training provider, and Helvetas as the facilitator. Companies now contribute 60% of total funding, demonstrating strong ownership and a shift toward long-term workforce development.

“Switzerland’s long-standing innovation success shows that sustainable development is only possible when the private sector actively contributes its expertise and resources, as public investment alone is not enough, stresses Michal Harari, Deputy Head of Mission of the Embassy of Switzerland in North Macedonia. “In North Macedonia, companies increasingly recognize the need to invest in skills development and to engage in projects like E4E. Through the PSE modality, companies play an active role in the project interventions that secure the skilled employees they need.”

Before joining the initiative, many companies faced a familiar challenge: middle managers responsible for daily operations often had limited formal leadership or management training. Through the PSE, M6 works directly with companies to identify skill gaps, co-design relevant programs, and deliver practical modules that strengthen leadership, management, and communication capacities.

The course portfolio includes leadership and people-management programs (e.g. Leaders of Tomorrow, Women Leadership), practical business skills (Business Process Management,  Project Management, Finance for Non-Finance Managers, ESG Training), sector-specific courses (e.g. Excellence in Retail), and future-oriented modules such as AI for Managers.

For M6, the project enabled greater scalability, sustainability, and continued growth of the Training Centre through capacity building.

“This partnership broadened our visibility and opened doors for many more companies to join us in creating purposeful impact,” says Elena Mladenovska Jelenkovikj, CEO of M6. “It’s safe to say that the PSE has significantly contributed to the development of the private sector in the country and the overall economy.”

According to Boris Trimcev, Private Sector Lead of the project, aligning expectations among many partners was a major achievement. “Throughout the process, we navigated differing priorities, facilitated consensus-building, and ensured that all partners contributed meaningfully to shaping the final concept. Continuous coordination and consensus-building were essential to keeping the initiative coherent and jointly owned.”

That consistency has paid off: strong communication, transparent financial management, and trust-based governance helped double company participation in just two years.

Today, middle managers like Katerina are leading the change, training providers are expanding their relevance, and companies benefit from more motivated and capable teams. The PSE model shows that when the private sector and development actors invest together, they create shared value for companies, their employees and the wider economy of North Macedonia.