Mass immunization of the citizens of the Republic of Serbia began in January 2021. Information on the significance, manner, advantages and consequences of this process was intensively distributed through all communication channels, with the media playing a key role. According to the data of the official institutions for the public health of Serbia, by July 2021 the lowest percentage of vaccinated population was among those between the ages of 18 and 24—only 15% of this demographic had received the vaccine by this point. Given the low turnout of young people for vaccination, in this paper we investigated the general attitude of students in Serbia, as a special category of young people, towards the vaccine against the COVID-19 virus, as well as their attitude regarding information about vaccination in the media. Research was conducted on a sample of 345 students at the University of Novi Sad. The results of the research showed that 42% of students had not been vaccinated and did not plan to do so, 37.4% had received at least one dose of vaccine and 20.6% had not been vaccinated even though they planned to do so. Students who were vaccinated had more confidence in information provided through media channels than those who were not vaccinated. Therefore, it can be concluded that encouraging students to decide in favor of vaccination against the COVID-19 virus should come from the universities where they study as well as the media.

This paper examines the existence of the need and willingness of media companies in Serbia to organize professional training for their employees, with the aim of improving their knowledge and skills and for the sake of their career growth, analyzed in the context of business sustainability, as well as the sustainability of human resources in a very competitive media industry. The main purpose of the paper is to determine the relationship between professional training for media professionals and their career growth. It looks into the subjective assessment of the need for training, the subjective assessment of the usefulness of training, and organizational support related to training and development in order for media professionals to achieve career growth. A correlation study was conducted on a sample of 150 media professionals using three scales of a job training and job satisfaction survey questionnaire to determine the subjective assessment of the need for professional training, the subjective assessment of the usefulness of professional training and organizational support to training, while a modified organizational career growth scales questionnaire was used to determine career growth. Research results confirmed that employees believe that additional training has an impact on the development of their career, as well as that attending additional training has a positive effect on their career growth. This paper provides useful guidelines for company management regarding professional training and its implications on career growth, theoretical and practical implications, as well as suggestions for future research.

Organizational culture is widely recognized as an important contextual factor shaping career development and long-term human resource sustainability. Although prior research has examined organizational culture, career development, and sustainable HRM, these constructs have often been studied separately and predominantly within Western contexts. This study addresses this gap by analyzing their interrelationships within a transitional economy. Grounded in sustainable human resource management and sustainable careers perspectives, the study examines how organizational culture typologies influence career development and HR sustainability. Career development is operationalized through organizational career growth and career competences. Survey data were collected from 542 employees across 23 IT and manufacturing companies in Serbia and analyzed using factor analysis and multiple regression. The findings show that organizational culture significantly shapes career growth opportunities and career competences and is also directly related to HR sustainability. Person-oriented cultures are associated with more favorable career development conditions and higher levels of HR sustainability, while power- and role-oriented cultures are linked to weaker outcomes. Career growth and career competences further emerge as key mechanisms supporting long-term workforce sustainability. This study contributes to the literature by integrating organizational culture, career development, and HR sustainability into a single analytical framework within a transitional economy context and provides practical insights for managers aiming to foster sustainable careers and long-term HR sustainability.