Albania

Projects

Skills for Jobs (S4J)

‘Skills for Jobs’ (S4J) is a project mandated by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and implemented by Swisscontact Albania. It is part of the Economic Development Domain of the Swiss Cooperation Strategy for Albania (2018-2021), with specific focus on promotion of employment opportunities and skills development.

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Swiss Import Promotion Programme

The Swiss Import Promotion Programme (SIPPO) is a well-established mandate of the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) within the framework of its economic development cooperation. As for the new investment phase (2017-2020), SIPPO is carried out by Swisscontact.The overall objective of the Swiss Import Promotion Programme (SIPPO) is...

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Boost Employment: Continued efforts for labour market inclusion in Albania and Kosovo

After the successful 10-year intervention for the employability and economic integration of marginalized and youth groups - based on the “Coaching for Employment” methodology - Boost Employment Project brings Swisscontact’s support to labour market in Albania and Kosovo to another level.

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Swiss Entrepreneurship Programme

The heart of any entrepreneurial ecosystem is the community of entrepreneurs themselves. The Swiss Entrepreneurship Program (Swiss EP) has incorporated this belief and supports building local startup communities bottom up by working with ecosystem leaders and builders since 2015. We do this by working with selected startup support organizations...

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«EU for Innovation» – Boosting start-ups

Despite high unemployment – especially among young people, opportunities and support systems for innovative growth start-ups in Albania are limited. There is a lack of exchange of ideas, skills and innovation. Only few organisations support the start-up ecosystem. Access to funding is limited.

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News

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11.04.2022

First steps towards digitalization of VET system in Albania

“Skills for Jobs” (S4J) project hosted the roundtable “Achievement and challenges: VET during and after the pandemic” on the 6th of December 2021 to kick off the discussion on the digitalization of VET system in Albania.

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08.03.2022

“Girls Club” – A New Space of Freedom and Empowerment in Albanian Vocational Schools

Being a teenage girl can be hard. And studying in a vocational school complicates matters more, because you need many life and professional skills to navigate both learning in the class and at the company. In addition to curricular activities designed to help students grow into functioning and confident adults, studies show that initiatives such as “Girls Clubs” can be useful to empower girls in vocational schools. That’s why, Skills for Jobs (S4J) is supporting the establishment of such space starting in the technical school “Gjergj Canco” in Tirana, where there are currently only 17 girls and more than 800 boys.

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20.02.2022

Albanian Company Encourages Formal Employment

Every 20 February is World Day of Social Justice and the theme for 2022 is Achieving Social Justice through Formal Employment. There are many employees who are stuck in informal, and often unjust, employment. For them this day is a reminder that we all have to fight for their rights to decent work, and for their full and equal inclusion in the labor market. There are employers for which this day may come like an alarm bell. And, then there is this example of a company located in Kashar, an industrial area of Tirana, Albania, where they do things differently – in a more socially responsible way.

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Country Director and Team Leader
C4EE (Boost, Microfinance, Global Product)

Jan van Montfort

Swisscontact in Albania

Swisscontact’s portfolio in Albania is the largest in the region. Through our projects, we contribute to equitable economic development, by building sustainable systems for vocational skills development and enterprise promotion.

Innovation, labour-market oriented training and private sector involvement are at the core of Swisscontact’s interventions in Albania. The goal is to provide more and better economic opportunities and perspectives to all, but especially to young women and men.

Swisscontact’s work in Albania is an essential part of Switzerland’s development strategy in the country.