‘Skills for Jobs’ (S4J) was designed to address main Vocational Education and Training (VET) challenges, such as: low quality and status, insufficient financing, weak labour market orientation, and poor private sector engagement. Moreover, there has long been a traditional schooling system with lack of digital and interactive teaching materials, limited digital and pedagogical skills, no virtual learning environment and lack of infrastructure. Thus, the Albanian VET system struggles in meeting market demands for professional skills and in adopting technological innovations.
The project focuses on ensuring systemic change, capacity development and empowerment of key actors. Based on this approach, S4J Phase II supports partner VET providers in Albania in terms of:
Work-based learning, the use of technology in the classroom, blended and individualized learning, making the VET offer relevant for students, trainings on industry standards and the application of a business mindset in in the management of VET institutions are at the core of ‘Skills for Jobs’ (S4J) implementation.
Ten providers in six selected regions benefit from the project:
More than 16,000 young people access improved VSD offers (IT-based, innovative and attractive, demand-oriented and gender-sensitive) in Tourism & Hospitality, Smart Construction, Textile, ICT and more branches in Shkodra, Lezha, Tirana, Elbasan, Berat and Vlora regions.
During the second phase, two more VET providers will join the project (in the third year). More public providers will benefit from the initiatives that the project has piloted in partner schools during the first phase. The project will focus on creating better training and employment opportunities for Albanian women and men, including special needs groups. During this phase, the project will apply an approach of consolidation and scaling up simultaneously and similarly by carefully balancing the two while keeping up with innovations.
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Phase I (2016-2019)