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Apprenticeship Schemes for Youth Employability in Albania
Start date: Oct 1, 2014, End date: Mar 31, 2017 PROJECT  FINISHED 

In Albania, unemployment in the 15-25 years age bracket is twice that of the general working aged population (youth unemployment rate of 28.1% according to INSTAT official data, but 40.3% according to ILO standards for labour market statistics revised in 2013). Among young women and men willing to enter the labour market, those with lower levels of schooling are facing the highest risk of being unemployed. Graduates from Vocational Secondary Education are often positioned in those risky corners of the labour market. Labour market studies point out that the mismatch between skills and labour market placement is high and has posed influence on unemployment. To tackle the problem of youth unemployment the new National Strategy for Employment and Skills Development 2014-2020 clearly states the government’s commitment to generate more and better jobs for youth by helping them to become better prepared for the labour market. Dual system based apprenticeship schemes have proven to be a successful way of bringing education closer to labour market, narrowing job mismatch and facilitating the placement of young people in jobs after training. Against this background, the aim of the project is to identify a sustainable way of implementing apprenticeship as a systematic and rigorous work-place based learning scheme in Vocational Secondary Education. The development of a Roadmap for introducing a dual system based apprenticeship schemes in Albania will be one important outcome of the project. The project targets: (i) Youngsters, studying at Vocational Secondary Schools, (ii) Teachers and trainers, (iii) Businesses, (iv) Policy makers on education, employment, and tourism, and (v) International partners. The methodological approach for the project consists of three milestones, (1) in-depth analyses and feasibility study in order to support evidence-based policy making, (2) participatory policy making process, and (3) piloting as a validation method of policy measures’ absorption. The project will raise awareness on the role of apprenticeship in generating skills for labour and also build adequate know how to transmit and replicate this initiative in the system. The dual system based apprenticeship schemes as applied in Germany or other EU countries urge for a sustainable partnership between education and industry. The project actively involves businesses in the process of designing and piloting this policy with the aim that a sustainable partnership between schools and industry will be initiated. In the pilot phase the hospitality and tourism sector will be in the focus. The project will deliver a set of guiding documents, occupational standards, revised curricula as well as teaching and training materials in order to facilitate the implementation of apprenticeship schemes during the pilot phase, which will place 100 students as apprentices in companies.
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