Many Albanian and foreign companies are looking for skilled labour force, which is not supplied in the Albanian labour market today, says a survey conducted by the German Association of Industry and Trade.
TIRANA, Oct. 22 – While most students in Albania prefer attending law or economy faculties, the mismatch between skills demanded and skills offered in the labour market is growing. A survey conducted by the German Association of Industry and Trade (DIHA) in Albania has shown Albanian and foreign companies operating in Albania are looking for better skilled workers in Albania in the textile and shoe industry, food technology, construction, tourism.
A dual vocational education system, where theory and practice are combined during the whole learning process, as the German model of vocational education has proved to succeed, is clearly missing in Albania, says the poll.
Some 91 percent of the participants in this survey would support a dual system of vocational education, by offering internships to the students of these schools, while 96 percent of them would be ready to pay a higher salary to the employees, who have been educated in a vocational school.
However, only 73 percent of employers would be ready to allow their employees to leave their work place in order to go to school. “This means that despite the great readiness of the companies to support the dual model of vocational education system, it would be difficult to be applied massively in the very short run, since the companies have to get acquainted with the new system and adapt their processes accordingly,” DIHA says.
Some 85 percent of the companies write that they are already offering internships to students. “This shows once more that the readiness to assist in educating the young people practically is there and it would be the right time to follow successful models of making these internships more efficient, incorporating them as an integral part of the work processes.”
The major part of the participants, around 64 percent, knows the dual model of vocational education, while around 20 percent of them do not know that there are actually vocational schools in Albania.
Asked about the quality of vocational schools in Albania, most of the companies evaluate them at an average or lower than average level. Furthermore, some of them say that their quality has been falling during the last years. Main reasons included the out-dated curricula that do not respond to the needs of businesses, too little practical part included in the learning process, unqualified teachers and low commitment of the students. As a result, many companies are looking for skilled labour force, which is not supplied in the Albanian labour market today.
Another point which is still missing is the certification of these professionals and the legal framework regarding the regulation of particular sectors, so that only skilled work force can be accepted to work in certain professions, where this is needed. This would increase the quality of work and also make vocational schools more attractive to potential students, says DIHA.
Corruption, as an unfortunately often – encountered topic in the Albanian reality, has also been mentioned by the companies, as an obstacle to the quality level of vocational education.
The surveyed companies said they need the skilled labour mainly in textiles and shoes industry, food technology, scaffold industry, dairy, tourism, cook, waiter, chambermaid, repairing of production machinery (medical, textile, food industry etc.), electrical, plumber/installer, construction, electronics, mechanics, electromechanical installations tailoring, welder, geology, mining, metal industry, banking, administration, infrastructure, port, logistics, lifts and lifting equipment.
More than 50 percent of the participants have the opinion that these qualifications exist in Albania. Nevertheless, 50 percent of the companies send their employees abroad for training.
At almost half of the companies more than 70 percent of their employees have a university degree, while state universities are obviously more popular, since three- quarters of the companies have less than 30 percent of the employees with a degree from a private university. Regarding vocational education, only less than 20 percent of the companies have hired a considerable number of employees coming from vocational schools.
In its latest 2013 progress report on Albania, the European Commission says a strategy for vocational education and lifelong learning needs to be adopted. “The number of students enrolled on vocational and educational (VET) courses in the year 2012-13 increased by 23 percent compared to the previous year. Existing VET schools are not properly maintained due to the lack of financial resources. Participation of the private sector, which is a key factor for a successful VET reform, is still insufficient. The low participation in VET contrasts with the economic demand for skilled workers,” says the progress report on Albania.
The latest study on the state of vocational training education conducted by the Education Ministry shows only around 20 percent of students attend vocational education training schools in Albania.
