WinForVET

Vocational education and training routes into employment for young Roma in Albania and Kosovo.

219

scholarships for vocational pupils and young adults over three years
1,785

hours of mentoring
95

individual career plans
29

internships with employers

The problem

Most Roma in Albania have little formal education, which keeps them out of skilled work. Among registered Roma pupils aged 10 to 16, 30% of boys and 44.6% of girls drop out. Vocational education could be a way back in, but in the project’s focus group with young Roma aged 15 to 25, 70% did not know what vocational education and training is.

Objectives

Contribute to social inclusion and poverty reduction through vocational education and training
Facilitate entry into the labour market
Support stakeholders in taking measures for the transition of Roma to employment

What the project did

“Education, Employment, Partnerships and Gender Equality: A Winning Formula for Roma in VET” ran from May 2020 to 2023 with the Roma Education Fund, funded by the Austrian Development Agency. It worked with two groups: pupils in vocational schools, and young adults taking short professional courses.

Reaching young people. 93 outreach and recruitment meetings in Tirana, Fier, Berat, Korçë, Durrës, Elbasan and Gjirokastër. Each year the call went to 30 vocational schools and 303 alumni and civil society contacts.
Scholarships. 58 scholarships in the first year, 111 in the second and 50 in the third, for vocational school pupils and young adults on short courses such as barbering, hairdressing and graphic design.
Career plans. An expert in personal development drew up 95 individual career plans with participants, over 285 one-to-one sessions.
Mentoring and tutoring. 1,785 mentoring hours, and 388 hours of tutoring in maths, Albanian and English.
Employers and internships. The project approached 32 potential employers and arranged 29 internships for young adults and vocational pupils.
Research. A country assessment of vocational education for Roma in Albania, published in February 2021, set out where the system fails Roma learners.

Results

219 scholarships over three years, for vocational pupils and young adults.
1,785 hours of mentoring and 388 of tutoring.
95 career plans, written with each participant.
29 internships, after contact with 32 employers.
93 outreach meetings in seven municipalities.

Impact

Some participants who had left school early came back to learning through a trade. One participant went from a vocational school to study nursing at university; another, after a barbering course, now works as a hairstylist in France; a young couple trained together, she as a hairstylist and he as a plasterer.

Recommendations from the country assessment

Vocational schools should work more closely with parents, and explain what vocational training offers.
Raise awareness among Roma pupils of vocational education and how to enrol.
Track Roma learners in vocational education and in vocational training as two separate indicators in national plans.
Create a dedicated programme for 14 to 17 year olds who cannot read and write, or who finished only compulsory school, so they can enter the vocational system.