Prishtina, 20 July, 2023
The Prime Minister of the Republic of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, today held a conversation with businesses from the Wood and Furniture Sector to identify the necessary profiles of Education and Vocational Training against the needs of the labor market.
In this meeting, where the Minister of the Ministry of Industry, Entrepreneurship and Trade, Rozeta Hajdari, as well as the Minister of Education, Science, Technology and Innovation, Arbërie Nagavci, were present, Prime Minister Kurti, who is also the chairman of the Executive Commission for the development of the Education and Vocational Training system against the needs of the labor market in the Republic of Kosovo, thanked those present for participating in this conversation.
He said that the Government of the Republic of Kosovo considers that one of the pillars of the country’s economic development is the connection of Education and Vocational Training in the Labor market. So, as he explained further, it is how to do that for diplomas in our schools we have jobs in our economy, and for this we have the responsibility of both the public and the private sector.
There are a large number of cases in Kosovo where businesses need more than there is demand, until he said that here the Government, through its policies, should contribute to mitigating this gap, because, as he said, we have noticed that whenever we talk about the economy, we end up talking about education, and whenever we talk about education, we end up talking about the economy. Therefore, continued the Prime Minister, we have come to the conclusion that the only thing more important than the economy and education is the connection between these two.
Therefore, in close cooperation with the economic and commercial councils, with sectorial associations and with active enterprises, the Prime Minister emphasized that this year the piloting of dual education programs according to the German-speaking model in Europe has begun. This school year, dual education has started in four vocational schools, in three municipalities, with four profiles: cook, hairdresser, and mason and hotel hospitality assistant. Based on the success of this pilot, the Ministry of Education, Science, Technology and Innovation in cooperation with the Chamber of Commerce of Kosovo, KIMERK and ShPDK, i.e. the Cluster of Industry, Metal and Renewable Energy of Kosovo and the Association of Wood Processors, has worked towards the expansion of dual training with eight additional profiles and has begun preparations to support schools during implementation. According to the interest expressed by the municipalities and schools themselves, in the 2023/2024 school year, eight additional profiles will be offered in 21 vocational schools, in 13 municipalities: tailor, auto mechanic, metal worker, wood worker, heating and air conditioning installer, electrician, wholesaler and retailer, beautician. These are the eight additional profiles, which we are attaching to the existing four.
Referring to previous studies, Prime Minister Kurti added that in manufacturing companies in Kosovo, less than 5 percent of workers are trained within the first month, implying that 95 percent plus of workers in manufacturing companies need more than a month to be trained for the work they have to do. That’s a cost to our businesses, and therefore that’s why we want as a state to take on the burden of training the workforce as best as possible, he said.
In front of those present, the Prime Minister asked them to consider his leadership in this Executive Committee, as evidence that we have a high priority on this issue.
At the end of his speech, the Prime Minister thanked everyone for all the commitment they made for our country and our economy.
Meanwhile, Rozeta Hajdari, the Minister of Industry, Entrepreneurship and Trade, addressed the business representatives, assessing that the Government with their help has achieved the drafting of a strategy which will make our industry more globally integrated, capable and produce more value-added products, emphasizing that MINT will help MAShTI to identify the profiles needed for faster industrial development.
“We thank you that with you, with your contributions, we found not only the clear vision for industrial transformation until 2030, but also your will to contribute to education and dual training”, added Minister Hajdari.
Meanwhile, Minister Nagavci said that last year for the first time we started the implementation of the dual learning system in four profiles, which means that in 51%, i.e. half of the time during the three years, the students will spend in businesses and that to be successful in the implementation of dual learning, close cooperation with companies, with businesses where we will have our children in 51% of the time, is very important.
The minister announced that in addition to other line ministries, they have also closely cooperated with the Government, rooms and sectorial associations, in addition to the municipal directorates of education.
After this meeting, the prime minister will also welcome representatives of businesses from the food and beverage sector for a conversation.
Last modified: July 20, 2023