Career guidance remains a new field for the Albanian context, where the service is being applied in a more structured way only in the recent years. Nevertheless the labor market dynamic is continously emphasising how necessary this service is in a society that must respond to global change and the needs of the local market.

Currently in the country, there are at least 24 young people who a year ago decided to pursue their degree in career counseling in the master “Professional Orientation”, the only academic program in this field, offered by the Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Tirana. The master’s program this academic year was conducted in a more improved and updated format, also thanks to the partnership that the Faculty of Social Sciences has established with the University of Lausanne in Switzerland, with the support of RisiAlbania, a project of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) .

As part of the restrictions imposed by the isolation period during the pandemics this program, as the rest of the education system, began organizing online learning. In the framework of the course “Educational system and structure of professional guidance in Albania” students were engaged in an applied project: “The role of professional guidance in high schools – based on the case of high school study” Besnik Sykja ‘in Tirana “. Students were committed to proposing a practical approach throughout a full academic year by anticipating events, interventions, business visits, dedicated professional orientation taking into account constraints on financial, human, and infrastructural resources currently in secondary schools.

On May 12, a guest lecture was organized in which the findings and a work plan for the implementation of career services in high schools were presented. This lecture was also addressed in the form of a discussion between the participants, as it brought together several actors in the field of career services. Recommendations are planned to be reviewed and further updated and piloted at Besnik Sykja School starting next academic year. Piloting will give students the opportunity to be closer to the job market and develop their skills to design various services, which are lacking in the country but which the practice of developed countries advises as an immediate need. This service in high schools is still difficult to integrate systematically, but these young people are getting the right training to pave the way for this service.

Practical and applicable tasks are just one aspect of how this master’s program serves young professionals to prepare for the job market. In parallel, the research of this institution, in cooperation with the University of Lausanne, under the support of RisiAlbania are standardizing the first career tests in Albanian (interest and personality tests) based on the best international tests. The master’s program “Professional Orientation” of the Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Tirana, has the mission of preparing and creating conditions for career counselors to provide their services in various structures in Albania.

“I believe in the energy of young people, in the change that comes through well-trained professionals. The road is still long, but let’s work hard and believe that change comes through work, professionalizing the desire to realize. In latin we say ‘per aspera ad astra’ which means ‘through difficulties towards the stars’, this should be the motto of our work! ”, Says Nada Kallçiu, lecturer and researcher at the Faculty of Social Sciences.