For two years now, RisiAlbania cooperates with University Aleksandër Moisiu Durres, Agriculture University of Tirana and Luarasi University, to develop their career services and to introduce a model that can be easily replicated by other universities. In this unprecedented situation of physical distancing due to COVID-19, education system as other sectors were widely challenged. Nevertheless, the academic year 2019-2020 found our partner universities with a new and improved career service in place. With the support of RisiAlbania, each respective staff is certified through the international standard Global Career Development Facilitator and has had a proactive role in career development of their students. While there is still a lot…

On 14th May 2020, RisiAlbania hosted a Webinar where guest speakers Prof. Giancarlo Dall’Ara, President of Alberghi Difussi Association, and Dr. Brunilda Liçaj from ‘Aleksandër Moisiu’ University of Durrës, presented strategies for the Albanian tourism sector to cope with COVID-19. Prof. Dall’Ara gave an overview of the tourism sector in Italy: it contributes 12-13% to the country’s GDP and has created 4 million jobs. Given COVID-19 restrictions and the effect the pandemic has had on tourism patterns, 50% of Italian tourists will choose to go on holidays within short driving distances. As the Professor explained, “in order to make villages and small destinations attractive, public and private actors…

RisiAlbania and the Municipality of Kolonja, represented by Mayor Erion Isai, signed on 14th of May 2020 a memorandum of understanding to boost organic cultivation and processing of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (MAPs) in the region. This cooperation brings new opportunities for local farmers by attracting investments and creating employment opportunities for local youth. Kolonja has a long tradition in collecting and trading MAPs: for many families, wild MAPs are the main income source. Because of overexploitation, wild MAPs have become increasingly scarce, which is not only an ecological disaster but creates economic hardship for families. Young women and men do not see it as an attractive employment…

One of the businesses supported by RisiAlbania project, WEAREFIBER, has increased its sales and workforce despite the coronavirus crisis As the COVID-19 crisis hit earlier this year, for many Albanian businesses this meant a major slowdown or shutdown. But not so for WEAREFIBER – a company that offers services to international clients ranging from customer care, to support in managing business processes such as payroll and quality management. The crisis for them was both a shock and an opportunity. In mid-March they had to switch to remote working to comply with national physical distancing guidelines. At the same time, some of their clients, such as food delivery platforms…

Young people, face uncertainty about the broken transitions from education to the world of work and the consequences of long-term unemployment. In countries such as Albania where youth unemployment is more than 20%, the impact of a disruptive crisis can be considerable. The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has brought about disruption in the daily lives of people in Albania, as has the economic, social and productive fabric that sustains societies. Businesses and non-formal training providers are immediately affected, their activities and plans put on hold. As in-class training has been suspended for all training providers, digitalization became more prominent and those training providers that had invested in…

Ensuring inclusiveness of vulnerable and socially excluded young women and men in the Albanian labour market is in the focus of the RisiAlbania interventions, aiming to support those that are more in need, the most secluded. Targeted GSI interventions are even more relevant in the current situation, as disadvantaged and vulnerable groups are the ones most affected by the consequences of COVID-19. In response to this objective, RisiAlbania established a partnership with Albanian ICT Academy, aiming to train and employ young girls that have lost parental care and are in the transition to leave the orphanages due to their age, to facilitate their access to the labor market.…

The RisiAlbania team is constantly monitoring developments in Albania regarding the situation of COVID-19, declared a world pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO). In support of the Government of Albania’s efforts to prevent further spread of COVID-19, our team is working online and practicing home office. We will continue to further our efforts in improving youth employment in Albania in the sectors of Tourism, ICT, Agribusiness, Career Guidance and Non-formal training. The current situation requires coordinated efforts from all citizens, public and private bodies, and from the donor community to comply with ‘social distancing’ measures in order to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus. In light…

The recent guide supported by RisiAlbania contains an overview of several alternative kindergarten/nursery models that can be created in collaboration with Albanian companies or other legal entities for the needs of their employees. “Private-public, sustainable and affordable models are a welcome innovation in the pre-school services sector for the younger generation of our citizens, as they not only make this service accessible to the neediest but further promote labor market participation, a possibility that is especially true for the employment of young girls and women” – said Besnik Ligaci, GSI Lead at RisiAlbania project. The Guide summarizes the legal possibility of establishing private kindergartens or kindergartens that can…