Newsletter 6 - Risi Albania

Newsletter 6th edition, June 2015 RisiAlbania is a youth employment project that focuses on achieving systemic changes in the Albanian labour market in order to improve access to employment and income opportunities for young women and men. Project duration: November 2013 – October 2017

RisiAlbania wants to make the labour market work for young women and men in Albania, by promoting job creation and effective job intermediation. In order to achieve our goal, RisiAlbania works with a wide range of partners from the private and public sector as well as civil society.

"Risi Turistike" Awards 2015 in Berat and Shkodra

Our address & contact details: Rr. Ismail Qemali, P18, H.3, Apt. 15 Tirana, Albania Tel : +355 (0) 422 48 52 Email: [email protected]

Visit our website : www.risialbania.al

Tourists visiting Albania will soon have four brand new touristic products to enjoy during their stay. Thanks to the new ‘Risi Turisrike’ competition organized in Berat and Shkodra by the Ministry of Economic Development, Tourism, Trade and Entrepreneurship and RisiAlbania the development of four award-winning ideas will be supported. Birdwatching, lake cruises, interpretation centers and branded souvenirs will be the latest additions to the regions’ touristic offer. Under the lead of the METTE, the Risi Turistike competition is set to become an important mechanism to further stimulate the development of the Albanian Tourism industry.

Improved Performance & Leadership for Labour Offices NES and Labour Offices Directors are trained on Leadership and Management Development: A two-day workshop was delivered to the twenty directors of NES and Labor Offices on Leadership and Management Development by Value the Person. Participants gained an understanding of the keys and principles of great leadership, and how to apply them to their specific role in the NES in order to maximize their performance. Action Plans were developed to assist the directors to create a “great” team, together with advice concerning “What happens next?”, to encourage the ongoing development of the NES organization. Within three months of the workshop, to ensure that there is a full understanding of the content of the workshop and, where possible, that the learning points from the workshop are being successfully applied in the different labour offices, RisiAlbania and Value the Person will conduct a follow-up exercise and provide the necessary assistance with the action plans.

Upcoming events Foreign Investments for three sectors: Agroprocessing, Tourism and ICT The Foreign Investors Association of Albania (FIAA) and RisiAlbania are actively working to attract FDI to Albania. A number of meetings and workshops are planned to be organized during the summer

Public debate on Barriers to Decent Youth Employment in Albania In September, RisiAlbania will organize a public debate with representatives of MSWY, youth organizations and businesses, to discuss on the results and recommendation of the research “An analysis of Youth employment practices and regulations & recommendation how to address them“

Microsoft IT Academy & ALMOOC: In September PROTIK will organize one presentation event of Microsoft IT Academy to PUT students and lecturers, and another presentation event of Microsoft IT Academy for VET teachers. By September ALMOOC will publish online 6 new IT courses featuring recent technology.

MOOCS & IT Academy – enhancing ICT Skills

In order to increase the quality and quantity of professional skills IT graduates in Albania and meet the demand by local and potential foreign companies, Risi partnered with Real Visualz Foundation, that will facilitate work opportunities for highly qualified IT professionals from Albania. Risi is supporting their platform Almooc.al to develop ten new IT courses. Almooc has already developed four courses, one of which has already been attended by some 300 students. Almooc trainers provided training on one of the new courses, Ruby on Rails, through a videoconference to students of 3 VET Tirana schools with IT departments of Kamza, Gjergji Canco, and Hermann Gmeiner. The training was attended by more than 100 students.

RisiAlbania introduced the Microsoft IT Academy tools in co-operation with Protik and Microsoft to around 90 students of Polytechnic University of Tirana. The resources of Microsoft IT Academy will be used by PUT and VET school students to acquire professional skills and by lecturers and teachers to enrich their course materials.

Protik will sign agreements with Ministry of Social Welfare for the provision of IT Academy to all VET schools with IT departments across the country. PROTIK will develop and deliver IT training courses, career counseling training and will facilitate internships between University graduates and IT firms.

Skill Sector Committees: bridging the education – business world gap In order to bridge the gap between VET providers and the needs of the market, Risi is working with the Ministry of Social Welfare and Youth to set up skill sector committees. A conceptual model has been developed that will be piloted in the three sectors Risi is active in, Food processing, Tourism and ICT. The experts have settled on a model in which the skill sector committees will be managed by the Albanian Qualifications Framework task force. A study tour to Estonia will give the MoSWY, NAVETQ, Ministry of Education, and Ministry of Economy important insights into how sector committees operate in practice.