Orienting young people towards vocational education as an important challenge of our country

Today, 4th of April 2019, was held an annual conference on regard to “Challenges in the employment of our students. Promoting Individual Entrepreneurship”.
The “New Generation Multi-functional Center” on the occasion of it’s 10th anniversary, a center which has attracted hundreds of specialists trained in different professions, brought to the center of attention the discussion: the need for capacity building in vocational schools. The meeting was attended with high interest by representatives from Vocational Education and Training, Business, beauty Centers and Saloons, New Generation students, alumni’s, parents and family members.
The Chairman of the Tirana Regional Council and City Council Mr. Aldrin Dalipi, in his speech, emphasized that this center through its experience and practice makes the difference in the market. An indicator of the “New Generation” success is the employment of more than 90 percent of students graduated from this multi-functional center in the field of aesthetics from 2009 to 2015.
Mr. Dalipi appealed to the youth of this center that they would find support in overcoming employment challenges, so he encouraged them to dare and be entrepreneurs themselves. The head of the Multi-functional Center, Mr. Ilir Tafaj, said that there are several reasons why vocational education is always the most preferred.
Vocational schools programs are cheaper and prepare the students as per labor market needs. The vocational education program prepares the youth for the labor market upon reaching their 20’s. Employees and labor force in the labor market are in the most productive age, but lack of professional skills and non-compliance with the technology is becoming the reason why the economic model that the government aspires to build is deficient.
The lack of such orientation reflects the competitiveness of the economy towards the countries in the region and fades the prospect for the future. Today, higher and vocational education is facing great dilemmas, as technology is advancing faster, while curricula must go beyond the classic model, they must adapt to the needs of the economy sectors. These sectors expect Albanian specialists and technicians, who are lacking in our economy, to grow in number and quality.
There are very few graduates in highly sought areas, such as technologists, accountants, agronomists, production managers, textile engineers, mechanical engineers, IT specialists, analysts and programmers. In addition, undergraduate programs are largely theoretical and have shortcomings in terms of practical skills.
Vocational training, after secondary school, the current education and vocational training framework anticipate the possibility of presenting post-secondary programs, but little is done on this regard and the need for such practices is a good opportunity for our country.