Adult Learning for Inclusive Skills and Employment

ongoing

The proposed project is framed within the context of Albania’s Employment and Skills Strategy 2023–2030, which sets a clear agenda for building a more agile, inclusive, and demand-driven vocational education and training (VET) and adult learning system. This strategy emphasizes the urgent need to strengthen partnerships between the private sector, national and local actors, and training providers to deliver rapid, short-term upskilling and reskilling solutions that address the evolving needs of the labor market, particularly in strategic sectors such as ICT. At the same time, the project aligns fully with the EU’s priorities under the European Year of Skills, the Pact for Skills, and related initiatives like the promotion of individual learning accounts and the European approach to micro-credentials. Albania’s progress in e-governance and the introduction of ICT curricula lays the groundwork, but significant skill gaps persist—particularly for adult learners, under-skilled individuals, the long-term unemployed, women, youth in rural areas, and people with disabilities. Against this backdrop, the project’s general objective is to increase adult participation in lifelong learning, boost the relevance and responsiveness of adult learning offers, and foster innovative, community-based learning environments that address both national and EU-level policy priorities. Specifically, the project will: - Enhance coherence and coordination between adult learning policies and broader socio-economic strategies by strengthening liaison between ministries, social partners, businesses, NGOs, and civil society organizations, - Support national and regional skills strategies through concrete actions that align with the Pact for Skills, focusing on reskilling and upskilling in sectors critical to the EU economy, with strong involvement of the private sector and local actors.