Employability, Inclusion, and Investment in Human Capital Project

dropped

The project aims to support the improvement of the employability of the able-to-work Ndihma Ekonomike (NE) Program beneficiaries and the performance of the social assistance system. The project consists of three components: Component 1 aims to support the labor market integration of social assistance (NE) beneficiaries on their path to exit the scheme, as mandated by the adopted NE Exit Strategy. To achieve this, the project will support: (i) the increased employability of vulnerable NE beneficiaries by financing packages of services for 7,000 NE beneficiaries to integrate them into the labor market, (ii) improvement of the efficiency and effectiveness of NAES in the provision of employment services to NE beneficiaries through activities that improve the coordination across social and employment institutions involved in the graduation of NE beneficiaries, and the quality of the delivery of employment services to vulnerable unemployed far from the labor market, and (iii) strengthening of the monitoring capacity in NAES and regional and local employment offices.Component 2 aims to continue to improve the performance of the social assistance system by: (i) Improving the performance of the social assistance system to respond effectively to the needs of the most vulnerable population, including in times of shock (Subcomponent 2.1); and (ii) Supporting children living in poverty to fully reach their human capital potential (Subcomponent 2.2). Component 3 aims to assist the Ministry of Social and Health Policies (MHSP) in managing the project by providing expert consultants and equipment, and covering operating costs. The proposed project responds to the vulnerabilities identified in the Systematic Country Diagnostic for Albania and the results of the forthcoming Country Partnership Framework.