About Us

About us

This is the official webpage of the project “Aligning Education and Training with Labour Market Needs – ALLED Phase II”, which is funded by the European Union, co-funded by Austrian Development Cooperation and implemented by the Austrian Development Agency. 

As presented and approved in the project inception report, the acronym “ALLED2” will be used for communication purposes.

The ALLED2 project is a continuation of ALLED 1.

For societies sustainable development, being Industry 4.0 ready, and able to compete in global markets with every citizen included, quality of education and training as well as lifelong learning are essential both for the economic growth and development of societies and the wellbeing of every citizen.

People are the most valuable resource!

For each society being able to compete in global market and being Industry 4.0 ready aligning education and training with labour market needs is a must as a constant process for smart planning and development in the long-term. Let’s move step forward towards the process through ALLED2 project as the future is in our schools today.

Recognizing that education is the backbone of every society, ALLED2 project is building on the achievements of ALLED 1. Its clear objective is to move from project-driven to process-embedded developments in Kosovo. Since the world of work and the world of education are two hands of the same body, ALLED2 aims to reduce poverty through increased labour market participation and improved employability of the people in Kosovo.

Project2Process

ALLED2 is financed by the European Union as part of its Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance (IPA II 2017) for Kosovo. It is co-funded by Austrian Development Cooperation. According to the IPA 2017 financing decision, the project is implemented by the Austrian Development Agency (ADA), the operational unit of Austrian Development Cooperation, and represented by the Austrian Development Cooperation’s local office in Pristina via Indirect Management (IM).

ALLED2 is implemented by the ADA project implementation unit (PIU).

Principles of structured knowledge management such as knowledge cumulation, knowledge sharing and peer learning as well as transfer of tacit knowledge to formalized knowledge are  applied horizontally.

Throughout the whole project implementation period, the protection of the environment, gender mainstreaming and social inclusion/impact principles is being horizontally applied in all project activities.

All ALLED2 publications have the ISBN number issued by the National Library of the Republic of Kosovo, and are published in three languages in our website: Albanian, English and Serbian.

About the ALLED2 project

The overall objective of the project ALLED2 is to reduce poverty through increased labour market participation and improved employability for the population in Kosovo.

All planned actions and activities will support Kosovo’s Ministry of Education, Science , Technology and Innovation (MESTI) and the Employment Agency of the Republic of Kosovo in reforming the education and training system to both link education and training with labour market needs and to reflect the European Framework of Key Competences.

The specific purpose of ALLED2 is to strengthen the quality of
education and training programmes and their relevance for the labour market as well as to support the adaptation of the legislative framework and mechanisms as a precondition for increased employability.

The project especially focuses on emphasizing the further step in aligning education with the labour market and on building specific cooperation models and measures between the sphere of education and training and the private sector with systemic effects. The new structured approach of building an education system which responds tolabour market needs brings both education and labour market representatives together, thereby highlighting innovation as a driving force in aligning education with labour market needs.

ALLED2 aims to support an innovative approach which is based on the so-called “triple helix principle” (structured public sector – academia – business cooperation). The project is helping Kosovo to establish an education system which is responsive to labor market needs and contributes to economic growth and development as well as overall employability. It specifically focuses on Vocational Education and Training (VET).

The specific objectives of the project, in line with the EU’s “Action Document for Kosovo 2017” as well as Kosovo’s Education Strategy and its Economic Reform Agenda, are:

1. Strengthen the link between higher education (HE) and labour market needs by developing and modernizing HE programmes according to labour market needs;
2. Improve teacher training programmes so that they conform with the requirements of the New Curriculum of Kosovo and the priorities of Ministry of Education and Science;
3. Enhance the quality of practical and applied teaching and learning in VET schools and vocational Training Centres (VTCs) in core occupational sectors relevant to market needs, including career guidance and counselling;
4. Enable a better understanding of international qualifications and
   further develop and modernize Kosovo’s framework for professional qualifications.

ALLED2 is supporting the upgrading of VET programs as well as the quality of teaching and learning processes in the following sectors in Kosovo: agriculture, food processing, mechanical engineering and energy. The selection of the project’s interventions is based on the recommendations and findings issued in the study “Labour Market Needs Analysis – Perspective for the future in Kosovo” (July 2019, ALLED2).

The project’s expected results are as follows:

Expected Result 1: Study programmes serve as a competence hub for the industry and VET: curricula, diploma supplement and faculty management are enhanced, labour market-relevant and lead to increased employability;

Expected Result 2: Professional qualifications and occupational standards meet Kosovo’s National Qualification Framework (NQF) criteria for validation; Quality Assurance (QA) arrangements are further improved and are elaborated at the policy level; the link to progression pathways between HE and VET is defined;

Expected Result 3: Vocational Education Training schools and Vocational Training Centres offer qualitative programmes which are based onabour market needs – including Trainings of Teachers/Trainers (ToT), sustainable quality assurance mechanisms and provision of relevant equipment;

Expected Result 4: Governance procedures which are related to the education and training system support the alignment of education and training with labour market needs;

Expected Result 5: The link between vocational education and training and the business sector is more structured; certain planning tools for VET are sustainably put in place; incentives are identified and piloted. The project’s direct beneficiaries are: Kosovo’s Ministry of Education, Science  Technology and Innovation(MESTI), Employment Agency of the Republic of Kosovo (EARK) public universities, Municipal Education Departments (MED), VET schools, Vocational Training Centre Kosovo’s Accreditation Agency (KAA), National Qualifications Authority (NQA).

The project’s indirect beneficiaries are: The Higher Education sector, VET and VTC students, job seekers, the private sector in general as well as adult learners.

Steering Board

As defined per DoA the project is steered by Steering Board. In the inception phase
Steering Board ToR1 have been developed and approved (by EU delegation). Project SB will
provide support for the project’s implementation, adequate monitoring of the project’s
progress, overall strategic guidance of all activities performed during project
implementation and receiving and commenting reporting. The Steering Board will meet on a
regular basis (at least twice a year)2. Additional meetings of the Steering Board can be
held on request from the members of the Steering Board. The Steering Board will be
informed by, and reported to, by the PIU about the progress of the project, and will
make recommendations based on the information provided by the PIU and stakeholders’
comments. The Steering Board evaluate, discuss and endorse all required reports
(Inception, semi-annual, annual and final). The PIU will incorporate all the
recommendations given by the Steering Board in its project implementation.

The SB consists of one representative of each of the following institutions:

Ministry of Education Science Technology and Innovation (MESTI) – voting member

Employment Agency of the Republic of Kosovo (EARK) – voting member

European Union Office in Kosovo (EUOK) – voting member

Austrian Development Agency (ADA) – voting member; in the case of equal unresolved voting (equal distribution of votes) ADA has the right of final decision being that it has the overall responsibility for the project

European Training Foundation (ETF) – observer – non-voting member

Team leader of ALLED 2 – non-voting member

In the reporting period respective SB members are nominated by respective institutions as
per official communication by PIU in line with ToR.

Advisory Board

In order to ensure efficient and effective communication as well as sound implementation
of the project and involvement of all project stakeholders on the initiative of the PIU,
ALLED2 Advisory Board has been be established.

The Advisory Board (AB) consists of assigned representatives from key project relevant
institutions with non-voting right.

The AB consist of one representative of each of the following institutions:

1. Kosovo Accreditation Agency (KAA)

2. National Qualification Authority (NQA)

3. Employment Agency of the Republic of Kosovo (EARK)

4. Rectors Conference (RC)

5. Kosovo Chamber of Commerce (KCC)

6. University of Prishtina (UP)

7. Project Implementation Unit (PIU) – team leader and key component experts

The AB members may be invited to attend SB meeting and/or present certain topics to SB
members (with non-voting right) upon prior announcement.

Representatives of CO-PRN and EUOK may attend the AB meetings as well.