Life skills, the “remedy” to the Albanian youth needs
Life skills trainings, implemented since 2016, are an opportunity fully utilised by the targeted Albanian youth to enter the job market in e prepared and informed way. These trainings are enabling these young people to gain not only practical vocational skills, but also life and social skills, in compliance with employers’ requirements.
Nikolin, his sister and four other peers, all from the city of Shkodra, are going through a life-changing experience thanks to the “Empowering Young People” project, funded by Bulgari and implemented in Albania by Save the Children in partnership with “Help for Children” local NGO. For three years now, these young people have been acquiring life skills due to the opinions, experiences, feelings, suggestions and practice gained by participating in the trainings delivered to them.“At the age of 13, I could not control my aggressive reactions when talking to others. I was always nervous and only wanted to stay home by myself. After 3 years of attending life skills courses, not only do I manage to control my emotions, to be communicative, to think things through calmly, but I am also studying Food Technology at “Ndre Mjeda” secondary vocational school. In the future, I want to become the most renowned food technologist in my city. I now see my future more positively”, says 16-year old Nikolin Franja from Shkodra. One of the cornerstones of this initiative is the life skills training for young people useful to a healthy lifestyle and the labour market, educating them with positive self-concept, self-control, problem-solving skills and abilities to make the right decisions, as well as communication and social skills. Learning about these components of life skills has been useful to the youth of Shkodra to easily integrate into the labour market.“I started working at the age of 19 in a boutique. Because I conveyed confidence to my employer, she soon offered me the position of the boutique manager. I experienced that promotion as my greatest achievement, but when I opened my own hairdressing salon, I realized this was actually my greatest achievement”, claims Xhenisa Mihilli, 23 years old, owner of a beauty salon since June 2020.Thanks to the development of the life skills and money management skills, Xhenisa managed to benefit from the grant made available from the “Youth Empowerment” project. She was able to rent the premises for her business and buy the tools for the provision of services such as: make up, hair styling or nail treatment. Xhenisa also attended a business start-up training, where she learned how to set her goals (she had previously taken a sewing course, but then realized that profession wasn’t meant for her) and how to best manage her activity. Today she works in her hairdresser shop together with her two sisters and, despite the crisis caused by the pandemic, she seems optimistic about the stability of her activity.
Twenty-one-year-old Mark Antonio Kristoferi from Shkodra, who regularly attends life skills trainings since 2019, is also ready to “burst” into the men hair styling market with the newest brands. With the help of the project, Mark has now completed the vocational training to become a barber as well as the internship in one of the barber shops in the area. “I want to apply for a grant, when I am given the opportunity, because I want to open my own barber shop. This is the profession I aspired to since I was a teenager. I have also consulted with the project experts who have given me a lot of information on how a business works. I am very grateful to them because their orientations were precious to me in a key moment of my life, when I had to choose between staying in Albania or leaving the country”. Lack of orientation during adolescence, especially after the completion of the 9-year compulsory education, can turn into a boomerang for the Albanian society itself, but also for youth employment in the future. It would further increase Albania’s emigration problem as, in search of better job opportunities, this target group will increasingly opt for emigration. In this respect, in the life skills training courses the young people gained knowledge and skills on how to become self-sufficient and independent by setting goals and ways to achieve them. These goals can for example be about something that needs to be done, something they need to obtain, or a place they need to go to. In the life skills courses, goal setting, especially at work, is considered a very important skill. “If young people are taught how to decide what they want to achieve by clearly defining their main goals, they will be able to demonstrate that they have succeeded in building a strong personality and gaining clarity of thought. With determination and the will to achieve something, these young people have become today role models for their siblings as well as the main support for their families with limited financial resources.
An example of strong personality and of a person who achieves what he wants to achieve, is 22-year-old Eduart Tavasia from the Shllak village in Shkodra. From an early age, he knew a lot about beekeeping and honey production. This old tradition of the area was instilled in Edwart by his family. Thanks to the “Youth Empowerment ” Project he was able to benefit two years ago from a grant of 200,000 ALL to start a beekeeping activity. For 3 years, Eduart regularly attended life skills and business training courses. He says that participation in these projects helped him built the courage and confidence to move forward.“In the beginning of my business activity, I encountered some difficulties related to beekeeping and honey production. In addition, Covid-19 lockdown and the restriction measures made the import of many medicines for bee diseases quite difficult. But, despite these difficulties, thanks to the technical expertise and financial support received, I have managed to significantly recover from this situation. At the moment, the demand for chestnut honey and flower honey is so high and there are days when it is almost impossible to meet. As income increased, I was able to make some investments to improve the conditions in the beehives. I think the activity will continue making a very positive progress in the future as well”, highlights Eduart.The ability to train the mind into “working” creatively also helps improving problem solving and communication skills and breaking away from clichés. “I am very grateful to the psychologists of the life skills training project who have taught us how to react to many everyday life situations or events, but also to natural disasters such as the November 26th earthquake” says Luana Mataj, 18 years old, who is passionate about beekeeping and cosmetics.In Albania, as in the rest of the world, employers report that, for new job positions, they prefer people who have not only academic knowledge and basic technical skills, but also advanced cognitive skills (including critical thinking, efficiency and leadership) as well as a set of behaviours, attitudes, characteristics, and values (collectively referred to as socio-emotional skills), which include, among other things, honesty, teamwork, punctuality and sense of responsibility. For more than 3 years now, life skills trainings have been preparing these young people to compete, to cope with difficulties at work, to work well with others, and to adapt to any work environment. The model of the project on how to move forward and how to become self-sufficient that is being implemented by Save the Children is the most appropriate and necessary for Albania. The project has been effective in terms of identifying and taking care of young people who are in vulnerable positions by providing them opportunities to improve psycho-social factors, but also in terms of supporting young entrepreneurs with grants in the municipalities of Shkodra, Malësia e Madhe, Vau i Dejës, Elbasan, Cërrik and Gramsh.
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