Prime Minister Edi Rama held a meeting this Friday with young people employed through employment promotion programs, where he shared some data which, according to him, demonstrate Albania’s progress in this field.

Rama stated that, according to OECD assessments, Albania ranks first in the region for employment services, considering this an important indicator of the work carried out in recent years to build a consolidated system of services.

“According to the OECD, Albania is the country that ranks first in the region for employment services. This clearly shows that the work we have done to build a functional employment services scheme has delivered encouraging results,” Rama said.

He emphasized that there are currently seven active programs to promote employment, ranging from professional internships to self-employment and social reintegration.

According to the data presented, over the past five years alone, 42,000 young people have been employed through employment offices and state programs, while 7,500 of them have benefited directly from support packages.

Another important component, according to the prime minister, is the Youth Guarantee, a model applied in EU countries and now also in Albania. So far, 2,200 young people are benefiting from this mechanism, while the goal is to support 60,000 young women and men during the current government mandate.

Rama also spoke about the growing interest in vocational education, stressing that this year has marked the highest level of enrollment in this system.

He also cited as an example a newly licensed digital bank, where, as he said, applications from young people were numerous and offices were filled “within just a few days.”

“We have reached the highest level of enrollment in vocational education. We are still far from the final objective, but the direction is the right one,” Rama concluded.