This study sets the foundation for a greater understanding of vocational training [VT] in Kosovo, particularly with regard to practitioner and business perceptions. With 259 businesses and 227 practitioners surveyed, over 50 academic and legal documents consulted as well as, and in order to elucidate the results further, 12 interviews conducted with various actors, its recommendations are based on concrete empirical results. Evidently, the VT system in Kosovo is dichotomous with several interrelated elements working separately instead of triangulating information and resources in the pursuit of economic development; ergo, their divisive nature does not allow a constructive relationship to emerge without the 'right' balance being formed. Indeed, the constraining milieu (e.g. lack of business, Job Centre, and [Vocational Training Centre] VTC collaboration; economic stagnation and financial hardship), especially with regard to widespread business inactivity, or worse, unwillingness, renders the equipping of practitioners with a skill set that is useful and in demand by the labour market almost impossible.
The responsibility to strengthen VT services and subsequently develop a skilled labour force does not rest with a single actor, sector, or element of the equation. Each element (government, businesses, chambers of commerce, practitioners) is required for the successful functionalization of VT. The system is, and must be viewed as, a holistic structure, where one part cannot be effective, at least during the inchoate stages, without the other. VTCs cannot constantly ready practitioners for employment without the active participation of businesses to provide workplace practice, who are unable to do so, particularly in the case of Kosovo, without an incentive structure (e.g. subsidies, tax breaks) provided by the government.
This study provides a manual of each VT component, their role, impact, and the gaps evident. Its findings suggest that there are gaps at each stage, beginning with: (i) the mentality of practitioners and their family members; (ii) the lack of government support and incentives provided to practitioners as well as businesses; (iii) inter-ministerial cooperation on the topic of VT; (iv) lack of staff and funding in relevant ministerial institutions and agencies (e.g. the Accreditation Agency, the Vocational Training Division, Job Centres); (v) absence of information regarding VTCs and the VT system among businesses and practitioners alike; (vi) economic structure and business practices do not immediately support upgrading employee skills; and (vii) the interconnectedness between all stakeholders is loose, ad hoc, and at times inexistence.
Excerpts from publication.
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