© S4RE
Kosovo

Matching Skills with Demand in the Labor Market

© S4RE

Poor economic performance and low-quality education are keeping Kosovo’s unemployment rate exceptionally high. Helvetas supports citizens and businesses in the south and southeast of the country in bringing new knowledge and skills to the market.

  • Project Name
    S4RE: Skills for Rural Employment
  • Project Phase
    2013 to 2018
  • Funding
    The project is funded by donations.
  • Thematic focus
    Education and Vocational Skills
    Youth

Vocational education in Kosovo doesn’t cater to the needs of the business. Curricula are often outdated and students hardly get any practical on-the-job training. Businesses, on the other hand, are struggling to expand due to the lack of investments, limited human resources and the difficult economic situation.

As a result, every third Kosovar and almost 60% of young Kosovars are unemployed. Minorities are affected more than others: the unemployment rate is higher for Serbs, Roma, Ashkali and Egyptians. Less than 20% of women participate in the labor force at all, even as officially unemployed.

S4RE project aims to reduce poverty in rural areas of the Sharr Mountains and the southeast of Kosovo through skills development to increase the employability of the most vulnerable.