During November 2020, with the support of ‘Skills for Jobs’, main VET providers (both public and non-public) in five regions of Albania met with representatives of selected industries, along with key stakeholders of the VET system. This is the second year of the establishment of Structured Dialogue Platforms for Skills Development at the regional level, aiming to increase collaboration and understanding between VET institutions and the private sector.

Some facts for this year’s Local Roundtables for Skills Development :

• 13 roundtables in total; 
• 10 groups of industries;
• 188 participants;
• 68 business representatives;
• 5 virtual meetings due to COVID-19 pandemic measures.

During the local roundtables, the labour-market relevance of the regional VET offer was assessed, and skills needs and gaps in certain sectors at the regional level were identified.

The reports with the findings were shared with the participants and currently VET providers are discussing how these results will impact their offer in the next academic year. This approach aims to increase the relevance of their offer and contribute towards labour-market oriented skills development. The structured dialogue also contributes towards increased mutual trust and commitment between key stakeholders in the world of work at the regional level.