25 April

How can the existing offer of vocational training courses be boosted; how can it be made more flexible? The New ‘Flower Decoration’ course is a good illustration.

The vocational education and training system in Albania should expand its offer and make the existing programs more flexible according to the requirements of the business. During the meetings for the establishment of school-business partnerships with different hotels and restaurants in Vlora, the ‘Skills for Jobs’ team found out about their need for floral decorations in their premises. They needed stylish compositions that would last long and with reasonable prices.

To this end, the S4J team in cooperation with the Public Vocational Training Center in Vlora, drafted a specific program and then a several-day course on these types of decorations was delivered. The course was attended by employees of the flower shops in town as well as by young jobseekers, to whom the course was recommended by the Employment Office.

One specific feature of this course was that for the compositions were primarily used plants and flowers growing in Albania, to give a local ‘flavor’ to the decorations and make them more cost-effective. Participants learned how to prepare well-designed bouquets as well as how to choose the best combination of components for their durability. At the end, the participants were given instructions on the marketing and sale of such decorations. Vlora hotels and restaurants now have more choices to decorate their premises. 

This was only the first course supported by ‘Skills for Jobs’, a project funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) implemented by Swisscontact Albania. 

Other short courses on the Hospitality-Tourism, ICT, Textile and Construction sectors (for the energy efficiency related professions) will follow.