Tirana, June 2026 – For many young Albanians, the transition from school to work can feel like running without moving forward. Tens of thousands remain outside employment, education, or training, caught in the bureaucratic acronym NEET — Not in Employment, Education, or Training. But the Youth Guarantee Programme, supported through the EU4Youth initiative, is beginning to change that narrative.
The programme ensures that every young person under 30, within a defined period after becoming unemployed or leaving education, receives a quality offer of employment, continued education, an apprenticeship, or vocational training. In Albania, implementation has brought together UNDP, UNICEF, employment offices, vocational training centres, municipal social services, the National Youth Agency, and NGO partners to actively reach out to young people who have fallen outside the system.
Stories like those of Kristjani and Kejvi Kaçaj illustrate the impact. Kristjani, 18, grew up in Shkodër without parental care and no safety net. Outreach workers from YWCA connected him to the programme, leading him to a culinary training course at the Vocational Training Centre. “Learning a profession is an important opportunity to build the future with greater security and confidence,” he said.
Kejvi, a 1999-born economics graduate, faced repeated rejection in the labour market. Realizing the demand for digital skills, he enrolled in a web design course through the programme. Today, he works at Blu Horizont, combining his economics background with new digital expertise.
The results are significant: 2,252 young beneficiaries confirmed, with 1,732 already accepting offers of employment, education, or training. The positive exit rate is 85.3% within four months, with 55% of beneficiaries being young women and 24% from vulnerable groups, including Roma and Egyptian youth, returned migrants, victims of trafficking, and orphans. Importantly, 70% registered with employment offices for the first time, showing growing trust in public employment services.
While challenges remain, Albania’s Youth Guarantee Programme demonstrates how outreach-driven support, vocational training, and partnerships can help young people move from invisibility to opportunity. For Kristjani, it means building a future from scratch. For Kejvi, it means transforming a stalled career into a digital pathway. And for thousands more, it means no longer waiting for the world of work to notice them.
