At the national conference where education and vocational training were at the center of discussions, Prime Minister Edi Rama spoke about the country's need for professionals in various trades.

Encouraging young people to follow vocational education, the head of the government and that 57% of those who graduate are employed within six months, with good salaries.

"Today, 70% of the job requests in Albania are for professionals or craftsmen and technicians, while only 30% of the requests that the market has are for higher university education. After many years, thanks to those who did it, we will be the country with the highest number of jurists per square meter in the world for a long time. Even though infrastructure coverage is still not guaranteed throughout the territory, 57% of those who graduate from vocational schools start work within six months and have good salaries. They don't go to work with the minimum wage, which today is Euro 400, not Lek 12,000 payment as it used to be," said Rama.

Further, Rama said that the return of vocational education to a new trend is the objective of his government. He emphasized that the new funding will make it possible to requalify schools and boarding schools in professional education.

"I believe that with the new funding that we have made available for vocational education, we will cover all the need for reconstruction and retraining of schools and boarding schools in the territory with optimal conditions so that when parents entrust their children to vocational education schools the child stays with his friends in a structure that meets all needs.

Turning vocational education into a new attractive trend is our necessity and objective," added the prime minister.

Enrollments in professional schools for the 2023-2024 academic year have increased by 11% compared to the previous year, stated the Minister of Economy, Culture and Innovation, Blendi Gonxhja, at the National Conference on Education and Vocational Training.

Hospitality-Tourism is the most preferred branch, followed by Information Technology. The minister said that 60% of the graduated students were employed.

"Vocational education and training is provided by 29 vocational schools and 10 vocational training centers throughout the country. 14,700 students attend public vocational secondary education for the 2023-2024 school year. 4709 students were registered for the first time, 11% more than a year ago,” said Gonxhja.

“The most requested programs for 2024 are hotel tourism and information technology. 8 providers also offer professional qualifications. 60% of students who graduated were employed. From the vocational training centers, 71 vocational training courses were offered, 15 thousand trainees were registered,” he noted.

“During 2023, the coding program was implemented. The priority has remained the provision of IT conditions. Under the national plan, the youth guarantee was launched in October last year. The implementation of workplace learning has begun. We had the support of our partners. The EU continues to support, through IPA 2 and IPA 3," said Gonxhja.