Organizzazzjoni
The National Agency of Vocational Education Training and Qualifications (NAVETQ) of Albania was established by the Decision of the Council of Ministers no. 273 as of 10th of May 2006, which was then replaced by another Decision of Council of Ministers (no.321 as of 21st of April, 2011) following the changes in the VET Law of Republic of Albania. Due to the last amendments to the VET Law (Law no. 64/2014), NAVETQ is a subordinate institution to the Ministry of Social Welfare and Youth, the Ministry in charge of employment and skills development policies, as well as labour relations and social policies.
The mission of NAVETQ is to create a unified national system of vocational qualifications based on the Albanian Qualification Framework (AQF) leaning on the European Qualification Framework (EQF).
Since the very beginning, NAVETQ acted and acts as a public institution providing expertise in issues of VET development and lifelong learning. NAVETQ is responsible for the development of vocational qualifications and standards (from level 2 to level 5 of the AQF), for the development of frame curricula and assessment methodologies and instruments. As the responsible body, NAVETQ supports also the development of short term courses for adults offered by public Vocational Training centres.
NAVETQ staff is specialized in VET, Vocational Qualifications, and Adult Learning and have been providing long standing experience working with projects implemented by international partners as the IIZ/DVV of Germany, Swisscontact of Switzerland, ILO and other projects as well. NAVETQ is also cooperating with private sector organizations in order to address the labour market needs in terms of vocational qualifications for the different economic sectors, as well as with experts/practitioners of the education and training field.
Furthermore, NAVETQ works on a daily basis with teaching staff and other groups responsible for VET and Adult Learning provision and exchanges with other national and international institutions in these issues.
The Team
The NAVETQ is organized in four technical units and managed by a Director. Three units are responsible respectively, for the development of the AQF, the national curricula and assessment/certification instruments. One unit is in charge of administration and information technologies (IT).
Adult Learning
Albania's education and training system has been still mainly focussed on the schooling of youngsters, through the ensuring of both, general education attainment and alternative vocational education and training pathways. In the recent years, the investments for capacitating schools and teaching staff, at all education levels, with minimum standard levels of performance have been the major concern of the Government, at as well as the extension of schooling years and coverage rate of youth attending further education, namely at secondary and tertiary levels. Hence, the "adult learning" opportunities in the public sector are still scarce and the engagement of active population in further education and training actions is very low (below 1% of participation of adults in education and training activities). This situation configures the background for the further development of lifelong learning opportunities to adults in Albania.
The reforming policy of Albania's education and training system, besides taking into account such traditional issues as: curriculum development, training of teachers/instructors, equipping schools/centres, is going to be oriented toward a “systemic reform” which is going to address issues, such as: Albanian Qualification Framework, capacity building, institutional building, skills needs analysis, social partnership, etc. Adult learning is quite new and very important reforming area for Albania like for all South Eastern European Countries. Its importance is even higher considering the path and the pace of the economic reforms implemented during transition and the respective consequences, the size, the structure and the development level of the private sector, the average skill level of the work force which is far from guaranteeing the economy and the labour force to become competitive in a regionalized and globalized world.
