KOS: Matching Skills for Jobs ( MSJ)

Women and men, including disadvantaged and excluded groups, unemployed and underemployed persons, and individuals not in employment or education that access and use industry relevant-VET to acquire professional skills and improve employment.

VET governing institutions such as; Ministry of Education Science Technology and Innovation (MESTI), Agency for Vocational education and Training (AVETAE), Ministry of Finance labor and transfers (MFLT) National qualification Authority (NQA), Municipal Education Departments (MED), including relevant public and private VET training providers Private sector who will actively participate in enhancing the VET system to deliver market-relevant training through industry-led solutions and increase productivity through high skilled labour.

Outcome  1: Well-functioning VET governing institutions are enabled to provide a higher quality and more relevant VET in close cooperation with the private sector

Outcome  2:  The private sector improves labour productivity and meets its skills needs by utilizing advanced and specialized training programs, which are developed based on industry-driven solutions in collaboration with public and private VET institutions

Expected results:  

• The VET governance system is improved, with VET governing institutions strengthened
• VET governing institutions apply new modalities of cooperation with the private sector and international peers.
• Advanced and specialised work-based training programs to meet private sector current and future skills needs are developed and implemented. 
• The private sector has improved junior to mid-level managerial capacities through industry-driven development programs.

Results from previous phases:   This will be the first implementation phase of the project. In March 2024, the implementing organization Swisscontact, selected via a tender, launched the inception phase of MSJ. The main aim of the inception phase was to design the project through an extensive consultation process with key stakeholders including government, private sector, civil society. A situational analysis on gender and social inclusion was conducted at the project’s outset to identify existing disparities and inform targeted interventions, ensuring that gender considerations are integrated throughout the MSJ project lifecycle. Further analyses were carried out on specific sectors, as well as a Political Economy analysis of the current socioeconomic and political climate of Kosovo. These studies provide a comprehensive understanding of the specific needs and opportunities within key sectors in the context of Kosovo, ensuring that project interventions are wellinformed and strategically targeted. The inception phase laid a strong foundation for the subsequent implementation stage, ensuring that the project’s strategies were tailored to effectively address the unique challenges and opportunities presented by Kosovo’s dynamic context.

• Complementarity with the likeminded donors GIZ, ADA, Lux/Dev and EU IPA projects
• Synergies with other Swiss interventions: PPSE, future GPEK project, DEMOS especially for interventions at municipal level.
• Close coordination will be ensured with the Regional Challenge Fund to which SDC contributes, especially related to labour market relevant training provision.
• SCO-K actively participates in donor coordination in the areas of Vocational Skills development etc.