Young People in Kashar Take First Steps Toward Careers in Tourism and Hospitality

A new vocational training programme is helping young people in Albania turn certificates into careers — and opportunity into independence.

August 29, 2026

Kashar, a small administrative unit within Tirana Municipality just 20 minutes from the capital, is not the kind of place that usually makes headlines. But for a group of 20 young residents, it recently became the starting point of something significant: a first step into the labor market.

Like young people everywhere, those in Kashar dream of finding steady, decent work. The path to get there, however, is often anything but straightforward — and for many, a lack of information or access is as much of an obstacle as a lack of opportunity itself.

Klejda is one of 20 young people — many of them classified as NEET (not in employment, education, or training) who have now completed a training course in Hospitality and Hotel Services in the Kashar Administrative Unit.

UNDP Albania

Klejda, 22, knows that struggle well. A university graduate in Biology and the eldest of four sisters, she lives in Kashar with a family that receives economic assistance. Rather than wait for the right opening in her field of study, she looked toward one of Albania's fastest-growing industries — tourism and hospitality — and decided to build a new path there.

"I want to work, become independent and help my family," she says of the motivation that carried her through months of vocational training.

Klejda is one of 20 young people — many of them classified as NEET (not in employment, education, or training) who have now completed a training course in Hospitality and Hotel Services in the Kashar Administrative Unit. The course was delivered by Barleti University in cooperation with the local Employment Office and the Kashar Administrative Unit, in the context of the LEAP programme — Lifelong Empowerment and Protection in Albania — a joint project funded by the Joint SDG Fund and implemented by UNDP in partnership with UN agencies.

Held between 2 June and 14 August, the training was designed with accessibility in mind, aiming to reach young people who might otherwise face barriers such as limited transportation or access to educational opportunities.
But for LEAP, accessibility is only part of the equation. The programme's broader goal is to make training genuinely useful — turning new skills into real, sustained employment.

That's why participants in Kashar received more than technical instruction. Alongside their vocational certification, they were given career counselling and guidance on employment opportunities, intended to help bridge the gap between finishing a course and starting a job.

Daniela is one of 20 young people — many of them classified as NEET (not in employment, education, or training) who have now completed a training course in Hospitality and Hotel Services in the Kashar Administrative Unit.

UNDP Albania

For 18-year-old Daniela, that bridge can't come soon enough. She recently graduated from high school. As the fifth child in a family that receives economic assistance, she says the hospitality course has given her a clear sense of direction — and she's eager to put her new skills to use.

For both Daniela and Klejda, the leap from classroom or social protection into the workforce is rarely simple. Limited work experience, a mismatch between skills and market demand, and difficulty navigating employment services can all make that first step especially hard.

This is precisely the gap LEAP is designed to close — building integrated pathways from social protection into employment, with a particular focus on women, young people, NEETs, and beneficiaries of economic assistance.

“The programme's early results suggest the model is working. As of June 2026, 886 women and young people had completed employment-related training through LEAP, and 344 had gone on to secure jobs. Together, these figures point to the value of an approach that connects skills development, career guidance, employment services, and the real needs of employers”-says Eno Ngjela, Programme Specialist at UNDP.

In Kashar, those statistics take on a human face: a university graduate searching for her first professional opportunity. A teenager stepping straight from high school into the workforce. Twenty young people now equipped with skills relevant to a growing sector of the economy.

For the families behind these stories, the training represents something even larger than a job — it represents the possibility of greater economic independence and a more secure future.

As LEAP's work in Kashar shows, skills alone can open doors, but it takes partnership — between communities, training providers, employment services, and employers — to turn those open doors into lasting opportunities.

The Lifelong Empowerment and Protection in Albania (LEAP) programme is funded by the Joint SDG Fund and implemented by UNDP, ILO, and UN Women, in partnership with the Ministry of Economy and Innovation, Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, and the National Agency for Employment and Skills.

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All joint programmes of the Joint SDG Fund are led by United Nations Resident Coordinators and implemented by United Nations agencies, funds, and programmes.

With sincere appreciation to the European Union and the Governments of Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Monaco, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, the Republic of Korea, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland for their contributions toward achieving the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.