• Celim > OPIK

    OPIK

    Productive and inclusive Employment in Kosovo. Development of personal and professional skills and entrepreneurship of youth and women (PiEK).

  • Kosovo faces chronic challenges related to the economic growth and the labor market.

    The project aims to support the development of entrepreneurship, self-employment and employment among young people, women, and other groups at risk of economic exclusion in the districts of Gjakova and Ferizaj. This objective will be achieved by strengthening the beneficiaries’ technical, professional, and personal skills, by adapting them to the contemporary labor market requirements and increasing their access to support structures for local entrepreneurship development through an adequate financial support for start-ups, early-stage businesses, and social enterprises.

  • n.8 - Decent work and economic growth

    Increase to 3€ the average hourly
    wage for employees in the Ferizaj and
    Gjakova districts.

    58% of incubated companies report
    an increase in net income as a result of
    the support received.

    Reduce the unemployment rate
    among high school and college
    graduates from 49.9% to 46% within
    six months of graduation.

    55% employment among high school
    and university graduates following
    skills development programs and 170
    jobs generated by incubated
    businesses.

In Kosovo, the percentage of young people not in employment, education or training (NEET) is over 33%, with a labor market characterized by long-term youth unemployment and a wide gap between male and female employment rates. Vocational education and training programs at secondary and university levels are not aligned with labor market needs. The lack and poor quality of facilities and services to support entrepreneurship development means that aspiring entrepreneurs and developing businesses struggle to grow and consolidate, and consequently, to generate employment.

The four VES (Vocational Educational Schools) benefiting from the project struggle to ensure access to internship or traineeship programs: 25% of students do not have access to properly equipped laboratories, while only 10% of final-year students participate in soft-skills seminars, and none participate in ECB seminars. At the three universities, only 10% of graduates access postgraduate higher education programs, and none participate in extracurricular skills development seminars. Another critical issue is the lack of master’s or specialized courses available at the Faculties of Architecture and Engineering.

The project Productive and inclusive Employment in Kosovo. Development of personal and professional skills and entrepreneurship of youth and women (PiEK) aims to support the efforts of the Municipalities of Ferizaj and Gjakova to develop entrepreneurship, self-employment and employment among young people, women and other groups at risk of economic exclusion, with particular attention to the RAE (Roma, Ashkali, Egyptian) ethnic minority  and people with disabilities.

Students from 4 vocational schools (VES) and 3 universities will be able to improve their technical, professional and personal skills, in order to align them with labor market requirements. At the same time, access to support structures for entrepreneurial development is being increased, always prioritizing groups at risk of economic exclusion. To stimulate growth and job creation, the project intends to strengthen at least 52 start-ups, early-stage businesses and social enterprises that access business incubators, with the help of dedicated financial support schemes.

PROJECT OVERVIEW

The project aims to pursue:

  • The development of technical, professional, and personal skills appropriate to the contemporary requirements of the local and international labor market by students of 4 Vocational Schools and 3 Universities in the territories of Ferizaj, Gjakova, and Pristina.
  • Increasing access to entrepreneurship development support structures for young people, women and people at risk of economic exclusion.
  • Strengthening, through financial support schemes, start-ups, early-stage businesses, and social enterprises that access incubators and are more focused on the creation and growth of employment.

To achieve these results the following actions will be carried out:

  • Strengthening the curricula of 4 public Vocational Education Schools (VES), relating to technical-professional studies;
  • Improving extracurricular programs for the development of professional and personal skills;
  • Co-design of a strategic start-up, development and consolidation plan for each of the two business incubators in Ferizaj and Gjakova;
  • Provision of incubator services for start-ups, early-stage businesses, and social enterprises;
  • Activation of a grant scheme to support start-ups, early-stage companies and social enterprises;
  • Definition and implementation of the credit support scheme for start-ups, early-stage businesses and social enterprises, complementary to the grant scheme;
  • Definition of a mentoring and follow-up program for the profitability, development and growth of start-ups, early-stage businesses and social enterprises.

BENEFICIARIES

  • 2,512 students, of which 1,872 from VES and 640 from Universities;
  • 21 among business incubation professionals (9) and public employees (12);
  • 170 owners of start-ups, early-stage businesses, and incubated social enterprises, of which at least 119 are under 35 (58% women, 42% men, 20% ethnic minorities, 5% people with disabilities);
  • 170 new employees under 35 hired by incubated companies;
  • 52 entrepreneurs under 35 (58% women) supported by the grant scheme for start-ups, early stage businesses and start-up social enterprises.

  • Project Management

    Valon Mejzini, mejzini@celim.it

    Nicola Bassi, bassi@celim.it

    Date

    2025-2028

  • Partner:

    Impact Hub Srl SB (IH)

    Smart Cities Corporation (SCC)

    Oda Ekonomike e Kosoves (OEK)

    Komuna e Gjakoves (Municipalità di Gjakova)

    Dhoma Ekonomike e Grave te Kosoves- G7 (Camera di Commercio delle Donne del Kosovo)

    Fondacioni Kosovar për Ndermarrësi Sociale (Fondazione Kosovara per l’imprenditoria sociale)

    Organizata per Menaxhim te Destinacionit (OMD) – Kosova Perendimore (Destination Management Organization – DMO West Kosovo)

Donors

Support the activities

  • 30 €

    For printing training materials

  • 50 €

    For carrying out activities to engage ethnic minorities

  • 100 €

    1 hour of training for young entrepreneurs

  • 200 €

    To contribute to the construction of a new classroom for training young entrepreneurs

Donations are made via PayPal by clicking on this link you will be redirected to PayPal page through which to make the donation. Payment PayPal is safe !
For other forms of payment and donation visit DONATE TO CELIM >
For any further questions please visit QUESTIONS >