More than 83% of participants received an offer within four months, Manjani said, adding that following the pilot, the programme will be rolled out nationwide over the next three years.

The scheme aims to strengthen links between education, young people’s skills and labour-market needs by providing opportunities for employment, education, vocational training and skills development.

Youth employment indicators have also improved, with unemployment among 15-29-year-olds falling to 15.1% in the second quarter of 2025, down 3.3 percentage points from a year earlier.

“The Youth Guarantee is the largest project we have undertaken to integrate young people into the labour market,” Manjani said.

She said the challenge was not simply to help young people find jobs today, but to equip them with the skills needed for tomorrow’s jobs.

“Our commitment is to ensure that no talent is left behind because of a lack of information, skills or opportunities. Young people are not only Albania’s future. They are the Albania we are building today,” she said.

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“Currently in Albania, one in five young people is neither in employment, education nor training,” Gonxhja said.

Under the EU4Youth project, eight initiatives implemented by civil society organisations across several municipalities are establishing local partnership networks coordinated by employment offices.

These networks aim to identify 1,500 young people and prepare 800 of them for the next step towards employment, education or vocational training.

EU4Youth is funded by the European Union and implemented by UNDP Albania and UNICEF Albania in cooperation with the National Agency for Employment and Skills and the National Youth Agency.

Gonxhja described the initiative as an important step not only in addressing labour market challenges, but also in creating new opportunities for young people in Albania.

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