Kosovo 2023

Key takeaways

In Kosovo, 53% of upper secondary students enrolled in initial VET programmes in 2022/23, showing the popularity of these programmes. Many students, however, choose vocational schools as a fallback when they cannot enter gymnasiums. Participation in CVET remains low because there are neither enough official courses nor flexible programmes outside the traditional education system. Similar issues exist for other learning options beyond VET. Students often struggle to switch between schools or programmes, as available options are not always clear or accessible. The tracking of student progress is inconsistent, making it difficult to accurately identify where students face difficulties and what support they need to graduate successfully.

Formal education in Kosovo faces serious challenges in delivering basic skills and key competencies. VET students have deficits in problem-solving, reading, and maths skills. According to OECD’s PISA, they fall behind students in general education by nearly a year of schooling. Adult learners struggle to acquire essential skills as well and many of them fail basic literacy and numeracy tests. While VET policies prioritise environmental sustainability, there are difficulties integrating the digital skills required by modern industries and the digital transition. The VET system is mostly misaligned with labour market demands, though some pilot programmes and new measures aim to better align vocational training with industry needs.

VET in Kosovo faces challenges in collecting and using data effectively, making it harder to improve policies and allocate resources efficiently. Private sector involvement in system steering is limited, pointing to the need for greater collaboration. Strong processes are in place to monitor and maintain VET quality. Kosovo performs better in this area than many other ETF partner countries. While VET providers benefit from international exposure through various projects, they still struggle with uneven leadership and funding gaps. The current funding model does not address individual student needs, and converting financial resources into essential infrastructure remains difficult.

Access to learning

Monitoring in the area of access to and participation to learning helps countries assess the extent to which initial VET, continuing VET and other learning opportunities are accessible and attractive to all learners, regardless of their individual backgrounds or reasons for participating. The data also reflects how well learners can expect to progress through and graduate from these learning opportunities.

Opportunities for lifelong learning: access and participation

Initial VET in Kosovo has become a more popular and accessible path compared to continuing VET. In 2022/23, some 53% of upper secondary students attended vocational schools, placing Kosovo on par with many developed EU countries. However, VET is often seen as a fallback option for students who cannot enrol in gymnasiums. There are no specific admission criteria for VET, and many students view it as an easier route to higher education.

Beyond initial VET, accessibility remains a challenge due to the limited availability and attractiveness of non-formal alternatives. In 2022, only 3.4% of registered jobseekers participated in programmes offered by Vocational Training Centres (VTCs), reflecting the lack of opportunities for adult learners. Active labour market measures, like those provided by the Employment Agency of Kosovo, face similar accessibility challenges. I the same year, they reached only 2.5% of registered jobseekers.

The VET system allows students to move between different types of education, such as from vocational education to higher education. However, these transitions are not always clear or easy to navigate. Completing compulsory education is required to enter vocational programmes, which can lead to higher-level vocational education. However, due to a lack of data, it is difficult to determine on a regular basis how many VET graduates continue to higher education or pursue other opportunities, and where.

The VET system also lacks clear guidelines for switching between vocational and general education, creating difficulties for students who want to transfer between pathways. Although Kosovo has relatively high progression and graduation rates in VET, data on VET student graduation is lacking. Furthermore, the dropout rate for initial VET in 2021/22, with 3.3% of students leaving their studies, raises concerns about how well students are staying on track to complete their education.

The Torino Process is a regular review of national systems of vocational education and training as well as adult education. It is designed to analyse the ways in which national VET systems (including adult education) address the challenges of human capital development in a lifelong learning perspective. It was established by the European Training Foundation (ETF) in 2010 and has been carried out in partner countries in Southeastern Europe, Turkey, Eastern Europe, Central Asia and the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean ever since.

Monitoring in the context of the Torino Process describes the extent to which countries deliver on their commitments to learners in support of their learning through life (lifelong learning - LLL) in three major areas of policy and system performance: access to learning, quality of learning, and system organisation.

Quality of learning

Quality and relevance of learning is the area of monitoring that identifies how successfully the VET system provides basic skills and key competences to both young and adult learners. It highlights the relevance of VET programmes to the world of work and how effectively VET graduates transition into the labour market. Additionally, it monitors efforts to promote excellence across key domains, including pedagogy, professional development, programme content, governance, and social inclusion, as well as the openness of the VET system to innovation in response to the evolving needs of learners and labour markets.

Lifelong learning outcomes: quality and relevance, excellence and innovation

VET in Kosovo faces challenges in delivering basic skills and key competencies. According to the OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), less than a quarter of students, including those in vocational programmes, reach the minimum level of proficiency in problem-solving, reading, and mathematics. The gap between students in vocational and general education in Kosovo is wider than in most OECD and EU countries, equivalent to almost a year of schooling.

Adults also face difficulties in acquiring essential skills. Surveys by the World Bank show that 14% of respondents failed core literacy tests, while only 32% demonstrated proficiency in numeracy, and just 12% in problem-solving. Additionally, there is a mismatch between the skills VET graduates possess and what the labour market requires. Many vocational schools offer programmes that do not align with industry needs, which reduces the employability of graduates.

Efforts are underway to improve the quality and relevance of VET programmes. These efforts include increasing opportunities for work-based learning through the provision of internships. However, only 7% of VET students participate in such initiatives, which highlights the need for faster progress. On a positive note, career guidance services are relatively strong in Kosovo, helping students navigate their educational and career paths.

New initiatives aim to align VET curricula with labour market demands and improve adaptability. These steps, including the introduction of dual profiles responding to industry needs, reflect a proactive approach to addressing challenges related to quality and relevance. In addition, efforts are being made to improve work-based learning and align programmes with labour market needs through the promotion of excellence and innovation. Promising initiatives include the National Qualifications Framework and dual training pilots.

The openness of VET to innovation is uneven, particularly in the area of digital skills. Digital skills training remains underdeveloped, with outdated curricula and insufficient resources for teaching digital competencies. In contrast, Kosovo has made strides in incorporating environmental sustainability into VET curricula, though more effort is needed to equip students with green skills. Additionally, there is limited focus on excellence in teaching practices, leadership within VET institutions, and ensuring equal access for all students. These areas require further attention.

VET in Kosovo faces challenges in delivering basic skills such as problem-solving, reading, and mathematics. Adults also struggle with literacy and numeracy, and many VET programmes do not fully align with labour market needs, limiting the employability of graduates. However, efforts to improve work-based learning and align curricula with industry demands are showing promise. Career guidance is a strong area, helping students make informed education and career decisions. Initiatives such as the National Qualifications Framework and dual training pilots are underway, although digital skills training and improvements in teaching quality and equity remain key areas for growth.

System organisation

System organisation is the area of monitoring that captures performance across various domains of management and administration. It examines whether practitioners and leaders have access to data and evidence to support informed decision-making, the level of stakeholder involvement in VET governance, the quality and capacity of staff in leadership positions, and the degree of internationalisation. Additionally, monitoring the allocation of human and financial resources to the VET system helps assess whether these resources effectively support teaching, training, and learning.

System organisation: management and resourcing

Kosovo faces challenges in gathering and applying data for monitoring its VET system, which affects the optimisation of policies and resource allocation. Efforts are underway with international partners to improve data collection, including information on the skills of teachers, facilities and work-based learning schemes. Kosovo's participation in large-scale surveys is also helping harmonise data collection and avoid duplication across agencies.

Kosovo’s Employment Agency (EARK) uses an advanced Labour Market Barometer (LMB), which provides valuable data on various labour market indicators. However, the completeness of this data remains a significant challenge, particularly in terms of capturing long-term unemployment trends and regional labour market disparities. These gaps limit the effectiveness of the LMB in providing a comprehensive picture of the labour market across the country. As a result, Kosovo, like many other countries, struggles to fully leverage this data for informed decision-making and policy optimisation.

In VET governance in Kosovo, a key challenge is the limited participation of private sector partners in planning and delivering learning opportunities. On the other hand, Kosovo has established strong systems to ensure public accountability and maintain high standards in VET. Reliable processes are in place to monitor and evaluate the quality of VET programmes and ensure that schools meet certain standards and make improvements where needed. However, VET providers could benefit from stronger leadership. School directors have limited control over finances and student enrolment and are often politically appointed, affecting overall system effectiveness.

While Kosovo invests reasonably in VET, the funding formula does not account for the specific needs of each student profile, and private investment is minimal. There are also gaps in practical training facilities and resources, with many vocational schools lacking adequate equipment. Although the financial resources for VET are on solid ground, converting them into tangible improvements, such as modern equipment and reliable digital tools for teachers, remains a key challenge.

VET in Kosovo faces challenges in collecting and using data effectively, which affects decision-making and resource allocation. Efforts are underway with international partners to improve data collection systems, and while the Employment Agency provides valuable labour market data, gaps remain, particularly in tracking long-term unemployment. These data issues, coupled with limited private sector involvement in VET planning, hinder the alignment of training with labour market needs. On the positive side, Kosovo has established strong systems for accountability and quality assurance. However, leadership in VET institutions needs strengthening, as school directors have limited control over key areas such as finances and enrolment. Despite reasonable investments, gaps in equipment and resources continue to affect the effectiveness of VET schools.

Promoting access and participation in opportunities for lifelong learning

Supporting quality and relevance of lifelong learning

Index of system performance

System performance

International comparability of performance results

In addition to messages about system performance, the Torino Process monitoring delivers information about the international comparability of results of each country, the extent to which these results may be susceptible to bias, and how self-critical a country is when it reports about its policy and system performance for external monitoring purposes. This is possible because the monitoring methodology foresees keeping accurate records about the availability, origin and type of evidence used to calculate the monitoring results for each country, including Kosovo.

The monitoring results of Kosovo are somewhat less internationally comparable than those of other countries in the Torino Process, on average. They are also much more susceptible to bias in international comparison. This bias manifests as a tendency to be more self-critical when evaluating the performance of the national VET policy and system compared to other countries in the monitoring sample. The self-criticism can obscure areas of success and hinder the recognition and learning from effective policies and practices.