Lexington Books A Case Study of European Skill Formation in Albania

In the quest of becoming a competitive knowledge-driven society and nationalize the efficacy of an evolving tradition in the free labor market, Albania is increasingly pursuing policies in alignment with the European standards. The highly effective standards of the European skill formation system are serving as a guiding compass to orient policymaking institutions in Albania for developing meaningful and interplaying national alliances between the labor market and the education and training system. The institutional approach in this study thoughtfully explores the implementation impact and the field implications of the collective skill formation system in Albanian education reforms. Indrit Vucaj critically examines the manifestation of education reforms in preparation of skills for the labor market and provides interpretation of the structural, normative, and cultural-cognitive elements pertaining to the progression of addressing the process evolvement and the continuing complexity of the Albanian national skill formation system reforms as aligned with the European standards. Review "Drawing from a rich body of sources, including survey data drawn from Vucaj's field work, A Case Study of European Skill Formation in Albania, will serve as a crucial entry on the implications of European skill formation for education policy and practice in Albania. Vucaj provides a fresh look at Albania's education sector, and in particular how education in a developing nation is mitigated by entrenched education (and cultural) traditions, transnational trends, and market needs. This highly recommended book should be read by policy-makers and educationalists alike".--Jevdet Rexhepi, Prince Mohammad Bin Fahd University Vucaj's book is an excellent contribution to the literature on skill formation in Albania. The depth and breadth of the author's knowledge on European skill formation, Albanian education reforms and training system enriches every chapter of this book. This book is certainly to be much appreciated by policy-makers and academics in Albania, but also in other post-communist Eastern European countries.--Shqiponja Telhaj, London School of Economics About the Author Indrit Vuçaj is a national fellow of the Association for Career and Technical Education National Leadership Fellowship Program.