Background
Despite its young and dynamic population, Kosovo faces significant labor market disparities characterized by high youth unemployment rates coupled with persistent skills shortages reported by key industry sectors. These shortages severely constrain productivity, innovation, and international competitiveness.
Contributing to this mismatch are two critical gaps within the private sector:
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Limited managerial and leadership capabilities among business owners and company executives, which restrict strategic business growth and human resource development.
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Lack of specialized, industry-relevant skills within the workforce, particularly at technical and operational levels, due to inadequate apprenticeship systems and weak links between companies and vocational education providers.
To address these structural constraints, the Swiss Development Cooperation (SDC) aimed to develop a robust initiative to enhance managerial capacities and establish effective, industry-led apprenticeship programs.
XPR Consulting Role in the assignment
As strategic advisors, we were tasked by SDC to design market-driven strategic intervention, focusing specifically on developing actionable initiatives for the new 5+5 year project.
Our role involved:
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In-depth Sector Analysis: Conducted extensive desk reviews and stakeholder consultations, including ministries, education providers, industry representatives, and international donors, to map existing challenges and opportunities.
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Strategic Scoping Mission: Carried out an intensive field mission in Kosovo, involving direct engagements with over 50 stakeholders from government, private sector, educational institutions, and civil society.
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Intervention Design: Developed detailed, strategic options tailored to Kosovo’s unique labor market conditions, emphasizing scalable, sustainable, and market-responsive initiatives.
Key considerations included the avoidance of redundant pilot projects, and prioritizing private sector partnerships.
Our intervention
Our recommendations led to the design of a comprehensive intervention focusing on:
Senior Executive Development
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Launched platforms and workshops to shift senior executives’ perceptions towards workforce training—from viewing training as a cost to recognizing it as a strategic business investment.
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Developed executive seminars and peer-to-peer learning exchanges highlighting the competitive advantages gained from structured training investments.
Emerging Leaders Program
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Designed a cross-sectoral "Emerging Leaders" initiative tailored for junior-to-mid-level managers.
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Integrated practical leadership skills, strategic thinking, and innovative management approaches suitable for adult learners already employed in the private sector.
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Facilitated collaboration among companies, business associations, universities, and specialized training providers to deliver impactful, real-world management training.
Sector-wide Apprenticeship Flagships
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Identified successful in-company training practices and transformed these into industry-standard flagship apprenticeship programs.
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Built partnerships with international VET institutions and sectoral stakeholders to ensure high-quality, sustainable training delivery for specialist roles.