Annual Regional Conference: Realizing Opportunities: Building Human Capital in the Western Balkans 6 for the Integration into the EU Single Market

The Annual Regional Conference of the Regional Challenge Fund fosters regional stakeholder dialogue and the exchange of good practices among key VET stakeholders. This year’s edition is scheduled to convene in Tirana, Albania, on June 12, with the RCF Technical Advisory Committee meeting on June 13.

Traditionally, the conference is a venue for a regional dialogue between governments, educational authorities, businesses, chambers of commerce, education providers, donors and projects, and civil society.

This year the exchange will focus on the critical aspect of human capital development within the context of the European Union integration of the Western Balkans, a momentum further fortified by the EU Growth Plan. Together with experts from the German Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (BIBB) and members of our awarded consortia, we will pilot a new instrument VET Chain, to raise awareness of sustainability along the supply chain.

We are honoured to announce our partnership with the Ministry of Economy, Culture, and Innovation of the Republic of Albania to co-host the main panel of the RCF annual conference. The panel, titled “Vocational Education and Training Systems of the Western Balkans as a Driving Force of Economic Growth: Reform Priorities and Challenges,” will feature ministers of education and economy, as well as heads of VET agencies from the region in a conversation on the ways forward.