Youth Employment in Rural Albania: A Theoretical Approach
European Scientific Journal April 2016 edition vol.12
Youth Employment in Rural Albania: A Theoretical Approach
Manuela Mece 0
0 Albanian University/Tirana , Albania
Employment plays a central role in the social integration of young people. Young people in rural areas are the future of agriculture and other rural industries, but often lack the guidance and support necessary to fully contribute to the development of their communities, thereby fuelling the vicious cycle of rural underdevelopment and poverty. This study aims to gain a better understanding of the youth employment challenges faced in rural areas by bringing together in group discussions with stakeholders (farmers, entrepreneurs in rural areas, associations, etc.). The conclusions from this assignment will feed to a baseline analysis of youth involvement in rural labour market and skills development required and will identify areas where rural development programs can be targeted to increase their contribution to employment creation. This will also suggest formulation of policy recommendations on stimulating new sources of employment, and the conditions for success in stimulating employment in rural areas. The proposed methodology was developed through Desktop Research and direct interviews with focus groups.
Youth employment; rural Albania; challenges
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still makes up 25% of the population, and Albania is recognized as having a
young population. In addition, almost half of youth resides in rural areas
thus their livelihoods and prospective in the labour force is linked to these
areas.
Research objectives
This study aims to present an outline of youth employment in rural
Albania, exploring current situation, as well as identifying potential
challenges. Goals and objectives of the study include:
Review existing national and international research regarding youth
employment, with a particular focus on the rural areas by using and
analyzing available statistical data on the magnitude, depth and structure of
the rural economy/ employment in Albania.
Bring together in group discussions with stakeholders (farmers,
entrepreneurs in rural areas, associations, etc.) to gain a better understanding
of the employment challenges faced in rural areas.
Suggest formulation of policy recommendations on stimulating new
sources of employment, and the conditions for success in stimulating
employment in rural areas.
Approach and methodology
The organizing framework for this research is the idea of the
‘opportunity space’, or the ‘spatial and temporal distribution of the universe
of more or less viable options that a young person may exploit as she/he
attempts to establish an independent life. [The opportunity space of] a
situated young person is a function of: global, national and regional factors
including institutions, policy and demand; place; and social and cultural
norms.’ (Sumberg et al. 2012, 5).
The analysis is focused primarily on perceptions or attitudinal data,
complemented by profile of the community or place with its key social,
economic and political characteristics.
The study also includes attitudinal evidence from urban respondents,
of how the opportunity spaces afforded by rural and relevant urban contexts
are compared by young people in their assessment of their prospects, and the
criteria they consider most vital in drawing those comparisons.
The analysis for this study was conducted against this backdrop of
concerns about the prospects for youth unemployment, smallholder
agriculture, poverty and livelihoods in rural Albania.
The assumptions on which the research was based were that:
• People’s aspirations are modulated within their ‘opportunity space’,
giving rise to expectations that reflect what is possible within their
geographical, socioeconomic and policy context, and given their own
qualities and characteristics; people are rational agents, making sense of their
own realities in line with their desires and ambitions.
• Recent adjustments to higher food prices over the past half-decade or
more is likely to have made small holder food farming relatively more
attractive compared to other sectors.
• Young people from rural backgrounds should be drawn more to
farming than in the recent past; as part of this, both their own and their
parents’ aspirations should reflect a relative rise in the status of farming
compared to the recent past. However, constraints on access to land and
credit may mean this fails to translate into smallholder farming.
The ‘opportunity space’ in which people find themselves is directly
and closely conditioned by group and individual socioeconomic status, levels
of economic development, and public policies that support education and
skills development among youngsters, and/or invest in particular sectors for
an employment boost.
The sites and interviewed participants were not selected specifically
because of the scope they offered for comparative analysis across different
opportunity spaces with respec (...truncated)