People First Project

“People First": Growth in Tourism through Qualified Human Resources” is a human resources-focused approach to stimulating job growth and job placement in Albania’s tourism sector, financed by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Embassy of Sweden in Albania, and implemented by The Headhunter ltd. The Headhunter is a private business that helps to pair Albanians with tourism jobs through placement, staff leasing, and career advising. “People First” will promote job growth by training and placing employees with the skills demanded by tourism industry in businesses throughout Albania. The project will create partnerships between prospective employees, Vocational Training Centers (VTCs), and businesses, and thus establish pathways for prospective employees-particularly youth and women—to gain skills and enter the workforce. This project will focus on five tourism hotspots in Albania: Tirana, the Southern Rivera, Durres-Kavaja corridor, Shkodra/The Albanian Alps, and the Korca region including Lake Ohrid, Pogradec, and Voskopoja. Over the next five years, the United States and Sweden will invest $6 million to promote job creation and economic growth in Albania’s tourism sector.