Intro to the Albanian Job Market
Agriculture is a sector that employs thousands of people, mainly in rural areas where the sector is the main source of revenues for many families. However, the job market in Albania is dominated by client service jobs given the fact that Albania’s economy is mostly focused on the service sector rather than the production sector. Economy experts show skepticism about the spread of these businesses by arguing that they do not add value to the country’s economy. There are already 300 call center companies that currently employ about 20,000 Albanians, mostly young adults aged 18 – 35 years old. Although the private sector has developed and increased rapidly in the past 25 years, state-owned companies still employ the largest number of people.
Some of the largest state-owned companies include the Operator for the Distribution and Transmission of Electrical Energy, the Albanian Postal Service, the Public Administration, etc. The garment and oil production sectors also employ a large number of people. The increasing tourism sector employs mostly seasonal employers, during the summer season and has a great potential for developing the rural economy by the increase of outdoor tourism.
The number of outsourcing businesses in the digital realm is also increasing rapidly. Many international companies are opening their branches in Albania by employing young adults and students who have knowledge in web development, design and copywriting, data analysis, and other services. Language centers are also increasing the demand for language teachers, mostly for English, Italian, German and French languages.
Top Jobs in Albania
Economist, lawyer – state-owned and private companies in all the sectors
Client service (private sector) – call center operator, selling agent, waiter
Production – Agriculture, garment industry
Digital field jobs – web and mobile development, designer, copywriter, marketing.
Albania is near to worldwide popular destinations like Italy and Greece, but despite this fact, it is still an unknown and undiscovered part of Europe. Albania is a country rich in history and culture, and like all the countries of the Mediterranean region enjoys a sunny climate, amazing landscapes, beautiful coastline both in the Adriatic and Ionian Seas, and impressive landscapes.
Thus, the tourism potential of the country is expected to spur economic growth and create new jobs where people from all areas can be well-represented as employees and managers.
Just like tourism, there are many other sectors and industries that provide a lot of opportunities for Albanian and international citizens that want to develop their careers in Albania.
Read also: Best Cities to Live in Albania for Expats & Nomads
The country made significant progress as a program of structural reforms was implemented during the last few years. Hence, the changes to the way how the government worked, helped Albania’s economy, which at some point was facing both internal and external problems, such as the Eurozone crisis and especially the collapse of the Greek economy. Albania’s economy was and remains
The above-mentioned program of structural reforms focused on modernizing and improving crucial sectors such as the public administration, the justice sector, enforcing the rule of law and the fight against corruption and organized crime, focusing on macroeconomic and financial sustainability, consolidating the banking, private, and energy sectors, reducing the public debt burden, etc.
All these reforms are helping to raise a productive and competitive economy, increase and attract foreign direct investments (FDI), create more jobs, enhance citizens’ voice and good governance, and deliver the performance that Albanian and foreign citizens in the country need and expect.
What does the Albanian Job market offer?
According to the Albanian Institute of Statistics (INSTAT), the labor force participation rate of people aged 15-64 during the second quarter of 2017 was 66.8percent. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate for the same period was 13.9 percent. Moreover, official data confirm that the gender pay gap decreased and the percentage of women in managerial roles is growing, slowly but it’s growing.
Tirana is the economic center of Albania. The country’s economic activity is based on service provision, agriculture, and industry. Albania is a country rich in natural resources, but the economy depends on agriculture, oil processing, mineral extraction, energy, tourism, and the textile industry. The main sectors of the economy include the extractive industry, accommodation and food services, transportation, information and communication, services, processing industry, energy, gas, water and waste treatment, construction, and trade.
The most profitable sectors of the economy are service provision, accommodation, and services, construction, trade, information, and communication.
Over 93,000 people work in the service sector and there are some 20,000 companies operating in this sector. This sector has low expenditures and this allows small companies to generate high profits. Based on categories, the most profitable activity in the service sector is real estate.
Companies with the most employees in Albania
With the exception of the Electricity Power Distribution Operator (OSHEE) which is the company with the most employees in Albania, about 6,000, and responsible for power supply, all the other big companies are mostly banks and call-centers.
Moreover, Intercom Data Service (IDS) ranks first among the largest private enterprises with about 3,000 employees.
The list continues with Top Bast, a betting company, with about 2,200 employees.
Other big enterprises are the Albanian Marketing Service and Albacall with respectively 2,150 and 1,800 employees.
Moreover, the footwear and manufacturing industry is a major sector in terms of employment.
Job vacancies in Albania
Vacancies are commonly advertised in classified sections of newspapers and online in recruitment websites such as celesi, anegino, duapune.
- Sherbimi Kombetar i Punesimit
- Portal Pune
- Celesi
- Njoftime.com
- Njoftime Falas
- Anegino
Jobs abroad for Albanians
Jobs opportunities in Albania for foreign people
Finding a decent and well-paid job in a developing country is not that easy but this is not the case in Albania. Job opportunities for non-Albanians include jobs offered by international NGOs that operate in the country, foreign companies that operate as foreign investments in the country, operators in Call Centers, and language teachers.
The increase of call centers as a successful business that is employing thousands of Albanians has increased the demand for learning foreign languages such as English, Italian, and recently German. Language teaching centers always prefer to employ native-speaking teachers of a certain language instead of Albanians who have deep knowledge of a certain language.
Albania marked significant progress during the last twenty years by turning from one of the poorest countries in Europe to a middle-income economy. The country faced numerous challenges during its transition stage and one of them, which remains a major goal is economic growth and the creation of more job opportunities in the long term.
How to Get a Job in Albania
Many who have been looking for a job in Albania know about the main job finding stereotypes.
Some consider those myths and others say they are rules of thumb.
- You can’t find a job if you don’t have powerful connections. This perception was also confirmed by the Balkan
Barometer 2017 - You can’t find a job (in the public sector) if you’re not a member of a political force
- You need to pay money in order to get a good job position
There are cases when these stereotypes are true, but they’re the exception and not the rule.
Finding a job depends on the job that you are looking for. Networking is always a great option. Friends and family can find vacancies suitable for you or recommend you for a specific job. This is an option. On the other hand, you can always apply for advertised jobs. They usually require a CV and motivation letter, and maybe references from a previous employer. It is now common that most of the applications are submitted in English, besides the Albanian language or otherwise stated. However, it depends on the type of company and job position.
Seasonal or Summer Jobs
Tourism is taking the spotlight in Albania thus it is easy to find seasonal jobs during the high season. It is easy to find a job in bars, hotels, camps, resorts during summer.
It is also possible to work as a tour guide or translator, however specific criteria are required for these types of jobs. Several agencies in Tirana, Durres, and Vlora organize daily or weekend guided trips throughout Albania. The main destinations include Theth in the Northern Alps, Valbona via Koman Lake, Osumi Canyons, Benja Thermal Baths in Permet, Sazani, and Karaburun National Marine Park in Vlora, and many other destinations. In the meantime, tourists from all over the world visit the ancient site of Butrint. They arrive at the city of Saranda on day trips from the Greek Island of Corfu and in cruise ships that include Saranda port calls in their itineraries.
Other sectors that provide job opportunities during summer are agriculture, environment, and specific projects. There are seasonal restoration camps that take place in the beautiful cities of Gjirokastra and Berat, both UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
Teaching Jobs
There are several international institutions of education public and private in Albania that can offer vacancies for Albanian and international teachers. The majority of teaching jobs are available in Tirana, Durres, Vlora, Shkodra, but opportunities can be found throughout the country. Albanians are multilingual and they pay special attention to foreign languages, therefore a native teacher of English, French, or German can easily find a job in private language schools or in international companies.
Internships and volunteering
Albanian public institutions, private companies, embassies, and international organizations offer numerous internships for Albanian and foreign citizens. Internships are useful for gaining skills, networking, creating contacts, learning about the country and its culture, and also for improving your language skills. Volunteering is also an option for people that are looking for a job. There are various opportunities provided by NGOs and other organizations.
Albanian Visas
Albanian citizens have the right to enter the Schengen area without having to get a visa beforehand. But they can’t work or study during the allowed period of stay in the Schengen area. On the other hand, the visa regime for international citizens is defined based on Law no, 108/13 on foreigners. Find all the information on the Visa Regime for Foreign Citizens HERE.
Language requirements
The Albanian language is considered a difficult language. It is a category II language in terms of difficulty. As it was mentioned above, Albanians are multilingual. They speak Italian, English, Greek in the south and southeastern region, German, and French. Therefore, English is enough for a foreigner, but if you want to get started with the Albanian language, start here
What is it like to Work in Albania?
Public institutions and private companies in Albania must comply with the Labor Code. The maximum labor week is 40 hours. Albanians typically work from Monday to Friday from 8:00 to 17:00 or 9:00 to 18:00 and take an hour’s lunch break. According to the law, all employees are entitled to four paid weeks of annual leave and public holidays. However, there are international companies that celebrate public holidays of their country of origin. The average gross wage in Albania is Lek 45,845.
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