In September 2021, Tringa Ismajli, a young woman from the village of Ramjan in the Viti/Vitina municipality, landed her first job with the Kosovo Population Foundation, a public health organization. After gaining key employability skills through USAID’s Up to Youth Activity, Tringa was hired into a job that likely felt just out of reach just two years earlier. Soft skills such as teamwork, communications, and organizational management positioned Tringa to be a strong job candidate and prepared her for success in the workplace.
Up to Youth supports young people from marginalized communities, like Tringa. “I'm confident and calm because of the skills that I learned…that gives me peace of mind, but also a sense of empowerment.” Tringa said. After completing soft skills training with Up to Youth in 2019, Tringa took a six-month internship with Up to Youth in 2021. She put the skills she’d learned in the training to practice during her internship. When it concluded, Tringa was more than ready to take on the challenge of paid employment.
“The first time when I saw Tringa engaging in the field I realized how well-prepared she was for the job,” said Mirlinda Hajdari, Senior Health Coordinator at the foundation. “Many youth who start their first job need lots of guidance … that was not the case with Tringa … she went straight into organizing field trainings.”
Enhancing the employability skills of young people significantly improves their job prospects. It also strengthens the workforce by creating a pipeline of well-prepared employees for the labor market. This is a tandem benefit to which Tringa and Mirlinda can both attest.
Global Communities for USAIDKosovo