Fisnik Arllati, Rudina Lila and Shqipe Mula are four youth from Gjakovë/Djakovica who are now ready to launch their new professional career as tour guides.

These four youth were part of the one’month training program for tour guides organized in Prishtina by Gears Up Solutions company. With the new skills they have acquired, these youth shall fill an existing gap for people in this profession, which is one of the key links in the tourism sector development chain in Kosovo.

The youth who have completed the training may find employment in two ways.they may be contracted by other tour operators, e.g. hotels, restaurants, or other companies, or can provide their tour guide services independently, i.e. become self’employed.

“The tour guide profession is an excellent opportunity for the employment of Kosovo youth. They can provide services for foreign tourists who want to know better the cities in Kosovo” says Blerina Batusha Xërxa, tourism expert with Swisscontact organization that supported this training. “Since Kosovo lacks for the time being an official tour guide certification program, in collaboration with Gears Up Solutions company we used the international Swisscontact curricula” adds Ms. Batusha-Xërxa.

This training was attended by a group of 13 youth from Gjakovë/Djakovica, Prizren and Pristina. The training was supported by the Promoting Private Sector Employment project funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation.