Speech of Prime Minister Edi Rama:
Hello everyone!
German Chancellor Willy Brandt, one of the brightest figures of the last century, said: “International cooperation is very important to be left in the hands of national governments”.
And in fact, these words said many years ago, sound today more relevant than ever. Because today, both the great and powerful Germany and the small and still very weak Albania are obliged to cooperate and interact to solve common problems.
A problem which is not the only one, but it definitely is the most acute one that has emerged recently, is the problem of asylum seekers. A problem that is too complex, and we consider that most of them flock today to Germany from areas of deep conflicts where it is impossible to survive war, or even from our region from where Germany is rightly seen as the country that can meet faster and better, not just than our countries, but faster and better than every other European country, the dreams and hopes of the people.
But there is a big and essential difference among all those who leave home, abandon their land, dreams and hopes in their homeland because of wars and conflicts, and those who leave Albania or other countries in the region in order to have the opportunity of a better life, without having to wait, and with the idea that it is enough to go to Germany where a better life is waiting for them.
Part of this major change is the real and concrete possibility that all women and young people of our region, and Albania have in order to meet their desire and to realize the dream of working in Germany, passing through legitimate way, which is not as short as that of the asylum application, and however it is the only sure way. Meanwhile, going away and requiring asylum is a shortcut that lead to only one option: that of coming back here.
We certainly sympathize with every young man and woman living in disadvantaged areas of our country, backward provinces exhausted over the years, who feel unable to wait long or to leave to a distant future the realization of their dreams, and therefore take the path for asylum. But on the other hand, it is certain that the persistence to make real a legitimate dream for every girl and boy, for every citizen of this continent, to live in a country of united Europe is entirely feasible if it passes through legitimate ways.
Although there are few Albanians who take the legitimate way, demanding to become legitimate employees in Germany within a week. Because in over 20 years, poverty and major injuries in every sector did not create the conditions for us to be today better than we actually are, but also because in over 20 years they opted here for building the “Happy Land” state. They opted for the “Happy Land” policy, such as universities issuing worthless diplomas for money. The whole education system was based on one principle, according to which those who were ruling the country would take time and not face the major problem of youth unemployment, and instead give the young people a false perspective, a freeway with just one lane, without any speed limit, without any signposting, that would take them all to university. We became the country with the largest number of universities in Europe. Eight times more than Great Britain per 1 million inhabitants, 15 times more than Germany per 1 million inhabitants.
Meanwhile, vocational education, which is the door to enter the legitimate path of employment in Germany or everywhere else in the European Union, and in other countries as well, was reduced in a bunch of classes where electricians were taught the vocation by drawing the bulb on the black board, explaining them that it was a bulb, or nurses were shown a finger and were told, this is a needle.
We decided to do what should have been done 20 years ago, so that we would not be here today; we opened an alternative lane, so that not all of the Albanians will become lawyers, economists, engineers. Not all of the Germans are lawyers, economist, engineers, so there is not point that all of the Albanians become lawyers, economist, engineers, and so on. Our country ended up being a country with the highest number of lawyers per square meter in the world. We have more lawyers than any other country in the world. For this reason our justice system is the most degenerate in Europe. We have lawyers with a diploma, but we do not really have judges, prosecutors and people of a normal justice system.
Today, we have the result of the alternative lane that we opened last year. There are many people here who pretend to have forgotten that we’ve been in government for just two years; there are many people here who pretend to have forgotten that what was destroyed in 22 years cannot recover in just 2 years; there are many people here who pretend to have forgotten that if until yesterday no one could imagine to have a chance to go to Germany and work as a legitimate employee, today, this country opens the path here to legal employment in Germany for approximately 250 young women (I do not know if there is any male nurse in this group). But there are approximately 250 Albanians who are the first to take a proper vocational course, meeting ever accreditation requirement, and who are given a chance to go tomorrow to Germany and apply for a job as legal workers, and not as illegal asylum seekers.
Actually, it’s because we made a reform of our education system, and because we referred in this reform to the German education system. We introduced in Albania the dual vocational education system, which means a proportionally shared attendance in class and in the enterprise throughout the week, in order to have electricians, tailors, nurses, and all professions involved in our vocational education system, associated with the market; rather than people who, when applying for jobs, have seen bulbs only on the blackboard and have seen only the wires of illegal connection of power made by the course director.
For this reason our education system is today more reliable. We have today this academy on the basis of this reliability, and also thanks to the support from the very first day of “Business Albania”, due not simply to the benevolence of its president, but also because to our persistence to have the Ministry of Social Welfare, the ministry of this great reform, connected to the market and entrepreneurship. Everybody knows that “Business Albania” is a set of enterprises and not a single company. And to have it also connected to the National Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and so on.
Everybody should know that 30% of doctors in Germany in 2014 were of foreign origin. Every year Germany needs 10 thousand nurses. And not only nurses, but a range of 140 professions, because young people in Germany, as in many other developed countries, would rather choose something else that these professions, while the market needs are much higher than preferences.
According to German official statistics, 61% of hospitals or clinics in Germany need additional nurses. Demands are growing progressively, year after year. This is what we had in mind when we undertook this reform. We are ready today thanks to this foresight of ours. Of course, the 250 nurses of this program to be employed in Germany will not solve the problem of all those who want to go and be employed in Germany, but they are a meaningful example that there is a path for being employed in Germany, there is a way to make true the dream of living by honest work in Germany or other countries of the EU, or even in non-EU countries. All of the rich Gulf countries are seeking nurses and a range of other professions. In the open world where we live today, there are endless possibilities, but in order to take advantage of these opportunities spaces and preparation are needed to obtain a document that guarantees the German employer on the full capacity of jobseekers coming from Albania, the region or from everywhere else.
This is only the first concrete step, as we have already completed the first phase which was the reform, and turned many young men and women towards vocational education. Until yesterday, everybody wanted to be a lawyer, so every taxi driver in Tirana holds a master’s degree in law, in addition to being a contender for a PhD, but then back to the steering wheel, day and night.
Meanwhile, we have made progress also with the signing of an agreement with Germany on social protection, which is part of the chain of social protection arrangements for the recognition of contributions that Albanians who live and work abroad have paid for their retirement. This is fantastic news for all our employees, who work today or will work tomorrow in Germany, because their contributions paid for retirement will be recognized.
On the other hand, let me emphasize that there is a very clear policy and a very open and friendly attitude of Germany and Chancellor Angela Merkel’s cabinet towards Albania and the region. Part of this approach is this agreement based on the principle of equal treatment of workers in employment, training, benefit from income. And if the chances to get asylum are zero, and financial benefits have no chance to increase, but just go towards zero, for all those who take the path, even for any financial benefit, the chances of finding regular employment in Germany are endless. But there is one condition, you should attend a vocational school and obtain a certificate.
Not only in Tirana, but also in the contacts we have had after her visit here, Chancellor Merkel has strongly encouraged the legal way of employment of Albanians and citizens across the region. This encouragement has not been limited to the positive statements by our dear friend, the German ambassador to Albania, but it has been accompanied by a serious commitment. The prime ministers of the German States turned in recent weeks in the right direction to encourage and increase support for the launch here of a number of schools that will be paired with German schools.
Since the first day we prepared the Berlin process and proposed our platform, Albania has brought this issue, and the Chancellor, the German government and a number of States have supported our request since the opening of the Berlin Process, so that the twinning of centers of excellence here with German schools will create the conditions for us to have a European system of accreditation in Albania. This means that those who complete here a vocational school and obtain a certificate, they can go to Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, Kuwait, the Emirates and elsewhere where there are employment opportunities.
Meanwhile, German investments in Albania are increasing, and this increase is very important for what we are talking about, not just for the money invested in the economy and in jobs to be created, but also for increased sources of knowledge, and for strengthening the ties within our dual system, between schools and entrepreneurship.
According to the Bank of Albania, foreign investment have increased by 90 million Euros first quarter, compared with the first quarter of last year, while there are 30% more foreign companies registered. And these are not as a result of the fight against informality, because foreign companies do not come here to do informal business.
We registered 16731 new company in 2014, which marked the record of all years. I’m telling these figures, not to do a success parade, but to tell you that interaction capacities between our system of vocational education and entrepreneurship have increased. Particularly in this case, we highly appreciate the fact that German companies are part of this increase.
In conclusion, I want to repeat once again. We will continue with determination on this path. We are confident that tomorrow we will be proven absolutely correct, if today the majority of people understand that ours is the right way, and the way of those who still preach the return to the “Happy Land”.
It is really insulting to the intelligence of this people to continue proclaiming the end of the world, every time we undertake a reform. Our reforms are part of an operation that we will carry right through to a conclusion, in order to free the state body from the cancer of parasitism and corruption. This operation will continue, because we have no right and no opportunity to tell Albanians, we are doing very well, let’s move forward and continue treating this serious disease that we have inherited, by dyeing our hair, putting on lipstick and eye shadow, and pretending there is no disease.
This disease is treated with a therapy like this one we have started. The fact that our reforms have so great a support is due to a very simple reason. It is not because we have fallen from heaven, not because we are very convincing, but because Albanians are convinced, parents are confident that they cannot invest their savings, sacrifices and hard work of many years to give their children worthless diplomas.
Many thanks and respect for the work done by all the participants!
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In the context of cooperation with the German government for connecting vocational education with the labor market, a training course was launched today for 200 Albanian selected nurses, who will be given the opportunity to be employed in the European market, particularly in Germany.
This project, to continue in the future, is a cooperation among DEKRA, a German company, the National Agency for Education and Vocational Training and “Business Albania”, supported by the Ministry of Social Welfare and Youth.
