Through 2009-2010, Ergon worked with the Albanian Center for Economic Research to build the capacity of both the public and private sector in Albania to address the challenges of workforce restructuring, by developing tools and processes to assess opportunities for employment, re-skilling and support in developing alternative livelihoods.
The objective of this pilot project, funded by the EBRD Western Balkans Investment Framework, was to mitigate the adverse impacts of redundancies on individuals and communities made as a result of privatisations and/or the indirect consequences of investments of incoming private sector companies. Thus the focus was on what an incoming private company can do, alongside state and civil society actors, in the event that, as an indirect consequence of their project, redundancies may occur.
Ergon developed tools to assist incoming private sector companies, the various governmental agencies and other stakeholders to look at the labour market, identify opportunities, assess current skills, identify the needs for skills training, and implement the mitigation measures identified. Ergon also formulated clear guidance on processes for responsible restructuring, focusing on the importance of timely and real worker involvement.
The project enabled EBRD to work with relevant government departments, agencies and other stakeholders to build the government’s capacity to manage collective redundancy in accordance with international best practice.
