Ana Zacharian
Ana Zacharian | |
|---|---|
| Occupations |
|
| Organization | Albanian Skills |
| Known for | Co-founder of Albanian Skills – National Association for Skills Competitions |
| Spouse | Haig Zacharian[1] |
Ana Zacharian is an Albanian vocational education specialist, engineer, youth trainer and NGO executive. She is the initiator and co-founder of Albanian Skills – National Association for Skills Competitions, a non-profit association that organises national skills competitions in Albania and promotes vocational education, youth employability and skills excellence.[2][3]
Zacharian has been active in vocational education and training, labour-market development, private-sector engagement, entrepreneurship and non-traditional learning. In 2025, she was selected as one of the European Alliance for Apprenticeships Champions, representing Albanian Skills in the promotion of high-quality apprenticeships and work-based learning.[4]
Education and early career
[edit]According to her European Vocational Skills Week profile, Zacharian has a master's degree in engineering, additional studies in business administration, qualifications in private-sector growth strategies and postgraduate studies in urban planning.[2] The same profile described her as having around 30 years of experience in industry as an engineer, in education as a teacher and in international cooperation through project management and senior administrative, financial, procurement and monitoring roles.[2]
Before founding Albanian Skills, Zacharian worked in areas connected with vocational education, labour-market development, private-sector engagement, entrepreneurship and innovation.[5]
Albanian Skills
[edit]Zacharian volunteered at WorldSkills Leipzig in 2013. She later stated that the experience inspired her to develop a similar platform in Albania for promoting young people's professional skills.[6] In 2014, together with international and local experts, she initiated the Albanian Skills project as a platform for young talents and skills competitions inspired by WorldSkills.[2][5]
Albanian Skills began as an Albanian-Swiss initiative and was later formalised as Albanian Skills – National Association for Skills Competitions. The organisation describes Zacharian as its initiator, co-founder and CEO, and lists her as a mechanical engineer and expert in business management and vocational education and training.[3]
Business Magazine Albania reported in 2017 that Zacharian and Stephan Leiser founded the Albanian Skills initiative after being inspired by international skills competitions and by the need to promote vocational skills among young people in Albania.[6]
Skills competitions and vocational education work
[edit]Albanian Skills is best known for organising the Albanian National Skills Competitions. The European Commission's Digital Skills and Jobs Platform describes Albanian Skills as an organisation that brings together senior and young professionals to organise annual skills competitions in Albania for young people aged 16 to 25 in different trades.[7]
In 2018, Zacharian initiated Albanian Skills Week, inspired by the European Vocational Skills Week.[2] The European Training Foundation reported that Albanian Skills Week had been organised annually since 2018, including during the COVID-19 pandemic years, and that the 2022 edition focused on skills for the green transition.[8]
Zacharian has also been involved in vocational education mobility and international cooperation projects. In 2020, INTERVET WB described her as co-founder and CEO of Albanian Skills and as the Albanian partner project manager in the EU-funded INTERVET WB project.[5]
European vocational education activities
[edit]Zacharian has participated in European vocational education and apprenticeship activities. In November 2020, she was listed as a speaker at the European Vocational Skills Week 2020, organised by the European Commission, where she appeared as chairwoman and CEO of Albanian Skills – National Association for Skills Competitions.[2]
The European Training Foundation listed Zacharian as a vocational education, labour-market and private-sector engagement expert in a 2020 European Vocational Skills Week session on the internationalisation of vocational education and training.[9]
In 2024, the European Forum of Technical and Vocational Education and Training published an interview with Zacharian on apprenticeship in Albania, in which she discussed challenges including employer participation, training quality, apprentice motivation and skills mismatches in the labour market.[10]
In 2025, the European Alliance for Apprenticeships selected Zacharian as one of its Champions. The European Commission described her as an inspirational youth trainer and programme director at Albanian Skills, and stated that Albanian Skills organises national skills competitions, promotes vocational education and supports young Albanians through skills development and international learning opportunities.[4]
A 2025 European Alliance for Apprenticeships High-Level Event report stated that Zacharian presented Albanian Skills' work on helping young people build skills and move from education to employment. It also reported that Albanian Skills had hosted more than 150 learners and helped them secure job placements through local partner networks.[11]
Publications and reports
[edit]Zacharian has contributed to project reporting on vocational skills competitions and mobility. A V2V-AL project skills competition report lists Ana Zacharian and Arjanita Maja as authors and describes the use of national skills competitions to identify and support vocational education graduates for long-term mobility opportunities in Italy and France.[12]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ↑ "Ana Zacharian". Facebook. Retrieved 24 June 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 "European Vocational Skills Week 2020". European Commission. Retrieved 24 June 2026.
- 1 2 "Ana Zacharian". Albanian Skills. Retrieved 24 June 2026.
- 1 2 "EAfA Champions lead the way to high-quality apprenticeships for a competitive Europe". European Commission. 8 August 2025. Retrieved 24 June 2026.
- 1 2 3 "Ana Zacharian on the benefits of fostering VET skills, mobility and cooperation". INTERVET WB. 15 December 2020. Retrieved 24 June 2026.
- 1 2 Torollari, Anerola (30 August 2017). "Ana Zacharian: Me Albanian Skills promovojmë aftësitë profesionale të të rinjve shqiptarë". Business Magazine Albania (in Albanian). Retrieved 24 June 2026.
- ↑ "AlbanianSkills-National Association for Skills Competitions (NASC)". Digital Skills and Jobs Platform. European Commission. Retrieved 24 June 2026.
- ↑ "Skills Week 2022 in Albania". ETF Open Space. European Training Foundation. 2022. Retrieved 24 June 2026.
- ↑ "Vocational education goes international". European Training Foundation. 12 November 2020. Retrieved 24 June 2026.
- ↑ "Apprenticeship in Albania". European Forum of Technical and Vocational Education and Training. 23 May 2024. Retrieved 24 June 2026.
- ↑ "2025 EAfA High-Level Event Report" (PDF). European Commission. 1 July 2025. Retrieved 24 June 2026.
- ↑ "Skills Competition Report" (PDF). V2V-AL Project. Retrieved 24 June 2026.