Every day Kenan Hasani wakes up in the early hours of the morning to make his way to work. Soon as he puts on his hard hat and work gloves, sparks fly—literally. At only 24 years, he is already a certified welder working for the Heat Exchanger and Steel Construction Company Elsam in Ferizaj.

His job is no small task and requires a great amount of precision and know-how.  On any given day, you’ll find Kenan doing anything from fabricating and joining metal parts together under extreme heat, studying blueprints, polishing metal surfaces, and using a variety of welding machines that we can’t even begin to name.

“I love my job,” Kenan says. “When I started, I knew very little about the job. But because of my interest, engagement, and the trainings, it’s much easier now.”

Earlier this year, we entered a partnership with KIEMERK, the metal industry and renewable energy cluster in Kosovo which has 35 member companies. We aimed at training a number young job-seekers from the Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities in welding and metal processing and facilitated job matching.

As one of these young people, Kenan is now fully employed and certified with the necessary ISO standards that will grant him a life-long opportunity to find jobs in this industry.

“In the future, I want to continue working as a welder in this company,” Kenan says.