When you think of your typical high-schooler, you don’t exactly picture them operating complicated machinery like lathes, shapers, or wood-nailing machines, and perhaps much less have a passion for it. But to Lendrit Veseli, this has become common practice!

On most days after school, Lendrit quickly meanders the streets of his hometown Ferizaj to make his way to the woodworking and furniture company Rrezja.  At only 16 years of age, Lendrit is already doing his apprenticeship at the company, where seasoned professionals help him hone his skills and design custom-made furniture and kitchens.

Though this is just the beginning for Lendrit, you can see his passion for the craft by the finesse with which he goes about it. Calm and composed, he cuts and carves wood pieces with a precision which would befuddle any spectator.

“I do see myself working in this industry in the future,” Lendrit says after he takes a short break. “As long as I have the passion for it, I can do it,” he proudly exclaims.

Lendrit is a student at the VET Agro business and Technology school ‘Zenel Hajdini’ in Ferizaj, where EYE recently helped establish a career center. His apprenticeship is made possible because of a Work-Based Learning (WBL) scheme that we’ve helped introduce in the school, which helps youngsters like him apply academic and technical skill in a real-world work setting. 

Through WBL, so far 151 students from 11 VET schools have been placed in 57 private companies to do apprenticeships. School-based career centers, which we have helped establish in schools all over Kosovo, work as intermediaries between students and companies and facilitate the process.

Through WBL, Lendrit is not only gaining professional knowledge, but also setting himself up for a solid career in woodworking! 

“I think that you have to be able to practice all the things you learn in books, which is what I’m doing here,” he says. “In the future I want to become a manager in the industry of furniture-making!”