Training Needs Assessment in the Albanian Prison System: A Human Resource Development Perspective (Published)
This study assesses training needs of prison staff in Albania following the 2022 structural reform establishing a Training Center within the General Directorate of Prisons, identifying competency gaps and proposing evidence-based recommendations for strengthening initial and ongoing training programs. The study adopted a qualitative triangulated methodology incorporating: (1) consultative meetings with prison leadership; (2) a review of training curricula, regulations, and annual plans; (3) in-depth interviews with Training Center staff; and (4) observation of active training sessions. The findings point to four principles that ought to run through every training program; staff need to see their roles as interconnected around rehabilitation, they should model pro-social behaviour consistently, human rights must inform everyday practice rather than just theory, and employees need to feel genuine pride in their work. Beyond these foundations, different staff groups require different things. Line officers struggle with integrity issues, emotional intelligence, and communicating ethically. Managers lack skills in leadership and performance tracking. Social workers and healthcare staff need deeper grounding in rehabilitation programming, mental health care, and addiction treatment. The findings suggest several areas for improvement, including curriculum revision, the development of rehabilitation-oriented training programmes, the establishment of a staff training database, and greater attention to adult learning principles in course design and delivery.Following the 2022 reform, no previous study has examined training needs across the Albanian prison system in a systematic way. The findings provide new knowledge about prison staff development in post-communist countries.
Keywords: Human Resource Management, Training needs assessment, organizational development, penitentiary training; adult learning, prison staff development