Empowering Armenia Through Education
Published: May 22, 2021 Reading time: 2 minutes
People in Need (PIN), with funding from the European Union and in partnership with the Armenian Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sport (MօESCS), has conducted a workshop to enhance the country’s technical-vocational education and training (TVET) sector.
Entitled “TVET Sector: Challenges and Perspectives,” the training was held for employees of MօESCS ministries, as well as staff from other agencies, including Territorial Administration and Infrastructure, High-Tech Industry, Economy, and the Republican Union of Employers of Armenia. Also, in attendance were representatives of TVET institutions, and national and international organisations.
At the event's opening, on May 21, Deputy Minister of MoESCS Zhanna Andreasyan joined Varduhi Dadunts, Country Director of PIN’s Representative Office in Armenia, to kick-off the training.
Andreasyan said: “We find these kinds of workshops highly important because they enable us to sum up the results of the implemented projects and to ensure the exchange of information among the partners. They also allow us to lay the foundations for strengthening ties between the labour market and education, to make the training process for competitive specialists relevant to the real needs of employers.”
Dadunts said: “We contribute to the improvement of quality education in textile and agricultural fields in Shirak region, emphasising the importance of close partnerships with employers who have strong work-based learning schemes for skilled specialists. We are confident that constructive changes will be noticeable in the near future and will become a model of development for TVETs across Armenia.”
The goal of the two-day workshop was to present the challenges of technical-vocational and primary education, to highlight best practices related to employer integration, to explore the connection between labour markets and education, to encourage information sharing, to identify new partnership opportunities, and to standardise training mechanisms. Ultimately, a stronger TVET sector will strengthen economic and territorial development in Armenia by making employees more competitive in their jobs, which in turn will lead to higher incomes and a reduction in poverty.
The two-day “TVET Sector: Challenges and Perspectives” workshop was part of the “Transition from Education to Employment” project, funded by the European Union. Since 2019, PIN has been conducting educational training designed to develop work-based learning initiatives and to improve academic programmes in Armenia, including at the Amasia Craftsman State School, the Maralik State Crafts College, Artic State College, and Shirak State Agricultural College.