ARMENIA SEES GROWING DEMAND FOR VOCATIONAL EDUCATION
By Gayane Danielian

Radio Liberty, Czech Rep.
Aug 13 2007

An Education Ministry official says more young people in Armenia choose
secondary specialized training today responding to the growing demand
on the labor market for jobs not requiring higher education.

With more than a hundred state-run and private vocational schools
in the country, Samvel Pipoyan says all of them, except for medical
colleges, do not require entrance examinations for applicants in the
paid section. Based on their previous scores, applicants who failed
their higher school entrance examinations can expect to qualify for
state-paid places in vocational schools.

Pipoyan, who heads the Secondary Specialized Education Department at
the Ministry of Education, says more than 35,000 young people attend
vocational schools in Armenia today. He says there is a tendency that
the number of career students will be increasing in the future.

"Medical specialties are in the greatest demand in the vocational
education system, followed by economy-related specialties such as
accountancy, management, banking and finances, and service-related
trades," Pipoyan says.

He says the ministry recently received two conflicting requests from
the Ministry of Labor and Social Security and the Ministry of Health.

While the former was saying that "the republic had no need for more
trained nurses, midwifes, dental lab specialists and pharmacists
because of their obvious surplus," the latter said they needed all
of the mentioned specialists in great numbers.

Incidentally, Pipoyan says, these specialties are in the greatest
demand among applicants and therefore they will continue to provide
training opportunities in the mentioned careers.

At the same time, Pipoyan observes a trend where it becomes more
difficult for higher school graduates than for people with vocational
training backgrounds to find jobs on the Armenian labor market. He
says it is no surprise that some university graduates start to seek
training in careers related to specific occupations after graduating.

"I think many in Armenia today seek higher education just for the
sake of it. But it doesn’t justify itself anymore. The market doesn’t
seem to be able to accommodate for so many specialists with higher
education. But a person who graduates should have a job," Pipoyan
explains.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress