FIRST CAREER CENTER ON TOURISM TO BE LAUNCHED IN ARMENIA

ARKA News Agency, Armenia
Dec 4 2007

YEREVAN, December 4. /ARKA/. The first carrier center on tourism –
"Tourism Bridge" – is to be launched in the Russian-Armenian (Slavonic)
University in Armenia on December 5. The center is established
in cooperation with USAID "Competitive Armenian Private Sector"
(CAPS) project.

The center will to provide professional services to students and
alumni of tourism departments of the University and other educational
institutions, the Press Service of USAID/CAPS reported.

Every year about 250 graduates of tourism departments faces the problem
of employment mainly due to lack of information about vacancies and
inadequacy of their skills with the market demands, says the press
release.

Students and graduates registered in the center will have better
chances to find jobs, receive information about existing vacancies
and have trainings on their specializations. The center will also
facilitate contacts between educational institutions on tourism
and private organizations in Armenia to provide better awareness of
employers’ expectations.

USAID/CAPS program is to provide technical assistance in establishing
carrier centers that support tourism graduates in finding jobs in
tourist companies.

So far, 220 students and graduates of tourism departments, as well
as 160 tourist companies have been registered in the database of the
center.