ARMENIAN VOCATIONAL EDUCATION SPHERE IS AT STAGE OF REFORMS AND DEVELOPMENT

Noyan Tapan
Jan 22, 2008

YEREVAN, JANUARY 22, NOYAN TAPAN. The Job Skills vocational
education program being implemented in Armenia within the framework
of cooperation between the British Council and the RA Ministry
of Education and Science has a purpose of assisting vocational
education system’s improval and development. Within the framework
of this three-year program, it is envisaged to repair 11 vocational
education institutions, to work out 80 criteria regulating the
sphere, to organize retraining of lecturers and top employees, as
well as students abroad. Artak Aghbalian, the Head of the Vocational
Education Department of the RA Ministry of Education and Science,
said this at the January 21 program’s Armenian presentation at Yerevan
Informatics College.

According to A. Aghbalian, this sector of Armenian education was
destroyed and lost its former significance in consequence of the
change of socio-economic relations. However, this system, which is
very important for development of country’s economy, has taken the
way of reforms and restoration for already two years.

A. Aghbalian said that at the end of the program Job Skills being
implemented with the assistance of the British Council, in 2010,
Armenia will have 12 multi-function vocational education institutions,
which will provide the regions with proper specialists. At the same
time, he said that the labor market is being studied, and specialists
will be trained according to the demand.

A. Aghbalian also said that within the framework of the program,
Ministry’s representatives have already visited European and Asian
countries for several times for the purpose of exchanging experience
and passing retraining. And Yerevan Informatics College having 1500
students cooperates with the institutions of the same name in Great
Britain and Israel.

Levon Mkrtchian, the RA Minister of Education and Science, who was
present at the event, said that the Job Skills program implemented
by the British Council will not only contribute to restoration
of vocational institutions, but also will promote strengthening
and development of business-vocational education ties: businessmen
should order the vocational institutions the specialists they need,
by investing sums for their education. He is convinced that if this
tie is created, "we will have both high-quality specialists and jobs,
and we will have no excess of specialists on the labor market."

Minister L. Mkrtchian said that the state has allocated 5bn 898m
drams to the vocational education sphere in 2008.

It should be also mentioned that the Job Skills program is implemented
in 17 countries of South East Europe.