USAID BRIDGE PROGRAM COMPLETED
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16:20:35 – 22/03/2010
On March 23, 2010, the USAID BRIDGE Public Works Program marked the
completion of its five year activities in Armenia by highlighting
the program’s successes and the importance of public works in
fostering Armenia’s labor market. Head of State Employment Agency
Sona Harutyunyan and Social Sector Advisor of the USAID/Armenia
Social Reform Office Volodimir Yatsenko opened the conference. The
event, held at the American University of Armenia Business Center,
was attended by representatives of partner organizations, including
the Anoushavan Abrahamyan Educational Fund, UNDP, the State Employment
Services Agency, and World Vision among others.
Through its three components of community mobilization, vocational
training and public works, the BRIDGE program aimed to assist
vulnerable communities in achieving greater self-sufficiency by
providing them with vocational training in construction skills as
well as with employment opportunities on public works projects that
rehabilitated infrastructure items chosen by the community.
BRIDGE worked in twenty towns in Tavush, Aragatsotn, Lori, Shirak,
Gegharkunik, Syunik and Vayots Dzor marzes. Specifically, the program:
– Completed 40 infrastructure projects, – Generated more than 87,000
person days of employment, – Provided 1,240 people with short-term
labor opportunities, – Leveraged 16% matching contribution over
the life of the program, – Conducted 54 trainings in 5 different
construction trades, – Trained 734 unemployed persons, 70% of whom
found jobs in construction after program completion, and – Developed
training curricula for Tiling, Wood Flooring, Painting and Plastering,
Concrete and Stone Masonry.