RA Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sports Zhanna Andreasyan received today the delegation of the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) headed by the Consultant of the Department for Education, Vocational Training, and Labor Market Anna Lazor.

ESCS Deputy Minister Araksia Svajyan, Head of the Department for Preliminary (Craftsmanship) and Secondary Vocational Education Armenuhi Poghosyan, Head of the Department for External Relations and Diaspora Arkadi Papoyan, Head of the German Agency for International Cooperation “Private Sector Development and TVET in the South Caucasus” Program Aram Babayan also attended the meeting.

Welcoming the guests, the ESCS Minister expressed gratitude for the efficient and long-term cooperation. Zhanna Andreasyan noted that in recent years, GIZ has been one of the donor organizations implementing innovative programs important for Armenia, and of fundamental importance for the sector.

The Minister informed that the “RA Education Development State Program until 2030” and an action plan have already been adopted, and now a draft law “On Vocational Education” is in circulation, in the development of which the German Agency for International Cooperation has a great contribution.

“A number of important targets are fixed in the Government program that determines the need for introduction and piloting of new management models for VET institutions. In this context, we have a large and new framework for cooperation, and I expect that we will continue collaboration since we have already recorded an efficient experience of joint work. Education should be able to meet the needs of economic development, and respond quickly to changes and challenges,” noted Zhanna Andreasyan.

According to her, the “RA Education Development State Program until 2030” sets a rather ambitious target - to reach 90% of graduates to get a job by their profession after graduating from a VET institution, which means promoting work-based learning as a prerequisite for training competitive personnel.

The ESCS Minister also informed that thanks to the programs implemented by GIZ in the VET sector, a dual training system in 12 specialties was developed, piloted and implemented in more than 13 educational institutions: “The provision of dual education, in some sense, is a complex and expensive process, and cannot be implemented for all specialties. However, dual education is only one form of work-based learning, while there are other alternatives for providing quality vocational education. In this regard, Germany is one of the leaders in the world, and the innovative approaches, experience and support from Germany are invaluable for the further successful progress of the VET reforms that have already started.”

According to the Minister, the development of the VET sector is interconnected with the development of the private sector: “Striving to provide education in line with the labour market requirements, the steps and programs of the State should be aimed at promoting the interaction between the educational institution and employer, development of the concept of social partnership. In this regard, the programs implemented by the German Agency for International Cooperation worked in harmony, thanks to which it was possible to achieve serious success in the development of winemaking, cooking, tourism, information technology, robotics and other fields.”

Consultant in the field of VET of the German Agency for International Cooperation Anna Lazor, stated that the German side has been implementing programs in various areas in Armenia for many years, confirming the willingness of the German side to complete the programs started, as well as to provide technical support. She also noted that GIZ strives to promote the development of essential and specific sectors of the Armenian economy.

At the end of the meeting, the parties reaffirmed the need to complete the initiated projects and implement and coordinate new programs.