On February 7, within the framework of the project “Modernizing Vocational Education and Training in Agriculture in Armenia” (MAVETA), the “Strategic Development Agency” (SDA) NGO organized the regular annual meeting of the stakeholder dialogue platform of VET donor organizations.
The stakeholder dialogue platform was created in 2017, within the framework of the “VET Development in Syunik Marz” project, in close cooperation with the RA Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports.
The platform unites donor organizations operating in the field of VET and those interested structures that contribute to the development of the VET system in Armenia, with the aim of effectively coordinating initiatives in the field, sharing the experience and achievements of implemented programs, as well as discussing planned actions.
The meeting was attended by representatives of the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports, the Ministry of Economy, the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, the Swiss Development and Cooperation in Armenia, UNDP and other local and international institutions.
Mrs. Araksia Svajyan, the Deputy Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sports, Mr. Werner Thut, the Deputy Regional Director of the Swiss Cooperation for the South Caucasus, and Mr. Beka Urushadze, the Regional Director of HEKS/EPER South Caucasus addressed the conference with the welcoming speeches.
Mrs. Araksia Svajyan, the Deputy Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sports, in her welcoming speech thanked the international and local partners, stressing that the development of agricultural specialties is strategically important for the economy of Armenia.
“We should try to make the VET system better by cooperating with the private sector, in this regard the legislative reforms and training for teachers are of high importance”-the Deputy Minister highlighted.
The speech of the Deputy Minister was followed by the speech of Werner Thut, the Deputy Regional Director of the Swiss Cooperation for the South Caucasus, who presented the Swiss experience and highlighted the importance of close collaboration between private and public sectors in VET.
During the meeting, the project “Modernizing Vocational Education and Training in Agriculture in Armenia” (MAVETA), the “Armenia Workforce Development Activity” AWDA project, as well as the projects in the Preliminary and VET fields were presented and the possibilities of cooperation between different projects were discussed.
During the group discussions, it was possible to discuss the issues such as: the involvement of the private sector in VET, the need for teacher training and the steps for teacher’s motivation increase.
The MAVETA project is funded by a broad coalition of international and local organizations led by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), including the Austrian Development Agency, the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the Government of Armenia, the Swiss Church Aid (HEKS/EPER) NGO, Izmirlian Foundation, the Strategic Development Agency (SDA) NGO and Vanand Agro CJSC.
The project’s implementing partners are the GIZ and HEKS/EPER with the involvement of SDA and the School of Agricultural, Forest and Food Sciences at the Bern University of Applied Sciences (HAFL).
