The new phase of GIZ Private Sector Development and Technical Vocational Education and Training South Caucasus Programme implemented by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) kicked off on April 1, 2017.

The programme is implemented on behalf of Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and will last until March 31, 2020.

The main objective of the programme is supporting the green and inclusive growth of three target sectors in Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia. The total budget of the programme for the three countries makes EUR 29.7 million.

Armenian Ministry of Economic Development and Investments and Armenian Ministry of Education and Science are the key partners of the programme in Armenia. The programme is aimed at improving the framework conditions for sustainable economic development in selected sectors relevant for employment.

Special attention is attached to the involvement of private sector in the process of vocational training in Armenia and strengthening the cooperation between public institutions and businesses, which will allow tailoring vocational programs in line with the demands of the modern labor market.  

Wilhelm Hugo, Team Leader Armenia of the GIZ PSD TVET, noted that the programme would support green and inclusive growth in three target sectors: sustainable tourism, wine sector and precision engineering/IT sector.
 
“Armenia is now in a difficult geopolitical situation, having restricted resources. Nevertheless, Armenians are resilient, flexible and innovative. The main problem is the cooperation gap between the public and private sectors, though we have noticed a positive shift,” he noted, emphasizing the efficient cooperation between GIZ and Armenian Ministry of Economic Development and Investments.  

Deputy Head of SME Support and Development Department of Ministry of Economic Development and Investments of Armenia Gayane Gevorgyan highlighted the importance of cooperation with GIZ, noting that “the intervention fields of the programme are targets for the Armenian government as well”.

Deputy Minister of Education and Science of Armenia Manuk Mkrtchyan attached importance to the cooperation with GIZ, adding: “Jointly with the programme, we are willing to establish dual vocational education system which hasn’t been piloted in Armenia so far”.

The Deputy Minister highlighted the fact that Armenia had certain issues in sectoral cooperation with Azerbaijan for some obvious reasons and consequently GIZ has played a crucial role as a mechanism for mediated cooperation.