New professions bring new opportunities to the youth in the digitalized world. With the help of new initiatives in the framework of the USAID-funded Armenian Workforce Development program (AWDA), designed for youth in the sectors of engineering and programming, people in regions are exposed to new training opportunities.

Several capacity-building programs have been designed as part of the Enterprise Incubator Foundation’s program to empower youth and train them in relevant professional skills that are in demand in the labor market. To address the market’s skills mismatch, the program collaborates closely with the private sector, assessing needs, developing a program, and training youth to become market-ready specialists.

Bagrat Yengibaryan, Director of Enterprise Incubator Foundation

The five-month training program, titled “The basics, structures, and software toolkit of architecture,” has been developed and implemented in the Vanadzor Technology Center in cooperation with ArchiDutch, a Dutch company operating in Vanadzor. In the framework of the program, the participants acquired skills in engineering, architecture, communication, and teamwork. The conclusion of the program is much in line with the mission of the EIF, as 11 participants have received job offers from ArchiDutch!

Vladimir Hayrapetyan is one of the program alumni who now works at ArchiDutch.

“This kind of initiative helps many students, like me get a strong kick-start in the IT industry and turn it into further success,” said Vladimir. “My biggest takeaway from the course that I would like to highlight is the professional and teamwork skills”.

Elen Mashakaryan who is 20-year-old student from Polytechnic University is one of the participants of the course. Elen highlighted that the program was a great opportunity for her to learn new skills and find a job. Although she is studying Economics at university, she is very happy to be given this opportunity to study a new profession pretty different from her initial choice. As a result of the course, Elen has secured a job at ArchiDutch as a floorplaner.

According to Elen, it is particularly important for the youth in the regions to have access to such projects and initiatives.“With enhanced knowledge and skills we become more competitive in the labor market,” she noted.

The current capacity-building programs delivered within the framework of AWDA encompass 3D modeling and web development courses, taught to over 65 young people in Lori marz. The courses are conducted in collaboration with private sector companies operating in Lori marz: Toughbuilt Industries, Peyotto Technologies, and Omnicode. Those companies are actively searching for new employees and because of the lack of specialists currently this is a challenging task for them in the local market.

Over the next 5 years, AWDA will provide 10,000 young people and women with the opportunities to improve their skills to be more in line with the labor market needs, and so they are better able to find employment in these spheres. The project will work closely with educational institutions such as vocation, training, higher education institutions, and the private sector companies to identify needs and assist in training.

The Armenia Workforce Development Activity is implemented by the Enterprise Incubator Foundation, in partnership with Armenian National Agrarian University, Fund of Armenian Relief and CIVITTA Armenia. This Activity is made possible by the generous support of the American people through the financial assistance by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).