ArmInfo. Work continues in Armenia to develop an Employment Strategy. Deputy Minister of Labor and Social Affairs of the Republic of Armenia Ruben Sargsyan announced this at a press conference on September 8.
He noted that the Strategy will become a political document of the RA government in this direction. Specialists from the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports, the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure, and the Ministry of Economy are involved in the development of the Strategy. The document will present the results of labor market research, trends in its development, forecasts for economic growth rates, and actions of government agencies.
The Deputy Minister emphasized that indicators are now being developed, after which a budget calculation will be made. Since the Strategy has not yet been approved, the government considered it important to implement a number of pilot programs, including the demobilized employment program and the "Payments depending on the results of active employment" program. Both programs are being implemented jointly with the private sector.
In turn, Narek Manukyan, head of the UNDP ImpactAim accelerator, speaking about the "Payments depending on the results of active employment" program, noted that it provides for the involvement of private companies and organizations in training the workforce and its further employment, for which the state will make appropriate payments. The total duration of the program is 16 months. Both private companies and foundations and public sector organizations are eligible to take part in it. When applying for participation in the program, they will have five months to train future employees in a wide range of specialties, after which they about 6 more months are given for the employment of citizens, and another 4 months to ensure the reliability and stability of the workplace. At the same time, companies and organizations choose their own specialties. When submitting applications, they must indicate the specialties in which training will be carried out. Thus, there will be real opportunities to establish a connection between the labor market and the required specialties. Companies and organizations in their applications will have to indicate the amount of government contributions for each student, which they will receive immediately after completing the training process, as well as the amount of payments after completion of the entire program. The profile of specialist training is quite broad, which will add elements of flexibility to the program.