- Today, Christian Danielsson, the European Commission’s Director General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations, and Suren Karayan, Minister of Economic Development and Investment of the Republic of Armenia, signed two financing agreements to assist Armenia improve its labour market efficiency and strengthen the country’s fiscal governance.
The new programme “Better Qualifications for Better Jobs“, with a budget of €15.2 million, seeks to improve the efficiency of Armenia’s labour market and the employability of its workforce, with a particular emphasis on agricultural employment. Through the development of a national system of professional orientation, the reinforcement of career guidance centres and the improvement of lifelong learning opportunities, the initiative supports the development qualifications and employability of jobseekers. It also aims to improve the mechanisms to identify and match labour supply with private and public sector demand through more effective data collection and usage.
In addition, the initiative has a particular focus on the employment perspectives and qualifications for agricultural Vocational Education Training (VET) graduates by developing national apprenticeship schemes and the rehabilitation of agriculture VET centres.
In parallel, the newly signed programme to support the reform of Public Finance Policy (€10 million) in Armenia, addresses the accountability, transparency and effectiveness of public spending in line with international standards and practices. The programme will strengthen the accountability and transparency of the budget and its spending through better accounting as well as auditing practices; working with civil society and the National Assembly to ensure a more participatory budgeting process.
Background
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While Armenia’s economy has been growing over the past decade, the country has been exposed to external economic weakness. In this context the European Union supports Armenia’s development efforts aimed at strengthening the employment opportunities to develop and nurture the country’s human capital, to improve social security and strengthen the public administration and governance systems.
The funding comes through the European Neighbourhood Instrument (ENI), the main financial and cooperation instrument through which the funding is given to the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) countries, including Armenia.
Тhe EU Delegation to Armenia: