The wider objective of the ARARAT project, under the EC Tempus IV Programme, is to ameliorate the relevance of higher education to ever-changing labor market needs through establishment and operationalization of universities-employers cooperation nexus in Armenia.
The latest ARARAT Workshop (20-24 July 2014, hosted by University of Alicante, Spain)was tackling the following main developments of the project activities:
- Establishment of the NULMN – National University Labor Market Network
Underpinning an active dialogue between the stakeholders to solve the issues of fragmentation that hinders development of Armenian higher education is crucial. Thus, by joining the UMCU [University-Market Cooperation Units] at Partner Universities and bringing together business representatives, student and professional associations, the RA Government bodies and ANQA will finally establish the National University Labor Market Network (NULMN). The NULMN facilitates the activities of the UMCUs, promotes interplay between different stakeholders thus contributing to the improvement of professional education provisions and relevance to the market demand. The students will be well equipped with the necessary skills and knowledge about labor market demands concerning employment and be capable of meeting the demands.
- Development of a database and relevant tools
The ARARAT database will enable input of various stakeholders to be gathered and analysed for the enhancement of university-market cooperation. The Armenian local committees will research through:
- questionnaires addressed to the graduates, alumni, employers, students
- questionnaires collecting statistical data on graduates, alumni, employers, students
- focus group templates for academic staff to explore the academic capacities crucial for a given qualification.
- Operationalization of NQF
One of the main missions of the university-market cooperation in Armenia is to make the qualifications offered at universities relevant to the market needs. Thus, design of a methodology and procedure for sectorial qualifications framework (SQF) development drawing on the Armenian National Qualifications Framework (ANQF) and the CEDEFOP (2010) methodology and the good practice in EU countries will take place. Such sectors as economics, Information Technology and Education will be targeted for pilots, since those are the professions that are most demanding in Armenia and are in urgent need of revision.
Visit the project site www.ararattempus.org
For further information please contact luisa.ardizzone@cesie.org
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This communication reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
