What are some of the key sustainability gaps that currently exist in relation to VET colleges in the Armenian communities of Goris and Sisian. This description of collaboration between different actors corresponds to the principles described in the community development literature and multi-stakeholder models by Bradshaw (2000), Winn and Keller (2001) and Clark and Erfan (2007).
Characteristics of VET Colleges, Funding, and National Development Strategy
We also took part in a guided tour of the facilities at both colleges, led by VET. One prospective student, Hasmik, explained: “This is one of the reasons why I want to go to university in Yerevan. In addition to the various characteristics of VET college education outlined above, we found a number of contextual factors relevant to VET colleges in Goris and Sisian.
In the course of our engagement with stakeholders, we discovered that all VET colleges in regions outside the capital Yerevan receive operational funds based on student enrollment and a number of other considerations. This was confirmed during our interviews by the directors of the VET colleges in Sisian and Goris.
Local Governments’ Limited Engagement in VET Policy, Organization, and Management
One of the main shortcomings, which we constantly looked for, was the lack of alignment between the programs offered in VET colleges and the needs of the local labor market. As we heard in our interviews with the head of an NGO representative based in Goris, as well as the Director of Goris State College, “pilot programs from international organizations have less impact at the local level than a partnership between international organizations would and more. Local NGOs or colleges directly.” For example, GIZ and other funding programs that organize their own pilot programs often present the findings from their pilot programs or their research to the Ministry of Education or the Ministry of Economy after the completion of the pilot programs.
For example, a recent GIZ pilot program partnered with 12 colleges in an effort to improve the quality of VET curricula. This is a key part of the reform that the education ministry has highlighted as the solution to greater local control over education matters, particularly VET colleges.
No Specific Qualification or Certification Requirements for VET Teachers
These were just two examples of how VET college administrators spend their time doing patchwork. VET teachers themselves, VET college administrators have confirmed that there are no clear requirements for qualifications or certification. The administrator of Sisian College shared “We do not have consulting professors and retain other professionals (for example, we have a tourism professor candidate, but we retain another profession and begin to develop knowledge).
College administrator Goris expressed a similar concern when discussing teacher education and experience. The VET college administrators confirmed that there is no formal performance appraisal system in place to monitor the quality of teaching.
Specific Qualification or Certification Requirements for VET Teachers
These gaps, in turn, have resulted in a disconnect between the VET curriculum and the needs of the labor market as well as of EUD university students in society. The director of Sisian State College gave an explanation of the complexity of licensing, "Here is the only example of licensure in the nursing program because our institution is licensed to provide the nursing program by the Ministry of Health. Some of the questions that emerged from these statements, was specifically related to the design and quality of the VET curriculum as barriers to licensing and student enrolment.
However, most of the prospective students expressed that the curriculum in Yerevan is much more relevant and applicable to careers in which they are interested. I am not sure if I will gain relevant knowledge in college.” The administrator of the VET college in Sisian explained,.
Access, Awareness, and Perception of VET Colleges are Primary Challenges to Enrollment
In addition, both prospective students and current VET college students cited physical access and building infrastructure as challenges for VET colleges. 95% of the prospective students we interviewed noted that they would not consider attending a local VET college. She explained that she was not aware of the program but would still prefer to attend the university in Yerevan because of its reputation.
All but two of the students said they had not been advised by a counselor about college, nor had a representative from the community college come to their high school. Three of the students we spoke to described that they first heard about one of Gori's VET colleges from representatives who came to their high school.
Challenges for VET Students Entering the Workforce
While some business leaders were open about their limited financial capacity to invest in future employees, all of the business leaders we interviewed were interested in some sort of future partnership with VET schools to establish formal apprenticeships. All of the business leaders in the focus group stated that any reluctance to work with local colleges for formal apprenticeship programs was based on their perception of the relatively low quality of vocational education and training programming at local colleges. Any company can pay employees to participate in this program, but this requires the company's capabilities.
Although none of the businesses had established an internship with any local college students, just over half of the business leaders we interviewed had hired employees in the past who had a local college VET degree. If a guy can't learn good math, maybe he'd be a good cook. These quotes show that the negative perception of the quality of VET programs is hindering not only student enrollment, but also internships and future employment.
P&T’s Competence and Capacity for Improving the Viability of VET
As a result of these interviews and the data we collected from reports on the outcomes of P&T projects and initiatives, we found that P&T has capacity in the form of social and political capital. We also examined a variety of internal P&T documents and data from interviews with P&T leaders, finding that P&T has capacity in the form of technical skills and access to relevant resources. P&T's track record of leading and managing projects and initiatives in similar areas over the past twenty years provided evidence to suggest that the organization has capabilities in the form of a consistent philosophical approach to community development.
Assist in the development of the institutional capacity of civil society organizations (CSO)." (Intermediary Service Organizations for Civil Society Development initiative). To promote the strengthening and empowerment of AEN (the Armenian Education Network) in the education sector through the development of the network's internal, external and sectoral capacities.
Improve the internal capacity of the Armenian education network through the development and implementation of network management procedures and procedures
Finally, we found that P&T has the capacity to shape educational reform initiatives through their proposed multi-stakeholder subsidiary, AEN. While P&T's mission statement describes their efforts to influence community development projects, more broadly, AEN has been proposed.
The external capacity of the Armenian education network has been strengthened by strengthening communication between vocational education and training and the labor market, public policy and dialogue aimed at improving the career guidance system. These strategic goals and the common design of the network position AEN as a logical unit for leading reforms related to improving the viability of vocational education and training in Goris and Sisian. The following six recommendations are derived from our findings, based on the various data sources we collected and analyzed throughout our project, as well as relevant literature on the topics of community development, multi-stakeholder models, and vocational education and training.
We hope that the following recommendations provide a P&T roadmap for possible ways in which local stakeholders could be supported to improve the viability of VET in the rural communities of Goris and Sisian in Armenia. None of the recommendations specifically relate to our first research question, as this question merely sought to better understand the current context and characteristics of vocational education and training in rural Armenian communities.
P&T Should Formally Launch AEN as a Multi-Stakeholder Entity P&T should accelerate the formalization of the Armenian Education Network (AEN) as a
P&T should adapt their organizational structure by fully developing AEN as an independent, multi-stakeholder subsidiary to lead the cooperation and coordination efforts of VET reform initiatives. AEN should develop and implement a VET reform action plan and proactively adjust priorities as needed. AEN is currently an informal multi-stakeholder collaboration focused on pursuing policy reforms in the education sector, as well as.
The findings highlight the need for a collaborative coordinator/leader to improve communication and provide feedback to stakeholders and government support for VET policy development. We recommend that P&T adjust its organizational structure to formally establish AEN as a unique multi-stakeholder entity to lead efforts to collaborate and coordinate VET reform initiatives.
AEN Should Develops VET Reform Priorities and a Comprehensive Action Plan
Finally, AEN should continuously adapt its action plan and activities to changing needs and conditions in order to remain efficient and effective.
AEN Should Prioritize Improving the Image of Local VET Colleges What is striking throughout many of our findings is the fact that the majority of
AEN Should Prioritize Establishing Performance Evaluations and Teacher Training in Curriculum Design and Pedagogy
AEN Should Prioritize Establishing Community-Based Apprenticeship Programs
The day aims to showcase the desirable outcomes of VET colleges for the community, young people and the workplace. Additionally, we recommend that P&T prioritize the establishment of a community-based internship program in an effort to improve the overall sustainability of VET colleges. We recommend that AEN coordinate collaboration between local businesses and colleges to collectively design an internship program that would allow AAP college students the opportunity to access resources, tools, workplace experience, and potential employment contacts.
In addition, data from our interviews with VET students, VET administrators and business leaders alike suggested that practical experiences, in the form of an apprenticeship, should be part of the regular curriculum in VET colleges. For these reasons, we recommend that AEN coordinates collaboration between local businesses and colleges to jointly design and establish a community-based apprenticeship program for VET college students.
AEN Should Prioritize Establishing a College Counseling Program Finally, we recommend that P&T prioritize coordinate collaboration between local
The literature we analyzed highlights the need to make students aware of the various postsecondary education options and career paths available to them through established college counseling programs (Diamond, 2007; Mohd Kamalludeen, 2012). Finally, research on apprenticeship programs also shows the need to provide students with information and knowledge about the world of work, occupations, employment opportunities and the characteristics of the jobs they hold. These recommendations describe ways in which P&T could act to improve the viability of vocational education and training in the rural communities of Goris and Sisian in Armenia.
We know that P&T's commitment to the youth in their community, their ability to collaborate with other stakeholders to design and implement education reforms, and their leadership in community development will be invaluable in this endeavor, and we offer these data, these findings and these recommendations to support their efforts to improve the viability of vocational education and training for the youth and members of the Goris and Sisian communities. Are there barriers to collaboration with local colleges to better align labor market needs and curriculum?
Data Collection Matrix
