Review of the Sector Support Programme for Continuation of Vocational Education and Training (VET) Reform and Development of an Employment Strategy

Detailed description of project Back

The objective of this Budget Support operation is to provide assistance to Armenia in continuing and consolidating the reform of its vocational education sector. EU Assistance to VET in Armenia for the period 2007-2014 has been provided under the European, Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument (ENP1 and the main objective is to promote political co-operation through the development of economic growth and the reduction of poverty.

In line with the principle of ‘more for more”, this Programme benefits from additional funding under the Eastern Partnership Integration and Cooperation (EaPIC) programme, with the aim of fostering sustainable and inclusive growth and economic development. In this context, Armenia receives additional support of €6 mln (of which € I million is earmarked for technical assistance) for implementation of its Sector Support Programme in Vocational Education and Training.

The overall objective of the assignment is to provide a detailed review of the implementation of the general conditions and specific conditions attached to the final disbursement under EaPIC 2012.

The specific objective of the assignment is to provide the Commission with a report containing recommendations as a tool for decision on instalment disbursement and programme execution. The conclusions of the review will be used to decide upon the disbursement of the final variable instalment (of €5 million) foreseen in November 2015.

Type of services provided

The review missions include four experts: an Economist (the Team Leader), a VET policy expert, a Labour Market/Employment expert and a Civil Engineer.

Core services include:

• Review and report on implementation of General and Specific Condition attached to this programme;
• Provide clear recommendations on disbursement of the final tranche of €5 million;
• Assess the overall status of reforms of the main services provided by Government in the VET/Labour Market/employment sectors (in light of the VET Modernization Reform Programme and Action Plan 2012-20 16 and National Employment strategy 2013-20 18;
• Assess the impact of this Programme on policy formulation, budget preparation process and public expenditure management in the supported governmental bodies.