“Every person should learn these skills” - Action Against Hunger trains employment and educational public actors in Armenia

Action Against Hunger (AAH) South Caucasus hosted a workshop in Yerevan, Armenia on its innovative and inclusive ‘Shuttle’ approach to the representatives of United Social Services (USS) and VET colleges in Armenia. 

The workshop was conducted within the project "Economic and Social Participation of Vulnerable Displaced and Local Population in the South Caucasus (EPIC)" funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH.

During the training, the participants received formal instruction from the AAH trainer.

The main aim of the workshop was to transfer knowledge and skills to the respective public institutions on new methods and techniques to empower the most vulnerable social groups around employability and entrepreneurship. The 5-day workshop organised between the 18th and 22nd July brought together over 30 participants from 12 territorial centres of the United Social Services located in Yerevan and Kotayk Province as well as two VET institutions. Gyumri Craftsman State School N 4, and the French-Armenian Professional Education Center.  During the training, the participants had a chance to hear from experienced coaches Silva Mesropyan and Sona Grigoryan, and from AAH Social Inclusion Manager Lela Maisuradze about the theories and practical examples on how to best use the ‘Shuttle’ approach. 

Exercises taught participants how to best use the "Shuttle" approach.

Anna Ghandilyan, Coordinator of Social Work and Employment programmes at the USS Charentsavan territorial centre, thought that the training provided her with many skills she can utilize in her work: “I learned many important skills that I can bring to my work. Every person should learn these skills, both for work and in life. The ‘Shuttle’ methodology is important and new in Armenia.”

Workshop included group exercises.

The approach has been successfully used across the South Caucasus region since 2015 by AAH to support employability and entrepreneurial skills development of unemployed people, with a specific focus on women, youth, people with disabilities, and displaced persons.

During the workshops, participants learned how the techniques of the ‘Shuttle’ approach support inclusion through the development of beneficiaries’ professional and personal competencies. Through group activities and practical exercises, they also experienced first-hand how to conduct ‘Shuttle’ sessions, preparing them to pilot the approach within their institutions. After the training, AAH staff will continue to support the piloting process in each institution throughout the project.

Participants received certificates.

“The content of the training was perfect and what I expected – I only wish it was longer”, concludes Yelena Martirosyan, Deputy Director at the French-Armenian Professional Education Center, at the end of the training. “We learned many tools that are not only about the ‘Shuttle’ but useful in our other work.” Both Anna and Yelena mentioned that the 5-day workshop also developed their soft skills, which will be useful in their work with the ‘Shuttle’ participants. “We should not tell a person that they cannot do something. We need to make the person believe that they can do it if they work on the specific skills”, Yelena says, summarizing how to mentor the participants in the Shuttle. “The Shuttle will be successful because we can help people to gain the skills they need”, Anna concludes about the methodology. 

Workshop included group exercises.